The time has come. Circumstances have led your hero and heroine to a place, both emotionally and physically that they can no longer deny themselves the opportunity to be together. This is IT. Your hero and heroine are about to make love.
STOP!!
There are a few things you should know before your characters take that proverbial plunge. First off, for a love scene to sizzle, the reader has to want your characters to make love as much as they do. From the first page of your novel, you should have been leading your reader to this moment, through plot, characterization and good, old fashioned sexual tension. If you have shown your reader that this particular hero and heroine are destined for each other, she will cheer their union, both in and out of bed.
But how do you craft a love scene, make it memorable for the reader and unique to the couple you have created? As Julie Andrews sang in the classic role of Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music, let’s start at the very beginning …
Basic elements of a love scene
The three basic elements of a love scene are:
1. Place–what is their location?
2. Emotion–where are they in their relationship to one another?
3. Action–what do they do? How do they kiss, caress, respond to each other sexually.
Your goal is to blend these elements into a cohesive scene that builds on the plot, conflict, motivation and characterization that you have already established in the novel. Of these elements, emotion is the most important.
It is the glue that bonds the love scene together. How do the characters feel about coming together — particularly the first time they make love? Are they shy? insecure? brazen? driven primarily by lust or culminating a love they already acknowledge? What the characters do and where they do it is not as important as why they do it and how it changes them and their relationship afterward.
For a love scene to be ultimately fulfilling for the reader, it must point up some change in the relationship between the hero and heroine. Lovemaking should either deepen their commitment, demonstrate insecurities or incompatibilities, show shifting motivations or goals or some other purpose set up by the author. Lovemaking without purpose or goal can seem like a voyeuristic interlude to readers, rather than a logical progression of the story. You should not be able to lift the love scene from the manuscript and have the story remain essentially unchanged.
Feelings ….
As in every other part of your story, the action is filtered through the emotions of the viewpoint character. When at all possible, my preference is to depict the entire love scene in one character’s view rather than switching back and forth. The most important reason for this predilection is that it can be confusing for the reader to know exactly who is thinking and feeling what. At this most intimate moment, you want your reader to be with you every step of the way without distraction.
When crafting your love scene, don’t be afraid to show strong emotion. Don’t be afraid to show humor, either. Sex between the hero and heroine does not have to be an earnest, sober undertaking if it doesn’t fit your story. There are as many ways to approach a love scene as there are love scenes. Let your characters and your story guide you to the right mix of humor, pathos, drama and passion.
Details, details
As the saying goes — the devil is in the details. And so is the love scene. What do your characters see, hear, taste, smell, as well as touch? You want to envelop the reader in the same sensations, the same aura that ensnare your hero and heroine.
However, there is no need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to describing sexual arousal and response. Mother Nature has provided an excellent blueprint for every sexual scenario. As humans, we experience a variety of sensations when we are aroused. Adrenaline and endorphins rush through our bloodstream. We perspire, our respiration increases, our pupils dilate, internal juices flow.
During lovemaking, we gasp, we purr, we moan, groan and sigh. We move against each other in ways designed to heighten our own experience and that of our partner. We use our whole bodies, to touch, to explore, to arouse, to respond to pleasure.
Know and use natural sexual responses to heighten sensuality in your scenes.
To euphemise or not to euphemise
Which brings us to the dreaded euphemism — at least, I dread them. However, many writers do feel more comfortable using euphemisms than the less mellifluous Anglo-Saxon words for sexual body parts. However, there is the danger of slipping from the sensual into the silly. One euphemism that had me laughing until I cried was “the triangle of her femininity.” All I could picture was a musical triangle that the hero would ring with his “stick.” Not the reaction the author intended me to have, I’m sure.
My personal preference is to be as realistic as possible, describing bodily parts rather than naming them something specific. Remember, you can get a lot of mileage out of implying action rather than stating it flat out. That leaves the reader to fill in the blanks to her own satisfaction.
Above all, you must enjoy writing a love scene for your reader to enjoy it as well. Remember, romance is fantasy. Let your imagination be your guide as you navigate your characters through the most intimate experiences of their lives. But don’t be afraid to leave out anything that you feel uncomfortable writing, even if you think it’s expected. For example, don’t include oral sex if it doesn’t ring your own personal bell. Readers, like lovers, have a way of picking up on it when you’re faking.
And if all else fails, think of what you’d do if you got Denzel Washington (or the hunk of your choice) alone and willing in the confines of your boudoir. Now that’s sizzling!!
