Elaboration of the love scene in a romance novel

Writing a love scene is not something you should include in your novel or story just because you want to classify it as a romance. A love scene should be so intricately woven that it seems perfect. If you go to a bookstore and buy a romance novel, you should be able to tell from the first few pages of the following:

A. What is a romance by the words and phrases used.

b. The heat level. Whether it’s a sweet or inspiring novel with little or no sex; to Harlequin Mills and Boon Modern Romance [with a moderate amount of love making scenes], or one of his hottest lines like Blaze; or very erotic like the books Black Lace or Accent Press.

against If you have sexual tension. Even in sweet or inspirational novels, if it’s a romance, there should be some kind of sexual tension, otherwise it’s just not a romance. Even if we don’t get past the bedroom door, there must be some kind of chemistry between the hero and heroine for it to classify as romance.

A love scene is not:

A. Two characters who behave against their character traits just to make love on the page for a bit.

b. A device used to fill pages. That would be misleading the reader.

A love scene should only be used if:

A. It is crucial to the plot.

b. moves the story forward

vs. Reflects the motivations of the characters.

If a love scene can be cut out of your novel without affecting the plot, then it really wasn’t necessary in the first place.

When writing a love scene, the setting should complement the emotions of the characters. The characters’ senses must be sharpened and heightened for a lovemaking scene.

A love scene should:

Tell the reader something else about the characters. Maybe it’s a time when a sense of humor comes into play. Or maybe it highlights your fears. After all, it is said that the two strongest emotions are love and fear, with fear being the stronger of the two. So maybe one of the characters is afraid of falling in love or afraid of losing that love. Those kinds of things can provide the conflict to drive your plot forward.