Consider the following:- What is my genre? - Who are my readers and what are their expectations? - Is sex necessary to my story (plot or character development? - What do my characters want? - Is there a different method I can use to include sex? What is Sex?Sex is made up of many different actions, exhibits many different feelings, and can mean different things to a person. Here are some ideas of what sex can be to your character: - A fun activity between consenting adults that feels good - An expression of love - A basic human need - A way to relieve stress - A part of life - To make babies - An addiction - A tool for blackmail or payment - An occupation Any of these above reasons may be why your character has sex. Characters Like with other aspects of your story, you need to consider what your character wants. Does your character want sex? Does your character like sex? What would your character do if the opportunity arose to have sex? Why wouldn't your character have sex? - No opportunity. - Too busy saving the world. - Society expectations. This is more likely in historical novels - Religious beliefs. Your character may be saving themselves for marriage. - Biological impairment. There are a few medical reasons why characters find it difficult to have sex. - Emotional trauma. Best example of this is overcoming abuse or rape. So when would you include sex in your book? - At the heightened sexual tension point in a romance novel. Readers keep reading until this tension is finally broken, but make sure you continue to maintain tension throughout the rest of the book. - To show affection between partners. If you're not writing romance and your character is married, you may indicate in some way that they'd have sex. - Express the basic human needs of a character. If your character's single, but not seeking romance, they could hook up with someone just to scratch an itch. - During the development of a loving relationship. When writing romance where you break the sexual tension early, sex can develop the relationship. - Foreshadowing a pregnancy. Obviously, if you want to impregnate a character, it's a good idea to show that they've at least had sex. Whether you talk about it in backstory or have the characters hook up for no apparent reason ... until she discovers she's pregnant and your readers go 'ahhh'. Types of Sex ScenesDoes sex need to be written into the action? Of course not. The type of sex scene you use will be based on your genre. So consider which of the following you think will be most suitable for your book. Active Scene This scene shows sex from start to finish and includes initiating the action, foreplay, actual intercourse (or other) and maybe what happens afterwards. This is what romance writers call 'open bedroom door'. These scenes are more common in romance or romantic elements, but can easily be used across all genres. Passive Scene A passive scene will initiate the action. Hopefully, it might also include what happens after sex. But it won't involve the actual act. This is what romance writers call 'closed bedroom door'. Passive scenes will be more common in sweet romance novels or other genres where you don't want to write the actual sex scene (crime, fantasy, etc). Infer Sex Scene Sex doesn't have to be in the action. You can easily infer that your character has had sex. These scenes can be as simple as your character waking up with their partner asleep naked on the ruffled sheets. Inferring sex scenes can be used across all genres. Interrupted Sex Scene This is a great tool. Whether or not your characters have sex later doesn't matter. Often in romance there may be an interrupted scene before an active scene. These scenes are exactly as they sound - the characters are about to get it on, but something stops them before the action, and the tension continues to build. These scenes can be used across all genres. Number of Sex Scenes Of course, this is dictated by genre and what is appropriate. Don't simply fall into a sex scene now and then, use your scenes to create tension, reveal character, and advance the plot. Don't skimp on the sex if your novel calls for it, like in erotic or hot romance, but if you're writing crime and your character is having sex every couple of chapters for no apparent reason, your reader isn't going to be happy. Sweet romance or novels that aren't romance may only have one or two sex scenes. Language and Dialogue Before you write your dialogue, you need to decide what language your character uses. Again, this comes back to your genre and characterisation. Dialogue Sex talk can be romantic, erotic, or humorous. Ask yourself the following: - What's the aim of your scene? - How can dialogue before, during, and after sex affect the characters and plot? Are they tired? Hyped? Satisfied? Unsatisfied? - Consider the differences between males and females. Language Word choices are based on genre and characters. Ask yourself: - What does the character call sex? Making love? Having sex? Getting laid? Something a little more vulgar? - Consider the difference between male and female terms. - Is there language different inside and outside the bedroom? - If they're crude in every day life, they may also be crude in the bedroom. - Do you have a well mannered reserved person in public, but they turn dirty once the bedroom door is closed? Body Parts What do your characters call their body parts? What do they call their partner's body parts? Consider the following: - Genre/subgenre: cleaner romance/fiction will steer clear of specific words and focus more on simple descriptive words. - Characteristics: a well-spoken or highly dignified lady may not use erotic terms ... or she may surprise her partner and do. - The gender of your character: a female character is less likely to use the word 'tits' and may steer more towards 'boobs' or 'breasts'. Whereas a male character is more likely to use 'tits'. - Reader expectations: this links to subgenre and character characteristics. Types of Sex Scenes: - Love scene - A quickie - An old married couple who are doing it cos it's Tuesday night Sex scenes MUST draw on emotions, feelings, and what's happening inside the character, whether they're making love or having a quickie. Character Dynamics The relationship between your characters is important. Consider: - Are they compatible? - Do they want a relationship? - Is their attraction realistic? - Has their attraction been demonstrated before that kiss or sex scene? - How are the characters affected or changed by sex? You MUST use sex to advance the plot, increase tension, develop characters, or create conflict. The scene MUST do something more than just be sex. Sex in Books TodayConsent - This is a BIG issue in books and the world today. - Consider the actions of your character when they approach another for sex. - All parties MUST want to have sex. DON'T let your characters talk others into it, make them feel like they must have sex, or show in any way that a character doesn't particularly want to have sex. Safe Sex It's not hard for a man to put a condom on, even in a highly passionate love scene. All it takes is 'he took a moment to get ready and then...' Remember, books are a reflection upon the world and unless there's a reason your characters aren't going to practice safe sex, then you should consider showing that they do. Realism You may want to consider real life when writing your scenes. Do you lie in bed and snuggle? Do you change sheets? What about girls peeing to prevent UTIs? These things generally aren't in books and you may not put them in, but these considerations are appearing a lot more in books. On occasion, you may want to consider throwing some of these realistic aspects into your novel. Thank you for visiting. The next Popular Fiction Writing Workshop will be 'Anatomy of a Crime Novel'. Until then, Rachel AuthorRachel is an aspiring author of romance fiction who generally writes open door scenes. She facilitates the Popular Fiction Writers Group at the Townsville Writers and Publishers Centre. Rachel gathered this information for the Popular Fiction Writers who wanted to learn more about writing sex into their novels.
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