by Bethany Turner, @SeeBethanyWrite
I recently received what is quite possibly the most fun and exciting invitation I have ever received as an author. It was an invitation to speak to a bunch of other authors and offer tips on how to write (Are you ready for this?) kissing scenes! In the invite it was even referred to as “a kissing clinic.” Oh my goodness. I squealed. I literally sat there in front of my computer and squealed. And then I ran out and told my husband (and felt pretty cool doing so, I must say). So that will be coming up in a couple of months, but it got me thinking.
Most of us, as writers, have very passionate opinions about writing kissing scenes. We love them or we hate them. We look forward to them or we dread them. They’re “the fun part” or they’re a necessary evil. Sure, not all of us are romance writers, so it’s a bigger issue to some of us than others, but most of us have to write some sort of kissing scene at some point.
So where do you stand? Do you love them or hate them?
As you may have guessed by all the squealing, I love them. To me, nothing reveals who my characters are—who they really are—better and more instantly than a kiss. Now, if you hate writing kisses, can I ask you to wonder with me for a moment if it’s maybe because you’re looking at it as…well…as just a kiss? A kiss should never be just a kiss in the stories we write. A kiss can be countless things. And you need to be using it for much more than a brief “Isn’t it romantic?” moment.
- Use a kiss to reveal the level of comfort between your characters. First kisses can be awkward, fiery, embarrassing, or as natural as breathing—but how did your characters get there? Did they stumble into it through a set of circumstances? Was it something they’d been building up to, but still didn’t see coming? Or were they on the same page and connecting on a deeper level than they realized? A great kissing scene is one of the best ways to show the reader how connected your characters are to each other, and the level of intimacy that has been developed.
- Use a kiss to set your characters on a completely different trajectory. Here’s a little tip: If your characters don’t act any differently around each other after the kiss than they did before it, the kiss probably wasn’t necessary. It needs to have impact, for the characters and the reader. If your character doesn’t start thinking different thoughts or feeling different motivations or experiencing different emotions after a kiss, you’ve wasted the power and the potential!
- Use a kiss to break your characters down to their most genuine, authentic forms. Is their instinct to brush it off as no big deal? (If so, why? Are they afraid of getting hurt? Where does that fear come from?) Do they apologize? (If so, are they actually feeling the need to apologize to themselves for some reason? Are they disappointed in themselves for giving in/reacting emotionally/misreading the signs?) Kisses hold such great character development potential!
I could go on for days (The Kissing Clinic sure is going to be fun!), but the point is we all need to harness the power of the kissing scene. And here’s a fun little exercise to try. Next time you’re blocked and don’t know where to go with your story…write a kiss. Not a romance? I don’t care. Write a kiss. Did they just meet? I don’t care. Write a kiss. Take your hero and your heroine at whatever stage they’re currently at and throw them together. Passionately in the rain. Innocently under mistletoe. Gently during a tough conversation. It doesn’t matter. You may not keep it in your manuscript—though you may be surprised—but see if you can break through with that kiss. It can serve as the great elixir of character truth. Based on how that scene plays out, they may or may not attempt to hide their true emotions from each other, but if you harness the kiss’s power, you’ll discover that your characters are no longer able to hide their true emotions and motivations from you.
Get ready for a heaping helping of humor, romance, and second chances
Celebrity chef Maxwell Cavanagh is known for many things: his multiple Michelin stars, his top-rated Culinary Channel show, To the Max, and most of all his horrible temper. Hadley Beckett, host of the Culinary Channel’s other top-rated show, At Home with Hadley, is beloved for her Southern charm and for making her viewers feel like family.
When Max experiences a very public temper tantrum and is sent packing, his only chance to get back on TV and in the public’s good graces is to work alongside Hadley. As these polar-opposite celeb chefs begin to peel away the layers of public persona and reputation, they will not only discover the key ingredients for getting along but also learn the secret recipe for unexpected forgiveness . . . and maybe even love.
In the meantime, hide the knives.
“A delightful dish of a read! Bethany Turner’s Hadley Beckett’s Next Dish is a savory blend of wit, humor, and swoon-worthy romance, guaranteed to earn a place on the keeper shelf. Not to be missed!”–Jen Turano, USA Today bestselling author
Bethany Turner has been writing since the second grade, when she won her first writing award for explaining why, if she could have lunch with any person throughout history, she would choose John Stamos. She stands by this decision. Bethany now writes pop culture–infused rom-coms for a new generation of readers who crave fiction that tackles the thorny issues of life with humor and insight. She lives in Southwest Colorado with her husband, whom she met in the nineties in a chat room called Disco Inferno. As sketchy as it sounds, it worked out pretty well in this case, and they are now the proud parents of two teenagers. Connect with Bethany at seebethanywrite.com, by texting her at (970) 387-7811, or across social media @seebethanywrite, where she clings to the eternal dream that John Stamos will someday send her a friend request.