Some readers like it hot, while others like their books sweet or steamy. What’s your preference? Please be aware that sex-related language is used in this piece.

 

Despite the title of my new book, A Little Bit of Lust, writing love scenes is more about the feels and less about lust.

Here are the first two sentences from an early chapter in A Little Bit of Lust. The main characters, Lucy and Deon, take a trip to the beach. Their friendly relationship changes that afternoon. No, this isn’t a spoiler since this tidbit is in the blurb for the book.

 

 It wasn’t easy kissing his best friend. Well, not true. Once they made it up the sidewalk and through the door, him fumbling with the key, it was easy, way too easy.

 

Writing smooching scenes is part of the job of the writer ‘cause someone’s gotta do it. If I know my characters well, writing sex scenes comes naturally as a logical progression of the relationship.

Everyone’s idea of what is appealing in a love scene differs. When I’m writing a smoochy scene that’s early in the book, it’s all about the characters discovering each other, from their individual scent to the texture of their skin. How? Going slowly, moaning, lots of kissing and…talking. A few soft words. Inner thoughts from the point of view character go a long way to setting the mood while the lovers  warm up to one another.

The couple are connecting and dialog, brief bits of banter, teasing, and even a few questions, add to the fun. Sexy scenes can be playful. They can be fun and gentle. A drawn out smoochy scene with agonizingly slow undressing is a way to show the emotional connection between characters.

As a reader, I’m open to all kinds of love scenes, from playful to serious, from silly to steamy. As a writer, steamy is a new thing for me. So far, my sex scenes are door ajar, so when the characters get heated, the door swings shut and the reader imagines the rest.

But I’m working on a book that takes place in Crete, the largest island in Greece, where I lived for eleven years. My heroine, a widow, rediscovers love and sex, although not in that order. I’ve left the door ajar after a long buildup to the major sex scene. No buzz words and no specific naming of moving parts, by the way. I craft the sex scene with innuendo. Words like “panties” and “wet” go a long way.

Sometimes, the perception of “steamy” depends on that reader’s experience. When my first book, Middle Ageish, came out, one reader told me she thought my sex scenes were “pretty hot.” This surprised me because the love scenes are closed door. Perhaps my closed door was her door ajar.

Foreshadowing of a sex scene can go on for pages before the couple ever embrace. That’s emotion and perhaps a little banter at its best. Here’s a brief example where the characters, Lucy and Deon, are dancing to a band at their favorite hangout.

 

“I haven’t felt like singing for a while anyway.” Deon turned Lucy gently and pulled her in again, sang along with Elvis about rivers flowing and fools rushing. “I am annoying you, aren’t I?”

“Not at all.” Dancing with Deon was… intimate. Lucy lifted her head. His lips were six inches away, full lips.

“You have Elvis lips,” she said and put her head back down on his chest.

 

The reader gets the hint from this short teaser that Lucy and Deon will connect in a more intimate way later on in the story.

If the feels shine through and the characters connect with each other, I’m doing my job as a writer.

Diana Gabaldon, who knows a thing or two about writing sex scenes, says, “Where most beginning writers screw up (you should pardon the expression) is in thinking that sex scenes are about sex. A good sex scene is about the exchange of emotions, not bodily fluids.”

I agree. And I’m open to a variety of love scenes in my reads.

What do you think?

Please post a comment. Are you a sweetie when it comes to love scenes or do you like them steamy?

Anyone interested in more of author Diana Gabaldon’s wisdom on the subject may like to read her excellent book, I Give You My Body, How I Write Sex Scenes. I’d also recommend her Outlander series, but you’re probably well aware of it already.

 

 

Photo by Toa Heftier