April 27, 2006
10:57 am • Filed under: Uncategorized
So I’ve been killing time, doing mindless crap on the laptop, anything to keep me from working on a sex scene that needs to be written.
I mean, come on, I want to be a romance writer, I should LOVE writing sex scenes right? Well, they should at least be EASY to write.
Wrong.
I gotta find a rhythm when writing a sex scene, gotta have uninterrupted time to write it and let’s just face it, I have to be in the mood. Isn’t that funny, it sounds a lot like…having sex!
But I digress. So in my process of killing time, I decided to open up the wip that I wrote during NaNo in Nov. A blitz of a 55,000 word wip that I completed in a month. I wanted to revisit the story, knowing it’s a story that I’ll never publish, and maybe I could crib some good ideas, scenes, words, whatever from it.
Here’s the Confession Part 1 - I used the same characters that I’m working with right now. Oh, there’s a lot of differences, but basically it’s the same two. I love these two, I want their story told, and when I gave up on the NaNo, I just tweaked them (a lot) and started the current wip. I’ve never done this before, but with these two, I just had to.
Confession Part 2 - My 55,000 blitz of a wip is not bad. It’s the virgin hero story I gave up on. There’s some great stuff in there. I’m not trying to brag, but my subplot is fab. The hero’s best friend and the heroine’s sister get together, complete polar opposites and they are funny. I was writing this for HQ Blaze, so I still would’ve had 20,000 words to go on the sucker. But I finished it in a sense, I wrote the final scene and I had a plan for the rest. It was a matter of going back and adding a few more scenes to the subplot mostly and a lot of layering.
So why did I give up on this thing? I think I suffered from “I stinkitis.” (Who made that up, anyway? I read it somewhere and I loved it cos I have this ailment quite often). I thought it sucked. I thought no one would be interested in a virgin hero. I thought there wasn’t enough conflict.
I think I was wrong. There’s so much internal conflict with these two it’s crazy. And the creative ways they come up with to avoid losing his virginity. My, my I wrote a trifle hot back in Nov.What am I going to do with this thing? I have no idea, cos all of a sudden, I don’t want to give up on it. But there’s going to be a lot of work. I need to change the plot quite a bit (there’s a few overlapping things between the two wips and one unrealistic part that I would want to chuck altogether), change the characters (can’t have two stories with the same names - that’s just plain stupid). Oh, it sounds like a nightmare.
It’s been so long since I gave it a complete read through, and when I got close to the end, the “black moment,” I guess you would call it, I cried. I don’t think I’ve ever done that with anything I’ve written before!
I should’ve never opened up the thing - it was like opening up a new can of worms to worry about, when I already have one I’m worrying about right now.
Frick.
Sarah L. Castleberry says:
Aaww, I was hoping your confession involved seeing a naked guy, too!
lol
I don’t think what you’re confessing is all that bad! I crib stuff all the time - I have like a favorite way the hero appreciates the heroine’s walk, etc. that just seems to show up in each wip!! I figure that’s a problem to deal with when I get pubbed!
Because of the exact situation you described, I think I’m not a fast, Nano-type writer. I abhor, not just hate, abhor, trying to revise like that…my Intrigue WIP is from Nano, too…
Sharon J says:
I’m glad somebody else has cried when they’ve re-read one of their old manuscripts, and not just because it sucked! I thought I was the only one sad enough to have done that! Not that I’m saying you’re sad but… oh heck, I’m pushing my foot firmly in here, aren’t I? Please say you understand what I mean.
I used to be great at writing sex scenes. Could whack them out like nobody’s business but as I’ve got older I’ve found them more difficult. At least with the Tender line (I believe they’re called Romance in the US?) there doesn’t have to be sex and, if there is, it shouldn’t be explicit, so choosing Tender sort of made it easier on me. Maybe I’m just somebody who takes the cop-out option? Possibly, but I do enjoy the Tender line more than Modern (Presents) and tbh, I haven’t actually read a Blaze yet.
Oops… waffling again. Story of my life
Stacy Dawn says:
Putting it on the shelf does wonders…like opening your eyes to your own talent. Good for you!
Stacy Dawn says:
(notice I didn’t even try to comment on the sex scene…not my favorite part either)
Julie S says:
Sex scenes are hard to write. It’s like everything culminates into a few short pages - time, space, emotions, logistics, and dirty words.
And what are you doing giving up on a virgin hero story! Those things sell!!! Let it live!
Karen Erickson says:
I’m pretty sure I’m going to let it live. I have now created a ton of work for myself, but I have a feeling it might be worth it in the end…
Becky says:
I’m in the middle of a sex scene for my spice manuscript right now (I got an email from Canada requesting the full by the way!!)and it is taking ages.
It is really hard. I guess because you need to go into quite some detail and it’s just bloody hard not to sound too cheesy or cliched.
I guess good sex just takes time….
Becky