Thursday, February 9, 2012

WRITING TIP: MY OWN LOVE SCENES MAKE ME BLUSH!

By Suleikha Snyder


Honestly, writing a good, sensual (and spicy!) love scene is the bane of my literary existence. All those limbs flailing around and body parts interlocking and things getting all hot and wet and throbbing... it's definitely provides a challenge! I always feel awkward and ill-equipped, and sometimes I can't even go back and read love scenes after I've finished them. Yes, my own love scenes make ME blush!

So how do I keep from shying away while writing the nitty-gritty naughtiness? Well, I really try to get into my characters' heads and empathize with how badly they want each other. Is it angry sex? Is it reunion sex? Are they sad, wistful, longing? I try to imagine the urgency, the emotional build-up, and have it culminate in a passionate clinch...or perhaps just the barest, lightest, touch. I let my hero and heroine (or hero and hero) dictate how far they want to go. I focus on what their hands are doing and how they look at each other. And when it comes to gettin' down to the actual business, sometimes I'll put on a sexy song like Paula Cole's "Feelin' Love" or Sarah Fimm's "Be Like Water" and just let my characters take over!



Suleikha Snyder is the author of SPICE AND SMOKE (Samhain), HEART MURMURS (The Wild Rose Press) and “Surrender with a Twist” in SUITE ENCOUNTERS (Cleis Press). Learn more about her at http://suleikhasnyder.blogspot.com/, http://www.facebook.com/suleikhasnyder and http://twitter.com/suleikhasnyder.

3 comments:

  1. Sounds like good advice! I agree, the emotions are a lot more important, and hotter, than the logistics on whose hands are where. :)

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  2. The only pitfall with focusing on emotions rather than logistics is often forgetting to do things like undress the characters! ;-).

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