WRITE LOVE SCENES YOUR READERS WILL LOVE Alice Orr
WRITE LOVE SCENES YOUR READERS WILL LOVE Alice Orr
L o v e Scenes are Page-Turner Paydirt . Two people are strongly attracted to one another . Add powerful internal and external obstacles to their getting together . You get an equation for conflict and emotional intensity . Also , for reader engagement in any adult fiction genre .
Sexual Tension versus Sex . In some stories sexual tension is never acted upon . A scenario to be cautious about . One storytelling priority is to tell the whole truth . That truth is this . When sexual attraction arises between two contemporary adults – consummation generally occurs .
Love Scenes versus Lust Scenes . Love scenes with love – as opposed to lusty scenes without love – appeal most
widely to female readers . Female readers are the audience segment that buys the most popular fiction by far . Check out market statistics if you do not believe me .
Manuscripts with Well-Written Love Scenes are Rare . Most are badly written . Most of those are overwritten . Here is my personal worst favorite overwriting example . “ He sipped at her lips .” Visualize that . Such writing invites ridicule . This author mistakes melodrama for passion .
Underwriting can Deny the Humanity of the Lovers . My worst favorite example of underwriting happens at the most intimate moment of a scene . “ He entered her .” Is she a door ? A contract agreement ? This is way too detached and loveless for most of our readers .
Too Much can Also be Too Little . Too many physical moves are described . Whose hands are where doing what . Who is mouthing what . Be cautious once more . The effect can be clinical at best – crude at worst . Too little consideration is given to the humanity of the lovers yet again .
Tiptoe through the Titillation . Stream From Here to Eternity . The scene on the beach with Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster could have been porn but isn ’ t . They are sexy all the same . Swim there unless porn is your goal . No judgement . Just a different readership audience .
Some Authors are Uncomfortable with Sexuality . They remain distant from the scene . They observe instead of feeling . The essence of the error is the same whether their observation is overheated or dispassionate . They fail to show us the genuine emotions of their characters . Love scenes must be portrayed from inside that emotion – never distant from it .
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