Romance Writer's Revenge

Music of the week is, “What Do I Have to Do” by Stabbing Westward.

“Indifference is the strongest force in the universe. It makes everything it touches meaningless. Love and hate don’t stand a chance against it.” Joan Vinge

Let me just get this out there. The only chemistry I know is what happens between two characters destined for their paths to intersect in one mind blowing moment. There is nothing scientific about this blog. No one in their right mind would say I qualify to talk about science. I barely made it out of Biology II. It might be because I was busy reading a romance novel propped inside of my biology book instead of paying attention but my only saving grace is that I know worms are hermaphrodites and therefore blew the teacher’s mind when I actually answered one question in class.

Chemistry for a writer is a tricky thing to get right.

Confession number one of my chemistry lesson: Kiki and I are struggling.

Let me explain. Kiki was my first original character ever written. In the beginning, Kiki and I fought over what her real story should be. Kiki believes that I should allow her to be a con-artist. She’s comfortable with the amount of indifference you need to feel when gaming a target. She comfortable with the fact that on an entirely different level of emotional deadening, she never allows herself to react to a situation with emotion only cold detachment. This allows Kiki to move about life without really ever living it. The very thought of facing down her emotions is more daunting than facing down the barrel of a gun.

My issue is as a writer is writing a character with the kind of cool detachment Kiki’s has obtained makes it very difficult to write about chemistry and keep it well within her character bounds. Kiki’s journey throughout the books will be a wider arc than Sadie’s emotional arc. Sadie’s not lacking in emotional outpouring. Sadie’s been locked in a padded cell for ten years. All she had to keep her company was the safety of her emotions and even those she couldn’t trust. So when it comes to writing Sadie, she has all these emotions that pour out all at once. She doesn’t know how to process them or compartmentalize or even stop herself from irrational behavior.

Confession number two of my chemistry lesson: Once upon a time Sadie and Kiki were the same character and now split because of emotional differences. Sometimes I wish my emotional split was just as easy.

Sadie’s emotional journey into chemistry with another character will be a journey of self exploration into her character growing up. Sadie is 26 going on 16. She never attended co-ed slumber parties and played 7 minutes in heaven. She didn’t go to homecoming or prom. And this day and age, it’s hard to write a modern character who is not only an emotional virgin, but save one moment in the bed of a pickup is pretty much starting from the ground up physically. She’s unsure of herself. Unsure of how she feels. Unsure how to trust someone and will probably just jump off the cliff without looking over the edge first. Kiki, on the other hand, refuses to have any emotional attachment to anyone who could mean something to her. Kiki is hell bent on closing herself off from the world forever.

Realistically, Kiki is in love with this guy whom she’s loved since she was seventeen. She would rather die than admit it. In fact, they had one night together that really showed her how much she loved him and how dangerous he really was to her and ever since she’s kept him at arm’s distance. This is the first chance I’m really having to write a male character other than Alpha and I’m enjoying it a bit. Kiki is a little too dominant to end up with another alpha. He needs to know when to take charge and when to take a step back and let her lead. The emotion between them is the hardest part to write. First person POV allows for you to only know how Kiki’s feeling, and not allowing for the intimate connection between them to boil out of control. You’d never know when they are together that she feels anything more than friendship between them. Emotionally its difficult for him to take but he knows if he pushes her, she will only push him further away.

There is a plus side to all this emotional drama. Usually chemistry and emotion can be separated. And for me, showing Kiki the difference is going to make my day. I’m going to drag her into a relationship, leading her specifically with the chemistry she can’t get away from, and then she’s going to realize that she’s in too deep with him. Slow and steady with Kiki. Catching her off guard is the hardest part. Inside, she’s so in tune to any slight change on her emotional behavior towards someone. No move is miscalculated- the chess game without the chess board.

And confession number three of my chemistry lesson: It starts with a look.

Not just any look. I’m not talking about the sex eyes from across the room. Any fool can do that. There is this moment that two people can share when your eyes meet for just a brief second. It’s one of those looks that passes a million conversations in a single blink. I like to think it’s your heart recognizing its other half. But that’s way too romantic for truly what the look represents. The look represents the chemistry founded between two able bodies. It’s the look that makes your heart race uncontrollably and your lips to part. Breathing becomes difficult and a faint tint of pink hints on your cheeks. In a single second, a look can remind you of everything you want and everything you need. Reminding you of what you’re missing and compelling you to go after it.

Showing that to a character makes all the world of difference and it’s hard not to think about the possibilities. Chemistry is that want and need, the pure desire to feel something with another person. It’s often that that chemistry you have for someone leads into something more emotional if you allow it. (And often you don’t allow it and it happens anyway. Because let’s face it, we can’t control our emotions. We like to think we can, but it’s a shallow attempt of wasted energy on the inevitable.)

So today, let’s talk about feeling chemistry and writing chemistry. What is the best attempt at chemistry between two characters you’ve read recently (or in the past)? And what is your favorite scene of chemistry you like to write?