Wednesday, April 27, 2005

The Dreaded Love Scene

Some writers would rather slam squid guts Fear Factor-style than craft a synopsis.

Not me. It’s the love scenes that send icicles through my veins.

First, let’s make one thing crystal clear. Just because I write romance novels doesn’t mean I write smut. Notice I titled this post “the dreaded love scene” not “the dreaded sex scene.” True, a growing number of romance novels contain explicit sex (in the beginning, we diplomatically called these “romantica,” then we moved on to “erotica,” but to me, most of it’s just “porn for women”). Hopefully, traditional romance is still more about love than sex.

Because after all, for women, sex is more about love…right? And my future would-be readers are women…right? And, just because the trend in romance publishing is toward sex, sex, sex, doesn’t mean I can’t buck the trend…right?

Oh sure, there’s a place for titillation (sorry about the pun) and as a writer you wanna create a whole lot of sexual tension, but do you really have to spell out its culmination with lots of c**ks and c**ts? I think not. Somewhere I read that a great love scene (sex scene, call it what you want) demands that the characters change emotionally by the end of it. I like this idea. That way, you know the scene’s not gratuitous. (As a side benefit, when you're published, you don't have to hide in the bathroom when Aunt Martha comes over--plus your parents don't change their last names and move to another state.)

With that in mind, last night I attacked the final love scene in Stealing Amy, my current WIP. Several agonizing hours later, I’d learned a lot about writing, about my characters, and a new way to approach these tough scenes. I concentrated less on the physicality and more on the emotions that swept them into the love scene in the first place. And, damned if the result wasn’t a huge improvement over previous tries. All without having to worry about body parts ending up in impossible positions and characters looking like sex contortionists.

What’s really hard is writing one of these scenes from the male POV. Here’s the dilemma: do you write it from the standpoint of your perception of what men do, think and feel while making love? Or, do you write what women wish men did, thought and felt? I plead the fifth. You’ll have to read one of my books sometime…

Hey, don’t worry. Y’all will be the first to hear when I get “the call.” Which, by the way, probably won’t be any time soon. Got a rejection back on an unsolicited partial I submitted to an agent about four months ago. Right now, the only thing left out there is a partial of Fit For Love with an agent who actually requested it, but I’m not holding my breath. (Hey, it was my first “real” manuscript. Hardly anyone sells their first!) Hell, I don’t even have high hopes for Stealing Amy…it’ll probably end up alongside FIT under the bed collecting dust bunnies.

Oh, well. As long as I keep improving…I’ll stick with it.

Besides, since my love life (or lack thereof) would reduce you to tears, you’ll understand if I jump at the chance to live vicariously through my characters...even if the scenes are dreadful, er, dreaded.

3 comments:

Erin said...

I just finished reading a novel where the sex/love scene was pretty ideal. Personally, I like to be all hot and bothered at the end of a good scene, but as you say, not for the vulgarity and postion descriptions. I prefer to read how the emotional climax takes place, rather than the physical. Of course, it isn't bad to have him breathlessly calling out her name every once in awhile. I would love to read your first. I hope you get it published soon!
E.

John said...

Your titilation is more about telling us you did a great job and then not sharing it. So share it.

Randy said...

Erin: Thanks, me too! I'll keep you posted
:-)

John: You KNOW I can't share Stealing Amy until it's "perfect"...and it ain't there yet, trust me!