I just finished writing a four paragraph sex scene in a new work. The scene is in a male point of view. Breasts are prominent along with one or two other features this character appreciates.

When writing sex scenes, I tend to go for a more minimal approach laced with a heavy dose of sensual information. Mechanics are important, but a couple of heady details about the scents, the tactile sensations, the sights tap into more of my characters’ experience. My characters are regular people complete with a few wrinkles, maybe a paunch, good hair and, usually, long limbs. If one of those traits turns on their fellow characters, wonderful. But does the reader need to feel or see the baby pooch one character knows the other character hides under sweaters?  Probably not.

So I’m not trying to recreate Shades of Grey. My characters don’t need a room built for sex or closets filled with tools or a sinister philosophy to make the earth move when partially naked. (It is trying to write this without sinking into at least one could double entendre, so if one appears please enjoy it.) Some stories demand sex, others are fine with everyone keeping their clothes on for the duration. Not that keeping clothes on denies having sex (regardless of the position President Bill Clinton tried taking).

Writing unwelcome, violent or abusive sex scenes is a a somewhat different situation I’ve not tried often. We’ve all read plenty of good fictional sex and almost an equal amount of uninteresting activities. Sometimes lack of context turns good sex writing into an unnecessary surprise. Just like in real life, sex in writing is tricky and timing can mean everything.

A couple of things left out of the opening sentence include the characters involved are in their sixties and one is six months into remission following chemotherapy treatment for leukemia. Someone reading this might be thinking they can do without that scene and someone else is wondering how everything worked for the couple. Let me add that they are dairy farmers (can this get any further from your urban coffee shop reading site) who are in a hurry as they hear the herd moving toward the milking parlor. Writing from the male point of view gave me access to a set of data that drive the action. So to speak.