Safyre Starr

Romance author

[Safyre Starr @SafyreStarr]

@rwchat Q1: An alternative suggestion: Rather than an editor, I start with a professional beta reader. The feedback lets me know if my story holds together. If it doesn't, it's time for an editor. #rwchat

[Safyre Starr @SafyreStarr]

@rwchat I put aside the story that wasn't working and started on another one that's been bubbling away in my brain. It was to the point where I was writing scenes for the "bubbly" story instead of the "real" one. #RWChat

[Safyre Starr @SafyreStarr]

@rwchat A2: Feedback! I think everything makes sense, but does it REALLY? I'm always concerned about the internal structure of the story, and if it holds together.

[Safyre Starr @SafyreStarr]

@rwchat A3: I suppose it depends on who is putting on the condom and when it goes on!

(Actually, I'll have to think about this. But that's the first thing that popped into my mind) #RWChat

[Safyre Starr @SafyreStarr]

@dekabat @rwchat Also, (thinking on it a bit more) widows in contemporary novels tend to be on the tragic/sad side, with the male MC getting her interested in life again. #RWChat

[Safyre Starr @SafyreStarr]

@rwchat A6: That's getting out of the "romance" genre and into "drama." Perhaps someone could make it work, but I wouldn't be interested in doing it. #RWChat

[Safyre Starr @SafyreStarr]

@rwchat A5: Yes, because subgenre language is different. A regency about a merry widow will be different than a contemporary novel about a merry widow.

(For some reason, we don't get many merry widows in contemporary novels, do we?) #RWChat

[Safyre Starr @SafyreStarr]

@rwchat A4: I guess I don't do "implied" or "nonverbal." I can have a pretty long stretch of interactions between the MCs, but sooner or later, it's going to be explicitly asked, even if it's just one saying, "Yes? No?" I don't like the ambiguity with "implied." #RWChat

[Safyre Starr @SafyreStarr]

@IAmEHemenway @rwchat ^This!

[Safyre Starr @SafyreStarr]

@rwchat A3: Sex is supposed to be sexy, so I'm not sure I understand the question. #RWChat

[Safyre Starr @SafyreStarr]

@rwchat A2: Consent is the only way to proceed. MCs can get swept away by the moment, but they CONSENSUALLY get swept away by the moment. I don't do "morning after regrets," unless it's the guy. That's another way to marginalize a woman's control over her sex life. #RWChat

[Safyre Starr @SafyreStarr]

@rwchat A1: I had a shock (as mentioned on another thread) when I realized Georgette Heyer's title character in The Black Moth was a serial rapist. He wasn't the hero, but he was presented sympathetically. A few of her books have what I now recognize as questionable consent. #RWChat

[Safyre Starr @SafyreStarr]

@rwchat A1: A LOT. Those Harlequins I liked as a teenager relied on "forceful." It was about overcoming a woman instead of having an equal interest in sex. One way it hasn't changed: kidnapping is still often presented as romantic. Um, no. #RWChat

[Safyre Starr @SafyreStarr]

#writerproblems https://t.co/kQThuWXpqF

[Lacey London @thelaceylondon]

Every writer NEEDS their imaginary friends...

#amwriting #writerslife

[Safyre Starr @SafyreStarr]

@rwchat A8: In EVERY love scene, it's always the choreography rather than the emotions. "How many hands are there? Wouldn't they just awkwardly stagger about doing that in RL? Is that physically even possible?" #RWChat

[Safyre Starr @SafyreStarr]

@rwchat A7: Thinking about it, the answer is "dialog." Dialog done properly is foreplay. #RWChat

[Safyre Starr @SafyreStarr]

@rwchat A6: Erotica can be a series of sex scenes one after another. If the reader doesn't have an attachment to the MCs, it's just choreography without any heart.

For myself, I'm fine with "fade to black" in less graphic genres, as long as I get some feedback on how everything went ^^

[Safyre Starr @SafyreStarr]

@rwchat A5: Bluntly. I deal with adult situations, and my MCs are mature adults. In "Going Up," there wasn't full-contact sex at first because the male MC wasn't in the habit of carrying around a condom. They had to improvise ; ) #RWChat

[Safyre Starr @SafyreStarr]

@rwchat A4: Only if it works for the characters. In reading it, I find it more off-putting than not. I prefer to imply it so the reader can insert (heh) their own "dirty talk" where appropriate. #RWChat

[Safyre Starr @SafyreStarr]

@rwchat A3: The characters are (or should be) different each time. I have a detailed write-up on the MCs. Those details may never make it to the story itself, but it informs how I write about them, including how I write sex scenes for them.