Kiss Scenes

You want to write a kiss scene? Well, sit down then. Let's get down to business. *rubs hands together with a creepy grin ;D*

Truth be told, I really do enjoy reading and writing scenes about kissing. But sometimes, scenes like this hinder authors from writing a scenes such as this one simply because many people haven't experienced it first hand.

If you want the kiss to actually mean something, you can't just slap it into a reader's face. You've got to set the scene, the mood and atmosphere for the kiss itself. There are a lot of factors to consider that play a big role. Some of these factors are:

Are they a couple?

What's the situation they're in?

What's the time?

Are they on a date, at an event, what?

Of course, there are other factors, but these are just a few.

Distance between the two characters can have a huge impact. You can't just go from that they were walking and they kissed. There wasn't anything in between. As a writer, you want to build up 'tension' between the two - whether it be pent up desire or a chaste kiss. Also you can foreshadow what type of kiss it would be. For example, if the distance between them is closed slowly and is uh... controlled (?); this usually foreshadows that it'll be a chaste, soft, passionate, etc kiss. If the distance between them is closed all to soon, this will usually foreshadow a kiss that's hard, ual, etc.

We use our five senses in everyday life right? Why not use them in a kiss scene too! For sight, you can write about what the character's see. With the sense of sound, you can write about what the character's hear (obviously). Some of these sounds can include sensual noises, heart beating. I find smell a little awkward about, but for this, you can write about what the character smells like. Do they smell nice? Natural Scent, perfume, cologne, and the list goes on and on! Touch is important as you can get to describe what the character feels. Lips against lips, smooth skin, and all that jazz. For taste; if a character ate some chocolate for example beforehand, you can write about what the character tastes like. For example: 'I can still taste the sweet chocolate which ate beforehand'. You catch my drift, yeah?

Body language plays an important part in any good ol' kiss scene. Here are a few:

Eyes; The window to the soul. I'm just kidding. Are they opened or closed? Character's with eyes that are open give that awkward yet chaste, tender kiss feel to it. Closed eyes indicate a passionate kiss, they don't think about anything other than the kiss.

Hands, Arms, ~~Legs?~~ Does your character's arms encircle around the other's waist? Do their arms lay by their side? Does the guy cup the other's cheek? Are they running their fingers through each other's hair?

You can also describe the emotional aspect to a kiss. Were they longing for each other? If it was their first kiss, what was their first instinct/reaction - was it to slap them, keep their eyes wide open? Were they surprised? Were they enjoying the kiss? Who kissed them - was it their long time crush?

Remember, when focusing on a kiss scene, remember that there are other parts of the body other than the lips. Use the five senses, and write about the character's emotions from both views (unless you're writing in first person pov, of course. :P)

I'm just going to put some of my favourite kiss scenes here now.

“Before I could stop myself or think or do anything that made any sense at all, I spoke. ‘Savannah…’ Then I stopped talking. She was so close to me, her slender fist bunched up in my shirt, her eyes huge, her lips so close I couldn’t stop myself from touching them, and I was compelled to know what those lips felt like again. ‘Gregory, I…’ Her words were cut off when my lips touched hers, and I felt a wave of euphoria wash over me. This was no slow, gentle kiss. Our mouths opened immediately, and she gripped the back of my neck, pushing us together closer, a low moan like a growl rising from as she pressed her body against mine, hard.” - Nocturne by Charles Sheehan Miles and Andrea Randall

"Without meaning to, he reached her in three strides and snatched her in his arms. Her joyous laugh tickled his ear as he lifted her off his feet. Urgently his mouth roved across her face with rough kisses that stung her cheek, her chin, her forehead." - Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas

I'm aware that I skipped some of the descriptive writing parts, but I really couln't wait to write this chapter. Eep!

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LuAnn98 #1 Aug 14, 2014 14:09:19

And for kissing scenes, talk about HARD! In one of my stories, the kissing scene was in the rain, and writing it took a tremendous amount of brain cells because I had to consider their body language, emotions, actions, etc. To me, a kissing scene isn't just connecting lips, like you said, but it's the hands, the eyes, the nose, the mouth, the feels, and more. And because a lot of readers like a real intense kissing scene, knowing how to deliver is not an easy task.
Character development is different for everyone, I guess. I have read literature classics that have literally very little character development, but are praised for their prose and diction. Some are highly respected just simply for the realism of the novel, and not exactly the characters. While I do think characters play a big role in a story, their development is shaped by the events that happen, and sometimes they don't grow at all. I'm honestly fine with reading static characters, as long as they are well-rounded and not just a typical Mary Sue or Gary Stu.
And can I just tell you how much I love the words you listed? My personal favorites are eloquence, connive, and ephemeral. Chide is nice too.

LuAnn98 #2 Aug 14, 2014 14:02:29

Hiya! I'm going to be writing a really long comment so please don't mind me! I just wanted to give you my thoughts on what you said, and I agree with most of the points you made!
Honestly, when it comes to point of views, I like to stick to first or third person. Second person to me is so underdeveloped character-wise, and I hate being told what *I have to do, what *I have to say, etc. A lot of inexperienced authors go down the 2nd POV path, which is a terrible choice if you don't know how to work around it. In the end, it only makes your story seem really immature. While I have read great stories written in 2nd POV, not all authors have the ability to achieve that kind of success, so I mostly ignore those stories for that reason.
I do like first person, because you do get in touch with the main character's emotions and such on a personal level. The only drawback is that exact same reason. Instead of getting a roundabout view of the situation, you only see what the MC sees, in which the view may be distorted according to a prejudice or bias. So for that reason, I tend to prefer to write in third person (limited). In this POV, writing emotions is pretty hard, but I feel like third does so much better in conveying a whole story.
As for author's notes, I do hate them when they appear randomly during a chapter. However, I do like placing my author's notes at the bottom, mostly just to thank my readers or share a thought with them that I may have, or even ask questions. I find that my readers are really nice and have great replies, so author notes are quite fun.