Saturday, September 29, 2007

Let's talk about sex!

I've just finished a rather steamy love scene in the book I'm working on, and I was wondering how people feel about sex in their books.

My own thoughts are that it's ok as long as it's not just put their for thrills. If it actually moves the plot along develops character, then I think it can be a good thing. Other thoughts?

The scene I just finished does let us learn a little more about one of the characters, and we get into her mind a bit as her lover sleeps. Of course, the scene could also be seen as gratuitous because the lovers are both women...and let's face it, this will appeal to most male SF readers...

4 comments:

Keith said...

I tried to write romance once and it was a dismal failure. I borrowed one of those books on how to write a romance novel and it seemed way too complicated. There are all of these rules about what words you can use and what level of description is appropriate for all the different kinds of romance stories.

It is much harder to satisfy a woman on paper than it is in person. I gave some of my attempts to a friend to read and she just started laughing. She gave me a hug and told me to stick with Science Fiction.

Cellophane Queen said...

Depending on the level of description, I'll a) read it through, b) skim over or c) quit reading the book.

I think my c) level hits when I see too many c*** words or too many euphemisms.

Anonymous said...

I kind of agree with Keith on this one. It's one way to answer the romantic question. I think the Romantic question can still be answered without sex scenes. Just watch Casablanca. I also think sex scenes make the story tacky.

J Alan Erwine said...

I wouldn't really say that what I wrote is a sex scene. It's more of a love scene. There's some foreplay, a lot of internal thought from one of the characters, and then it becomes clear what's going to happen, and the scene ends. I also don't think people need a lot of details...that's why we have imaginations.

Marva-I don't think I could have a character use the "C" word. I won't use it, and it would be very hard for me to come up with a reason why a character really needs to use it.