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Writing Romantic Scenes
For the most part when I wrote short speculative fiction stories, I didn’t include love scenes. Romance and flirting, yes. But that was as far as it went.
But when I wrote my novel, Hathor Legacy: Outcast, I found myself in a bit of a dilemma. It’s a romance, isn’t it? So I knew at some point, the heroine/hero would have to get together romantically.
Since I’d just started getting to know the characters, Jonathan and Nadira, I didn’t feel comfortable having them move too quickly. But by book two, they're in an established relationship, so I let their love scenes flow naturally.
Whether the hook up comes sooner or later, it should never feel forced. Once I decided how explicit I wanted to get, it got easier. Instead of doing endless “insert tab a into slot b” descriptions, I looked for descriptive words that could set the mood without my having to actually describe the blow-by-blow. And in the interests of keeping it "PG," I won't go into more detail in this post! :)
One of the love scenes, where they've reunited after a separation, happens on a beach. During that scene I used words like "roar," "crashing," "fueling" and "explosion" to make a strong impression. They drive up the tension and the reader has a reaction to them, even if they’re not fully aware of it.
All writers know that words are extremely powerful. They paint images and stir up emotions. Do I like reading love scenes? Sure. But sometimes writing them is challenging. I want to show what’s happening, while at the same time I want to stay within what I think is appropriate for that story.
There are readers who skip those scenes. Others can’t get enough. So I don’t think a writer can anticipate if a reader will be glad the characters hooked up, or when they’ll be turned off. All I can do is stay true to what I feel works at that point. The characters will let me know when they’re ready, and that will make the scene much easier to write.
About the book
Book Two of the Hathor Legacy Series
On the planet, Hathor, an old threat re-emerges that may destroy the fragile alliance between the Guardians and Novacorp. When Nadira is called to investigate a rash of fires throughout the city, she discovers the Deshtu, another group with PSI powers who have been purposely kept in the shadows.
Working to uncover the source of the fires, Nadira learns the brutal truth about the origin of the Guardians. The Guardian Elders have plans to make Nadira more powerful, and she may be forced to sever her psychic connection to Jonathan Keel.
When an unexpected ally gives Jonathan information about the Deshtu that connects them to the fires, he becomes a convenient scapegoat for the opposing factions. Nadira puts her life on the line to solve the crime, while the Elders make their move to remove Jonathan from her life forever.
As time runs out, the Guardians prepare for a clash with Novacorp that could plunge the planet into chaos, and a final betrayal forces Nadira to risk everything to save herself and Hathor.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LW95G7K
As a little girl when Deborah A Bailey was watching Star Trek and Twilight Zone, she was writing and drawing her own superheroine comics. When she grew up, she continued to write and followed her love of technology into a career as a computer programmer and developer. But writing was never far away from her heart, so over the years she wrote and published stories set on other worlds and in Earth's future.
Ultimately she fulfilled a lifelong dream and completed her first novel in the Hathor Legacy universe, Hathor Legacy: Outcast. Her short stories have won awards from the Philadelphia Writers' Conference and her work has been published in US1 Magazine and the Sun. She's also the author of a short story collection, Electric Dreams: Seven Futuristic Tales.
Website: http://www.BrightStreetBooks.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AuthorDeborahB
2 comments:
Great food for thought. I do not skip any scenes and enjoy them all.
debby236 at gmail dot com
Hi Debby,
Usually I don't skip any either. :) Glad you enjoyed it.
Deborah
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