Writing Wrongs

March 27, 2005

So I�m reading Romancing the Blog this morning, and to quote Meg Ryan from When Harry Met Sally, �Yes, yes, yes!�

This is a start, the writer comes close to voicing one of my major complaints about what I�ve been seeing in the romance genre and in many contest entries I�ve judged. I know writers wonder why people admire romantic elements in mainstream type offerings while dismissing the romance genre. Sexual tension is one of the major reasons for that.

And you�d think, of anything, romance writers could write sexual tension. I�ve found more often than not, they can�t. What�s odd is in romance contests, I almost always score low in that regard. In mainstream contests, I score high.

I have one manuscript that illustrates this better than others. Even when mainstream readers didn�t like the story, they all commented on how the main character�s love for his ex-wife was tangible. I entered it in a romance contest and received the following comment:

I can�t tell how the main character feels about his ex-wife because you didn�t describe her in detail.

It left me scratching my head, because I figured if I got everything else wrong in that story, I nailed the part about the main character�s (obsessive) love for his ex-wife. And since he�s a ghost (it�s a weird story), it�s not about her physical qualities.

I think what happens is the word sexual in the phrase sexual tension confuses a lot of writers. It isn�t sexual or physical at all. In fact, I�m a firm believer in that you should be able to remove the sexual from the tension between two characters and still have tension. Romance writers could learn a lot from studying successful buddy movies and stories. It�s all about chemistry.

Look at the classic Casablanca. Sure, there�s tension between Rick and Ilsa. But what about the wonderful chemistry between Rick and Captain Louis Renault? The movie wouldn�t be half as good if that didn�t exist.

For me, the tension needs to be subtle. It�s the subtext beneath the surface. It�s not (and I�ve seen this far too often) one character thinking about the other in the shower. Okay, that might work if you�re a sixteen-year-old boy and you�re conjuring ways to spy on the girls� locker-room. If we�re considering why two people fall in love, or don�t, it�s not the shower scenes.

Okay, I concede that the physical may add to the tension later in the story. For me, two people meeting and immediately thinking of each other in the shower (and yes, I�ve read this, unfortunately more than once, in different stories) doesn�t provide tension. In fact, I don�t find it the least bit sexy. Done wrong, and it�s kind of creepy. It�s like the author is desperately worried that the reader won�t �get� that these two people are attracted to each other.

Just remember, it�s all about chemistry. To quote Semisonic:

So when I find myself alone and unworthy

I think about all of the things I learned from the fine fine women with nothing but good intentions and a Bad tendency to get burned

All about chemistry

Won't you show me everything you've learned

I'll memorize everything you do to me so I can teach it when it comes my turn

Charity Tahmaseb wrote at 9:26 a.m.

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