Interweaving Emotion and Sex

I'll be teaching my workshop, Writing Hot Delicious Love Scenes, starting Jan 3. Further info below about how to register if you're interested. A lot of writers, especially beginning writers or those who haven't written many love scenes, have questions about how to interweave emotion and sex. It's one of the things I cover in depth in the workshop and give attendees an opportunity to post a love scene for critique so they can get my take on how they've woven these two elements, along with other elements. Here is a small excerpt from the workshop.

---

Whether you’re writing a highly emotional love scene between two people who are in love, or one-night stand sex between people who have just met, emotion needs to be a part of it. Even in erotic romance, some kind of emotion is vital. If you don’t include emotion and characterization then your scenes may be porn-like or mechanical and robotic. Some writers make the mistake of thinking sex scenes are only about the physical, as if the character no longer thinks about things or as if their mind is shut down. The opposite is true. When characters or people in real life experience sex, the mind is just as involved in the experience as the body. That’s important to keep in mind for any sex scene.

Some scenes will have loads of emotion and some scenes will have a little emotion. But even with the one-night stand variety of sex, you still need feelings and thoughts blended in.

Why is this so important? You need to establish an emotional connection between your READER and your POV CHARACTER. Without this connection, the reader won’t care. And you must make the reader care or they toss your book aside.

You can add touches of emotion anywhere within a scene, whether it's extremely erotic or not. When I say emotion, I don't mean mushy-gushy type emotion. I’m talking about the psychological. What’s going on in their minds? Basically, it's just little things that keep the reader in touch mentally with the POV character. If you only have physical, external reactions from your POV character, you're missing an opportunity to strengthen the reader connection and you're not staying in deep POV. So with any reaction you have for your character, examine it. Ask yourself, is this reaction from deep inside the character. Or is it something an external observer would notice?

For example, if your heroine has insecurities about her body when she's naked in front of the hero, show that from deep within her psyche. It's another opportunity to make the reader empathize with your heroine, care about her, and make her even more likable. The hero could pick up on her insecurity and say or do something to make her feel better. This would be a touch of emotion that makes him more likable. It shouldn't be cliché at all. And an alpha hero can stay alpha and still do nice things. You will hopefully make a character empathetic when first introducing them, but you also need to keep that empathy going throughout the story, building on it, making it stronger so the reader completely identifies with the heroine and falls head over heels with the hero. That links back to who the character is inside. Their thoughts and emotions.

---

Workshop: Writing Hot, Delicious Love Scenes

Date: January 3 - 31, 2011

Instructor: Nicole North

Fee: $25

Do the love scenes or sex scenes in your romance novel lack that magical spark and sizzling heat that makes the reader go WHEW!!? The romance genre has exploded with bonfire-hot romance and erotic romance novels and novellas over the last few years. In this workshop we'll explore the many aspects of fantastic, hot and delicious love scenes, whether you write mildly sensual
romance or erotic romance. We'll look at the best ways of writing those all-important love scenes that take your characters to the next level of their relationship.

Topics covered:
Leading up to sex
Interweaving emotion and sex
Differences between romance and erotic romance
Choosing your words
Kissing during sex
Sexy dialogue
Humor during sex
Sexual positions
Personalizing your love scenes
Sensual settings
Seducing the reader
The hero
The heroine
Fantasy
Historical vs. contemporary love scenes
Determining placement
Progression from one love scene to the next
Oral sex
Avoid sex cliches
Sex and conflict
Written and multimedia examples

Please note: this workshop does not deal with pure erotica or alternative lifestyles. The lessons and examples contain graphic language and frank discussions of sexuality. Only those age 18 and over are permitted to enroll.

This is an interactive online workshop with exercises and critique/ feedback from the instructor on your written love scene. Workshop will be conducted via a Yahoo group. Lessons will arrive at your email inbox. To register or to see what others have said about my workshops please visit www.nicolenorth.com and click on workshops. Thanks!!

Instructor bio: Nicole North's erotic romance novellas have been described
by reviewers as "exciting, high octane, captivating, scintillating, sinfully
delicious and pure romance." Her stories contain "heart and heat, killer
love scenes, magic and extraordinary characters." Her books from Red Sage
include: Beast in a Kilt in Secrets Volume 29 Indulge Your Fantasies (July
2010), Kilted Lover (Nov. 2009), and Devil in a Kilt is in Secrets Volume 27
Untamed Pleasures (July 2009). Laird of Darkness (March 2011) will be her
first novella from Carina Press. Scoundrel in a Kilt will be released in a
future Secrets volume. Though she has a degree in psychology, writing
romance is her first love. Please visit her website to learn more about her
books or see what past students have said about her workshops.
Website: http://www.nicolenorth.com

Instinctive Characterization

How do you create characters? Some people do interviews or questionnaires, others just sit down and write, letting the story unfold. Some people use astrology or other methods.

Often, the first time I see one of my characters is in a scene playing out in my head. Action is taking place, characters are talking, certain emotions are involved. I have a vague idea of setting and atmosphere. I’m usually able to catch a glimpse of the character at least. Perhaps I can’t even see the color of his eyes yet, but I sense his mood and facial expression. This is like the germ of a story idea and character.

When you do something instinctively, you do it naturally. It’s something that comes from within you. It isn’t something you force with your autocratic rational side. I’ve tried to force my characters to come into existence or to be a certain thing, and I know it doesn’t work. (At least for me it doesn’t.) In my experience, a stubborn character will only become more stubborn if you try to force him into a mold he can’t fit into. Like your mom trying to make you take piano lessons when you hate piano.

A character comes from your own psyche. Likely there will be some tiny trait from your personality in your character. In many ways, a character is an extension of you. And you need to understand your character from the inside out. You need to know your character down to his soul. The only way to dig down that deeply is to let things unfold naturally, instinctively. Your subconscious needs to get in on the process. That’s when your character and your story will “feel” right. That’s when your character will feel real.

How do you develop your characters and get to know them? Do you have a specific method or technique? Do all of them pop into your head fully formed or are some of them stubborn? If so what do you do to coax them out?

The above post is an excerpt from a workshop I’ll be teaching on characterization starting June 1.

Workshop - Instinctive Characterization: How to Create Sexy Heroes and the Strong Heroines Who Love Them
Instructor: Nicole North

Date: June 1 - 30

Fee: $25

The romance genre is primarily character driven and those characters need to feel as real as you or I. How do you create characters the reader will fall in love with? If characters don't magically pop into your head fully-formed and three-dimensional, how do you help them come to life without forcing them to be someone they're not? We'll use several tools and methods to develop characters instinctively including:

How to use GMC (goals, motivation and conflict) to create active characters
Discovering and using our character’s backstory
How do you make characters empathetic and likable?
What is a great (real life) personality test to use for character development?
How do you use archetypes?
What is a fatal flaw?
Characters and conflict
Characters and deep POV
What makes a hero sexy and a heroine strong?
Describing and naming characters
Villains
...and more

This is a new, interactive online workshop with exercises and critique/ feedback from the instructor. It is a private workshop held in a yahoo group. The lessons will come to your email inbox.

To register or read past student testimonials about my other workshops please visit my website and click on "workshops" on the menu:
http://www.nicolenorth.com/

About the presenter: Nicole North writes sensual and erotic romance novels and novellas. She is the author of paranormal erotic romance novellas Beast in a Kilt, Red Sage Secrets Volume 29, Indulge Your Fantasies, July 2010; Devil in a Kilt, Red Sage Secrets Volume 27 Untamed Pleasures, July 2009; and Kilted Lover, Red Sage, November 2009. She has finaled in over a dozen writing competitions and won several awards. Reviewers have said her stories contain "heart and heat, killer love scenes, magic and extraordinary characters." She has a BA degree in psychology but writing romance is her first love.

To register, please visit http://www.nicolenorth.com/ and click on "workshops."
Or email: nicole (at) nicolenorth.com
Thank you!!
Nicole

P.S. I donated a copy of each of my anthologies to Brenda Novak's Online Auction to Benefit Diabetes Research. Please click to check them out or bid:

Secrets Volume 27

Secrets Volume 29 (due out July 1)

Thanks!

Workshop: Writing Hot, Delicious Love Scenes

Hi, everyone, please tell all your friends:

Workshop: Writing Hot, Delicious Love Scenes

Date: April 5 - 30, 2010

Instructor: Nicole North

Want to be more comfortable writing love scenes? Are you afraid your love scenes are more clinical than sexy? Do the sex scenes in your romance novel lack that magical spark and sizzling heat that makes the reader go WHEW!!? The romance genre has exploded with bonfire-hot romance and erotic romance novels and novellas over the last few years. In this workshop we'll explore the many aspects of fantastic, hot and delicious love scenes, whether you write mildly sensual romance or erotic romance. We'll look at the best ways of writing those all-important love scenes that take your characters to the next level of their relationship. We'll look at how to weave the action with emotion and other elements to create a sex scene the reader will love.
Topics covered:
Leading up to sex
Interweaving emotion and sex
Differences between romance and erotic romance
Choosing your words
Kissing
Sexy dialogue
Humor during sex
Sexual positions
Personalizing your love scenes
Sensual settings
The hero
The heroine
Fantasy
Historical vs. contemporary love scenes
Oral sex
Avoid sex cliches
Sex and conflict
Written and multimedia examples

Please note: this workshop does not deal with pure erotica or alternative lifestyles. The lessons and examples contain graphic language and frank discussions of sexuality. You must be 18 or over to take this workshop.

This is an interactive online workshop with exercises and critique/ feedback from the instructor on your written love scenes. Workshop will be conducted via a private Yahoo group. Lessons will arrive at your email inbox.

About the presenter: Nicole North writes sensual and erotic romance novels and novellas. She is the author of paranormal erotic romance novellas Devil in a Kilt, Red Sage Secrets Volume 27 Untamed Pleasures, July 2009; Beast in a Kilt, Red Sage Secrets Volume 29, July 2010; and Kilted Lover, Red Sage, November 2009. She has finaled in over a dozen writing competitions and won several awards. Reviewers have said her stories are "sinfully delicious" and that they contain "heart and heat" and "killer love scenes." One contest judge even said, "You can zing a sex scene. Wow!" She has a BA degree in psychology but writing romance is her first love. Please visit her website to learn more and read past student testimonials: http://www.nicolenorth.com

Fee: $25

To register, please visit www.nicolenorth.com and click on "workshops."
Thank you!!
Nicole

Meet Your Goals in the New Year!

I hope all of you have had a happy holiday season with your friends and families! The new year is only a few days away, so I want to wish you a Happy New Year! I hope you reach all your goals in 2010. Speaking of which, I wrote an article for Examiner.com about setting goals in a way that makes you more likely to accomplish them. The article is called How to Write a 400 Page Book or Accomplish Anything. I hope you’ll check it out here.

I’ll be teaching a 4 week workshop starting January 4 called Take Your Writing to the Next Level. My intention with this workshop is to help writers break past whatever is holding them and their writing back so they can improve their writing overall. Sometimes it is difficult or impossible to see our own writing weaknesses or blunders because we are too close to the work. Most of us have a blind spot, and if only someone would shine a light there and reveal things to us from a different perspective, maybe we could make genuine improvements to our writing. That’s what I endeavor to do for writers in this workshop. I also confess, this workshop is a lot of work both for me and for those who participate because we roll up our sleeves and dig in. I like to both encourage and challenge my students. It is a thrill for me to watch writers improve.

Here is a short excerpt from one of the lessons of Take Your Writing to the Next Level.

Openings – Your First Page

Your first page is so important because usually it is the first thing your reader sees, whether your reader is an editor/agent or someone who buys your book off a store shelf. If you’ve submitted a partial, a lot of editors/agents will save the synopsis for later and read page one of your manuscript first.

You will see openings sometimes which are nothing more than long paragraphs of setting description. I don't know about you, but when I open a romance novel, I'm looking for characters I can connect with and fall in love with. If I wanted tons of description of a setting, I'd open a travel book instead. Don’t settle for an average, mediocre opening. Why not make it an incredible opening? Why make the editor wait for the good, interesting parts? Depending on the patience of the editor/agent you've submitted to, you have from one to five pages to capture her interest. After that, who knows? Will she give you the benefit of the doubt and read another couple pages or start writing that rejection letter? Don’t let this happen. You’re completely in control of how your manuscript starts.

Your first page will tell the reader a huge amount about your story: your voice, who the characters are and whether they’re likable, the beginning hints of your plot and the situation the character finds himself or herself in. The opening will likely need pieces of setting and maybe drops of backstory. Your first page needs to act as a hook to the reader. Once they are hooked, they’ll want to read page two, page three, and so on.

You can’t start your story out boring and say, “But it gets good at page 10. Or chapter 2.” That’s too late. Your story must be interesting and grab the reader from the first line of the first paragraph of the first page. And this grabbing the reader must continue throughout the book.

Page one of a novel or novella is similar to a juggling act. You have all these balls (story elements) and you must get them into the air with agile, dexterous skill. It must look effortless and you must entertain the reader.

More about my workshop:

Workshop: Take Your Writing to the Next Level

Instructor: Nicole North

Date: January 4 - 31, 2010

Fee: $25

Make positive improvements to your writing that will help you meet your goals in the New Year! Do contest judges, editors and agents point out problems in your work that you don't understand? Don't know what's holding you back or how to fix the problems? This workshop is designed to teach you how to analyze your own work more objectively and gain valuable insights into how to make genuine improvements to your writing. Pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses and learn what to do about both. This is an interactive workshop which consists of lessons, examples and exercises. You will receive feedback and critiques from the instructor. This workshop is for beginning to intermediate romance writers.

Topics include:

Showing vs. Telling: what's the difference?

Avoid bland, passive writing

What's necessary and what isn't?

Don't bore the reader.

Avoid cliché writing.

What is deep pov?

Active verbs

Word choice

Sentence flow

How to deal with backstory

Writing effective description Setting

Your first page

Avoid wordiness and repetitiveness

Self-editing

Writing guidelines and tips

Turning narrative into dialogue and action

This is an online workshop conducted via private email group.

To Register, click Take Your Writing to the Next Level. Or visit my website and click on Workshops on the menu. You can also read past student testimonials there and see what others have learned in my workshops.

So, what are your goals for 2010? Did you reach some or all of your goals for 2009? If you could take your writing to the next level, what would you want to improve or learn? Have you recently had a writing epiphany where you said, oh, I get it now?

Thanks!

Nicole

http://www.nicolenorth.com/

The Power of a Glance

I'll be teaching my sexual tension workshop, Turn Up the Heat! in October for Celtic Hearts. Here's a small excerpt from it. As part of the workshop, I present the 12 Steps to Intimacy and eye to eye is the second step.

"The power of a glance... It is in this way that love begins, and in this way only... Nothing is more real than these great shocks which two souls give each other in exchanging this spark." Victor Hugo

The eyes are the mirror (or window) of the soul is an old Yiddish proverb which I feel is true. You can usually look into someone’s eyes and tell exactly what they’re feeling, sometimes even what they’re thinking. The eyes are so incredibly expressive, some more so than others. People can also erect an emotional wall and make their eyes express no emotion. (Don't you hate it when the hero does that?) :)

I once heard someone say (I can’t remember who now) that a man who is attracted to or loves a woman spends more time looking into her eyes than anywhere else, especially at the beginning of their relationship. This is to gauge her expressions and emotions. Did she like or dislike what he just said? This is the way he reads her. He can tell if she’s happy, angry, afraid or aroused and this will determine his next move. Naïve people are usually easier to read than experienced people.

When two people meet who are instantly attracted, something passes between them with the first meeting of the eyes. This phenomenon has been described in many ways: a spark, awareness, love at first sight, lust at first sight, lightning, magic. When writing, it's easy to fall into cliches, but describing this wonderful first glance in a memorable, unique way is important for your characters and your story. I bet you remember a first glance when you met someone you were instantly attracted to. Please share if you would like!

***

Workshop info: Turn up the Heat! Heightening Sexual Tension and Sensuality in Your Manuscript
by Nicole North
Editors want to buy spicy-hot romance stories now more than ever before. How do you do it? In this class we will discuss all aspects of sexual tension and sensuality and how they relate to the developing romance in your story. You will learn tips for successfully building sexual tension over the course of the relationship between the hero and heroine, from first glance, through climax, to happily ever after. Several examples will be used to illustrate different nuances of hot romantic chemistry and how to employ them in your own story. Learn how to avoid clichés and use sexiness in fresh new ways. Strengthening sexual tension will take your story from ho-hum to so hot and delicious your reader can not put it down. We will do exercises for hands-on learning. (Please be aware this course contains explicit and frank discussions of sexuality.)**Topics covered**
Using the five senses more effectively
Sexy talk
word choice
First kiss
Foreplay
First love scene
How to rebuild sexual tension after sex
Why point of view is important
Hot characters
Combining physical attraction and emotion
Body language
Differences between romance and erotic romance
Revising to make a sensual romance manuscript spicy or eroticFun Extras
Visual inspiration
Multimedia examples and exercises

To learn more or register, please click here.

To read what students thought of this workshop, please visit http://www.nicolenorth.com/ and click on my workshops page.

Thanks!

Nicole

PS: there is still time to enter my contest! It's easy. Simply join my newsletter for a chance to win new books. Please check my website's contest page for more info.

Blending Emotion and Sex for a Highly Charged Love Scene + I Have a New Contest!

Whether you’re writing a highly emotional love scene between two people who are in love, or one-night stand sex between two people who have just met, emotion needs to be a part of it. Even in erotic romance, some kind of emotion is vital. If you don’t include emotion and characterization then your scenes may be porn-like or mechanical and robotic.

Some scenes will have loads of emotion and some scenes will have a little emotion. But even with the one-night stand variety of sex, you still need some feelings and thoughts blended with the sex.

Why is this so important? You need to establish an emotional connection between your READER and your POV CHARACTER. Without this connection, the reader won’t care. And you must make the reader care or they toss your book aside.

You can add touches of emotion anywhere within a scene, whether it's extremely erotic or not. When I say emotion, I don't mean mushy-gushy type emotion. Basically, it's just little things that keep the reader in touch mentally with the POV character. If you only have physical, external reactions from your POV character, you're missing an opportunity to strengthen the reader connection and you're not staying in deep POV. So with any reaction you have for your character, examine it. Ask yourself, is this reaction from deep inside the character. Or is it something an external observer would notice?

For example, if your heroine has insecurities about her body when she's naked in front of the hero, show that from deep within her psyche. It's another opportunity to make the reader empathize with your heroine, care about her, and make her even more likable. The hero could pick up on her insecurity and say or do something to make her feel better. This would be a touch of emotion that makes him more likable. It shouldn't be cliché at all. And an alpha hero can stay alpha and still do nice things. You will hopefully make a character empathetic when first introducing them, but you also need to keep that empathy going throughout the story, building on it, making it stronger so the reader completely identifies with the heroine. And falls head over heels with the hero. And that links back to who the character is inside, their thoughts and emotions.

I'll be teaching my online workshop Writing Hot Delicious Love Scenes in September for Yosemite Romance Writers. The above is an excerpt from it. You can learn more about this workshop at my website: http://www.nicolenorth.com/ then click on my workshops page.

I have a new contest starting! This goes until the end of August. I'll choose winners Sept. 1.

Tell-a-Secret Contest
Help me spread the word about my first book and you could win!!

Prizes (one prize per winner):
*an autographed copy of Secrets Volume 27 Untamed Pleasures (2 winners)
*a print copy of Terry Spear's paranormal romance Heart of the Wolf (2 winners)
*a pair of handmade sterling silver, semi-precious stone earrings (2 winners)
*2 new romance novels (you choose your favorites from a list I'll provide) (3 winners)
(I may be adding more prizes, especially if I get a lot of entries.)

This contest is easy to enter. All you have to do is place my Secrets Volume 27 Untamed Pleasures book cover, Devil in a Kilt blurb, link to video, buy links for Amazon and B&N, my bio. (The blog can be anywhere: Blogger, Wordpress, personal website, Myspace or other social network, etc.)

Once you post the info about my book, contact me via email nicole @ nicolenorth . com (without the spaces) or post your info in a comment here and send me the link of where you've posted the info. I'll respond to each entry I receive. So if you don't hear from me, please contact me again to be sure you're entered. I will draw winners at random from all names submitted on September 1. There will be several prizes, so you have a better chance of winning! Thanks!!!

To enter the contest, here is what to post on your blog:

Secrets Volume 27 Untamed Pleasures, an anthology of four erotic romance novellas out now from Red Sage. Nicole North's story in this anthology is Devil in a Kilt. A trip to the Highland Games turns into a trip to the past when modern day psychology professor Shauna MacRae touches Gavin MacTavish's four-hundred-year-old claymore. What she finds is a Devil In a Kilt she's had erotic fantasies about for months. Can Shauna break the curse imprisoning this shape shifting laird and his clan before an evil witch sends Shauna back to her time?

Link to book trailer video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1oOOvTomv4

Available at:
B&N http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Secrets-Volume-27/Leigh-Court/e/9781603100076/?itm=1

Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-27-Pleasures-Leigh-Court/dp/1603100075/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241557838&sr=8-1

Bio: Nicole North writes sensual and erotic romance novels and novellas. She is the author of paranormal erotic romance novellas Devil in a Kilt, Red Sage Secrets Volume 27 Untamed Pleasures, July 2009; Beast in a Kilt, Red Sage Secrets Volume 29; and (contemporary) Kilted Lover. She lives with her husband in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, but wishes she lived in the Scottish Highlands at least half the year. Though she holds a degree in psychology, writing romance is her first love. Visit her at http://www.nicolenorth.com/

Interweaving Emotion & Sex for an Unforgettable Love Scene

I have a workshop coming up, starting April 1, called Writing Hot, Delicious Love Scenes. One of the things new writers often have questions about and which I cover in the class is how do you blend hot sex and intense emotions to create an unforgettable love scene?

Whether you’re writing a highly emotional love scene between two people who are in love, or one-night stand sex between two people who have just met, emotion needs to be a part of it. Even in erotic romance, some kind of emotion is vital. If you don’t include emotion and characterization then your scenes may be porn-like or mechanical and robotic.

Some scenes will have loads of emotion and some scenes will have a little emotion. But even with the one-night stand variety of sex, you still need some feelings and thoughts blended with the sex.

Why is this so important? You need to establish an emotional connection between your reader and your point of view (POV) character. Without this connection, the reader won’t care. And you must make the reader care or they toss your book aside.

You can add touches of emotion anywhere within a scene, whether it's extremely erotic or not. When I say emotion, I don't mean mushy-gushy type emotion. Basically, it's just little things that keep the reader in touch mentally with the POV character. If you only have physical, external reactions from your POV character, you're missing an opportunity to strengthen the reader connection and you're not staying in deep POV. So with any reaction you have for your character, examine it. Ask yourself, is this reaction from deep inside the character. Or is it something an external observer would notice?

For example, if your heroine has insecurities about her body when she's naked in front of the hero, show that from deep within her psyche. It's another opportunity to make the reader empathize with your heroine, care about her, and make her even more likable. The hero could pick up on her insecurity and say or do something to make her feel better. This would be a touch of emotion that makes him more likable. It shouldn't be cliché at all. And an alpha hero can stay alpha and still do nice things. You will hopefully make a character empathetic when first introducing them, but you also need to keep that empathy going throughout the story, building on it, making it stronger so the reader completely identifies with the heroine, and falls head over heels with the hero. This links back to who the character is inside... their thoughts and emotions.

If you're interested in learning more about my workshop, click: Writing Hot, Delicious Love Scenes. You can read past student testimonials at my website also. :)

Nicole

www.nicolenorth.com

Hot Kisses and Sexual Tension

"The decision to kiss for the first time is the most crucial in any love story. It changes the relationship of two people much more strongly than even the final surrender; because this kiss already has within it that surrender." Emil Ludwig

I hope all of you had a wonderful Valentine's Day! Since it's just passed and my Turn Up the Heat! workshop is just around the corner, starting March 2, I thought I'd talk about writing hot kisses into your romance stories. This is a tiny excerpt from my workshop.

The first kiss is an important step in any relationship or romance story. It’s an early destination of what the sexual tension has been building up to thus far. And the kiss also takes the sexual tension to a new, higher level of intimacy. For those who write romance, your reader has been anticipating the first kiss between your hero and heroine since page one. Make it a delicious reward, a feast for the senses. Put the reader right there, kissing your hero because that’s what she wants to do if you’ve heightened the sexual tension enough (and made her fall in love with him.) Let her experience the kiss along with your heroine. That doesn’t mean all kisses need to be from the heroine’s point of view. Far from it. Male point of view kisses can be highly sensual. No matter whose point of view the kiss scene is in, give the reader what she wants. A sizzling hot, yummy kiss.

A question for you: Which book, TV show or movie contains your favorite kiss scene along with heightened sexual tension? If you're a writer, do you enjoy writing kiss scenes (why or why not?)

Workshop: Turn up the Heat! Heightening Sexual Tension and Sensuality in Your Manuscript

Presenter: Nicole North

Date: March 2 - 27, 2009

Description: Editors want to buy spicy-hot romance stories now more than ever before. How do you do it? In this class we will discuss all aspects of sexual tension and sensuality and how they relate to the developing romance in your story. You'll learn tips for successfully building sexual tension over the course of the hero and heroine's relationship from first glance, through climax, to happily ever after. Several examples will be used to illustrate different nuances of hot romantic chemistry and how to employ them in your own story. Learn how to avoid clichés and use sexiness in fresh new ways. Strengthening sexual tension will take your story from ho-hum to so hot and delicious your reader can't put it down. We'll do exercises for hands-on learning. (Please be aware this course contains explicit and frank discussions of sexuality.)

**Topics covered**
Using the five senses more effectively
Sexy talk
Word choice
First kiss
Foreplay
First love scene
How to rebuild sexual tension after sex
Why point of view is important
Hot characters
Combining physical attraction and emotion
Body language
Differences between romance and erotic romance
Revising to make a sensual romance manuscript spicy or erotic

Fun Extras
Visual inspiration
Multimedia examples and exercises

About the presenter: Nicole North writes sensual and erotic romance novels and novellas. She is the author of paranormal erotic romance novellas Devil in a Kilt, Red Sage Secrets Volume 27, July 2009; Beast in a Kilt, Red Sage Secrets Volume 29; and Kilted Lover, Red Sage. She has finaled in over a dozen writing competitions and won several awards. She admits sexual tension and delicious love scenes are her favorite elements of romance and sprinkles them liberally through her stories. What others have said about her works: "This author handles sexual tension very well. Her characters are completely drawn to each other..." and "Wow! Talk about sexual chemistry. This story has it in spades. You're a natural in the romantic chemistry department." She has a BA degree in psychology. Please visit her website to learn more and read past student testimonials: http://www.nicolenorth.com

Cost: $25 non-members / $20 YRW members

To register please visit: http://www.yosemiteromancewriters.com/6.html

Thank you!
Nicole

What Is Sexual Tension and How Do You Write It?

Here is a little excerpt from my workshop, Turn Up the Heat, which I'll be teaching in November.

Sexual tension is the “want it but can’t have it” factor. The intense attraction and awareness of another person. The excitement, the anticipation. Chemistry. When two people feel a mutual, unfulfilled desire. In most cases, the longer they wait to fulfill that desire, the more the sexual tension increases… until it is almost unbearable.

Sexual tension is a sort of magical ingredient in romance novels, just as it is in real life. Think back to a time when you’ve felt sexual tension between yourself and someone else. Maybe someone you just met and WHAM! attraction hits you when your eyes meet. You don’t know why, it just IS. Chemistry, magnetism. It is so subtle on the outside, no one else may notice it, but inside your heart rate increases, you feel flushed and giddy. You garble your words or knock over something. And you wonder what’s going on?? This person has taken away your equilibrium momentarily and you may want to get away ASAP, especially if you are already in a relationship or have reason to steer clear of this person. Same with your characters. Sexual tension isn’t cerebral or rational. You can’t THINK about it too much. It’s more something you FEEL with your emotions and viscerally, in your heart (pounding), stomach (knotting), gut (wrenching), lungs (shortness of breath), etc...


Workshop: Turn up the Heat! Heightening Sexual Tension and Sensuality in Your Manuscript

Presenter: Nicole North

Date: November 1 - 30, 2008

Description: Editors want to buy spicy-hot romance stories now more than ever before. How do you do it? In this class we will discuss all aspects of sexual tension and sensuality and how they relate to the developing romance in your story. You'll learn tips for successfully building sexual tension over the course of the hero and heroine's relationship from first glance, through climax, to happily ever after. Several examples will be used to illustrate different nuances of hot romantic chemistry and how to employ them in your own story. Learn how to avoid clichés and use sexiness in fresh new ways. Strengthening sexual tension will take your story from ho-hum to so hot and delicious your reader can't put it down. We'll do exercises for hands-on learning. (Please be aware this course contains explicit and frank discussions of sexuality.)

**Topics covered**
Using the five senses more effectively
Sexy talk
Word choice
First kiss
Foreplay
First love scene
How to rebuild sexual tension after sex
Why point of view is important
Hot characters
Combining physical attraction and emotion
Body language
Differences between romance and erotic romance
Revising to make a sensual romance manuscript spicy or erotic

Fun Extras
Visual inspiration
Multimedia examples and exercises

About the presenter: Nicole North writes sensual and erotic romance novels and novellas. She is the author of paranormal erotic romance novellas Devil in a Kilt, Red Sage Secrets Volume 27, July 2009, and Beast in a Kilt, Red Sage Secrets Volume 29. She has finaled in over a dozen writing competitions and won several awards. She admits sexual tension and delicious love scenes are her favorite elements of romance and sprinkles them liberally through her stories. What others have said about her works: "This author handles sexual tension very well. Her characters are completely drawn to each other..." and "Wow! Talk about sexual chemistry. This story has it in spades. You're a natural in the romantic chemistry department." She has a BA degree in psychology. Please visit her website to learn more and read past student testimonials: http://www.nicolenorth.com/

Cost: $20 non-members / $10 IRWA members

To register please visit: http://www.indianarwa.com/workshop_112008.htm

Thank you!

Nicole

Will the Move Ever Be Done??

An Update!!! Don't Cry Wolf is scheduled for release March 1, 2009!



I'm in the middle of a nightmare move, so satellite's hooked up at my mother's house, but my network card isn't working. So what's new? I'm using her computer at my house, but nothing much works on it--no Word, so can't write, can't upload lessons to my students...argh. And she doesn't have a cordless mouse. I didn't remember how annoying/cumbersome the corded ones were!

But these covers are the bright spot in my week--What do you think?

Also, I'm shipping autographed copies of The Vampire...In My Dreams so if anyone is interested, email me at tspear@flash.net. Paypal and postal money orders/checks accepted. :)

Also, last chance to sign up for Happy Hookers if you need an online workshop that teaches about engaging the readers from start to finish! Starts Sep 1. http://www.terryspear.com/id14.html

Terry Spear
Heart of the Wolf, The Vampire...In My Dreams

Sexy, Sensual Settings

When people imagine the perfect place for a hot, delicious love scene in a story, they generally visualize a beautiful bedroom with French doors, an incredible view, and a Jacuzzi tub close by. Perhaps the bed is four-poster with gauzy mosquito netting to create a dreamy cocoon. Candlelight glows in the background to give a hint of seductive light, just enough for one person to gaze into the other's eyes or appreciate their physical attributes.

While this is definitely a sensual setting, it is only one (and perhaps the most obvious) of hundreds. What makes a setting sexy is what the author brings to it, how the author presents it. Almost any place is good for a love scene. Since so many love scenes have been written, and readers have read thousands of them, you might want to set some of yours in unique and unusual places.

The only limit is your imagination. Interesting settings include a beach, a garden, a cave, the top of a building, a closet, a bathroom, a store, a dressing room, a tent, a field, a mountaintop, a car, stairs, an elevator, etc. Placing a sex scene in an unusual setting requires more thought and “choreography” on the part of the writer but sometimes you can create such a unique and personalized scene this way, it becomes far more memorable to the reader.

What is your favorite place (or the most unusual) for a love scene? This can be a love scene you've written or read.

I'll cover sexy settings and how to set love scenes in unusual places in my upcoming workshop.

Sept 1 - 30: Writing Hot, Delicious Love Scenes

Thanks for stopping by!
Nicole

Devil in a Kilt, Red Sage Secrets Vol. 27

Beast in a Kilt, Red Sage Secrets Vol. 29

www.nicolenorth.com

Workshop: Writing Hot, Delicious Love Scenes

September 1 - 30, 2008, online

Instructor: Nicole North

Fee: $20

Do the love scenes or sex scenes in your romance novel lack that magical spark and sizzling heat that makes the reader go WHEW!!? The romance genre has exploded with bonfire-hot romance and erotic romance novels and novellas over the last few years. In this workshop we'll explore the many aspects of fantastic, hot and delicious love scenes, whether you write mildly sensual romance or erotic romance. We'll look at the best ways of writing those all-important love scenes that take your characters to the next level of their relationship.

Topics covered:
Leading up to sex
Interweaving emotion and sex
Differences between romance and erotic romance
Choosing your words
Kissing during sex
Sexy dialogue
Humor during sex
Sexual positions
Personalizing your love scenes
Sexy settings
Seducing the reader
The hero
The heroine
Fantasy
Historical vs. contemporary love scenes
Determining placement
Progression from one love scene to the next
Oral sex
Avoid sex cliches
Sex and conflict
Written and multimedia examples

The lessons and examples contain graphic language and frank discussions of sexuality.

This is an interactive online workshop with exercises and feedback from the instructor on your written love scenes. Workshop will be conducted via a Yahoo group. Lessons will arrive at your email inbox. Click below to register:
Writing Hot, Delicious Love Scenes
Thanks!!

Nicole North
Devil in a Kilt, Red Sage Secrets Vol. 27
Beast in a Kilt, Red Sage Secrets Vol. 29

Heroes in the Dating Game & 3-D Character Online Workshop

What does a hero need to do to garnish the heroine's attention?
Smile...talk to her about what she finds interesting. Approach her with confidence but not too quickly. Lean in and act interested, but back off if she leans away, her space invaded. Ask her for a date for something she expressed an interest in. Keep eye contact, listen, and lighten the tone of conversation. Be positive and fun.

Sound like a hero? Nope. LOL Sounds like the dating game. So what's wrong with the hero in this scenario? For fiction, NOT real life, the woman wants to be pursued, sought after, approached quickly, not left to linger, and often the conversation is confrontational and not sweet and light. There's no fun in reading about that.



:) So for dating tips, these are great ideas! For writers, forget it. We have to have conflict between the hero and heroine! That's what makes fiction fun to read. I think of Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Lots of conflict, lots of fun, and lots of sexy make-ups afterwards. :) For fiction, sure it's great. But marriage? Nah.

So what do you think? Do heroes in real life and heroes in our stories have double standards?



Terry Spear
http://www.terryspear.com/
Heart of the Wolf, Don't Cry Wolf
Still time to sign up for the 3-D Characterization Class- just email me @ tspear@flash.net
Starts Jul 14-Aug 8 (4 weeks, 3 lessons per week, critiquing of your work, $20)

Jul 14-Aug 8 2008
What a Character!!! Jump from Cookie Cutter to Great 3-Dimensional Characters in Your Writing!
How many times have you heard how important it is to have 3-dimensional characters? That the publisher wants character-driven stories, not plot-driven? To show, not tell? But how easy is it to really write characters that come alive on the page? Some writers have a natural ability to concoct terrific characters who are full of life. Then there are the rest of us who need some help. In this workshop, Terry Spear will show the difference between average characterizations and those that will get noticed! In this online class, which features lectures, discussion, practical exercises, and handouts, she'll teach students how to captivate readers with engaging characters.

Terry Spear has published in many genres, including romantic suspense, contemporary, paranormal, and under the name Terry Lee Wilde, young adult paranormal and fantasy romances. She's the author of Winning The Highlander's Heart (Vintage), The Vampire...In My Dreams, Deadly Liaisons (Samhain), Heart of the Wolf, April, 2008, Don't Cry Wolf, April 2009, Betrayal of the Wolf, Allure of the Wolf (Sourcebooks), Deidre's Secret, Relative Danger (Wild Rose Press). She also writes nonfiction for numerous genealogy, WWII, teen, and family magazines, and has had romantic fiction published in magazines. Currently, she's working on her latest werewolf adult novel, Allure of the Wolf.

Structuring Your Manuscript for More Impact Online Workshop

MAY 5-30, 2008

Structuring Your Manuscript for More Impact!

Have you just started your mss and you're at a loss already? Have you finished the mss and need help structuring it so that it has the kind of impact that will compel readers, agents, and editors to keep reading?

Whether you're a plotter who sets up the whole mss from start to finish, or a pantser who writes from the seat-of-the-pants, from the writer who is just beginning, to the one who has finished a mss and needs some help, this workshop is for you! We'll discuss the major components of a mss-the Scene and Sequel, what makes them work and how to make they better. We talk about the anatomy of scenes and sequels, flashbacks, transitions, opening and climax scenes, conflict, characterization and more. I'll give examples and work with you on how to improve your own mss. Afterward, you should be able to identify what makes your story catch the reader's interest and what needs to be reworked to do a better job.

Please join Terry Spear, the online presenter of Happy Hookers and 3-D Characterizations, for a workshop on Structuring Your Manuscript for More Impact!

Offered by: Outreach International
http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vd3d3Lm9pcncubmV0Lw==