Sherry Thomas: Two Positions
I’ve done a lot of guest-blogging recently, but they were all for reader sites. So it is a very fun change to write about writing instead.
A long time ago, I read an interview with an author who quit romance for greener pastures. One of the reasons she gave for quitting—actually the only one that stayed with me—was that she ran out of positions for the love scenes.
I remember wondering how long my career would be if I ever got published, given that there were only so many positions.
True there are infinite possibilities. And I actually read the real Karma Sutra when I was in college—a bunch of guy friends had a copy. (It is hilarious reading in parts. What I remember best is this position that my friends and I dubbed “the helicopterâ€, which has the man lying supine, the woman impaled on his penis while holding her legs up in the air somehow, and the man spinning the woman around his, ahem, pole. Very young kids that we were, we used to ask each other, whenever it was time to head out somewhere, whether anyone wanted to go for a “spin.†And then die laughing.) But romances are stories about people in conflict, not sex manuals, and realistic positions are somewhat limited. So from time to time the thought would nibble at the back of my mind that I would run out of battery just as this other writer did–which would be a bad thing for me because I am not interested in writing anything that is not a love story, i.e., no greener pastures for me.
And then years went by and I wrote and wrote and wrote. And I realized something: You can’t run out of positions. Nope. Not at all. Never. And you know why? Because all you need are two of them: vertical and horizontal.
At least, they are all I have ever needed.
Because positions are the most incidental things to a well-done love scene. And a well-done love scene is not about positions at all, or heaving breasts or thrusting lances. It is about the conflict and the escalation of conflict and nothing else.
I have a rule about writing love scenes. The characters must be in greater trouble as the result of a love scene—whether it is endangerment of hearts, moral dilemmas, or involvement when there should be none, preferable all those and more—love scenes must not relieve tension. Orgasms are permitted—heck, highly encouraged—but the overall tension to your story, your relationship, must skyrocket precisely as a result of the orgasms.
In Private Arrangements, my debut book, there are five love scenes consummated on screen. Four of them are fully written out. And each of those four marks a turning point in the story. The first time is the wedding night of my hero and heroine. He discovers that she has perpetrated a great fraud against him. And he is furious at her because he loves her so. The love scene was his commitment to vengeance against her, to taking the dishonorable road as opposed to the high road. (What can I say, I write very smart idiots.) Once that happens, everything changes.
The second time they do it, ten years have passed. She wants a divorce, and he demands an heir before he would agree not to contest the divorce. Until this love scene takes place, the course is still not set and either of them could still back down. But once they resume marital relations, again everything changes.
The third time is to prove the second time not a fluke. So now they cannot stop thinking of each other. And realize just what deep doodoo they have landed themselves into—not that in the subconscious they didn’t know it from the very beginning.
The fourth one is my favorite, from a writerly point of view, because all hell breaks loose from that. A lot of deception is ripped away and a lot of—perhaps too much—truth comes out. And the heroine is forced to decide between the man she thinks she wants to marry and the man she loves and has already married.
In other words, love scenes, like all other scenes, must justify their places in a book. They must further the story and turn everything—or a lot of things—upside down as they happen. I always look forward to writing the next love scene, not because I like the writing of sex per se, but because I drool over the way the conflict of my story will accelerate and intensify; and because the greater and deeper the conflict, the easier it is to produce a mesmerizing story.
Tell us about your favorite conflict-drive love scenes (ones you’ve read or the ones you’re writing), or feel free to ask Sherry any questions you have!
I love most of the love scenes I read. I loved it in The Taming of the Duke by Eloisa when you’re not sure if Imogen knows which brother she’s sleeping with. I loved it in Three Little Secrets by Liz Carlyle when the first love scene, after fifteen years, with the heroine breaks the heroe’s heart, because the heroine’s deceptions all come out after that. There are plenty more, but those are the two that spring most readily to my mind.
Now for my question(I’ll only ask one so everyone else can have a shot): Sherry, what is your revision process?
I’m just dropping in to say, i just started your book. And it’s awesome. Reunion couples are some of the strongest and deepest conflict driven stories. Do you think that helped to add to the sex scenes?
I’ve been waiting to reward myself to read Private Arrangements…and I’d better hurry up and do something good soon, because my anticipation is so great. The word of mouth ever since RWA Nationals last year must be extrememly gratifying.
I’m also writing a reunion book, and having the best time being in a wild, horny 17 year old’s head and then a wiser-yet-still-horny 29 year old’s. The sex is significantly different between the dozen years, although not because the characters have been practicing. I completely agree love scenes must be pivotal, and not just gratuitously there because there have to be at least 4 of them (is that a secret writer rule? *g*).
Janet Evanovich. I never got why she said that since I can’t imagine it getting old. Though her mystery series is better written, I think; maybe she’s more comfortable with funny than angsty–and romance requires a lot more angst. *shrugs*
I enjoy Sherrilyn Kenyon’s love scenes. They definitely complicate things, don’t defy the laws of physics (that helicopter thing is hysterical by the way), and are powerful.
Question: What’s your next book going to be about?
Kelly,
My revision process consists mainly of throwing things out. I throw things out wholesale–and not just scenes, sometimes entire manuscripts–to start over. But I don’t really think the thrown-out portions are wasted. I just happen to be one of those writers that unless I see what doesn’t work, I don’t know what does work.
Tiffany,
Thanks. And you betcha reunited-lover stories almost guarantee conflict-driven sex. That’s why whenever I have trouble with a relationship not having enough oomp, I make my h/h having been lovers before. I know, that makes me a one-trick pony, :”> but it is a very good trick.
Maggie,
Thank you. How about just saying that by being yourself you are already doing a great thing worth rewarding?
I haven’t heard of a secret writer’s rule about how many sex scenes to include. But going by my rule of having as only many scenes as turning points, I end up in the neighborhood of 4 love scenes per book.
Helliion,
Thanks for giving me an opportunity to pimp the next book.
Delicious will be out on July 29, 2008.
SWEET! We get your next book very soon after your debut! I love that!
I sometimes approach highly recommended reads with a bit of skepticism, wondering if the book can live up to all that praise. Private Arrangements definitely did! And one of the things I like best about it is that there is no villain in pursuit, no hidden identity that must be revealed, no plot to kill a monarch. Not that all these things cannot work in the hands of the right writer, but I did love that the conflict in PA is all about Gigi and Cam.
My favorite moment was Gigi’s Manhattan entrance. It was a real cheer-out-loud moment for me. I am really interested in how you reached that moment. Was it an organice process, pure serendipity, a gift from your muse, or the result of some writer’s secret known only to you?
Sherry,
I loved PA, and cannot wait to read Delicious!
I also, really enjoyed your blog– I never thought of love scenes as turning points, but it makes alot of sense.
Di
Hi Sherry,
Here’s a shock, I have a question I haven’t ask you before. After you finished PA, did you know at that point (or even when you were writing it) just how ’special’ it would be.
I know sometimes when I write what I think is a particularly great scene or piece of dialogue, I’m like, if I have to say so myself, but I think that’s damn good. When did you have this feeling about PA?
Bev
Just wanted to stop by and say this book is sitting patiently on my kitchen table so as soon as I finish what I’m reading now, it’s up next. I’ve heard so much about it and loved the excerpts I’ve read, I’m really looking forward to it.
Great blog. I try very hard to keep in mind that the love scenes are not a resolution but a complication. And I love that horizontal and vertical comment. So true. The experience emotionally and mentally is much more important than the physical experience, IMO.
How about your call story? I love to hear about those.
Hi Sherry! Welcome to RV! First of all let me tell you how great PA is. (Yeah, I’m sure you haven’t heard that before!)
I think you are dead on about sex scenes as conflict builders. I’m thinking about really memorable ones and they all are memorable not because of the novelty of the position but because of the conflicting emotions of the h/h.
My question is how many books did you write before you sold PA? Whatever the answer, it’s wonderful! And definitely something to be proud of!
Janga said,
My favorite moment was Gigi’s Manhattan entrance. It was a real cheer-out-loud moment for me. I am really interested in how you reached that moment. Was it an organice process, pure serendipity, a gift from your muse, or the result of some writer’s secret known only to you?
I think it was probably getting to know my characters so well by then that I knew Gigi would go for broke. So probably a combination of the first three reasons you proposed, because I definitely don’t have any secrets known only to me!
And I’m glad PA didn’t fall on its face with you after all that hype.
Di R,
Thanks. I realized that love scenes can be and should be used as turning points by reading Laura Kinsale.
Bev,
::big wave:
That’s an interesting question. When I hit these slumps in writing PA, I’d go over what I’d written before and say to myself, you know, it’s not bad.
But then as to “specialness,” I’m not sure I’d ever had that eureka moment. I’m still very happily surprised when people like or even love it; because I know how divergent tastes are in real life and I frankly did not expect for PA to be greeted with so much positive acceptance.
Terrio,
Here’s a novella length post on my call story, if you ever have that sort of time.
Hi, Manda,
Thank you.
Before this version of PA, I’d written, in chronological order, the original version of PA (completely different), a historical romance called the Ideal Gentlemen, featuring a couple named Lord and Lady Wrenworth, who are minor characters in PA, another historical romance named One Wild Summer, which my then-agent hated so much that it was the end of our relationship (she was right and it did suck). Then I went crazy and rewrote Star Wars Attack of the Clones, a novelization from purely the POV of the lovers. After that was a year and a half writing what I hoped to be an unique and amazing epic–Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon meets the Forsyte Saga–and it was unique but not quite amazing enough.
Those were the full-length mss that I’d written before re-writing PA. Plus all the rewrites and partials, easily a million words.
I’ve heard it said that it takes about a million words for a writer to discover his/her voice. I’d say that is a rather slow-learning writer. But I guess I’m exactly that slow-learning writer, because I really did discover my voice only after 1 million words!
Wow, Sherry! You really have been writing for a while. My verification word is story and boy do you have one!
And we talked a bit last week about the way fanfiction has paved the way for quite a few of us into the romance world. (Mine was Moonlighting fanfic in the 7th grade!) And Tessa Dare, our friend who won the AvonFanlit Contest started out writing Jane Austen fanfic. There is a conference paper or a literary study in there somewhere…
But what I love about your story is that you didn’t give up, AND that you’ve finally hit the big time with a splash! I know everybody has a different tale of how they entered the market, but I can’t help but think it’s so much better to start out from a high point as you have. Not that it can happen to everybody, but a girl can dream
Congratulations!
Hi Sherry – Just a quick hi to say welcome and to let you know I loved PA!
I also agree with your opinion about the love scenes. The ones that stick with me and that I remember well after I close the book are not always the HEA type of love scenes. The ones that I remember and that resonate are the uncomfortable, emotionally painful scenes where anything but love is happening. There is nothing quite as powerful as a couple having sex for all the wrong reasons. In my opinion one of the experts at this is Mary Balogh. She can take a couple at the beginning of the book having sex and bring them to the end of her story making love.
Welcome, Sherry! We’re so thrilled to have you. Thanks for this fun and insightful blog. And for such a wonderful book – I’ve been so caught up in reading PA that I almost missed your visit!
You’ve mentioned a lot about conflict and turning point moments – does that mean you’re a plotter? Or does the building of conflict in the story just develop as you’re writing?
Sherry,
I finished Private Arrangements last week and I fell in love with Gigi. I loved the entire story line. It was a very fresh approach to a historical romance. I’m with Janga, I loved Gigi’s Manhattan entrance. It made me smile from ear to ear. This may sound trivial but the love Gigi and Camden shared for Croesus touched me. I’m an animal lover at heart and I found it so sweet that she saved the bow Camden had tied around his neck when he gave him to her.
Thank you for writing a wonderful book. Congratulations on a work well done.
Great blog, Sherry. You’ve shown me exactly how to tweak a love scene in my upcoming revision – thank you!!!
Sherry,
I read you ‘novella’ of the Call… a wonderful story.
How many books did you write when you took time off from PA? Will any of them be pub’d or are they a diff genre?
Hi Sherry!
Thank you so much for visiting with us today. Like Tiffany, I love reunion couples. PA is my first venture into historical romances outside of Regency and Georgian and it has made the change well worthwhile!
Élodie
YES! YES! YES! I am on the right track. When I was writing the love scenes I was worried that they’d gone to bed too early and too easily but as I continued to write I realized that the love scene wasn’t a pivotal point in the story, as much as, a catalyst for so much more!
And I’ll just add my voice here regarding PA. I’ve heard nothing but marvelous things about it and I can’t wait to get my hands on it! Thanks for sharing your story and your approaches to writing.
Manda,
Tessa Dare actually e-mailed me about her fanfic-inspired article for the RWR. She thought I’d written some Star Wars fanfic, when, alas, all I did was stretch out the story of Episode II.
But I think fanfic is just another way of learning to write. After all, when we first start, aren’t we all taking someone else’s story, world, style, etc and trying to see if we could duplicate it?
Irisheyes,
I agree. Making love for love’s sake, like ordinary dating, are extraordinarily difficult to bring off in romances. Because such are non-conflict items and non-conflict items make for flaccid reading.
Lisa,
Believe it or not, at one point I thought Croesus would die and that was what would bring Camden and Gigi together in the end. Then I started reading Miss Snark and she was vehement against pets dying. So I thought, okay, I’ll spare the pooch and do something different then.
I’m glad sweet little Croesus is still there at the happy ending.
Darcy,
Thank you.
Tiffany,
Thank you. During the five years PA sat in the box, I wrote 4 complete manuscripts. 2 pure historicals, 1 Star Wars novelization, and 1 martial arts epic. I hope the martial arts epic would see print one day. Here’s a link to it in case anyone’s interested.
Elodie,
Thank you. Turn-of-the-century is a great time setting.
Santa,
If your love scene is a catalyst, then it’s fine. I don’t think there is such a thing as having a love scene too early in the book, it’s all what the story dictates. If the story calls for it right away, then you must obey.
And everyone, thank you so much for having me. It’s been lovely. I wish you all the best on your path to publication. May inspiration strike often, may your patience never wear thin, and may words bubble from your keyboard like an oasis spring.