What Makes a Good Love Scene?

After reading romance novels of varying types over the last 30 years, I've come across all types of love scenes. I would even venture to say that there is no perfect type or formula you can use to write a love scene. Personal preference dictates the type of romance you love best. The industry these days has everything from sweet (no love scenes) to behind closed doors (implied but not written) to written but "tame" to written explicitly to erotica which can address all sorts of predilections. And even more in between.

So my question--what makes a good love scene?--is just that. It's a question to readers and authors of romance alike. What makes a good love scene for you?

When I started adding love scenes to my books, I decided to do a little research. I went back to some of my favorite authors and tried to figure out what it was about their loves scenes that made them my favorite authors. What I came to realize was that they didn't have a formula, but they did incorporate certain elements that made things work so well.

Build the Heat

This one is probably obvious, but harder to pull off than you'd think. I had a roommate in college who was drop-dead gorgeous and guys would just throw themselves at her - without any idea of who she was as a person initially. Watching her frustration with that made me realize that I want to see relationships where the heat is not only about the initial attraction, but also a growth of that attraction. No instalove and not "just sex."

Build the Connection

Unless the story starts out with the couple already in some kind of relationship (friends, previous lovers), I prefer to see their relationship build. When they finally make love I prefer there to be a connection already started - even if it's just in the beginning phases. They've noticed each other - not just physically but things about their personalities. They like each other as people, even if they don't admit it yet.

It's my opinion that building the connection and the heat are even better when they work in tandem together. And I've seen few do that better than Lucy Monroe. Read one of her books looking for that specifically, and you'll see what I mean.

Include Something "Surprising"

I like it when some aspect about making love is surprising to one or both of them. There are multiple surprises a writer could incorporate. There's the often used virgin surprise - which I usually feel is better when he's also surprised at how much he likes the thought of being her first. There are smaller surprises. He's surprised he falls asleep in her arms. She's surprised she felt something deeper. And so on.

Make The Scene "Fit" the Couple

I find it to be a real turn off when the scene doesn't make sense to who they are as people. For example, let's say she's been established as shy and timid. The first time they make love if she's immediately a wild-cat in bed, the writer's lost me. I get that they want to establish that she's so comfortable with the male lead that she'll be herself. But having that grow and develop over several love scenes works better, in my opinion.

What About Paranormal Romance?

Love scenes can become even more unique in paranormal romance. Do you like these scenes to show the character's powers as well as their connection and heat? Think about how shifters would differ in this department versus say vampires or witches. I love it when a writer can incorporate that added element in every part of the character's lives and that includes love scenes.

As I mentioned, the above observations are what I've noticed I like as reader. Since this is what I prefer to read, it is also what I try to incorporate when I write. My success in that is TBD. These are mine. What are yours? Think about some of your favorite romance writers and what makes their love scenes so compelling.  I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Did you feel that?

This week we’re talking about scenes we like to write, dislike, and the hardest we've ever written, and why? I’m going to talk about Love.

I’ve been in love. Or have I? I thought I was--a few times. Is there a difference between thinking you’re in love, and being in love? Damn, maybe I’ve only been in love in my mind! What is the real indicator that you are in love? What defines it? A touch, a smell, a word, or a look? See where I’m going with this.

Writing about being in love is the most difficult part of writing for me!

I’ve written ménages, male/male, male/female...oh, one of those ménages started off as a female/female/male ménage. When I wrote that, no one wanted it--I still don’t know why. It was about love. Sometimes I wonder if I conveyed that well enough in the story.

When my men are together, do readers feel the love they have for their partner? Do they get the feeling I know what I’m talking about when I have my heroes or heroine fall in love? I’m not talking about physical love--that’s sex. *grin* (I like writing that!) I’m talking about the real feeling of, I-love-you-and-I-will-always-love-you-even-after-hell-freezes-over kind of I love you. I’m single, so it’s evident I haven’t felt this yet!

After all my years in this world, I can’t tell you what that kind of love is like, or what it feels like. I can tell you what I felt the first moment I thought I was in love, I can tell you what I thought at that moment. I can tell you the joy in my heart when I looked at that person. I can tell you how I glowed and got all mushy inside when that person touched me, looked at me, or complimented me.

But none of it matters, not if I can’t get that feeling, that thought, written, and written in a way everyone who reads it…

Feels like they’re in love.

…And you know I got pictures of couples who could be in love, well, it could be the other thing, you decide.

Growl and roar-it's okay to let the beast out.-© J. Hali Steele

The Scene I Love to Hate

This week’s theme is scenes in writing we really don’t like to tackle.

Annie’s was transitions. Rebecca’s was sex scenes. Both valid points. I don’t have issues with either of those, though. I love writing love scenes. They're different for each book depending on the characters and mood of the story. Transition scenes are more difficult but necessary and I do like them too :-) The type of scene I don’t like to write are the ownership scenes that come directly after a love scene.

Yeah, those. They're kinda sorta like a transition scene but with more at stake.

When I write a sex scene, it takes a lot of energy out of me. When it comes to writing that “afterglow” moment, I just want to gloss over it. I don’t care for them, because I hate to read the mushy, mushy scenes so many romance writers do. Sometimes, when two people have sex, the change in their relationship isn’t immediate and in no way do the players have a change of heart ASAP.

Yes, characters can have that “aha” moment when they know things will be different, but a writer needs to understand it’s a process and the characters need to progress naturally into the “I think I love you” stage.

That makes it tricky. A writer can make or break a book in these scenes.

Give me a fight scene, a sex scene, an action sequence any day, as long as I can avoid the “aftermath”. Sure, they’re a necessary part of the book, but they make me shiver. But, because writing is a job and a writer's responsibility is to learn every aspect of the craft, I buckle down and write them. Will I ever make peace with them? Probably. Will I love doing them? Probably not.

Have a great day.

The Hardest Part

Well, gosh darn it. Yesterday Annie Nicholas wrote a whole blog post about what I was going to write about--The Transition Scenes. The dreaded, difficult, hard to write transition scenes. But, well, okay. Since Annie did such a good job writing about how HARD they are to write (and I am trying to write one right one and it is HARD) I guess I will write about what used to be the hardest part for me--

LOVE SCENES.

Let me be clear--these days I do not have a problem writing love scenes. The love scene and I have come to terms with one another. I understand them and they understand me. But when I first started writing and I had the good luck to meet Annie Nicholas, J. Hali Steele, and Sandra Sookoo in a critique group, I had a really hard time writing love scenes.

Why you might ask, Rebecca, why on earth would you choose to write Romance Novels if you have a hard time writing love scenes? The answer: I just love Romance Novels. I love them. Love them. Love them.

So, I wrote a love scene. Maybe you've read it in Love Beyond Time. It was the first one I've ever done. And then I wrote another. And another. And another. And then eventually I wrote a true erotic book in Behind The Scenes and I realized I could write them because it had nothing to do with my own shyness or my own nerves about what members of my family would think when they read them and everything to do with my characters and their romantic moments together.

I think, today, that I can write a pretty decent love scene.

So I am hopeful that the same thing will happen with

the current hard part--the TRANSITION SCENES. But, fortunately, for me I have really good editors who help me with them.

And just because I have to mention this, I need to tell you that my book Alpha Wolf released yesterday. Has some pretty good love scenes.

So thank you Sandra Sookoo, Annie Nicholas, and J. Hali Steele for reading those early ones. I've got some transitions for you to check out.

Best

RR