Love Scenes in Writing
Love is an essential part of human life, and as a result it finds its way into most books. It even has an entire genre to its own – romance. Some would go so far as to consider it an essential element of any story, though this view is up for debate. Anyone who decides to create a decent romantic plot or sub plot for their stories, is faced with a grave question. How far should they go in describing said romance?
I’m assuming that most of you here have read “The Lord of the Rings” (or at the very least, heard of it). Tolkien, however great an author, was a complete and utter prude. I cannot remember one scene in which any of his characters kissed. This practice was acceptable in his time (around the 1950s.) While I can hardly blame him for this, when reading back on his books now, I feel that an essential part of the story is missing. There was love between the characters Arwen and Aragorn, but where did we actually see it?
A much more open approach to romance (though by all means PG) can be seen in The Belgariad and The Mallorean by David Eddings. If you haven’t read these books, I highly recommend you do. This openness is not exactly surprising as The Belgariad series was published during the 1980s (a huge cultural jump from the 1950s) and The Mallorean was published in the late 1980s to early 1990s. Despite this, even Eddings had a cut-off point: the door of the bedchamber. Put plainly, the reader was very much aware that Garrion and Ce’Nedra (the two main characters) were having sex, but it was never directly stated. Eddings was a master of implication.
The final example is an author called Terry Goodkind. Goodkind is almost the opposite of Tolkien. He explains everything in the most minute detail. In The Sword of Truth, he graphically describes rape and torture acts. I warn you, this is an extremely risky approach. If you do this, you run the risk of alienating your readers. While Tolkien’s approach may disappoint some by the lack of romance, Goodkind’s is likely to completely put us off by the near pornographic quality of some of his writing.
Another thing that should factor in your decision is how well you can write a love scene. If you are a teenage writer with only the most basic experience of romance, then I doubt you can consider yourself qualified. If you do however have enough experience, then you probably could write it convincingly. In fact this does not only apply to the love scene itself, but any other part of the romance. Stealing ideas from films and books can help to a certain extent, but the final breath of life comes from you.
I’m inclined to say that Eddings’ is the easiest to write for a young author. It’s sociably acceptable, so you need not worry about making your love scene realistic while not making it pornographic. Not only that, this approach is proven to have worked in the past.
I hope that you will find this helpful. Please be assured that these are just my opinions and others may beg to differ on a few points. A good general guide is to ask yourself if you’d be comfortable reading it from a published book. If in doubt, I recommend that you ask for a second opinion, generally from a trusted friend.
Hi Fiachra,
I don’t necessarily agree that Tolkien was a prude. The story that he was writing reached higher than the love story between Aragorn and Arwen–it was a war story, not a romance novel. In my opinion, Tolkien’s genius can be seen in the subtle way he lets the reader know that love is present.
Also, the story of Eowyn and Faramir, we definitely see them kiss. Their love unfolds as the war finishes, and the chapter in the Houses of Healing is one of my favorites. Tolkien describes Eowyn as being sick–lovesick for Aragorn–but is healed once she accepts Faramir into her heart.
Regardless, you’ve made some good points and showed how different authors have portrayed love in their books.
Good article.
Didn’t you already have this article up?
Anyways, I would say you’ve skipped out on another rather common approach, one that also deserves mentioning. It’s, IMO, the basic approach. It’s when the author tells of physical interaction between the subject characters, kissing and hugging and such, but doesn’t mention any further, sexual acts. The writer can either lean the other romantic interactions in a way that the reader infers such might be happening, or they can avoid any mention one way or another, usually so that the love seems less sexually passionate, if not totally innocent.
Considering the ages of many online writers who might view this, and subsequently the ages many characters they develop might be, I think the latter of these approaches is likely to be best to begin with. It’s not prude, not graphic, and in my opinion, it’s much more realistic. If you follow Edding’s approach, it can work, and yes, it is easiest, but it can churn out very little benefit-wise. It’s likely others disagree, but I would say efficiency is better than ease.
@Phee: About Faramir and Eowyn’s relationship, my mistake. But as I cannot remember it, it must have been one brief event. Regarding Arwen and Aragorn, that idea of “love at a higher level” is what I don’t buy into. The Lord of the Rings is from the 1950s however, so I do accept that there are huge cultural differences. Writers today should not really write like that, which is more or less my point.
@AN, no this is the first time it’s been publicly released. Also, that idea you mentioned there is 90% Eddings’ and is workable. I suppose I generally work with adult characters.
I was just assuming most new teen writers work with characters about there age. There are always exceptions, and I could be deluded about that anyways. I get that Eddings had some introduction, but if I remember correctly, Garrion was always a bit flustered around Ce’Nedra, and a light kiss was about all they shared until their wedding, that itself embarrassing him. Most teenage relationships become a good bit less “innocent” before going so far. I’m not an expert or anything, being still a teen myself, but I would say things are both faster in progressing overall and less sudden in real life. That was what I was trying to say.
The fact I was trying to make was that if the reader wanted to make a ”love scene”, the best way to do it is to use Eddings’ method of implication – never exactly specifically stating that sex is occurring, but implying it instead.
The build up to the relationships in the Belgariad/Mallorean are immaterial to the content of this article. I’m only speaking about one feature of Eddings’ writing.
Ah, that makes more sense, then.
THen again, a love scene, even an entire romantic plot, is unnecessary. You could build an entire fantasy world where there is no sex. A morpeg base (MMORPG) would be perfect for this, because last I checked, even WOW didn’t allow players to even kiss.
True however some people do enjoy incorporating the romantic element though often times the angst is too much, or the actual lovin’ and romance a bit awkward. I agree with the illusion and build up of the scene, allow the readers to create and imagine what occurs but isn’t shown.
Firstly can I just say the Belgariad and the Mallorean Rock!
And Great article Fiachra
I disagree with leaving out a romantic element in fantasy books, but thats just a personal choice. I think Its something that often is a key ingredient in Fantasy novels. Robin Hobb uses it in the Assassins apprentice, and the books that follow.But again that’s just what i think works.
Experience can always help the writer to achieve what he/she wants to express in the scene,but its not necessary. Best just to write it down and see if it fits, whether its a hint, or explicit, or tastefully written.