Above the waist, it's all right for men to have nipples and women to have breasts, but when you get lower than the navel, the women have depths of passion and the men have hidden fires or surges of passion. However, some lines are more explicit.
Keep in mind though, that in a romance novel each person has to respect the other or the deal's off.
How to get in the mood to write a good sex scene? Wear a sexy nightgown, or if you're a man, wear a pair of satin pajamas. Light scented candles. Move your computer in front of the fireplace or pour a glass of champagne and sip it slowly. Whatever works for you. What will visitors think of your wearing a nightgown or satin pajamas in the middle of the afternoon? What if your partner gets ideas? "Frankly, all you need to be able to write a good love scene is to enjoy making love yourself. Any good romance writer is a romantic and knows that's one of the best things in life. It should come pretty automatically," Joyce Thies, a romance author says. Who am I go argue?
HOW do I learn? You ask.
Begin by looking at the Title Page of romance novels that interest you. Write the title, the author, publisher, date of publication, name of the specific romance line, type of romance it is. When you read romances the first time you probably won't pay too much attention to structure. You read because they interested you. Go back and ask yourself these questions: Did they hold my attention? Or did they drag in places? What part of each novel interested you the most? Was it background? Characters? Plot? The style of writing? Did you find anything outstanding about the author's works? Sensuous style? Exotic background? What abut the dialogue? What will you remember about these novels? Did they evoke an emotional response from you? Did they make you cry? Laugh? Get angry? Did you like the main characters? Maybe you fell in love with the heroes. Or, if you're a man, maybe you fell in love with the heroines? Did the authors arouse sensual reactions in you? How would you grade these novels on a scale of one to ten, and, more important of all, would you read these authors again? Characterization is extremely important in romance fiction: in chapter one of the books you're analyzing write the heroine's name, her age, her profession, her position in that profession, her dominant character traits, and a brief physical description. Write a paragraph describing everything you know about her background, her family, her education and any special experiences she may have had.
Write a paragraph about what you know about her psychologically and emotionally. Do the same for your hero. Allow less space for your secondary characters, perhaps a paragraph each.
Now for the Plot: Write out what happens in the first chapter of each novel and each subsequent chapters. Record all physical action in chapter one. What did they do? What did they say? Did they give each other certain information about themselves? Write out the events as they happen. Now, return to the same chapter one. What happened to their emotions? How did they feel about each other as chapter one opens? What about conflict and complications?
In romance fiction there is always strong feelings of ambivalence when the two leading characters meet. They are physically attracted to each other but have strong doubts about each other. There is misunderstanding, often on both sides. This is further compounded when the leading characters are of different cultures and/or nationalities.
Uncertainty between them is a must in the plot of every romance novel. It is the misunderstanding in the beginning that gives rise to complications after complication as the story unfolds. Each further misunderstanding helps to heighten emotional conflict between them. Based on what you know about the books you are analyzing: What things happen to keep the lovers apart and cause their misunderstanding? List the external complications. These complications can evolve from differences of opinions on issues important to each character. Next, list the inner conflicts that keep them apart. To get a better understanding of the heroine's inner conflict, go back to your novels. Underline in red every phrase that shows the heroine's
physical and emotional attraction to the hero. Underline in another color, each phrase that shows her negative feelings toward the hero, whether it's doubt, suspicion, fear or anger.
That is what makes a romance novel work: the heroine's push and pull click click feelings.
Now to the Setting. Describe the setting. How does it add to the sensuality of the story? Was it accurate? Was it romantic by nature? How did the authors accomplish this? Try to imagine what sources the authors used to gather information about the setting. Your own sources, by the way, can be travel agents, chambers of commerce, librarians, magazines, pals, videos or the Internet. (There's Google World).
What are the heroes attitudes toward the heroines professions, if any? And vice versa? More and more, and especially in love scenes, we have both points of view. If there was a change in points of view, what were the authors reasons? Were the books you are analyzing written in multiple points of view? Were the stories told through the thoughts of several characters? Did they confuse you?
How sensuous were these novels? Did the authors make use of all five senses? Were the authors vocabulary rich enough in words to make you feel sensuous? Go back and circle the words that created the sensual moods of the stories. Make a list of the words and phrases, then make a list of words you would have used. By doing this list you will increase your awareness of sense imagery. For example, how would you describe a potential heroine's beautiful hair? Now to the sex scenes in these novels: How explicit were they? How early did they touch? How soon did they kiss? Were the sexual acts consummated? How many times? How many pages were allotted to each sex or love scene? How were they? Tender? Gentle? Passionate? Somewhat explicit? Very explicit? Did you enjoy them or did they turn you off? Were they in good taste?
As briefly as you can, write the plot of the novels you have analyzed. In a synopsis you tell how the novel begins, describe the major problem that keep the lovers apart and what exactly happened to resole the problem. Then tell how the novel ends. You will find that writing a short, informative synopsis very useful when you write your own romance novel.
Once you have the category you wish to write for, study it carefully by reading several novels and analyzing them. The best thing you can do for yourself is to know your market.
I write contemporary romance, romantic intrigue, historical and multi-generational sagas.
Good luck with your career as a romance fiction writer.
