Really Great Sex: A Writing Lesson

So an old friend and I were sharing an innuendo filled conversation recently, and it occurred to me that the KEY to really fabulous sex has been wavering and floating me around all this time. Really fabulous, mind-blowing sex is NOT about specific technique (oh sure, that can't hurt)--it's about KNOWING what your partner wants, or... more subtly...getting them to want what you have to offer. And the communication of what they want is NOT necessarily transferred right there on the spot, or, if you are ME, what you are going to end up with is GIGGLING sex, not mind-blowing sex. Boys seem to like all those naughty words... to me they are mostly a bit of ridiculum.

No, the REAL answer is to have been paying attention all ALONG to the kinds of things your partner likes... What hints are to be found in every day conversations? Do they linger over dessert or ravenously gorge? What are their visual stimulations? Aural? Audio? Is there anyplace you can TOUCH that sends shivers through them? Mostly though, talking about it and sharing when NOT engaged, and BOTHERING TO REMEMBER--what suggestive comments give them a happy blush? And then pulling all those cues into that big action sequence.


Doesn't that tickle your writing brain?

*cough* Just me then.

Anyway, I'm going to share it with you, because I'm kinky that way.



Sex and the Final Action Sequence.

So in order to have those things PULLED into the final sequence (PUSHED in, even--can we say THRUST? *giggles*--I warned you.), the communication and observation has to have happened already. There are TWO WAYS this can happen, and the effect of the two is different, but complimentary.


THE PIECES

This is the trail of information that, in the final action, can then be pulled in without a 'Deus ex machina' accusation. Does an earlobe nibble make his knees weak? Do they adore visual stimulation? (leave the lights on) Literarily... Nobody previously UNintroduced should have a pivotal role.  No OBJECT or EVENT without history comes in here.  The ACTION can be fresh, but the props and participants cannot (use only what you have good reason to think your partner might enjoy).  If there is a sister given up for adoption that is going to donate the kidney, this CAN'T be the first time we have AT LEAST gotten a hint about it. Since it is the series I am most familiar with, let me pull a couple Harry Potter examples.

JK Rowling is a master at mentioning an idea that will matter later in the most casual of way—she repeats ideas, upping the role... things like polyjuice potion, or the room of requirement. Dragons in Gringots are mentioned in the Sorcerer's Stone... and FINALLY come into play in Deathly Hallows. Goblin distrust of wizards is discussed in detail in Order of the Phoenix... (as is the Goblin parallel to Swizerland and their role in cutlery, time pieces and dairy products *shifty*) Deathly Hallow payoff. The WHOLE BOOK of Chamber of Secrets lays the groundwork for books 6 and 7.

These hints should register on emotional, sensory, and cerebral levels, though the first can be taken care of if you've just made people CARE about the characters and the second can lead to the third... something observed can lead to a clue clicked into place.


And THEN, there is SWEET ANTICIPATION

This is the hint of what is GOING to happen... in real life, it might be a whisper at the restaurant, or a flash of your sexiest lingerie. Maybe it is as obvious as a phone call saying, “I'm on my way!” or as subtle as a smoldering look across a crowded room. In literature, this is foreshadowing. I prefer the variety that AFTER the fact you can spot, but BEFORE, it doesn't help you guess.

So in action and in... action... start paying attention, picking up and dropping clues, and thinking about how the audience is going to want to be tempted prior... and for the ACTUAL event, bring it all to the table...

So there.

Along those lines, I got an award yesterday from Alex Cavanaugh that has a related theme.

Imagine the world was ending when the Mayan's predict, December 21, 2012... What would you do between now and then?

1)  Edit my books that are done but not clean, so I can share them with pride.

2)  Go on the FANCY SCHMANCY version of the book tour, in spite of it being a bad investment.

3)  Quit my job in June of 2012 to spend the last 6 months with friends and family in my beloved Pacific Northwest. (if the house sells, go sooner)

4)  Write my grandpa's story. Never mind it would probably never be read. It is something I need to do.

5)  Eat all the things I enjoy, drink what I like, and shoot all that foreshadowing and plotting into my sex life.

6)  Laugh A LOT--I have a few lifetime reliable laugh-makers and i would definitely fit them in.

7)  Read all the Harry Potter books again, as... in this life, those have had the biggest effect, and I am pretty sure I could summon a group of people I truly love to read them with me to relive the anticipation... MAN that was a good time.

And I am going to pass this on to:  Ted Cross because much of what I mentioned above was driven home by how well he did it with a significant section of his book, and RaShelle Workman for being a superstar commenter and to Leigh Moore, my most recent kindred spirit!