The “Scene”: Is It Love or Is It Sex?
Are you calling it the sex scene or the love scene? We all know that having sex and making love are not the same. And to write “the scene” successfully, you need to be aware of the difference.
Not too long ago, romance novels only featured love scenes. Meaning, the hero and heroine only consummated the relationship after one or the other had fallen in love. But times change.
Today, it's not unheard of to have the hero or heroine having sex with someone other than each other, especially in the erotic romance subgenre. While that's not the norm in single-title romances, what is normal is the hero and heroine falling into bed — or on the sofa, the backseat of a convertible, or the kitchen table — before either are committed to a serious relationship.
In other words, in most of today's romance novels, sex is taken a lot more lightly. It can be more playful, more graphic, the language more direct and daring than it was several years ago.
While sex between the hero and heroine early on in the book can be viewed by the characters as casual, the scene is generally written in a way that the reader knows there is an emotional connection. The romance should always be present during sex scenes between the hero and heroine.
While sex may not be viewed as a major commitment in today's romance novels, you should never forget the one word that describes the genre in which you are writing: romance. And for a sex scene to be romantic, there has to be some emotional connection between the hero and heroine. The characters may not even be aware of the connection, but the reader must always feel the budding of a relationship.
