Monthly Archives: July 2013

On Writing Hot

Do you like Fifty Shades of Grey and Sylvia Day’s books?

Have you tried writing one? You might surprise yourself.

I know the hot novel I’m currently working on is going in the right direction when I find myself squirming in the seat as I write. The more squirming I do, the tighter the sexual tension I’m writing, even when I’m writing a sweet romance.

You do not have to be describing a love scene to make the reader squirm. Put two people attracted to each other in the same room, do a good job of describing the dance they do leading up to some future first kiss, and you’ll have your readers squirming in their seats.

Both E. L. James and Sylvia Day are masters of describing this dance.

Things like:
He smiled.
She touched her hair.
He cocked an eye-brow.
She moistened her lips…

These simple well-placed actions can have your readers squirming in their seats.

Have you ever heard Linda Howard’s present one of her excellent workshop on Sexual Tension, The Twelve Stages of Human Intimacy? She nails the steps we all go through without realizing it whenever we meet someone new, male or female. We have all been guilty of checking out a man from across the room, or of flipping our long hair off our shoulder once we’ve caught his eye. These are all part of the sexual tension dance couples participate in that leads to intimacy.

Deepak Chopra has narrowed the dance down even more, listing what he calls the seven stages of love, attraction, infatuation, courtship, intimacy, surrender, passion and ecstasy. These are the backbone of any good romance, but stretch out the infatuation and the courtship by making your attracted couple do the sexual tension dance and the rewards are multiplied for the couple doing the dance in your novel, and for the reader rapidly turning the pages while he/she reads your book.

The intimacy, the surrender, and the passion leading up to the ecstasy and the resolution are all the sweeter because the couple has done the dance while your reader has squirmed in her chair while reading your book.

I try to exploit my character’s sexual tension on every page I write.

Check out my new website for a sample of hot writing:

http://www.flamearden.com