How influenced are you by the sex or "intimacy" you see on the screen--TV or silver screen?
In my review, I quibbled with a sex scene in Sections of an Orange I felt was too reliant on screen-oriented heightened images of sex, and therefore lacked real intimacy. But, I also realize the possibility that the scene in the story is an appropriately drawn moment in a relationship based on falsehoods.
What if you were to write a sex scene? Would you write it with your best or worst Hollywood sex scene playing in your head? Would his lips be placed just so? Would your arms encircle just so, your body be positioned right there, the movement, the timing, the language just right?
Today on Twitter I asked what kinds of things I should include in my sex scene, and one person suggested, "the sex scene should include details about your body, love making skills, describe where the act takes place." I'm appreciative of her response, but unfortunately I see all the markings for fake sex there. After all, as happy as I mostly am with my body in clothes, focusing on the parts I typically utilize during sex--my particular, creaking, farting, exposed, aging body parts--would be quite un-sexy to write about.
What about love making skills? Mine personally wouldn't make for an interesting scene. Not unless the reader would appreciate a creaking, farting wonder who has to take lots of breaks in between.
And describing where the act takes place sounds like it's calling for someplace other than where I usually creak and fart. Let's see...The shower? Nope, no place to rest in between. The dining table? Where I freaking eat!!? The beach? Nope, takes days to get the sand out of places it shouldn't go. Look I'm just too exhausted thinking about places other than a bed so I'll just stop right there.
Suffice to say, my real-life sex scene would be quite dull. What about yours?
