Revised and updated from a
workshop I did several years ago, this post is all about using your characters
to make your love scenes unique and intricate to your story. It has been posted
in several parts over the last few months. If you’re a writer, this may help
inspire you to write some of the most difficult scenes in your book: your
sensual encounters. If you’re a reader, you will get lots of sneak peeks into
the Relics of Merlin series, which is being re-released by Sourcebooks over the
next few years.
The Relics of Merlin series
of books are whimsical romances set in a magical Victorian London of sexy
shape-shifters, enchanted tea, wicked spells and loose corsets. Since I’ll be
using excerpts from several of the books in the series, I thought it might be
helpful to have a quick overview of each:
Enchanting the Lady: In a world where magic rules everything, two
misfits--Felicity Seymore, a Victorian beauty unable to perform even the
simplest spell, and Sir Terence Blackwell, a were-lion searching for Merlin's
relics--form a passionate alliance.
Double Enchantment: When Lady Jasmina accidentally creates a
double of herself using a relic, the mix-up brings her real self into a
compromising position with sexy were-stallion, Sir Sterling Thorn.
Enchanting the Beast: In the third book of the Relics of Merlin series,
ghost-hunter Philomena Radcliff comes to Grimspell castle to rid the residence
of spirits, but she finds most haunting of all a reclusive were-wolf suspected
of murder.
Everlasting Enchantment: In this brand-new fourth book, Sir Gareth
Solimere has been trapped inside of one of Merlin’s relics for centuries, and
only true love will set him free. But when were-panther Lady Millicent Pantere
steals the relic, will she be his salvation or his doom?
So why am I doing a post on
(gasp) sex scenes? Because several friends of mine said it was the hardest
thing for them to write. Since they are my favorite part of the book to write,
I thought I’d share how I do it and hopefully it will be helpful to others.
Since I always seem to learn better by example, I’ll be giving examples from
all my books to show how my love scenes are a development of my characters,
plot and setting. I’m sure there are many other ways to develop a love scene,
so let this be an inspiration and not a rule. If you’ve read any of my other
posts on writing, you know my favorite motto is: there are no rules in writing,
just guidelines.
(Read my previous posts on
this subject by searching for the title in the LABELS or CATEGORIES in the far
right sidebar.)
FOUR: USING YOUR CHARACTERS’
PERSONALITIES
Or you might want to think of
this as: why your characters are perfect for each other. What personality traits complement each
other? Your character’s flaws, strengths, goals and motivation all combine to
create a unique personality. Let the character’s personality add depth to your
love scene and lead you into even more romantic encounters. The following example on using your
character’s personality is from Enchanting the Beast:
“But
then I realized,” she mumbled, her eyes watching his every move, “that it
wasn’t your predatory nature itself that fascinated me so much, as it was…”
Nico
couldn’t resist the temptation any longer.
His hands curved around and under her breasts and he gave them a gentle
squeeze. Her breasts were heavy and full
in his hands, so very perfect. He
lowered his mouth and kissed the top where the cloth had exposed the skin. His shaft had been hard for some time but now
his trousers felt as if they nearly strangled him.
Nico
dropped her breasts long enough to yank on the flimsy gown, exposing her
hardened, dark nipples. Before she could
finish her gasp of surprise he had his hands under her breasts again, lifting
them and burying his face in all of that soft, sweet flesh.
“Ah,
Nico,” she groaned, her hands weaving through his hair. She raked her fingers back from his temples
and he yielded his feast to look into her eyes.
“Don’t you see? It’s not your
nature that fascinates me. I…I cannot resist
the lure of taming your beast.”
Nico
grinned, more wolfishly than he’d intended.
“It’s not possible, lady.”
Nico is a were-wolf, who is
struggling with the predatory nature of his beast. Philomena is an older woman (a ghost-hunter
by trade) who has the ability to tame him. Their personalities led to a full
chapter love scene, the longest I’ve ever written. But the moment Phil calms him, Nico’s
beast-nature surfaces again. So they went back and forth between their two
personalities during a romantic encounter, until Philomena finally won.:}
Consider both your hero and
heroine. What facets of their
personalities make them perfect for each other?
What parts clash, and need to be resolved (or compromised on) before
they can have their happily-ever-after?
Let that lead you to write their first love scene, where their conflicts
are revealed. Can you resolve some of
them in that first scene? Reveal how
their strengths and weaknesses compliment each other and maybe hint how this
will help resolve their conflicts. Then
consider their next love scene and the next, until they’ve finally resolved all
of their issues and they have revealed enough of their personalities to each
other that they can appreciate how perfect they are for each other.
Until Next Time,
Kathryne
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