Random Thoughts

Progress

I have to admit, when I stall out writing, it's usually one of two things. 1) either I need to take the plot back to the drawing board and rethink my strategy or 2) there's a love scene invoved.





I write romance (fantasy romance, sci-fi romance, ect) so there's usually a love scene somewhere in the pages. I hate writing them. Well, not so much the scene itself but the time and labor that goes into them. I can plot and choreograph an intense fight scene easier than I can write a love scene. There's something wrong there because I've never been in a fight in my life but I have ... welll, nuff said.





I finally figured it out yesterday when I was reading through the love scene I just finished, one for Walt and Serena. It's the emotion involved. In a fight, it's all thought and action, there's no time for angst. But sex? Sex without emotion is pointless. It's the adding the extra layer of emotion to the scene that's so very difficult to balance. It's like making love to a stranger. "Is that enough foreplay?" "Have I done enough to move my hand now?" "Dear God, I hope they like it noisy." It's disconcerting because I'm seeing it through two pairs of eyes. Yes, the scene remains in one POV but I have to know what the other character is thinking and feeling in order to present it correctly.





After this story, I think I'll take a break and write another fairy tale. All love scenes remain "off camera" so to speak which is a huge relief for me. And they're fun.