Raven Touchstone wrote her first adult feature 25 years ago. She has won six AVN Best Screenplay awards—Justine ('94), CineSex ('96), Bobby  Sox ('97), Heart of Darkness ('04), The New Devil in Miss Jones ('06), Throat ('10)—and has worked with such distinguished directors as Henri Pachard, Bruce Seven, Michael Zen, and Paul Thomas. “I was having too good a time to leave,” she recalls. “Before I knew it, I had a career!”

AVN: How did you start writing porn scripts?

Raven Touchstone: I advertised for a roommate and the nurse who moved in with me had lived next door to Scotty Fox. She knew he was looking for writers and put us together. I figured I’d write a script or two, stay in the biz for 10 minutes, pick up a few bucks and split. 

AVN: How did you feel when you saw your first script on film?

RT: The first was Intimate Couples for VCX. Scotty directed. John Holmes was line producer. When I saw it I HATED it. The acting was deplorable. I had grown up on the stage in one of the finest repertory theatres in the country. I guess I expected better performances from the players. I learned to adjust my expectations.

AVN: What are three things a porn screenwriter should keep in mind?

RT: 1) A porn feature should have the exact same elements as a mainstream feature regarding plot structure and character development. 2) That you’re writing about sex —not some buddy movie. 3) Collaborate with your director. Get their ideas before you write the script. Incorporate the best of those ideas. That way the director perceives the script as something familiar, rather than as a distant cold stranger he/she has to become familiar with. This will save you a ton of rewrites later on.

AVN: What should a porn writer forget?

RT: Their ego. A movie, porn or otherwise, is a collaborative effort. It takes a writer, director, editor, players and crew to make it happen.