Fair warning: Not a G-rated post… then again, I seriously
doubt anyone reading this is under the age of 7 so I shouldn’t upset any
delicate sensibilities.
In the words of Meg Ryan from one of my all time favorite movies
French Kiss… “A kiss… two peoples’ lips together, their breath, a little bit of
their soul…”
I agree with Meg. “A kiss is where the romance is.”
Mmm, there is nothing quite like a first kiss, is there? And
I’m not just talking about in fiction. ;) Though, I know most of us die-hard
romance readers wait anxiously for the first tangle of lips on the page. But
that’s the thing about fiction. It has the power to cross over that invisible
plane and find a grip in reality. When the character embraces that first kiss,
we can almost feel it as we live vicariously through them, reliving our own
memories of budding romances and earth-shattering kisses.
Unfortunately, far too often fiction falls wayyyyy short of
the real thing. I mean, come on… we’ve all got swoony romance on the brain if
we are writing a love story. Many of us are living in our own happily ever
after, and yet… the kiss we pen on the page is stale. Vague. Unrealistic. Utterly
unremarkable.
Well, for today you can call me the kiss doctor because I may just have the remedy to rev up your
smooch.
So here is where I kiss and tell: 3 Keys of KISS Perfection!
1. ANTICIPATION
Oh, I can hardly stand it! The tension. The seductive dance
of possibility in that moment of shared breath. Will he? Won’t he? Just kiss
the girl! Or for heavens sake, chick, grab that man and kiss him
senseless! How many of you know that the moments preceding the kiss are almost
as important as the kiss itself. Bringing the reader to their breaking point
with a near kiss moment can illicit a hot flash as smokin’ as the moment those
sparks ignite in a meeting of lips.
How are you building your tension here? What is your
character thinking? Have they envisioned what it might be like? Is that shivery
touch pre-kiss a tingling anticipation of what’s to come? Play up your senses
in the seconds before. Let your character slip into a moment of fantasy.
Sometimes this isn’t even directly before the kiss. Often you can steadily build
that slow burn from the first moment they meet on the page. Other times you
want the tension to be so tight, so unexpected, so heady at that precipice, we can do nothing
but hold our breath and silently beg for that first kiss.
2. SENSATION
Think about real life. Married or not, do you remember
that first kiss with someone special? How many of you can attest--not all
kisses are created equal. With the right someone there is more than just woven
lips and shared saliva (sorry, not the prettiest picture there) but there is
heat, and sweetness, and hunger (oh, yes I did! Kissing: the gateway drug) and
don’t forget…. MAGIC!
Hopefully, when you are mid-kiss you aren’t thinking about
your enormous pile of laundry, what you’re going to make for dinner, or what
your schedule looks like tomorrow. The kiss we want to read about is the kind
that transcends a time frame, it transcends rational though, and becomes a
bundle of sensations. The first tentative brush of smooth soft lips. The catch
in the back of your throat. The butterflies that flutter through your pulse. The feel of his hair between your fingers, the roughness of
his jaw scraping your skin. The press of his fingers against your spine.
Do you remember that kiss? I sure do! I remember exactly
what it felt like when my husband made his first move. I remember standing by
my car door saying goodnight, I remember the uncertain yet smoldering look in
his eyes when he asked for the kiss, the slight smile that curved my lips and
trapped my breath before I looked up from heavy-lidded eyes and nodded. The
anticipation! And then, BAM! Sensation took over. And I wasn’t just simply feeling
his full lips on mine. It was a dance. Our breath tangled and I breathed him in. My arms acted on their own, slipping around his warm neck, testing the softness of his hair. My blood super-heated. Heck, my foot probably would have popped if I hadn't ended up backed against the cool metal of my SUV. I felt new. Alive. I was completely swept away. Each of my
senses were honed and heightened by the exploration. It wasn’t tawdry or
obscene… and writing a detailed kiss doesn't have to be either. Just because you expound on the experience
doesn't make it some clawing, sleazy thing.
A kiss contains romance, and passion… a precursor of things
to come. If I can’t see or feel or taste that kiss you wrote in some way, it loses its power and becomes a cardboard representation of something meant to
be unforgettable.
So whether you write conservative romance or more
spicy stuff, know that your most innocent details stir your readers response.
They give credibility to the emotion of the scene. And most importantly, they put
your reader in a moment worth reading about.
3. RECOLLECTION
Okay, seriously…why waste all that goodness? A kiss doesn’t
expire when lips untangle. The memory of the kiss is just as potent as act
itself. I hate it when I read a book that belittles the effects of a solid
smooch. I mean, if you are really good and kissed there is no way you forget
about it, right?
So reach back and draw out those stolen moments. Revisit the
sensational reaction of such a simple touch. (Yes, Meg… this is where the
romance is. This is where the line is crossed between friends and lovers.
Spark!) Is there something that comes back to mind later when they are either
desperate to forget it or can’t stop reliving the glorious and long-awaited moment?
When you are wrapped up in a swoon-worthy kiss there are often things that go
unprocessed at the time. Things that return to us and make us sigh,
or blush, or grow giddy as a school-girl. Draw on your own experience, or dare
to dream about a kiss that could turn your world upside down. THIS is the kiss
to write. This is the kiss we crave on the page. The kiss that reminds us of
the magic of falling. And the undeniable connection in a perfect match!
Your turn to kiss and
tell! Share one of your kiss scenes—just for fun or for some pointers.
Juicy or tame, all are welcome here! (I’m obviously not shy.) So go on… pucker
up! Make it count. Let’s wrap up this week with a kiss! MUAH!
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Amy Leigh Simpson writes Romantic Suspense that is heavy on the romance, unapologetically honest, laced with sass and humor, and full of the unfathomable Grace of God. She is the completely sleep deprived mama to two little tow-headed mischief makers and wife to her very own swoon-worthy hero. Represented by the oh-so-wise and dashing Chip MacGregor of MacGregor Literary Inc.
