My editor recommended I work on my kissing. No, I did not
kiss my editor. My editor suggested that I improve my writing scenes about kissing. To clarify, my kissing skills do not need any
improvement, but I agree that my writing skills regarding kissing scenes could
use some gloss. Here's to hoping my fictional kissing catch-up to my real life
ones.
Tips for Great Kissing Scenes:
- Strong Characters: First & most importantly build strong characters and have a strong plot. Two strangers or flat characters kissing is not as powerful as a relationship marinated in lust.
- Sexual Tension should start immediately.
- Setting the Scene & Mood: What is happening before the kiss. Are the characters alone? Are they in a crowd? Is it night or day? Are they in an open field or in an elevator? Happy occasion? Scary? Victory kiss?
- Get them Close: Find a way to get characters physically close to each other. Come running to each other? Lean in to each other while sitting on the couch?
- Use the five senses.
- Use Emotions: What are the characters feeling in them moment or about the other characters?
- Observations: Describe what others notice about each other?
- Parts of the Kiss: Lips, tongue, teeth, bodies, eyes, face, hands, breath, voice
- End: Find a way to end the kiss. Someone interrupts them? Run out of time? Change their minds about the kiss? Take their intimacy further? The elevator door opens? It starts raining?
- Exaggerated Awareness: Another concept to keep in mind is a concept discussed by Sandra Brown called Exaggerated Awareness. A strength and necessity of successful romance writing is to have the readers experience the main characters as having a strong connection. The two are destined to be together and with nobody else. This should be conveyed with every look, touch and interaction.
- Kiss that Matches the Character: Match the kiss to the personality of funny, quiet, dominant, etc.
Below are some links regarding writing kissing scenes:
