My special guest today is fellow Carina Press author, Christine Price. Here’s Christine’s official bio – Christine Price lives in Edmonton, AB, with her husband, two cats and a slightly idiotic Anatolian shepherd. Though she probably wouldn’t consider herself a “girly girl,” Christine is in love with cooking and baking, and she has recently tried her hand at cake decorating. As a public service, she’d like to warn people about the potential threat posed by twenty pounds of rolled fondant and a slightly inebriated best friend. In her free time, Christine enjoys wine, good movies and even better books. Her first work, Soul Bond, was released in April 2010.
Today, Christine is talking about her adventures in writing…
In Darkness Bound is my first novel-length publication. And I learned a lot from writing it. For example, the importance of fully developing a climax and the “Great Ah-hah Moment.” Actually, the first draft of IDB was at least 20,000 words shorter than the finished manuscript and missed a lot in the way of character development. Overall, the novel is waaaaay better for the revisions. But I also learned something that never would have struck me before now. Instead of going into the lengthy summation of the discovery, or doing an interpretive dance (which would be a little difficult without the use of a webcam and YouTube) allow me to provide a brief script:
Me: So?
Beta Reader: Okay, I liked x, y and z. But I don’t get what’s going on with w.
Me: Well, here’s the plot point.
Beta Reader: Huh… you should probably put that in somewhere.
Me: I did. It was on page 120.
Beta Reader: OH! … … But that’s the sex scene.
Me: Yeah.
Beta Reader: You may want to rethink that.
What my Beta Reader didn’t come right out and say was that a major plot point in a sex scene isn’t always a great idea. This was a realization I had to come to myself.
So why is it? Well…when people read romance, they want to lose themselves in the romance. The erotic passages are especially important. They establish the intimacy between the characters and heightening the sensuality in the relationship. Readers—myself included—use their imaginations during these scenes. There are also readers who prefer to read for the plot, and tend to skim the sex scenes entirely.
See where I’m going with this? No matter what the motivation for reading, I think that there’s a chance that if you include important plot points in a sex scene they’re going to be missed. This by no means goes for everyone who’s ever read a romance novel. But I’ll admit I’ve done it. In my favourite romance book of all times, I skimmed through each sex scene because I wanted to get on with the plot. When I went back and read it over (for the second, third, fourth, fifth and twentieth times) then I appreciated the sex scenes. If there’d been any important developments during those flitting pages of eroticism, however, I totally would have missed them.
I guess there’s not really a moral to my story. (Well, not to anyone other than me anyway). My novel helped me with several key points in the development of my writing. One of them just happened to be this one. As I continue writing, it’s one that will stick with me.
Maybe.
Contest: What are your thoughts? Plot in a sex scene – yes or no? Are you a skimmer? A “lose yourself in”-er? Or neither? Post an answer to Christine’s questions in the comments section and go into a draw to win a download of In Darkness Bound
Here’s the blurb for In Darkness Bound:
Data Collection by Dalhousie, Dr. Donna L.
Patient 331
New, confused. His powers unknown.
Patient 289
No longer viable in the test pool, he remains in isolation.
Patient 77
Reclassified to staff status. Useful, malleable.
Confined in a sterile research facility and treated like a lab rat, Chris is alone and terrified. His special powers are his only escape, allowing him to psychically connect with other patients.
Alone in his cell for longer than he can remember, Vance is hungry. When newcomer Chris makes a mental connection, Vance is intrigued and soon wants more than just conversation.
Chris and Vance seek comfort with each other, and with Simon—the only staff member who’s shown them a hint of compassion. Their relationships develop during stolen moments, and they turn their thoughts to escape. But as Dr. Dalhousie’s madness spirals, more than cell walls threaten to keep them apart…
Purchase from Carina Press
You can visit Christine at her website or chat to her on twitter.
I don’t put plot points/twists in sex scene, but I think they do need to be plot relevant. The sex has to be born out of the story that came before, and something must change as a result of it. So while it isn’t a right angle or acute angle in the story, it should be a slightly obtuse angle.
Speaking of obtuse, perhaps I shouldn’t try to comment before the morning coffee.. :grin:
Hello Christine! Your cover art for In Darkness Bound is stunning.
I don’t really have preference about a plot point being in a sex scene. Some of favorite books have them as a plot point and some don’t.
I do have to admit though that I’m both a skimmer and a “lose yourself in” er. If the plot of the book catches my attention right away – I read the whole book. If I find the first 5 or so pages to be mediocre – I skim through for the best parts…usually sex scenes because I’m addicted to them. If the book seems boring to me and not worth my time – I stop reading after the first couple of pages.
I USUALLY lose myself in the story (sometimes to the point of irritation at interruptions like work & other daily necessities), but there have been books that I’ve either skimmed through or just not finished because it wasn’t good.
I’m like you, if there are major plot points in a sex scene, I’d probably miss them.
I’m a lose yourself in the plot reader (including the sex scenes) so much so I rarely like to put a book down once I’ve started it :D
Love the cover art by the way, very sexy and intriguing with that background.
Hi Christine – Since I write erotic romance mainly there are loads of love scenes. I’ll admit that sometimes I’ll shove an important piece of information in there somewhere. Maybe I’m mean, but I think it forces people to read the scenes. :mrgreen:
I’m not a skimmer as a rule. I’ll only start to skim if a book loses my interest.
How closely I read a sex scene is determined by a mix of factors: mood, location, author’s skill and how many times I’ve read the book. I can remember every plot I’ve ever read, but cannot connect them with names (character’s, author’s, title’s, etc).
I always feel cheated when sex has no meaning to the story. After all, sex matters in “real” life. (BTW, has anyone found the “real world”? I’ve been looking for it the last decade or so!)
“This above all, to thine own self be true.” The type of erotica story will determine the impact of sex. Is it almost all sex (in which case the plot will be in the sex scenes), is it balance sex/plot or is it plot with a few sex scenes?
My favorite stories/authors do have plot development happen in sex scenes, but then the issue is reinforced later. LL’s Breed series is a classic example. Her ultimate climate point, pun intended, happens during a sex scene, but then is reinforced afterward. If you skip the sex scene, you lose some of the power of the moment, but you could follow the story. Some authors throw in one or two sex scenes that have minimal impact. Some e-book authors have a number of sex scenes strung together with a weak excuse for plot. One big author started out the first six books with no sex scenes, then Tantric magic worked into her plot and now her world is imploding in classic sci-fi/fantasy style while her sex scenes need a common scene check. (One of the biggest differences between the sci-fi/fantasy worlds and the romance worlds is the tendency of the sci-fi/fantasy worlds to self-implode. Douglas Adams, anyone?)
Perhaps my biggest concern about sex scenes is not in plot points, but in keeping track of the action. In one book, the hero stated that he had bitten his lover “three times”. Thinking that I misread something, I reread the previous scenes a number of times. Apparently, bite number three got edited out! It sounds silly, but little things can drive you nuts. If you promise your reader ten kisses, don’t stop at eight!
So a lot of “in depth” readers, but I’m glad to know there are some skimmers out there. :smile:
Nova – you’re totally right about internal consistency. It’s one of the things that drives me NUTS when something is contradicted halfway through the book. Very well said.
I’ve done it both ways. It really depends on the book and author like Nova said. However if I find that there isn’t a point to the sex scenes besides sex (ie- no plot) then by the end of the book I usually am skimming them. I always read the dialog in sex scenes so if it’s got quotations in a sex scene I’ll catch it, otherwise it’ll depend on my mood. :roll:
I have to totally agree on the internal consistency. I hate reading a book when I find a typo, wrong name, conflicting fact, etc. It’s like a big red stop sign that just yanks me out of the story. ARGH! :evil:
Oh and I too LOVE the cover art! :mrgreen:
WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT
And the winner is….Amy W!
Congratulations, Amy. Christine will be contacting you directly.
Thanks to everyone else for visiting. You’re all entered in my quarterly draw for a $25 gift certificate, which will be drawn during the first week of October.