Sex scenes are hard - pun intended. They've become nearly essential to a good romance. Writing one that is believable and heated can require a lot of effort. If you're uncomfortable it shows and turns off readers. So where does one start? By remembering that the sex scenes are for and about your characters and not yourself.

1. Don't use medical terms if you can avoid them.

Nobody wants to read about vaginas and penises. Nothing can be more jarring than that. Of course crazy euphemisms hurt the story flow also. Pronouns however are great. Use both subjective and objective particularly!

Consider:

"He entered her swiftly" is hotter than "His penis entered her vagina swiftly." It's also better than "His pink cigar entered her taco swiftly."

Notice how the euphemisms were taken to the extreme. That was to prove a point because clefts, feminine deltas, meat, and poles can be equally weird in a situation. Use with discretion.

Conclusion: Readers want to be able to slip into the fantasy. Let them!

2. Reflect and record.

What attracts you to sex scenes in other romance novels?

Make a list of what you find and have found sexy in other authors' writing. Keep this list handy so you can refer to it while writing. Think of it as inspirational reminders. Be sure to try to include the list in your own work. Just don't turn this into a formula as that won't help. Formulized sex scenes read flat, underdeveloped, and are forgettable.

If you can't think of anything for your list, remember that sex is explored through all the senses. You can start there and flush out the scene accordingly.

Conclusion: Formulaic sex scenes are crap, but having a list of good sex scene qualities that appeal to you will go a long way.

Continued in Part Two.

Photo Credit: 1

Originally posted 2009-02-24 23:47:05. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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This post is in response to Historical Romance - How Much Heat is Too Much?

The original post is by Evangeline Collins, author of Her Ladyship's Companion (releases in May 2009).

In the comments I explored what I thought made the difference between a sexy romance and an erotica romance and then I thought it deserved to be explored some more.

I agree with Evangeline that the lines are blurring but will the line ever disappear? My guess is not anytime soon.

How are sexy romance and erotica romance the same or merging?

Both types of romances can have vanilla or kinky sex. It can be explicit and it can be blush inducing… it can turn you on and rev you up. Yummy.

How are they different?

As I said it’s not so much anymore that the sex is there and is explicitly described; both types of romance write it and write it well. The main difference that I see is language. The diction between sexy romance and erotic romance are two very different types of words.

Sexy romance still uses in many cases the tame terminology romance has used since the beginning. I say tame because it’s many times wrapped in euphemisms. It's still polite.

Examples: cock, center, sheath, thrusting, pumping, bundle of nerves.

Erotica romance takes the words people use today and waves it like a banner. It’s not your mother’s romance in other words... pardon the pun. Modern/urban colloquial terms are the cornerstones of erotica.

Examples: cock (hey it’s versatile!), dick (even though old romances used it, it’s not used now in sexy romance [or if it is I haven’t seen it]), cunt, pussy, twat, fucking.

Wrapping up:

They are also different because erotica romance also has a history of ménage a trios/multiple partner sex. Same sex stories currently fall under erotica. Do I expect this to change? Yes and no. I expect the forbidden aspect will fall to the wayside and some sexy romances will start incorporating multiple partners/same sex. However, I doubt sexy romance which is firmly entrenched in romancelandia will ever buy into more than one soul mate at a time as romance’s cornerstone is the perfect match, the happily ever after.

How about you? Do you think the lines are blurring or have blurred all they’re going to blur?

Photo Credits: zenera

Originally posted 2009-04-05 14:15:55. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• Lines, Leaders Tippets Fly Fishing Fishing

For this article we're going to skip over the titillating parts about raging tumescence and disintegrating virginal barriers otherwise known as land of frankness and euphemisms. We won't be discussing weeping fluids, honey, dew, or the elixir of love. We're doing this American and bypassing all foreplay and going straight for the mechanics of making love/having sex.

Word choice says it all; how an author is feeling about their characters, what the characters are feeling, and what the readers will get from experiencing the passion vicariously. Compelling vocabulary attracts the reader and continued use keeps them involved while the use of bizarre or crass diction yanks readers out of the zone so fast it'll make the ink fly right off the page. Not good! How do you prevent that? Application of the appropriate kind of words! Well... that and variety! This is why I urge writers to make lists.

I've compiled my own list of terms and presented them here for the express purposes of sharing and expansion. Below you'll find a series of alphabetized words used in describing the physical movements and actions of mating by both men and women in literary sex. For the purpose of this list they are all presented in present participle form or aka the verb coupled with an ing. Of course in practical application they will have to be conjugated to the right tense.

Thrusting

• Breaching
• Burying
• Driving
• Easing
• Entering
• Feeding
• Filling
• Fitting
• Flexing
• Forcing
• Fucking
• Gliding
• Impaling
• Invading
• Joining
• Lunging
• Mating
• Mounting
• Moving
• Nudging
• Parting
• Penetrating
• Piercing
• Pinning
• Plowing
• Plunging
• Pressing
• Probing
• Prodding
• Pumping
• Punctuating
• Puncturing
• Pushing
• Ramming
• Riding
• Rocking
• Rooting
• Rutting
• Seeking
• Settling
• Shoving
• Sinking
• Slamming
• Sliding
• Slipping
• Spearing
• Stretching
• Stroking
• Stuffing
• Teasing
• Twitching
• Undulating
• Working

Opening

• Absorbing
• Accepting
• Arching
• Blooming
• Blossoming
• Clamping
• Clasping
• Clenching
• Clinging
• Clutching
• Contracting
• Cradling
• Drawing
• Enclosing
• Engulfing
• Enveloping
• Flowering
• Gathering
• Grasping
• Grinding
• Gripping
• Guiding
• Holding
• Hugging
• Inviting
• Keeping
• Locking
• Melding
• Melting
• Milking
• Molding
• Parting
• Pressing
• Pulling
• Pulsing
• Quivering
• Reaching
• Receiving
• Robbing
• Seeking
• Squeezing
• Taking
• Throbbing
• Trembling
• Tugging
• Urging
• Widening
• Wrapping
• Yielding

While this list is fairly comprehensive, it is by no means complete. That said, what words would you add? What have you come across on your own reading and writing adventures?

Photo Credits: 1

Originally posted 2009-03-17 05:41:38. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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