Fill-Me-In Friday: Best Writing Links of the Week

My view at last night's dinner.

Sorry today's post is up very late and that I din't get a chance to comment back on your comments about love scenes this week. I've been on a beach vacation in Florida and had no idea that the hotel wouldn't have wireless internet. Ack. Not good a week before a book release let me tell you. But now I'm back (well, in New Orleans at least) where I have wifi again. Yay.

Hope you all had a great week. Here are the best links I came across (amazing how much blog reading you can get done by phone when you're stuck in a car for hours.).

On Writing/Publishing:

Writing Craft: Mechanics Vs Spark via PubRants

A Freelance Editor Talks About Authors’ “Habits” & Predictable Writing via Kill Zone

Is Reading Fiction . . . Safe? via WordServe Watercooler

4 Writing Crutches that Insult the Reader’s Intelligence via Kristen Lamb

A Quick Look At Tag lines via Pub Rants

25 Things You Should Know About Writing Sex via Chuck Wendig (He goes over a lot of what I cover in my class, only with more expletives.)

Maximizing Our Creativity–The Transformative Power of Q via Kristen Lamb

“Publishing isn’t a Meritocracy, it’s a Casino*” by Kameron Hurley

By the Numbers: Earning Out the Advance on a First Novel | Kameron Hurley

The Essential Guide to (Not) Responding to Critics by Jeff Goins

The Sharp Angle: Knowing When to Let Go

On Social Networking and Marketing:

Best of the Web Book Marketing Tips for the Week of June 25, 2012 via Author Marketing Experts

‘Social’: Over the Top via Writer Unboxed

How Should Writers Handle Facebook Frustrations? via Jody Hedlund

Why I Think Some Authors "Go Hermit" via Michelle Davidson Argyle

Writer Unboxed » 5 Encouraging Reasons To Build Your Writer Platform

Karen Baney » Marketing 101 For Authors

Why I Prefer Social Media Promo to In-Person | Mystery Writing is Murder

Where to Get Photos For Your Blog « Writerland

Writer Unboxed » I Have No More Advice Left to Give

That's all for me. Hope y'all have a good weekend. And remember next week is MELT INTO YOU release week! Woo-hoo!  

Memorable Love Scenes: Titanic

Poster via IMDB.comWe've been talking about memorable love scenes this week. And today I'm taking one that uses the "glossed over" sex scene to perfection. There are times you don't have to show everything (in a movie or in a book) but the scene cna still be sensual and impactful.

This scene stands out in my mind because of the emotion (we know what's about to happen to that ship) and the conflict (Jack and Rose come from different worlds but can't stay away from each other.) In almost all circumstances, there needs to be overlying conflict within your love scenes--why is it so dangerous for these two to be together. (Unless it's the happily ever after scene or a setup scene like the one in Ghost yesterday.)

Here's the scene:

So what are your thoughts on this one? Is it the tension that's been set up (remember the painting scene)? Is it the emotion? Or is the stakes and conflict?

Memorable Love Scenes: Ghost

Poster via IMDB.comThis week we're analyzing memorable love scenes so that we can hopefully write books that have scenes just as memorable. We've talked about setting and having the scene change the character. Today, I'm featuring one that not only has uniqueness going for it with the pottery wheel AND Patrick Swayze (king of the memorable love scene), but is chock full of emotion. 

This scene is actually a bit of the movie's setup or "showing the ordinary world" before the inciting incident, but it also packs a lot of emotion because the moviegoer knows what's going to happen to Patrick. They've seen the preview, they know what the title of the movie is. So this scene taps into that deep emotion of being with the person you love most in the world.

Here's the scene:

So what do you think? Why does this one stand out in so many of our memories?

Memorable Love Scenes: Pretty Woman

Poster via IMDB.comIf you missed it yesterday, this week I'm featuring memorable love scenes so that we can a) enjoy and b) analyze what makes the scene so memorable so that we can translate it into our own writing. Yesterday, we looked at the unique setting factor.

Today, I wanted to feature a scene that has one of the most mundane settings of all--a hotel room--but it still a classic memorable moment. It focuses on the change in the characters. A love scene, whether it's a kiss or a full sex scene, should always change the characters in some way. Otherwise, why are you showing it?

So here's the kissing scene from Pretty Woman:

This scene is definitely smexy--I mean, it's Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, come on now. But the reason it has stuck with so many of us is because of what that kiss represented. Sex wasn't a big deal for Vivian, but a kiss...that was a whole different thing.

So what do you love most about this scene? Why do you think it's so memorable?

Memorable Love Scenes: Risky Business

Movie poster via IMDB.com

This week I'm taking a bit of a break from the normal blogging schedule. I've just wrapped up teaching an online class on writing love scenes. And one of the things I asked students to do was name love scenes from movies or books that stood out in their memory. The point of the exercise was to look at those scenes and see WHY they were memorable. What did the storyteller do to make them so impression-making?

So this week, I'm going to post some of the examples we used so that you can break them down too. (Or if you're not a writer, just sit back and enjoy the smexiness.)

First on the agenda is Risky Business and the smoking hot scene on the train. (This doesn't have nudity but isn't exactly safe for work either.) This is an example of using a unique setting to your advantage.

Hot, right? So why is this scene memorable? Is it simply the location, the chance of someone discovering them? Is it the tension built up before this? Or is it because the moment is tranformative for the characters? Or is it just because it's a young Tom Cruise and Rebecca DeMornay?