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in my view, a sex scene is functionally the same as a fight scene. two (or more) characters enter, an emotional resolution is achieved, two (or more) characters exit on different arcs than they had before. the goal is to reveal truths about character and set up future conflict. https://twitter.com/hanpersands/status/1384247365930930177">https://twitter.com/hanpersan...
fight scenes and sex scenes fail for the same reason, in my view. if they are _only_ for spectacle then the power of putting that intensity, emotional and physical, on screen is wasted and it saps the readers& #39; investment in the moment and feels gratiutous in the long run.
shifting away from the original topic, I think of the interminable airport scene from MCU Civil War as the classic example here. It& #39;s a bunch of people who have no reason to be fighting and we know are gonna be friends again in 1 - 2 movies, so it& #39;s a boring, meaningless slugfest
I know some people like that movie, but for me it lacked any true character development. The only development I can remember is Ant Man realizing he can get bigger. The rest of it felt forced and meaningless, with no tension or surprise.
Contrast that with Cap in the elevator, a man confronting the reality that his whole life is a lie. Where every punch, every electrocution, is from someone he thought was an ally, a friend. The weight of the conflict is in the pain of realizing how blind he& #39;s been all along.
So, if you& #39;re putting a sex scene in your book, think about how it moves the characters forward. What does the reader learn about them in this moment? How does it change what they want for the future? How does this catharsis change their understanding of themselves?
Also stop being a prude about sex scenes in books. Throw out the bad sex awards. Let people write stuff and get it wrong and figure it out. Let people write what they want to write and let readers read what they want to read.
[smash cut to me, having to edit a sex scene]:
