How to Write Sex Scenes

by admin on January 26, 2012

No, this is not an X-rated course on how to write erotica or porn. This is a brief article to address the question posed by a commentator last week about how to write sex scenes.

Writing a sex scene is no different than writing any other scene. Every scene must answer one or more questions:

Who is this scene about?

What does this person want? Why does she want it?

Who or what is stopping this person from getting what she wants?

How does this person attempt to get what she wants? Is she successful or not?

Let’s say you are writing a romantic story about a single-woman who has not had sex in a while and her girlfriends are starting to call her a prude. She doesn’t want to be known as a prude among her girlfriends and she doesn’t want to spend any more time wondering if she will find someone suitable as a boyfriend before she does have sex. Her goal is to have sex with the first eligible man available. After a series of mishaps and misadventures, she finally meets an eligible man at a party and invites him back to her place where the sex scene will take place.

How this woman will seduce the eligible man and how the eligible man responds to her attempts at seduction will be revealed through choices made by each character. The scene will build from action and reaction. Let’s say this single-woman is an ambitious career-woman who is used to taking charge of the board room but becomes timid and inhibited in the bedroom (that’s her history from what’s already been shown in previous chapters). In order for her to achieve her goal, she will have to bring some of her take-charge ambition into the bedroom. That’s how the sex scene will start. It can be a bit awkward and clumsy for the woman to act out of character, but she’s motivated by her desire to achieve her goal and she has a history of success with these same traits in other situations.

How the sex scene progresses depends on how the eligible man responds to the take-charge ambition of the woman in the bedroom. Is he a timid man in the work force but a social charmer used to getting what he wants on his own terms? If he is, he might not respond favorably to the timid-turned-aggressive woman. He might want to slow things down and turn them around so that he’s in charge. Or he might decide based on feelings or attraction to let her lead the way. Regardless of what he decides, there will be tension in the scene between these two characters when their personalities, needs, and wants come together. Things can get really interesting.

How general or explicit should you be when writing a sex scene? It depends on the story. There is no right or wrong answer. When in doubt, consider your audience. A reader of hot romance isn’t going to be satisfied with a demure lovemaking scene, but neither is a general reader going to be thrilled by an erotic blow-by-blow description.

In the end, a successful sex scene will involve high tension, high stakes, and high drama just like any other scene in a good story.

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Blogging between Books

by admin on January 20, 2012

Mechanics of Writing

I find it difficult to blog while in the midst of writing (or editing) a novel. When I am writing poems, articles, or short stories, it’s easier to pen a blog. But the immersion and concentration needed to write and edit a novel leave me absolutely no time or motivation or inspiration to blog on a regular basis. But my publicist nags me to do it. He says it is the hallmark of marketing nowadays. It is a way for an author to keep in touch with her readers and expand her audience while waiting for the next release.

But I do not want to bore readers with the mundane tasks of writing. Why talk about the repetitive reading and rereading of passages or the outlining and structuring needed to be done to create a narrative flow? It’s a lot like trying to write about building a car for the average consumer. Why would the driver need to know how a piston works when he only cares about the horsepower?

But my publicist insists some people do want to know about the behind-the-scenes of writing and the writing life.

If you are one of those people, please let a post and let me know what you are interested in knowing. And I will make sure to address it in a future blog.

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Comic Book Thief

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My daughter came home today in tears. “Connor accused me of stealing his comic book!” she said. Then, in dramatic action complete with stage props, she began to reenact the comic book thief mystery. I watched, partly amused, partly horrified, that my daughter had to prove her innocence to her friend. The book had been [...]

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Necessary Research

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Stephen King confesses to hating research. I don’t blame him. As a journalist, I understand how tedious and grueling it can be. I also know how necessary it is. Some people mistakenly believe you do not have to do any research when writing fiction. Fiction, however, requires just as much research as nonfiction. The information, [...]

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Hearing God’s Voice

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A Mystic Thriller for Those Who Prefer Character-Driven Plots

December 11, 2011

Bangkok Tattoo by John Burdett My rating: 5 of 5 stars I normally do not read mysteries or thrillers, but this book captivated me with its devoutly Buddhist narrator and the juxtaposition of sex, drugs, murder, and underworld crime that spans two continents. A great book for anyone who wants to read an action adventure [...]

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Christmas All Year Round

December 5, 2011

Our family spent the weekend decorating for the holiday season. On Saturday, my husband set up the Christmas tree. The children and I took turns hanging ornaments from the branches. On Sunday, we decorated the outside of the house. While wrapping a strand of lights around the fence, my husband encountered a tangle. He shook [...]

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Beauty Matters

November 28, 2011

Why would an intelligent and talented human being read Glamour or GQ magazine? Because looks matter, regardless of whether we want to admit it or not. From the beginning of time to today, human beings care about beauty. Beauty speaks volumes about an individual before that individual even speaks. In a recent study by Nancy [...]

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By Popular Request…

November 16, 2011

I’ve had a few requests from readers who missed the live performance of “Java Jive” at Copperfield’s Books last month to reprint the short story online.  While I cannot reprint it, I can provide the link where it is located on The Bohemian’s website: 2011 Java Jive Winners And for those of you who like [...]

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