On Writing Romance_ How to Craft a Novel That Sells - Leigh Michaels [82]
An alternative is to delay the second lovemaking scene. Sometimes after the hero and heroine make love once, they have good reason not to repeat the experience, and this too can increase the sexual tension. Because they know what making love together is like, their desire is piqued and the readers' interest level is even higher.
In her single title You've Got Male, Elizabeth Bevarly's heroine attempts to entrap the villain through online sex, but she and her partner in the investigation lose control and make love. Then they have to deal with what's happened:
"We should talk about that," she said. "... about what happened between you and me last night."
"We had sex," he said flatly. ...
"And that's all it was," she said emphatically. ... "It won't happen again."...
That remark seemed not to surprise him at all. It also seemed to piss him off. Not that she cared.
Nevertheless he sounded agreeable enough. ... "Sounds like we're both on the same page then. Let's get to work."
Gee, Avery thought, it was just so great when two people could talk like grownups and get right to the heart of a matter. ...
Because their lovemaking was unforeseen and unprofessional, and a repetition would interfere with their investigation, this couple has an excellent reason for calling a halt to further intimacies. Does she really think it's wonderful? Is he really agreeable? Of course not—and every time they look at each other for the rest of the book, they (and the readers) will remember that night.
The Satisfying Love Scene
Love scenes are most effective when they build in intensity from the start of the book to the end. If your romance novel will contain several consummated love scenes (as erotica and short contemporary category romances often do), the first one should not be the most exotic, the most titillating, the most intense. When you plan the first love scene, think about where you're going to go from that point in order to build the emotional intensity between the couple—and for the readers. Save some of the good stuff for later.
No matter how sweet or spicy the level of sexuality in the story, the most important factor in a love scene is the emotions experienced by the lovers. It isn't who puts which hand where, it's how their feelings—and those of the readers—are touched. The goal of the love scene is to make the readers feel good, warm, and cherished.
That can best be done by using sensual language—words and images that evoke the readers' five senses. Sight, scent, sound, taste, and touch are all important and can be used to great effect.
Avoid euphemisms (his throbbing shaft or her womanly fullness) and clinical descriptions (it's hard to make words like cervix and scrotum sound romantic).
The very best love scenes aren't expressed in generic images of fire or lightning but in terms and images appropriate to each character's outlook, mindset, and past experience—even his hobbies or job. A gymnast will think in physical images, while a chef may compare lovemaking to food.
In her chick-lit novella Return to Sender, Lisa Cach uses all five senses to create an effective seduction scene:
Ten minutes later a fire was crackling happily, sending heat and an amber glow into the room. He found the sound system, tuned the radio to a station playing Christmas carols, and turned the volume down low. The first flutter of a nervous tremor went through me as he then started turning off all the lights in the room. He left a single dim table lamp lit in the corner, then ignored the vacant rocking chair and sat down beside me, his weight making the cheap futon creak, his body beside me large