Inner Goddess: What makes a Good Sex Scene?

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

What makes a Good Sex Scene?

Writing Sex

a guest blog

by Noelle Adams

So, I just tried to count up the total number of sex scenes in the books I’ve published this year. I had to guess the number in a few of the books based on the number of chapters, but I’m definitely over eighty. Over eighty sex scenes in one year of publishing. I’m not sure whether I’m embarrassed or proud! I didn’t actually write all of those books in one year (Nameless, the oldest, is almost ten years old now), but that’s still an awful lot of sex.

I find sex the hardest thing to write in a book, but it’s also my favorite—since it’s such a challenge to keep it new and fresh and also genuinely part of character development. The actual logistics of the sex in my books are always quite traditional, so the newness has to come through the emotion. So, when I start to write a sex scene, I start by figuring out what needs to happen emotionally between the characters in the scene, and then I try to create a sexual situation that conveys it.

The thing that makes a good sex scene is the same thing that makes every other scene in literature good—how well it reflects authentic human experience. That doesn’t mean the characters can’t have sex that’s far better than the sex most of us have. Of course, they can, and we’d be disappointed if they didn’t. I mean that the way they experience sex has to feel real. Otherwise, all we have are bodies doing things in a scene, and to me that dehumanizes both the characters and the story.

There are two extended sex scenes in Playing the Playboy, and both of them are quite different. In the first, Andrew and Laurel are just starting to get to know each other. So the sex, while great, also has a sense of unfamiliarity, of revelation—with both of them surprised by the other in a number of ways. One of my favorite bits in the book is in this scene.

“I should have known you were a tease,” she complained, trying to sound dry despite her panting and squirming.

He chuckled against her breast and slid one hand between her legs. “Have you ever tried to go down on someone before you’ve done anything else?”

She gasped in pleasure when he slid one finger inside her, but she fought through the sensations to respond in kind, “You’re saying you’re not up to the challenge?”

He laughed again, joining his first finger with a second. “I’m saying it’s more likely to be successful when you know what the other person likes. Much less embarrassing groping and fumbling around.”

I like this because, while it’s sexy teasing, it also feels real to me and gives us a really good sense of Andrew’s character. The second long sex scene in the book is much more intense and needy, reflecting their developing relationship and the desperation they feel in trying to stay away from each other.

I’ve tried before to write good sex scenes out of the context of a story—based on nothing but an interesting sexual scenario—and I found it almost impossible. I’ve also tried to take sex scenes I wrote for one story and insert them into another story, to save myself the trouble of writing the logistics, but I end up having to completely rewrite the scenes anyway. I have to know the story, know the characters, in order for them to meaningfully get it on.

Check out Noelle's Sexy Series

Heirs of Damon

Seducing the Enemy

Heirs of Damon, Book 1

Publisher: Entangled Indulgence
Publication Date: October 14, 2013

After being injured in a tragic accident as a child, Marietta Edwards has lived a sheltered life. Finally recovered, she wants to indulge in pleasures that are entirely new to her, so she begins by seducing a sexy, mysterious stranger. Only after their one-night stand does she learn their families have been embroiled in a fifteen-year legal battle and the man she’s given herself to is her worst enemy.

The heir to a vast fortune, Harrison Damon believes the unforgettable night he spent with Marietta in Monte Carlo is just a fling, an escape from his responsibilities. Then he discovers she is an Edwards—the family he despises most. He can’t quench his attraction for her, but he won’t let her use it against him. He won’t let her manipulate him to win money from his family. No matter how much he wants her, he won’t let her seduce him again.

AVAILABLE AT:

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Playing the Playboy

Heirs of Damon, Book 2

Publication Date: November 18, 2013

Laurel will do anything to save her Santorini inn from the powerful Damon family, and that includes manipulating Andrew Damon, the man they’ve sent to get her off the property. Andrew might have a reputation for being irresistible to women, but she won’t have any problem resisting him. This is war, after all, and the Damons drew their weapons first.

Andrew has spent most of his life chasing women and wasting time, but he’s determined to do his duty by his family, even if that means ousting an infuriating (and gorgeous) widow from the inn that legally belongs to the Damons. He doesn’t expect to fall for her. And he definitely doesn’t expect to discover that he’s been played.

AVAILABLE NOW:

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Noelle Adams handwrote her first romance novel in a spiral-bound notebook when she was twelve, and she hasn’t stopped writing since. She has lived in eight different states and currently resides in Virginia, where she teaches English, reads any book she can get her hands on, and offers tribute to a very spoiled cocker spaniel.

She loves travel, art, history, and ice cream. After spending far too many years of her life in graduate school, she has decided to reorient her priorities and focus on writing contemporary romances.

Connect with Noelle:

Website: http://noelle-adams.com/Home_Page.html

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NoelleAdamsAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NoelleAdams3

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6572847.Noelle_Adams