Bear with me on this one, because its definitely not what you're thinking about. Well maybe it is, but get your mind out of the gutter for just a few minutes.
I was perusing one of the many blogs I have bookmarked/listed on my profile, called "Rule of Three", when I came across a very interesting post called "Sexual Tension". In it, it basically describe how tough it is to write it and what kind of fine line you have to tread in the process.
I basically agree with the writer of the post, plus the commenters as well, that it's a very fine line in writing sex scenes. To be honest with everyone here, most (if not all) of my writing, has varying degrees of sexual content in them. It's what I'm most comfortable in writing, and I feel it's the easiest thing for me to write, besides dialogue. Go into too much detail, and you'll find yourself losing a good chunk of your reading audience, unless writing erotica is your bag. Too little, and you could lose a smaller chunk, unless writing family values/Christian books is your bag.
The only thing that I would beg to differ about, is that is should always move the plot along. I don't think that is an absolute hard and fast rule. I have written instances in which it does absolutely nothing to move the plot along, only acting as a very brief interruption to the moment. I think it completely depends on the situation you're writing about, whether or not the scene should move the plot along.
What is your take on this? In the type of genre you write/read, do you prefer one end of the spectrum to the other? Or do you fall somewhere in between? Do you think its an absolute that any kind of sexual scene, no matter how intense or mild, should move the plot along? Or do you find a shade of gray within this absolute?
I truly would like to know what your views are. I think it could help me greatly in what I write and how I write, in what the preference is out there. I'm trying to find the proper niche for myself and my writing, and this will go a long way in determining what road I should travel.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
2 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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That's an interesting question! To me, a sex has to perform some sort of function for the book. You can't have your characters dropping trow every time the tension gets going. I think a sex scene should be written for character development purposes (I know that sounds terrible!!). Sexual tension is used to build their relationship to a breaking point, and sex IS that breaking point. I guess what I am trying to say is, yes, I think the sex scene needs to mean something and needs to be a part of the plot line, although with a well placed sex-scene, that plot or character development will not be blaringly obvious.
ReplyDeleteJust my two cents. A great post!! It really got me thinking!!
Actually, it doesn't sound terrible at all.
ReplyDeleteI personally find its incredibly tough to write a sex scene that moves the plot along.
It's very much a learning curve (no pun intended) for me as a writer.
Thanks for comment, it has got me thinking.