Wednesday's Writer's Tip based on From First Draft to Finished Novel #MFRWauthor #BooksWeLove

Karen Wiesner is a friend, a good writer and gives great advide. I often use one of her reference books as a base for going off on my own. Adding my own take on this. In her book cited above she has some good words on creating sexual tension when writing romance novels. I'll probably use this segment for several Wednesdays.

1, Let your characters decide the level of intimacy.  Of course, as the writer you've created these characters and you're really in control but you need to remember when writing the story that your characters are in charge, so to speak. My experience with this has been interesting. One character I created really liked being physically intimate with the man in her life. He felt the same. Neither of them wanted any emotional baggage between them. Was this a problem? Sometimes. In another story, the heroine stated there would be nothing beyond kisses and a bit of petting in her story. Though I tried for more, I finally realized what I was aiming for didn't fit the character.

The moral of this is while you let your characters choose, as the writer you need to know your characters and listen to them.

2. Make the love scenes realistic. I usually have no problem with this but can err on the side of realism. Too much reality isn't good for fiction. If your characters aren't real, your love scenes won't be either.

Know your characters.

3. Use exaggerated awareness. I read almost as much as I write though not always in the romance field. I've read romance books where hero and heroine have no awareness of each other in more than a wooden way. Think of how they react to a touch, to a smile, to a word. This goes for hero and heroine though not in the same scene by bouncing from head to head. Your hero can notice things about what the heroine does to him physically and emotionally while showing the scene from his point of view. The same goes for the heroine, Sticking with one can heighten the suspense and rev up the anticipation while showing your reader just how these people are becoming aware of each other.

Watch your characters.

More next time.