Need Help With Writing Romantic Scenes

MrKyle · 08-06-2010, 04:58 AM

Hello, I'm very new at writing stories. I have a lot of hobbies and I wanted to take this one on as passionately as I take every facet of life.

My question what type of ways can romance be portrayed in serious novels? I'm not writing any sort of pornography in the gratuitous sense (at least not on purpose).

For instance with Love Scenes. In movies sex is for the most part simulated and is obviously purely visual, so a sex scene can be very brief and get the point across. But the problem I'm encountering in writing a novel with two characters that fall in love is how to portray the physical intimacy. What is the widely accepted way of writing a narrative of two people engaging in sex. I'd like to avoid just writing a one liner of "They had sex and then went about their day." Just seems like it'd be missing the point of a dramatic realistic description of physical intimacy.

Any help would be most appreciated, even if it's just pointing me to reference books.

-Cheers-

mr ploppy · 08-06-2010, 05:49 AM

Depends what you want to achieve. The closest one of my characters came to a "love scene" is with their hand. I gave just enough to make it obvious what was happening and broke away.

MrKyle · 08-06-2010, 11:01 AM

From what I've read, scenes should be written as 'hot' as they need to be so long as it's a contributing part of the story. But to stay away from four letter words. By four letter words im pretty sure they mean not to use vulgar terms for anatomy. Also when describing such scenes, don't get too mechanical with how the character's anatomy is being used.

Currently I'm thinking of just writing a scene very explicitly, and then slowly edit the details out until the scene still works without sounding too graphic.

meromana · 08-07-2010, 09:26 PM

When I write sexual scenes (I don't write erotica), I try to put myself in the moment, think about the point-of-view character, and try to imagine what he or she would be thinking, feeling, doing in that moment. Of course, the reader doesn't need to see every little detailed movement, just the bigger actions and thoughts that would be on the character's mind. Is she nervous? Excited? Worried about something? Or completely caught up in the moment? Is it pure sex or mad love? Is the character trying to prove something to his partner, or impress her, or please her? Is she focused on her own needs or trying to make a positive experience for him? And so on...

Anyway, that is what works for me, and I've been told my sex scenes are well done. It's especially fun for me when I write from the man's perspective and have to try to think the way a man would. At least one male reader told me I did indeed have a keen understanding of the way the male mind operates. To myself I thought, "Duh--like men are so hard to figure out!" LOL.

Maria

JSWolf · 08-07-2010, 10:26 PM

You mean you don't have the random romance novel generator where you answer some questions like it was a Madlib and then it generates the novel for you?

meromana · 08-08-2010, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

You mean you don't have the random romance novel generator where you answer some questions like it was a Madlib and then it generates the novel for you?

Well, my novel generation software is highly advanced. It has modules for new drug development, cut throat corporate competition, biostatistics, laboratory procedures, religious fanatics, and high finance. But with all that, I couldn't afford the "sex module", so I had to write that part myself.

--Maria

08-06-2010, 04:58 AM	#1
MrKyle Writer Posts: 28 Karma: 326572 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Kindle DX	Need Help With Writing Romantic Scenes Hello, I'm very new at writing stories. I have a lot of hobbies and I wanted to take this one on as passionately as I take every facet of life. My question what type of ways can romance be portrayed in serious novels? I'm not writing any sort of pornography in the gratuitous sense (at least not on purpose). For instance with Love Scenes. In movies sex is for the most part simulated and is obviously purely visual, so a sex scene can be very brief and get the point across. But the problem I'm encountering in writing a novel with two characters that fall in love is how to portray the physical intimacy. What is the widely accepted way of writing a narrative of two people engaging in sex. I'd like to avoid just writing a one liner of "They had sex and then went about their day." Just seems like it'd be missing the point of a dramatic realistic description of physical intimacy. Any help would be most appreciated, even if it's just pointing me to reference books. -Cheers-

08-06-2010, 11:01 AM	#3
MrKyle Writer Posts: 28 Karma: 326572 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: Kindle DX	From what I've read, scenes should be written as 'hot' as they need to be so long as it's a contributing part of the story. But to stay away from four letter words. By four letter words im pretty sure they mean not to use vulgar terms for anatomy. Also when describing such scenes, don't get too mechanical with how the character's anatomy is being used. Currently I'm thinking of just writing a scene very explicitly, and then slowly edit the details out until the scene still works without sounding too graphic. Last edited by MrKyle; 08-06-2010 at 11:03 AM.

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08-06-2010, 05:49 AM	#2
mr ploppy Feral Underclass Posts: 3,622 Karma: 26821535 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Yorkshire, tha noz Device: 2nd hand paperback	Depends what you want to achieve. The closest one of my characters came to a "love scene" is with their hand. I gave just enough to make it obvious what was happening and broke away.

08-07-2010, 09:26 PM	#4
meromana Zealot Posts: 129 Karma: 11430 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: NC, USA Device: my laptop	When I write sexual scenes (I don't write erotica), I try to put myself in the moment, think about the point-of-view character, and try to imagine what he or she would be thinking, feeling, doing in that moment. Of course, the reader doesn't need to see every little detailed movement, just the bigger actions and thoughts that would be on the character's mind. Is she nervous? Excited? Worried about something? Or completely caught up in the moment? Is it pure sex or mad love? Is the character trying to prove something to his partner, or impress her, or please her? Is she focused on her own needs or trying to make a positive experience for him? And so on... Anyway, that is what works for me, and I've been told my sex scenes are well done. It's especially fun for me when I write from the man's perspective and have to try to think the way a man would. At least one male reader told me I did indeed have a keen understanding of the way the male mind operates. To myself I thought, "Duh--like men are so hard to figure out!" LOL. Maria

08-07-2010, 10:26 PM	#5
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,096 Karma: 144284184 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	You mean you don't have the random romance novel generator where you answer some questions like it was a Madlib and then it generates the novel for you?

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