April 12, 2014

Kissing Scenes (How to Write)


First, I want to say . . . IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!! :D




K is for Kissing Scenes (How to Write)


Sex scenes and kissing scenes tend to be the most difficult for writers to write. Or at least they are the scenes we always say we dread having to write. But we write them despite being uncomfortable, or not knowing what terms we should use for specific body parts. *coughs*

Last year, I wrote a blog post about writing intimate scenes. In that post I provided ten tips for soft-n-sweet love scenes and ten tips for hot-n-steamy love scenes. That post inspired this one, so now I am going to share tips for soft-n-sweet kisses and hot-n-steamy kisses.

Enjoy! ;)

Soft-N-Sweet: 

·         Soft Touch

For soft-n-sweet kisses it’s all about the soft touch—a brush of lips, a teasing nibble of teeth, a caress of tongues. Everything has to be gentle, but that doesn’t mean the heat can’t get kicked up several notches to hot-n-steamy.

·         Texture

The one thing you definitely feel while kissing is the texture of the other person’s lips, so don’t forget to describe the texture of the man’s or woman’s lips your MC is kissing. You can use words like velvety, plush, smooth, dewy (especially if the woman is wearing lip balm), or even chapped. The last option is perfect for humor.

·         Taste

Along with texture, taste is something else we can notice. If the woman is wearing lip balm, maybe it’s flavored—blueberry, strawberry-banana, or vanilla. Or if your characters just ate, perhaps the flavor of food/drink is still on their lips—beer, coffee, chocolate, or garlic . . . again for humor.

(Imagine kissing someone with chapped, garlicy lips. Now that would be funny. And unpleasant.) 

·         Movement

Kissing is always combined with the movement of hands, and the press of bodies. Let the man cup the woman’s face with his hands, put his arm around her waist. Or let the woman loop her arms around his neck, slither her fingers into his hair. Don’t neglect adding this into the scene. It makes the kiss so much better.

·         Gentle Sighs

When a kiss is done right, or at least when it’s enjoyable, there will be sighs and breathy words.


Hot-N-Steamy:

·         Urgency

Hot-n-steamy kisses are the opposite of soft-n-sweet kisses. They can be hard, demanding, harsh, and urgent. The more urgent your characters are the better. *wink*

·         Heat

You have to add heat for kisses to steam. Mention the heat from their bodies, the touch of hot skin, and the warmth of their mouths. Anything that has to do with body temperature will make your characters’ kiss HOT-HOT-HOT!

·         Taste

All the tastes your character’s can experience with soft-n-sweet kisses can be magnified here. Not only the taste of lips, but also the secret flavors deep in their mouths. Describe what flavors they draw out with their tongues. You can make it feminine or masculine.

·         Movement

If tastes can be magnified then movements can be too. No longer will your characters be careful or gentle, but eager. Let them grope and grab. Let the hero grab the heroine’s hair. Let her grasp his shoulders.

·         Throaty Moans

The more intense a make-out session is, the deeper the moans. Your heroine can gasp, and your hero can mutter between her lips.
TIP: Add teeth. A nip on the bottom lip is seductive and is a perfect addition for hot-n-steamy lip locks.

Along with the actual kissing, don’t neglect your character’s feelings and thoughts. These can definitely heighten the sweetness/hotness of the scene you’re writing.

And if their kiss leads to something else . . . check out my post Writing About: Intimacy.



QUESTION: Which type of kiss do you enjoy writing the most? Soft-n-sweet kisses or hot-n-steamy kisses?



SHARE: Your tips for writing a kiss.




A to Z Blogging Challenge:


70 comments:

  1. Chrys, where have you been all my writing?
    First, Happy Birthday. Second, congratulations on the 100-hurdle...and, third, I must bookmark your blog to come back to (often) at leisure.
    Great to meet you - finally!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have been unknown. lol

      Thank you and thank you again, Inge.

      It's great to "meet" you too. I hope my blog proves to be useful to you in the future. :)

      Delete
  2. Happy birthday!!!
    I finally attempted a kiss in my second book. It was sweet and urgent. Yeah, don't ask...

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    1. Thank you, Alex! Attempting a kissing scene for the first time is difficult.

      Delete
  3. Happy birthday, Chrys, and congrats on having over 100 followers.
    I've been away from this blog too long, since I need all the tips I can get, especially about kissing. I find this difficult, so needless to say I stay well away from the sex scenes, it would be much like a biology lesson.

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    1. Thank you and thank you again, Fanny! :D

      A biology lesson for a sex scene? Well, it would be educational. haha

      Delete
  4. Happy birthday and congrats on reaching 100 followers!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Happy Birthday! All great writers, people, friends, and family are born in April! LOL
    My birthday was last week, my sisters birthday is tomorrow and yours today! AWESOME!
    Have the happiest of days!
    You're providing such excellent information on writing - bookmarked for sure!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Thank you, Yolanda. lol If that's true then I'm happy to be an April baby. :)

      I hope I wished you happy birthday. If I didn't, I'm sorry and happy belated birthday.

      Thank you so much!! :)

      Delete
  6. Happy Birthday! Great tips, I'm terrible at writing kisses.

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    1. Thank you, Laura! Writing kisses is difficult.

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  7. Happy Birthday!

    I like writing both types of kissing, soft-n-sweet and hot-n-steamy. I find if I focus on the emotion and the characters, rather than on the actual act of intimacy, it flows much better than if I'm trying to work out the mechanics of it ;P
    Sophie
    Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles - A to Z Ghosts
    Fantasy Boys XXX - A to Z Drabblerotic

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    1. Thank you!

      I like both types too. And you're right, focusing on the emotion and the characters is more important than anything else to get the kiss right.

      Delete
  8. Happy Birthday! As usual, great and useful tips in areas I need to think about more in my writing. Thank you!!

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  9. Happy Birthday! Did you get the email where I sent you the audiobook of THE BEAR WITH TWO SHADOWS?

    Kissing scenes can destroy your novel if you don't get them quite right. Thanks for the help. Only happy surprises today!

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    1. Thank you, Roland. And I sure did! Thank you so much for that. I can't wait to give it a listen. :)

      Delete
  10. Wow, these are hot and steamy tips! :) Love them.

    Congrats on passing 100 followers and Happy Birthday! I hope you're having a great one!

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    Replies
    1. I'm glad you like them, Kimberly. ;)

      Thank you so much!! :D

      Delete
  11. It can be interesting to try and get through, but you do get better after one or two. Happy Birthday!

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    1. Very true. The more kissing scenes you write, the easier and better they get.

      Thank you! :)

      Delete
  12. Happy Birthday. I enjoyed this post. Writing a kissing scene can be hard. How many times can you stop youself from repeating 'lips'? It's a challenge.
    Nana Prah

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    1. Thank you! Oh yes, trying not to use lips in every sentences can become a problem.

      Delete
  13. Soft n sweet! Ha. Great post again, Chrys. Happy Birthday!!

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  14. Happy birthday! And congratulations on the 100 followers milestone :)

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  15. Happy birthday, lovely lady! I hope it's been epic and filled with cheese!

    Wonderful thoughts here. Dependent on the genre you're writing, coming under the microscope can be epic. If you're staying away from romance, I find metaphors and vaguety can be a nice touch.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Thank you, Crystal! It's been a great day, and I'm going to eat some cheese now. :D

      How far you go with describing the kiss (or what methods you use to write it) always depends on what genre you're writing, or if you're going for a lighter romance. Thanks for your comment!

      Delete
  16. I am learning how to do kissing scenes. It's not easy.

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  17. Visiting from A/Z; Happy Birthday! I'm not a writer, but I hadn't thought before how difficult it might be to write kissing and other scenes. The books I read that have these types of scenes, the writing flowed through the parts. Interesting though to read what a challenge it could be to compose them.

    Enjoy the rest of the challenge!

    betty

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    1. Thank you, Betty! Oh yes, they are some of the most difficult scenes to write and it takes a lot of effort from the author to make it flow.

      Delete
  18. Happy birthday! I don't write a lot of intimate scenes in my books for the most part, but I don't dread them. I think your tips are great. :)

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  19. Happy birthday!

    My kissing-phobic ex-"fiancé" could use advice like this. Since he was the only boyfriend I ever had, and I haven't taken any action since, I largely have to go on second-hand research instead of first-person experience when writing kissing scenes. Usually I like writing first-time scenes, when things are a little sweeter and gentler.

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    1. Thank you, Carrie-Anne!

      lol If I knew who your ex-"fiance" was I send him these tips. ;)

      A writer can write things exceptionally well that they have never experienced before. It's all in the imagination and research. First kisses are the most enjoyable to write.

      Delete
  20. congratulations and happy birthday !!

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  21. I've always believed in the KISS principle.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Keeping it simple is a good idea, but sometimes you need a little more. :)

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  22. These tips are not just for Kissing scenes but for other scenes as well. Thanks for sharing!

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  23. Excellent tips!

    And Happy Birthday! :D

    ReplyDelete
  24. A very happy birthday! An exhaustive post on writing kissing scenes, and all tips useful for other scenes too. Thanks for sharing.

    Visiting from the A-Z this time.

    Nilanjana.
    Madly-in-Verse

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Thank you, Nilanjana. I was exhausted after writing this post too.

      Delete
  25. Happy Birthday, Chrys! Hope it is/was a good one. :)

    Madeline @ The Shellshank Redemption
    Minion, Capt. Alex's Ninja Minion Army
    The 2014 Blogging from A-Z Challenge

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    1. Thank you, Madeline! I did have a good birthday. :)

      Delete
  26. Hope you had a happy birthday!

    I write YA and most of my characters' kisses are their first kisses, so they are the soft-n-sweet kind with an extra helping of awkwardness. Thanks for the tips!

    Hope you’re having fun with the A to Z challenge,
    Jocelyn

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    1. I did, Jocelyn. Thank you! :)

      First kisses are great. I've written a few and I love that you said "an extra helping of awkwardness". How true!

      Delete
  27. He watched her from across the room eating her birthday cake. He would have liked to cross the room and lick the frosting from her lips.
    Happy Birthday! and lots of great kisses in your future.

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    1. LOL! Why, Stepheny, you made me blush.

      Thank you! ;)

      Delete
  28. Happy Birthday, my beautiful friend!! Hope you are doing something special for your big day=) I loved reading this so much! Kissing scenes are my favorite and as authors, I think we have the ability to create any kind of kiss we truly desire. I'm old school so soft and sweet will always be the pleasure I crave BUT hot and steamy can be damn good too! Great advice here, Chrys!

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    1. Thank you so much, Gina! I went to the zoo with my nephews, sister, and mom. We all had a great time. :)

      Hot and steamy are damn good! ;) I think those are actually my favorite, but soft and sweet are also nice to write.

      Delete
  29. I quite love writing kissing scenes - as for outright sex scenes, not so much. I tend to 'fade out' most of the time, or else just not go into a huge amount of detail. But then, I don't write erotica, so I guess there shouldn't be a need for great detail? :P

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    1. Sometimes, depending on what kind of story I'm writing, I also fade out and do the "behind closed door" thing and let my readers imagination take over, but I've also written many steamy love scenes with quite a bit of detail.

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  30. I hope you had a good birthday :). I think that hot and heavy kissing scenes are easier to write, but when you get it right with a soft sensual one there is nothing quite like it. A really good soft, sensual kiss will have the reader melting :).
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings - AtoZ (Vampires)
    FB3X - AtoZ (Erotic Drabbles)

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    1. I did, Natasha. Thank you! I agree 100%! You said it perfectly. :)

      Delete
  31. Happy belated birthday! I hope it was great.

    Great tips on the lips. HA!

    Leanne Ross ( readfaced.wordpress.com & @LeanneRossRF )

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  32. Nice tips. They are sometimes difficult to write. I avoid them if I can.

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    1. Thank you! I wish I could avoid them, but with romance it's next to impossible.

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  33. Those are definitely some great tips, thanks!

    Random Musings from the KristenHead — K is for Kristen (and the KristenHead Nickname)

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  34. Congratulations on your new responsibility. As for honeymoons, the cynic in me recalls the honeymooning couple (and they were honeymooning in Florida), in Karl Hiaasen book, Stormy Weather. It's a funny book in a weird sort of the way-but I am afraid if I would write about honeymoons, it'd have to be funny like going on a "cruise" (in a canoe) into the Canadian sub-arctic ;

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    1. Being in a canoe in the Canadian sub-artic sounds funny and extremely cold!

      Thank you!

      Delete
  35. Just stumbled over this article after some search on the topis and it was the first one to make any sense to me. I like how you categories into tender and steamy and list all attributes that could be described. (other articles were quite specific what reason or aim a kiss must have, but nothing fit at all the the scene I'm trying to write, so I felt very confused )
    I would have loved if your article about intimacy was linked where you mentioned it. Guess I'll just have to go looking for it now^^

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    1. Sorry for not linking that article. These things happen. Things can slip by us.

      Here is the link to all of my Writing About articles: https://www.writewithfey.com/p/writing-about.html

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