Kiss a little longer...

 

Very often we write what we know. Little slivers of ourselves wedge into those characters we create. They like the things we enjoy. Say things we typically use in conversation. Work in a field we at least know something about.

At the same time, when we craft a story we step into someone else’s shoes and live outside our box. Which means RESEARCH. After all, crime writers aren’t always in law enforcement. Time travel is out so historical authors can only research a time long past. Fantasy writers venture out into a completely different realm of imagination.

But that’s the thing I love about writing romance. Your real life experience AND your research are right at your fingertips and, well… fun! Granted, there are usually other aspects of the story that also involve research and experience but for the purposes of this post we’re staying on the love train.

A few months back I read this article called The "15-Second Kiss" Experiment. The basic premise of the article states that couples should commit to a “15 second kiss” each day to stay connected. Fifteen seconds doesn’t seem like very long, but honestly, if you are timing it, it’s a decent chunk of time. Enough time for a kiss to shift from chaste-mindless peck to something more intimate. You might get so caught up in your busyness and your routine that something as simple and as lovely as a real kiss becomes something you begin to neglect.

To be honest, I tried the experiment, and sadly, after a few days the mandatory fifteen second smooch got lost in the shuffle again. But the thing is, I still think about it. No, I don’t log my kiss on the calendar with a tidy little check mark, but when I’m snuggled next to my hubby at the end of the day I ask myself if we had a moment of intimacy or if the romance got trampled under the dirty diapers and the pile of Lego's. And then I think, wouldn’t that starry-eyed 13-year old Amy be sad to know that once she did snag her handsome prince and got to making babies that all those kisses she’d dreamed up got taken for granted? That it all just became mundane and routine? Is that the love story we would write for ourselves? Not this girl!

Since I’m such a hopeless romantic at heart, and since I tend to love reading and write all things schmaltzy, and spicey, and romancey, I realized that my interactions with my husband aren’t just personal experience I draw from for inspiration but also research. Really, really fun research!

It boils down to this... (you may want to jot this down.)

If you want to write great romance BE ROMANTIC!

Take note of the things you do that ignite that certain spark from your main squeeze. Try new things. Jump on that man when he walks through the door and plant one on him. Hold hands. Give a massage. Write a love note. Concentrate on the sensations that might have become commonplace after years of hitting that comfortable stride. Tastes, scents, textures that might have become so second nature they’re almost invisible are all still there if you bother looking for them…. And they all become a beautiful palate of flavors for writing a romance novel.

So go ahead, in the name of research, kiss a little longer. Why the heck not, right?

Curious minds want to know… do you kiss your sweetie every day? Even if you don’t, do you still take the time to really kiss? If not this is your wake up call. Side effects of kissing can include an endorphin rush, feelings of connection and desirability, foot popping, smiling, and general happiness. Warning: Kissing may lead to other fun frisky behavior guaranteed to improve your day. Get to smoochin’ people!

 

 

 

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Amy Leigh Simpson is a writer, singer, runner, foodie, coffee-lovin’-chocoholic. When she’s not dreaming up saucy love stories sprinkled with suspense and mystery, she’s chasing around her two adorable tow-headed toddler miscreants (Ahem)—boys, playing dress up with her miracle princess baby, and being the very blessed wife to the coolest, most hunky hero on the planet (sorry, ladies—taken). Though Amy doesn’t use her Sports Medicine degree for anything but patching up daily boo boo’s, she enjoys weaving medical aspects into her writing. Represented by the oh-so-wise and dashing Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary Inc.