by Janis Susan May/Janis Patterson
I think we all agree we live in a sex-saturated society. Everywhere
we turn there is sex - social media, movies and television, books, even
advertising. Yes, we all know sex is used to sell everything from coffee
filters to motorcycles and just about anything you can think of in between.
These days it's difficult to find books or movies that don't
drip with explicit, graphic and sometimes gratuitous sex, but it is possible.
The writers of this blog write what some call 'clean' books that don't have
excessive sex or violence... but be careful of saying that. The word 'clean' is
a trigger for lots of writers and maybe even some readers, especially those who
like their reading explicit. It implies, they say, that sex is inherently
'dirty.'
Well, that argument is way above my pay grade! Besides, what
constitutes 'sex' is really a very grey area, open to all manner of
interpretations. To some readers, a kiss before an engagement is salacious,
while to some others getting to know the other person's name before the characters
have sex is not really necessary. Most readers - and writers - fall somewhere
in between.
So as writers what do we do about sex? Ignore it? Allude to
it? Something else? There are those who say that sex is an integral component
of romance and of life itself, and that to ignore it is dishonest. There are
also those who say that some things should be private, and not everyone regards
premarital sex or even descriptions of marital sex as an indispensable part of
romance. And many mystery readers believe that sex - except perhaps as a motive
- has any place whatsoever in a mystery.
What's a poor writer to do?
First, we must accept that whatever we do there are some
people who won't be happy about it. Second, we must always remember that it's
our story and our people, and what they do is at our decision and command.
There are all kinds of options open to us. We can write a
story where sex is not only not mentioned, it's never even thought of. We can
write a story where a couple (married or unmarried) have sex, but it's most
definitely off-screen, with nothing but the most careful allusion to it having happened.
Some writers get so graphic in their descriptions of The Act that it might as
well be advertised as an instructional manual.
So - do your characters do 'It'? Or not? It's up to you -
and your readers.
My mysteries have been criticized for having sex in them as well as not having sex scenes. It seems as though writers can't win on that. I don't write erotica, but Kirkus criticized Death Legacy for having sex scenes. Luckily, that novel received great reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly. So it wasn't a problem. When I decided on no sex scenes in my romantic mystery The Inheritance, it was because that wouldn't have been appropriate to the novel. PB criticized it for that reason.
ReplyDeleteThere's only one way a sex scene could be justified in a mystery story. That would be if one of the participants murdered the other during the act. That's never happened in a story of mine and never will. If my characters want to have sex -- and I hope they do -- they'll have to do it on their own time. I did, however, allude to it in my novel JUSTIFIED ACTION. Here's how:
ReplyDelete,,,He called her two days later. They went to dinner and a movie. Clint Eastwood’s “Gran Torino.” She cried at the end. He fought not to. The following evening, Wednesday, they went to a play. When he dropped her off at her apartment, she invited him to a home-cooked dinner at her apartment on Friday and suggested he bring a toothbrush. He did, along with a change of clothes, and stayed until Monday morning. . .
I'm with Earl. A few months ago, when I read a mystery novel with explicit sex scenes throughout I found the sex distracting. It seemed "stuck in" to entice some readers--but not me. It was only annoying and even disgusting. I haven't read anything by that author since. A straight romance novel would be a very different cup of tea, however. I rarely read romances but I don't mind more explicit sex scenes there. I do think the #metoo movment has taught us to be more careful about depicting women as mainly sex objects. I sure hope so.
ReplyDeleteAs an avid reader of many genres I dislike gratuitous sexual scenes and explicit sex which is soft porn, not because I am a prude. In my opinion, the character's bedroom door should remain closed unless leaving it open is essential to advance the story.
ReplyDeleteAs an author I write romantic historical fact fiction which, with, does not contain explicit sexual scenes. with one mild exception because it was needed to advance the plot. I have only had one review in which a reader complained my novels would be more suited to a nun.
www.rosemarymorris.co.uk
Interesting question. I don't include sex scenes in my books, but I don't mind if others do. If something offends me, I just don't read it. I think it's a healthy thing that writers are free to express themselves in their own way. As a reader, I'm glad to have so many choices.
ReplyDeleteI believe love scenes should complement the characters. I had an editor who really wanted to buy two books of my trilogy but had to turn them down because the publisher was leaning toward erotica. She sent me a recently pubbed book as an example of what they wanted. After reading three chapters I despaired that I would not be able to write that kind of book. I want plot with the love scenes, not the reverse. Plot, characters, and time frame all dictate intimacy. Anything gratuitous is so obvious. But I admit I don't like the door closed in a romance and thus I write according to what's happening in the story and my hero/heroine.
ReplyDeleteMy mom was a mystery reader all her life. I write romantic suspense where developing a relationship between the h/h is is as important as the suspense. When Mom was in her late sixties, I introduced her to romance novels. She loved them and had a big keeper shelf. Her take on sex in novels was, "Some writers put too much sex into their books--and some don't put enough."
ReplyDeleteAs a reader, I prefer the author to be creative in sharing that the characters had sex but to shut the door for the actual thing. Of course, if it somehow moves the story forward, perhaps it's worth having word by word.
ReplyDeleteAs a writer, so far it's not been a part of the story line for any of my characters.