I flew up the stairs, banged desperately on his door. He
could barely get it open when I collided into him, smothering his mouth with
mine. I was breaking every rule, and I didn’t care. I didn’t want any space
between our bodies.
WARNING: I may use a few naughty words in this post. Also, SPOILER ALERT. I'm totally going to talk about how far my characters' physical relationship progresses.
Time for some action! Well, at least talking about it. If you've got two characters who are romantically involved, chances are there is going to be some kind of physical interaction. Depending on your book and even the particular scene you're writing, it could be tame (a simple kiss) or extra juicy (full blown sex scene). Figuring out what your book needs or even what these scenes need can be tricky. How much do you need to show? And how many times should you show it?
Well, it all depends on your story. If you're writing erotica, then by all means, show everything. And keep doing it. If not, then you really need to choose what needs to be shown and for how long. For most of my book, it's all about kissing. Well, because it would be illegal for my characters to do anything else. It's kind of the point. Their whole relationship is centered around this sort of arrangement that only allows the physical moments to go so far.
One of my favorite kissing scenes is the first one. It doesn't happen until Chapter 8 (well, it may be 7 in the third draft since I may be cutting a chapter, but that's not the point!). I think it's always fun when a book doesn't give you that first kiss right away. You have to wait for it, just be screaming at the pages until it finally happens. Tension should build up until that point and when it finally happens, it should be a significant moment in the story. What I like about the first kiss in my story is that it's incredibly simple and short, but also a huge deal, both because of the characters' relationship and because of how long it took to actually happen.
So after the first kiss, how much physical interaction should you show? For me, there is quite a bit of it. The characters' physical relationship progresses very slowly, so my idea was to show more detail when something new happens, basically when it advances the plot (or the relationship) in some way. I can spend a whole page on a make out scene or just a sentence or two to imply that it happened. It depends how important it is.
There is one sex scene in the book, and it's in the last chapter. Well, my characters are human, and they screw up. They let things get too far. The interesting thing about it though is by the time my characters do have sex, it isn't really something either of them wants. It's more of a way out. Which is why I think I have a hard time writing it.
No matter how many times I write and rewrite the sex scene, I just can't get it right. And I don't think it's because of the physical elements. I've done my homework, everything besides actually watching porn (because EW! EWWWWW! I'd much, much rather read some erotica. Or just binge watch Looking...). No, trust me, I know what needs to happen between my two male characters. My issue is balancing the physical with the emotional. It should be a sad scene, really, but it should be sexy, too. It is a sex scene after all. But it's difficult to get that right.
I have an earlier scene that only has a handjob, but I actually like it more than the sex scene. It just works. There's passion, excitement, there's really just an energy to it. I read that scene and wonder why I can't take that energy and put it in the sex scene. Well, I know the emotions are completely different, so it can't be exactly the same. But as it is now, the sex scene just doesn't have any energy. It's completely weighed down by the emotions. And I just can't seem to get it right.
All right, I'll wrap this up before I tell you about every single tiny physical interaction my characters have throughout the book. Do I have some of it figured out? Hell yes. Do I have all of it figured out? Not even close. I guess it's just going to take some more rewriting. Lots and lots of rewriting.
How do you approach a kissing or sex scene in your writing? How do you balance the physical with the emotional?
WARNING: I may use a few naughty words in this post. Also, SPOILER ALERT. I'm totally going to talk about how far my characters' physical relationship progresses.
Time for some action! Well, at least talking about it. If you've got two characters who are romantically involved, chances are there is going to be some kind of physical interaction. Depending on your book and even the particular scene you're writing, it could be tame (a simple kiss) or extra juicy (full blown sex scene). Figuring out what your book needs or even what these scenes need can be tricky. How much do you need to show? And how many times should you show it?
Well, it all depends on your story. If you're writing erotica, then by all means, show everything. And keep doing it. If not, then you really need to choose what needs to be shown and for how long. For most of my book, it's all about kissing. Well, because it would be illegal for my characters to do anything else. It's kind of the point. Their whole relationship is centered around this sort of arrangement that only allows the physical moments to go so far.
One of my favorite kissing scenes is the first one. It doesn't happen until Chapter 8 (well, it may be 7 in the third draft since I may be cutting a chapter, but that's not the point!). I think it's always fun when a book doesn't give you that first kiss right away. You have to wait for it, just be screaming at the pages until it finally happens. Tension should build up until that point and when it finally happens, it should be a significant moment in the story. What I like about the first kiss in my story is that it's incredibly simple and short, but also a huge deal, both because of the characters' relationship and because of how long it took to actually happen.
So after the first kiss, how much physical interaction should you show? For me, there is quite a bit of it. The characters' physical relationship progresses very slowly, so my idea was to show more detail when something new happens, basically when it advances the plot (or the relationship) in some way. I can spend a whole page on a make out scene or just a sentence or two to imply that it happened. It depends how important it is.
There is one sex scene in the book, and it's in the last chapter. Well, my characters are human, and they screw up. They let things get too far. The interesting thing about it though is by the time my characters do have sex, it isn't really something either of them wants. It's more of a way out. Which is why I think I have a hard time writing it.
No matter how many times I write and rewrite the sex scene, I just can't get it right. And I don't think it's because of the physical elements. I've done my homework, everything besides actually watching porn (because EW! EWWWWW! I'd much, much rather read some erotica. Or just binge watch Looking...). No, trust me, I know what needs to happen between my two male characters. My issue is balancing the physical with the emotional. It should be a sad scene, really, but it should be sexy, too. It is a sex scene after all. But it's difficult to get that right.
I have an earlier scene that only has a handjob, but I actually like it more than the sex scene. It just works. There's passion, excitement, there's really just an energy to it. I read that scene and wonder why I can't take that energy and put it in the sex scene. Well, I know the emotions are completely different, so it can't be exactly the same. But as it is now, the sex scene just doesn't have any energy. It's completely weighed down by the emotions. And I just can't seem to get it right.
All right, I'll wrap this up before I tell you about every single tiny physical interaction my characters have throughout the book. Do I have some of it figured out? Hell yes. Do I have all of it figured out? Not even close. I guess it's just going to take some more rewriting. Lots and lots of rewriting.
How do you approach a kissing or sex scene in your writing? How do you balance the physical with the emotional?