WORDS

When we write, we want to show how lovers are when they are together, how they feel, how they speak to each other. We want readers to forget they are reading mere words and experience the emotional moment. And yet words are the most powerful form of communication in the world when it comes time to play on a reader's emotions. 

Don't feel you need write your characters into eroticism just because that sub-genre is what many authors are working in and publishers are demanding these days. Let the scene, your characters, and your comfort zone dictate where a love scene ends and where the reader's imagination begins. But, even before your characters fall into bed, they should be in love (even if they don't realize it yet). So, begin with romance — but only if it fits with the story line.

Also, no matter the length and focus of your story, there are different ways you can pull the romance to the forefront by remembering no matter how independent the heroine is, the reader wants the hero to be the one who provides and protects. The heroine needs to see the hero in action; so does the reader. That's universal. Also, emotional conflict (the staple of a good romance): conflicting loyalties or control  or both, fear, and trust. In a romance, you must decide, or let your character decide, what beliefs will be surrendered, what principles they must relinquish/agree to, or what beliefs must be given up for the romance to grow stronger and endure.

Below is a brief example of how words can show a great deal about your characters, their romance, and how they love. Yes, they are sexually attracted to each other, but they are also in love; or, they are falling in love. The prose is how characters recognize there is a burgeoning romance and how each expresses that.

He never felt like this about a woman before and the fear of losing her plagued his sleepless nights. He was going to lose her unless he was willing to give up his roguish lifestyle. His lips brushed hers and explored her face the way a blind man would explore it with fingers. He explored her face as though it was the first time he saw her, as if it would be the last. 

She remained quiet for as long as possible. When she realized her breathing was more labored, she backed away. "You are sweet temptation with your lips whispering unspoken words on my naked cheek. Your words are more than flirtation; it's as if they are writing a dissertation over my mouth with every caressing breath. You are a luring fascination and I loved you as a friend before I realized I was in love with you."

Poems are another way to express a love from the heart; in poetry, try using affirmation, apology, or declaration for example.

I Can't Help It

Ohhh, I can't help it,

you make me happy

and I become your

Venus of poetry

writing words of

love

I am a feather

carried by the wind

whirling and happy

because each of your

words dances in my

heart

I swirl among stars

entwining the two

of us together...

heaven's blessing touches

you and me, my

love

Whether or not the romance works out depends on you, on your characters, and on how much time you want to spend showing the readers the "why". What we want to remember, as writers, is that a romance begins with"once upon a time" and ends with, hopefully, "happily ever after". We can show this to our readers by letting the romance come full circle, by by setting up a similarity between the image we create and the language from the words we use at the beginning as well as at the end.

I Can't Help It Intellectual Property Rights:© 1999 – 2016 Mimi Wolske/Mona Arizona™. All rights reserved.

(art: Kiss by Ron Hicks)