3T Writing Tidbit - Building Desire Without Saying a Word

 When I asked Chat GPT to give my poor tired brain a break from thinking of blog topics, I asked for two common and three uncommon.

Chat GPT, in its amazing way, turned that into "two familiar (crowd-pleasers) and three uncommon (conversation-starters)".

This is one of the conversation starters. 

I have to give you the title it chose, too. It's really good. 

3. The Chemistry Equation: Writing Desire Beyond Dialogue 

Hook:
 

So sexual tension to me is all about pacing. It's like an ocean that builds. Small waves, medium waves, large waves, waves that bowl you over. But waves -- build and release, build and release. Some authors only build build build. To me, that only makes the character crank so tight they implode instead of explode.

I digress. How do you build tension without dialog?

Physical cues like glances, a drawn breath, a hesitation. If you do it right, the reader glances or breathes along with the character and experiences the emotional build that goes along with.

Internal cues, like awareness of a racing heartbeat, tingling body, a rush of heat.

Emotional cues, especially the non-standard like vulnerability, trust, surprise.

The trough between the waves is a huge deal. One of the best erotic/romantic scenes I ever read ended with the heroine on the bed in a negligee and flushed and the hero slamming out the door... and the chapter ended and I couldn't believe it, I turned the page to the hero re-opening the door with "And another thing..." Of course in the meantime the heroine has thrown off her negligee in disgust and he stands there, stunned... and then they rush to each other and the consummation was everything I was hoping for and even more powerful because it so nearly didn't happen. Sometimes, the power is what's almost said--or almost done.

Start small and build. Rest between -- those pauses whet the appetite.

Published since 2009, over the years I've accumulated various items of writing wisdom. The Third Tuesday Writing Tidbit showcases these items in no particular order. Click here to see all 3T Tidbits.