Writing Kissing Scenes

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Kissing scenes are like marmite. You either love 'em or hate 'em, writing wise. You've got to get this big, bubbling mass of emotions and lust and hope and nerves and put it down in a couple of paragraphs that make the reader go "ahhh" or "eurgh" (depending on the situation).

I'm no expert, but there are a few things I think are important to bear in mind when writing a kissing scene.

1) Have they kissed before? Is it their first kiss together, or the point of view character's first kiss ever? This has an impact on the emotions and reactions of the characters - if they've been going out for months, they might be more relaxed with each other, whereas if the guy is your POV girl's total crush and she's so nervous she's dying a little inside, then the dynamics will be all different.

2) Who starts the kiss? This shows you a lot about who has the most power, also mega important in kissing scenes. Oh, and I don't just mean physical power, I mean who's the dominant one. Also think about who ends the kiss - is your shy POV girl going to stop because she can't breathe, is so excited, or because they're both so hopeless he bites her tongue by accident? This actually happened to a friend of mine. Not nice.

3) External Factors. Where are they? If they're at a crowded rave-up party, then they might be getting it on on the dance floor, or they might find a quiet bedroom to...continue. If they're sitting on the roof, they might be freezing but have an epic view. Describe the sights, sounds, and smells, too: the bassline thumping through the house, the seagulls calling at the beach, the smell of barbequeues at the park...

5) Personality and mood. This is SO important. Are they shy, angry, lusty, scared, euphoric? Are they super confident, mega popular, snogging the hot jock? Are they trying to pretend that they're super confident, mega popular but actually totally hating the way the hot jock gropes them to show his mates what they're missing? Are they about to fight each other in a huge intergalactic war/football match?

And here's a little teaser of the kissing scene I wrote yesterday. It's a first draft, so it's certainly not perfect, but I like it. To set the scene, India and Luke are in the middle of some woodland after having broken into someone's property. They've been enemies and then casual friends, but are now seeing each other as something more...

India reached out, twisted his hands apart, stepped in closer. She would push the misery away. On her tiptoes she bounced up, planting her lips on his cheek. His skin was cold, unexpectedly so, and Luke hadn’t expected the kiss either, twisting to face her, and her lips were on his. Warm and soft, compared to his cheek, a lingering, fumbled moment, long enough to enjoy it and they sprang apart, both blushing furiously. All India could think was that Jem was wrong, he wasn’t a superior kisser, and now he was blushing, he looked warmer, two bright spots of colour in his pale face, his fingers tangled with hers strong and alive.

She blinked, uncertain. ‘Uh...well…God.’

‘That was…’ Luke searched her eyes.

‘Unexpected.’ India backed away slightly, tried to regain her composure. ‘I suppose I tried to go for your cheek and I -,’

‘Missed? I…it was…I l-liked it.’

‘Me too, I –,’

He cut her off with a kiss. This was different, more urgent, as if India’s kiss was the only thing that could save him from drowning. She slid her arms around his neck and pressed against him, feeling reckless and out of control. Luke tasted of sugar and peppermint and lust, his lips hungry against her own, and he deepened the kiss. His hand was on her breast and she reached for his belt buckle, revelling in this wild, churning feeling that she couldn’t hold back. Luke moaned into her mouth, sliding his hand down and up under her t-shirt until he found her bra clasp. His touch was hot against her cold back, pulling her closer to him.

What do you think about writing kissing scenes? Do you hate 'em or love 'em? And do you have any tips for writing them well?