Continuing on a theme from Monday, I thought I would touch upon that emotion that seems to be such an integral part of my writing these days.
Love.
Not just the traditional kind of love that makes a good story (and one that I certainly can't write very well), but the many facets of love that can bring an added depth and dimension to a story that otherwise would remain pedestrian (at least for me anyways).
As most of you have discovered over the past year and a half, mostly at FGS, I don't use the emotion of love in the traditional sense of the word. In fact,except for one story where I had the main character get dumped by his girlfriend for another girl (and that was clean as all get out), everything I write contains a healthy hybrid of love and sex.
Over the past year and a half, I've run the gamut on how I've used love and it's oh-so-hot sister sex in my writings. It has ranged from the very mild (like the aforementioned short story) to the hardcore (like my recently completed Line 21) and everything in between.
For the most part though, I have seemed to find my comfort zone with my characters using love and/or sex strictly as a tool of control.
'Course it took me a very long time to achieve that comfort zone, simply because early on I hadn't a clue on how to go about doing it. The one bad example I can give is my first self-pubbed book called Shades of Love. The lead female character uses her body, sex and love as a weapon, although it was poorly executed on my part.
A better example would be my second book, Betrayed!. Even though it doesn't have the same sledgehammer approach of the first (but its still action packed just the same), you can tell that the female lead kept her husband on a short leash by using her love and body as a tool of control.
By the time 2010 rolled around, I was able to achieve a greater mix of the spectrum that is love. I originally started working on that mix in earnest back in the fall of '09 with my second incomplete novel, A Lascivious Limbo, in which the lead character was able to influence the course of events with her love and her body, specifically how much or how little she chose to put out.
I'm skipping Line 21 because this was mostly a transitional story. The main focus of the story was a week in the life of the main character, with the other plot lines not really about her giving a lot or giving a little of that particular emotion.
The story I'm currently working on now, Dandelion Tears, is where I'm starting to hit my stride with the issue of control. One of the main leads has been pretty much able to keep her husband under control simply by using her love and her sex in varying degrees of potency.
In addition to the usual hardcore sex scene (not like in Line 21), I've been able to weave in a few lighter versions, where although the sex isn't as overt, its still being used, only with a subtlety that can leave something to the imagination.
I would like to close out this post with a particular scene that I think gets the point across without applying a sledgehammer. Let me know what you think.
Oh, and to give you a point of reference to work with: Melanie's enemy from her days at the pod has sent out an advance party to soften her up so as to kidnap her husband, which is the current topic of choice in this particular excerpt.
Excerpt from Dandelion Tears
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
9 comments:
Go on, give me your best shot. I can take it. If I couldn't, I wouldn't have created this wonderful little blog that you decided to grace with your presence today.
About that comment moderation thingy: While yes, it does say up above I can take it, I only use it to prevent the occasional miscreant from leaving thoughtless and/or clueless comments.
So remember, all of your comments are greatly appreciated and all answers will be given that personal touch that you come to expect and enjoy.
G. B. Miller
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Ah love
ReplyDeleteIt was positively beaten out of us in Ayrshire, not literally, but the theatre of cruelty that is getting a girlfriend in Scotland isn't for the faint of heart...
It's hard to write about love when you are bred to be self deprecating and cynical...probably why I can't do it...
Miles: This is true. Sometimes it becomes difficult for me as well, which is why I like to write it as a weapon of choice for both sexes to use, although for the most part, it's been the women of my story who use it as such.
ReplyDeleteWe've had this discussion...I envy you your ability to write about sex. I just can't. I'm not sure I have written directly about love, but have written stuff where characters clearly show love for each other.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely not a sledgehammer, G. I liked it a lot. A nice blend and personally I like to fill in the blanks so this suited me as your reader.
ReplyDeleteR: Thankee for the compliment.
ReplyDeleteI've always had problems writing about love in the traditional way (like you can), so the best I can do is write it like you see in the excerpt.
I've also gotten better on how to use the hardcore without sledgehammering (by sledgehammering, I mean drawing it out for anything longer than one page unless the story calls for it).
Talon: Thanks. I've gotten better as the year progressed in writing about sex/love suggestively.
It's still a long road but at least the pit stops are becoming productive with a greater degree of frequency.
I wonder sometimes if all stories aren't about love at some level. Even stories of hate,.
ReplyDeleteCharles: Sounds plausible, although I haven't come across any as of late.
ReplyDeleteBTW: started reading your book this week and so far it's been pretty impressive.
Love does seem to get tangled into every story line somehow.
ReplyDeleteKelly: Yup, both the good as well as the bad.
ReplyDeleteLove (along with hate) seems to be the driving force in about 95% of what's out there today.
It's the matter of putting your own spin on it that makes it unique.