No Love For The Love Scenes!

I’ve written many romantic plots in my fan fiction and leisure writing. But anytime my characters came close to anything physical, I’d drop in a placeholder and move on. I always told myself I’d come back later and teach myself how to write those moments properly. The placeholders are still there.

I wanted my writing to feel serious, like something a skilled writer would produce. I thought if I attempted to write anything intimate, it would come out awkward, so I avoided it completely.

Now, I’m writing a novel that I plan to publish, and I’ve hit the same wall. The scene I’m working on isn’t explicit. It’s just one character’s emotional reaction while the intimate moment happens, but I’m still stuck.

I know exactly what my character is feeling. But describing what is happening as they feel it feels wrong, like someone is about to tap me on the shoulder and demand to know what I’m doing.

The nearest explanation I can think of is my strict upbringing. These things were never discussed in my family and my older siblings shamed me and “dobbed me in” to my parents whenever The Baby-Sitters Club books included a kiss. Anyone would think I had written it myself! But here I am now, trying to write intimate moments, and feeling like I’m doing something strange.

This got me thinking: is this just part of the writing process? Do all authors struggle to put intimacy on the page? Or is it just me and my baggage creating a problem?

Would love to hear from other authors on this one!

Reach out to me at hello@kirbyquinn.com.