I was thinking about adding romance elements to writing the other day, so I was having a look online and I found this quote on a blog:



I've recently been reading some of Karen Marie Moning's books. She writes a Fantasy series and I absolutely love them. However she does have love scenes in these stories, which personally I skip over as it's not something I'm interested in reading. However, I was wondering, for those of you who have added romance into your novel, as an Christian, how do you go about writing romance, and would you ever consider adding a love scene into your novel?

I know as Christians we can have a different view on marriage, dating and relationships; but even if you're not writing specifically for Christians, your own Christian ideals tend to spill over into your writing, at least that's what I find.

Also, as a married woman/man how do you view writing love scenes in books? My brother and his wife are a Christian couple and they've said love scenes in books do not bother them.

The writer of the above quote states that you can write love scenes that are romantic, without being overly erotic. If you are writing fiction for adults, would this be something you would be open to doing, or would you shy away from writing that sort of content?

If you are writing a book for adults, and you do have romantic tension throughout the novel between two characters, do you think people would be disappointed by a lack of love scene/s in the novel. I know you can't cater to everyone, but it's just something I've been musing over.

As a Christian, do love scenes in books bother you? Would you be put off reading a book if there was a love scene in it, and how would you feel about writing one?

Clearly from the writer's perspective, the romance was an addition in the Fantasy novel that was a pleasant add on: so one could say it's not needed at all if you're not writing specifically for the romance genre. I wouldn't call Karen Marie Moning's Fever novels a Romance series, I would call them Fantasy, and yet she does have a Romance element in there. What are your thoughts?

That would depend on what you mean by a love scene. Having a couple sit together, snuggle up on the sofa, take naps on each other, hold each other, or even share a kiss is not a problem to me, though I do like to see it written for a greater purpose than simply pointing out that this is something that these characters do.

Personally, I don't like more intimate love scenes. Romance is often deeper and more wholesome when that sort of thing is avoided, especially since those scenes tend to be exactly the ones that are there for their own sake rather than giving us much more about the characters (unless the point is that one of them is unfaithful).

I also don't really like it when a book goes out of the way to remind you that such a scene takes place, but jumps to the time after which it has happened. It still puts the thoughts in your head, but then gets away with saying they didn't actually go too far because they didn't give you the scene at all. Perhaps that is because they were not good scene transitions and simply resumed with "such and such a time later".

Either way, I think there are better ways to offer a strong relationship theme than to show or overtly imply matrimonial intimacy.

I agree entirely, word for word practically. Describing matrimonial intimacy is not the most effective or artistic way of expressing a strong relationship.

This is something I have to face often when I'm writing, as I am quite fond of writing stories focused on a man and woman falling in love. (What can I say? I'm a sucker for a good love story).

First and foremost, I stay away from love scenes in terms of sex. I don't think it's necessary to write graphic content like that, to get the point across that two people love one another deeply. Plus, I struggled with lust for quite some time and I just want to avoid it.

As for things like kissing, holding hands, or snuggling on the sofa, I think those things are fine. God created us with a desire for intimacy like that, and I don't see anything wrong with talking about it. For me, I can swoon much more over a well written first hand holding experience than over a "love scene" (I use the term love scene as what the world would consider a love scene - aka. sex.). And there is also something so sweet and beautiful about seeing two people slowly open up to one another, taking those baby steps toward deciding they want to be together in marriage.

Honestly, I think it's all a matter of conviction (to a point). Some people may be completely fine with writing a simple kissing scene, while another person would feel like they were violating their conscience. I would say, if you ever get to a scene in your writing that is romantic in nature (ex. kissing or snuggling), and you aren't sure if it's alright, ask Jesus. He'd be more than happy to point you in the direction that would honor him and keep you walking the path that is best for you.

Hear hear. Very well put.

One of the members of the forum has asked that I post this for them. Because of the personal nature of the content, this person has chosen to remain anonymous.

That is a very good point. We as Christians tend to want to solve problems by avoiding them like the plague, but when people can approach what we consider to be tricky subjects with maturity and openness, we grow a lot more than when we attempt to shun things entirely. In the same way that fairy tales are important because they tell us that dragons can be killed, fiction is also important because it tells us that not every creature is a dragon.

That was actually very thought provoking, I never thought about it from that angle, and is definitely an important point worth considering when including romance into one's novel. Thank you for sharing, Anonymous, that was very gracious and brave of you.