Blazing with the Best of Them:
Learning about hot writing from a reader's POV
By Therese Walsh

I've never written one, but since I'd like to someday, I'm left with a rather pleasurable project: study hot books. Some people frown on hot reads, where the hero and heroine slip into the sack (or onto a table, rooftop, washing machine, etc.) within the first few chapters, because they feel the evolution of romance is being tampered with mightily. How can these people possibly be emotionally entangled by chapter three, when making love makes romantic sense? Well, they're not, generally speaking. The romantic sparks that are often present on page one, chapter one in a traditional romantic story, build climactically in a hot story. The challenge before the hot-writing novelist is to develop the plot so that the sexual encounters, which more than likely begin as perfunctory rendezvous propelled by good old-fashioned lust, actually lead to emotional bonding.

How? The following are a reader's observations based upon a whole lot of hot (mostly contemporary) reads.

Part one: Get them into bed.

Why would two strangers sleep together? There are the traditional reasons: too much alcohol, feeling lonely, etc. Creative writers can do better than fall back on those overused, vintage concepts. Some of the plot twists I've seen include:

=Woman taking a dare to have a fling with a "bad boy" =Woman wanting one last crazy night before settling down =Woman out to prove she can seduce a particular man (perhaps one who shunned her before) =Woman out to prove something to herself about her sexuality (propelled by low self-esteem or having recently been jilted) =Woman out to get one particular man out of her system =Woman out to clinically dispense with her virginity

=Unusual situation puts two people in a position to be far more intimate than they would be normally. A few examples: -- Fabricating a love relationship for show (to make someone else jealous, for professional façade, etc.) -- Working on a project with an erotic edge -- Life or death emotional experience

It's worth noting that most of the above plots place the sexual power in the woman's hands.

Part two: Make it so good, they can't help but wonder...

How does someone who avoids anything resembling commitment, find her/himself repeatedly drawn to a sexual partner? There seems to be a real formula.

=The sex is great. Better than great; it makes the earth move. This causes girl and boy to stop their scandalous ways for a moment, blink and say, "Hey, wait, you might be special in some way."

=The morning after is bittersweet. Intense physical attraction was probably present before the first sexual encounter, but afterwards, it becomes more pointed, inevasible. They really don't want to part ways, but they do.

=The torture begins. Your first hurdle with your sexually driven couple will be to get them to breach what is probably a long-held rule: no following up on one-night stands. Though they want to be together again sexually and are being haunted with steamy memories, they're fighting the impulse to pick up the phone. Why? Because they don't want to simulate the role of boyfriend/girlfriend (for whatever dark, tortured reason you want to create). Perhaps the plotline is structured so H&H see one another often (e.g. in a workplace environment), in which case their intense mutual physical attraction will wear them down eventually. Or maybe one member of the pair goes out of his/her way to find the other, proposing a second encounter.

Part three: Ignite latent emotions.

=The second encounter changes everything. Maybe they have a date, maybe they are too crazed with lust to do anything other than mingle body parts. In any event, their escalating desire for one another results in a second union that is even more earth shattering than the first. The impact of the encounter is overwhelming for a few reasons: the lovers realize that, yes, they really are physically incredible together, and they will be hard-pressed to ignore the attraction in the future. Again, this grates against long-held personal rules about getting involved long-term with the opposite sex. They may decide at this point to become lovers but to remain emotionally uninvolved.

=They spend a lot of time together. Sometimes the writer will chose to keep these two people in the bedroom, but more often than not, they venture out into the real world, sneaking kisses here and there, taking lunch together, etc. They begin acting like a couple in some ways, though they will each insist to themselves that they have the emotional reins under control.

=Romance 101. Here we start to introduce the time-honored romance formula as these two people learn about one another. The hero and heroine see things in their lover that attracts them on an emotional level: hidden depth of character, a great kindness, a sexual attentiveness that they've never experienced before. They begin to admire one another personally.

Part four: Force them to acknowledge the undercurrents.

=The emotional bonds are tested. Despite the couple's every intention, true affection has built beneath the surface, and when a situation calls to assist their lover outside of the bedroom, they follow instinct and do it. This is another big departure from the norm for them. It probably alternately frightens and pleases both the hero and heroine, but they may show this in diametrically opposite ways, especially if one of them is more
commitment phobic than the other. The event, however digested by the couple, reveals true partnership potential.

=Someone falls in love. It may be that they are falling in love at the same time, but one of them--usually the least damaged of the pair--realizes it first. At this point, this person is on a quest to prove to their dunderhead partner that they can make it truly work (ala happily ever after). They may even take the ultimate risk and profess their love. The less-enlightened lover may become angry, feeling betrayed by his/her lover, leading to the dark moment.

=Love prevails. It probably requires some soul searching on the part of
dunderhead lover, and possibly one final test or hurdle, but he eventually absorbs the fact that he needs his partner in the bed AND out of it. They compromise in whatever ways they need to in order to be together.

Part five: Find a publisher.

Hot stories are all the rage right now. If you find yourself with a hero and heroine who radiate sexual chemistry, why not let them have their way and try the emotion-building formula? As for me, I have a few premises bubbling on my own creative back burner, but based upon the three dozen or so pristine red-hot covers in my office, I have quite a bit more research to conduct before I'll be truly ready.

Oh, the sacrifices.

Therese Walsh is a member of Southern Tier Authors of Romance.