In my quest for publication I’ve recently delved into how to heighten sexual tension. It seems everyone has an opinion on how to achieve it. After reading a plethora of articles, books, and even some advertisements, I think I have a better understanding myself.
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| Romeo and Juliet by Frank Dicksee |
Sexual tension actually starts long before the first time the hero and heroine have sex, even before they share that first intimate, or quite possibly awkward, kiss. Right from the start of the romance a writer weaves in conflict, both internal (which often drive the protagonists apart) and external (which often thrusts the protagonists together). It’s the conflict that builds tension, hurling a reader into limbo, the limbo of 'will they/won’t they' get together.
To create sexual tension, a writer uses the conflict tension along with word choice and sensory cues, often penning them into the inner thoughts of the point of view character. For example, if you say, “He kissed her,” you’re making a bland statement, but if you say, “His lips pressed down on her. She didn’t pull away as he had expected. Instead her emerald eyes fluttered shut and she moaned deep in her throat. Never had a woman given so much. He was at once aroused and awed by her strength, her beauty,” then you get a sense of the conflict and the tension between them. You start to feel worried that perhaps, just perhaps, she might pull away, that a kiss is not just a kiss, and there might not be a happily ever after…or then again, she might not pull away, that his kiss is THE kiss, and these two will forever be happy together!
“We waste time looking for the
perfect lover, instead of creating the perfect love.”
― Tom Robbins
To create sexual tension, a writer uses the conflict tension along with word choice and sensory cues, often penning them into the inner thoughts of the point of view character. For example, if you say, “He kissed her,” you’re making a bland statement, but if you say, “His lips pressed down on her. She didn’t pull away as he had expected. Instead her emerald eyes fluttered shut and she moaned deep in her throat. Never had a woman given so much. He was at once aroused and awed by her strength, her beauty,” then you get a sense of the conflict and the tension between them. You start to feel worried that perhaps, just perhaps, she might pull away, that a kiss is not just a kiss, and there might not be a happily ever after…or then again, she might not pull away, that his kiss is THE kiss, and these two will forever be happy together!
“Sex is an emotion in motion.”
What heightens sexual tension for you…in the books you read or write or in life?
I love to love my husband—when our life together gets tough, he somehow manages to get even sexier.
I love to laugh—with my family. It’s such a delight to see their eyes light with happiness.
I love to learn—about others…what makes them tick, who they are, and how they got there.
I love to learn—about others…what makes them tick, who they are, and how they got there.
Goooood morning everyone!
ReplyDeleteGreat to see you here.
I'm looking forward to hearing what heightens sensual tension for you! For me, in books it's the emotional build up that starts from the first page...even if one of the protagonists doesn't meet the other until page 30, the internal and external conflicts should be leading you on an emotional journey and doing the job of making you worry.
In real life...I like Mommy Porn...nothing like a man vacuuming or doing the laundry (from start to folded and put away in drawers finished) to build sensual tension for me!
How about you?
Mummy Porn is so funny. I've seen a couple of picture books where the dishy guys are offering - offering! - to do the dishes for you, or the cooking, with a wink and a smile. Yes please.
DeleteMiranda x
Yes, that's the stuff of dreams, isn't it!
DeleteHi Dee! Thanks for this reminder of the importance of sexual tension.
ReplyDeleteI think one of the best uses of this is in Dirty Dancing, and the movie is used as an example in a fabulous article (I only wish I could remember who it was by so I could acknowledge them!) to show how sexual tension is divided into 2 main parts.
The Wishing (the build-up of steam) is composed of: the Wanting (physical awareness/enjoyment of each other), the Work (discovering each other's layers) and the What-If (visualising life with the other).
The Waiting is composed of: the Walls keeping them apart (internal/external obstacles), the Wink (that first tentative taste of what could be eg. first kiss) then the Wow (sex), followed by the Warning (leading to the black moment) and finally the Wonderful (HEA).
I thought this laid it out really well.
Love these four W's, Marilyn! :)
DeleteThanks Malvina. I keep this outline handy to remind myself that sexual tension is so much more than just sex. It's all about the build-up.
DeleteI'd never heard of the four W's. Great way of explaining it.
DeleteMarilyn, that is perfect! I love it. Jotting the four Ws down on a note card and posting it on my writing board! Thank you!
DeleteThanks for that, Marilyn. I didn't know this but it's a fantastic short description of sexual tension.
DeleteGlad you all like the W's of sexual tension as much as I do, ladies. :)
DeleteI couldn't let it go...sorry to those who don't know me, I'm a dog with a bone when it comes to learning and writing!
DeleteI may have found the W author...Susan Warren wrote an article for How to Write a Romance including the Ws. Her breakdown can be found on the Learn How to Write a Novel blogsite at http://learnhowtowriteanovel.com/its-just-a-little-kiss/.
Again, thank you Marilyn Forsyth for remembering and sharing the Ws!
Susan Warren is another terrific author - so she must practice what she preaches! I love her books.
DeleteSo glad you found the name of the author! What a great little detective you are. Thanks Dee. I'll make a note of it on my notes.
DeleteWell, you did grab my attention, Dee, aha ha. I wanted to mention Pride and Prejudice as a perfect example. If you read the book it's all a-quiver and a-tremble, with all the ladies trying to downplay their attraction to the various men (well, except for Lydia, who lets it all hang out)... But oh my goodness, such seething, fluttering, sensual tension! And when you watch the movie versions, especially with Colin Firth as Mr Darcy, it becomes smoking hot - oh, those meaningful looks - without even so much as a hand hold or kiss, until towards the end. Happy sigh.
ReplyDeleteSo true Malvina! So very true! And you're right about Lydia too...perhaps because she 'let's it all hang out' we don't build the emotional connection with her and she doesn't make so much of connection with the reader. For me, I didn't feel for her except when she impacted on Elizabeth.
DeleteThanks for this post Dee. I agree with all your points. P&P is a great example Malvina.
ReplyDeleteThank you Cassandra Samuels. In your recent Escape release, The Scandalous Wager, you build sensual tension between Lisbeth and Oliver from the first page. By the end of the first chapter I was thoroughly hooked and emotionally committed--I had to know what happened next!
DeleteThank you Dee. I am so glad you think so. If you have that sexual tension between the characters you usually get an emotional connection to the reader too. And that is what you want when you are writing the book.
DeleteGreat post, Dee. Thank you. Sexual tension is vital in romance novels. It's what keeps the reader reading so it's important to get it right as a writer.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely Enisa! Ever read one of 'those' books...where the author didn't take the time to develop the conflict and thus the tension and reading it was like reading dust because it was devoid of emotion and lacked anything of interest? Eeee, yew!
DeleteGreat post Dee - thanks for sharing your insights. :)
ReplyDeleteThank YOU Nicole Hurley-Moore (author of Black is the Colour and other amazing romances!) for stopping in!
DeleteAnytime - I love your blog (oh, and thanks for the lovely description!) :D
DeleteLove the post Dana, and the title certainly did get my attention. SEX is an interesting topic (in so many ways) but when it comes to writing it can be a tricky one. Somehow the author has to keep the sexual tension going, not let it fizzle but not have it happen too soon either. I find writing sex scenes a real challenge but a great reward when you get it right and the pages steam up as your reading them.
ReplyDeleteHi, Karen M. Davis (author of Deadly Obsession)! You mention "not having it happen too soon either" in regards to sex. You are so spot on! I sometimes struggle with this. In real life I'm loathe to punish anyone, but as a writer I have to be cruel...and keep the hero and heroine apart for as long as possible in order to really up that tension. That can sometimes be difficult, but...so necessary!
DeleteTo summarize a bit, in order to up the tension you need to create characters worth caring about and put them in jeopardy. In a romance that means, the hero and heroine are in jeopardy of NOT getting together. For most of the book, the hero and heroine are building up to the ultimate joining (whether that's sexual intercourse or even the first kiss if writing a sweet romance). It's a lot of foreplay, so to speak. Once they are together, you need a black moment, where you think "Oh, no! They won't have their happily ever after after all!" But because throughout the book you have build the tension and created believable character arcs, the hero and heroine work through the black moment and do ultimately find that HEA.
ReplyDelete