Open or Closed Doors?
I'm an open-door person. Having been raised in an easy-going household, I like having the doors open on mild days; if there's only family around and I'm in a hurry, I will leave the bathroom door open when I do my, er, business. I hate to sleep with the bedroom door closed.
The only times my bedroom door is closed is when I'm either getting dressed after a shower or need privacy.
*needle-scratch* Oh wait, you mean in my books? The bedroom scenes?
In that case, the bedroom door is wide open, and I'm standing beside the bed, taking notes on what my characters are doing between the sheets, or even on top of them. (LOL!)
At least, that's how it was when I first began writing sex scenes. Now, while sometimes every action is described, I will tend to leave some things to the imagination. For example, once my characters have been to bed, I don't think it's necessary to describe every sexual act unless they try something new, or it's been a while since they've taken their time.
Truthfully, when I first began reading romances, I devoured every bedroom scene. But now, I tend to skip over them and read more of the plot. Does that shock you? Maybe I'm simply burned out on sex scenes, having been pretty much immersed in them the past seven years.
I went through this issue once before, then purchased Anny Cook's Daffodil (currently unavailable, but if you have an old copy or know someone who owns it, I highly recommend it! Esp her Phantom's Rest!) and read every single word. Maybe I need to do so again?
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12 comments:
Your confession doesn't shock me at all :) I've heard many readers say the same thing, and many writers complain about how bored they become writing sex scenes after a while. I guess that proves that anything can become old and boring once it becomes part of a job.
Not shocked at all, Kenzie. I've gotten to where I often do the same, esp. if there are too many love scenes stuck together. Unless it's something new or creative or humorous, then I may slow down for the between-the-sheets (or not) action. Good post.
Not surprising. I am a very private person, closed doors. No plunging necklines, no risque outfits, . . . aside from the point that I don't have the figure I once did.However, in my writing, it's open doors. I agree with you completely - it gets boring after a while and becomes. . . insert tab A into slot B, move around, check watch, OK done. I guess that's why in my newest one, I have cut out most of the smoking hot scenes and opted for one that is an interrupted . . . yeah, my readers are going to kill me.
SEx is only part of the story right???
Great post!
I agree about sex scenes. Although foreplay can be rewarding, erotica is almost always boring for me. That said, Cecelia Grant writes sex scenes that tell gobs about the people involved -- I recommend her historical romances. She's the exception.
Your thoughts about doors in the home made me chuckle -- and reminded me of when I was growing up. European parents, you know. In Brussels (my dad was from Belgium), one of the old apartment buildings didn't have indoor plumbing, so they added four stories worth of washrooms at the front of the building, facing the street -- and the washrooms have floor to ceiling glass walls on three sides. And that's not all. The building in question is one of the highlights of the tour bus routes!
I'm with you Kenzie. Those scenes are hard to write, and I skim if they're boring when I'm reading.
Got a kick out of "taking notes."
LOL on top taking notes. Writing those scenes are hard and it takes me a while to get through them. I don't put many in my books because I try to make the times they are open door meaningful and important to the story and not just there for 'shock value'. Like you, if there get to be too many I tend to skip over them to get back to the rest of the story.
OMG, Ed's stories just kill me!
It's funny - I'm towards the end of a first draft that has pretty much flowed the whole way. I inserted a notation to put a sex scene in an area that was meaningful for the characters, but I didn't want to take the time to write it because they are difficult to do. Now, I need to get it written and I've worked all day and only gotten half the scene completed (for comparison, I knocked out two entire chapters of the actual story yesterday. They are tough! Maybe I need to take notes, lol.
I there are too many love scenes or too long or too graphic I also skip over them. Interesting post!
LOL....looks as if we're all on the same page when it comes to the sex scenes!
@Helen and Meka: I'm glad you saw the humor in 'taking notes':)
@Cathy: When I first began reading Ellora's Cave books, the sex went on for PAGES! I'm good if I can stretch it out to a single page, lol....
LOL about taking notes from your characters. Too funny. I feel like that's what I'm doing while watching mine. Love this post and the comments. :-)
@Mary: Thank you! Glad I brightened your day:)
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