Which POV during a sex scene?...

ZannaPerry

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Would be better? The heroine or hero's? I guess it depends on the situation of the scene, but which POV would you rather read in??

Right now, my first sex scene is in my hero's POV. The second following is in my heroine's.

Whatcha y'all think?
 

MargueriteMing

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well, I think that depends on what POV you are using for your story. If you have a consistent POV, then you certainly shouldn't change it for the sex scene.
 

gingerwoman

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See I find this thing of having to choose one or the other for a scene annoying. I like to write half the scene through one of their eyes do the *** thing and change to the other's point of view. They are both sexy to read.
Is that wrong?
 

Azraelsbane

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See I find this thing of having to choose one or the other for a scene annoying. I like to write half the scene through one of their eyes do the *** thing and change to the other's point of view. They are both sexy to read.
Is that wrong?

Nah, not at all. I actually cut a sex scene because of this problem. I really like getting into everyone's head, but omni is too far removed for me and doing it up close is considered head hopping and bad form. I ended up cutting a sex scene and having the female MC leading up to the act, then scene cut to the male MC after the fact. It actually worked better than the sex scene in the end. :D
 

ZannaPerry

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My problem is that I've already gone through who's POV is more important in the love scene...but all in my head. I never write it down. It comes across better in my head than any other form of writing. I get in my characters' head...which one would give more thoughts about the sex, who it would affect the most, etc...
 

small axe

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Well, if you use the guy's POV it'll be a faster read. :)
 

ZannaPerry

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Ha! Oh, so true small axe, but in this story anyway it will mean the most coming from him. Then the sex scene following will mean the most to my heroine because she will be the dominant one. :)
 

Gray Rose

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Sometimes I have a feeling that I've imagined a certain scene so vividly that I cannot write it down (erotic or no, does not matter). In such cases I have learned to work with an "anchoring phrase", which is a line of dialogue or a thought, etc - usually I have one of those in my head when I imagine the scene.

I start writing my scene from the anchoring phrase. Then after I reach the end I backtrack and write the beginning (by then I am completely unblocked about the scene).
Sometimes I discover the scene really begins with my anchor phrase, not at the beginning I have imagined.

Hope this helps!
Rose
 

takkunelwood

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The two works I have where sex plays an important factor, the stories are written rather omnisciently in the first place, so you get a little of both POVs during the sex.
 

gingerwoman

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I do her point of view *** his point of view or vice versa. Hope that is Ok for erotic romance.
 

Drasheny

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I do her point of view *** his point of view or vice versa. Hope that is Ok for erotic romance.

Do you do that just for sex scenes, or is that a technique you employ more generally? How often do you switch?

I always write in first person or third person limited, and my MC is almost always female. That's the way I approach the sex scenes also. Keeps everything nice and personal...and simple.
 

Giles English

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Would be better? The heroine or hero's? I guess it depends on the situation of the scene, but which POV would you rather read in??

Right now, my first sex scene is in my hero's POV. The second following is in my heroine's.

Whatcha y'all think?

Who's experiencing the most conflict in the scene?
 

veinglory

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If it is erotica (i.e. one handed reading may occur) I would suggest picking the POV of the person getting the most sensation and if in doubt choose the most common gender of your readers. Many readers find it easier to get aroused by descriptions of sensations relating to the equipment they possess. Not always, of course (I know that as an MM writer) but as a tendency.
 

WittyandorIronic

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I switch back and forth with scene changes at *ahem* obvious points if I need to have both, or go by who is most conflicted/effected/sensationed (woot, my very own new word) like everyone else said.
 

Kentuk

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Not again! Can't stand it! Will leave me a mess like last time.
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and please don't let her be a virgin.

oh sorry wrong forum...carry on
 

wyf

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I always write from the POV i know best - mine. I have written from a male prespective but I never seem to get it quite right, although i enjoy reading male POV stuff.
 

Maryn

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If I've shifted POV throughout the work (which I've done a few times), then I might also shift it during a sex scene, but I would never change POV only during a sex scene. If I needed to show the other person's POV, then maybe my whole novel or story is in the wrong POV, you know?

Of course, head-hopping is just plain wrong in any scene, not just a sex scene. If we need to know what's going on in the head of someone other than the POV character, it's my job as a writer to find a way to make that happen. Speech is good.

Maryn, big on dialogue, including during sex scenes
 

chroniclemaster1

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I think anything goes as long as you're clear and the reader can follow everything that's going on in the flow. But wow, I think that's nearly impossible to do jumping POV. Between chapters I'd say it's OK. If you have a situation where you need to see more than one point of view, TV writers have found a much more interesting way to do it. Tell the scene, then go back and tell it again from the other POV.

As long as you're not dragging it out over a very long time, then you can follow it. That's the weakest part of Return of the King, Tolkien tried to tell each group's story all the way up to the battle for Minas Tirith. It's too much time and you can't follow it. Though that's about the only thing I don't like about the book.
 

akiwiguy

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An aside, I did notice an interesting "POV don't do" within the submission guidelines for a magazine once... I'd need to dig up the source, but it was one of the higher profile, better paying mags, and the warning was they will not accept stories written from first person POV and a second-person "you" character. And I have seen warnings relating to non-acceptance of present tense.

In both cases, the context seemed to suggest that the reasoning may be that it smacks too much of "cyber chat". Note, these were within submission guidelines for specific publications, and I haven't the experience to know whether they are quite common restrictions.
 

Dustry Joe

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I always thought it would be interesting to see a sex scene told from the point of view of a condom.
 

Strongbear

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If you're a male writer but you have a female heroine (with her POV throughout), but it gets to a sex scene, won't it seem rather odd from your own POV as a straight male writer if you are imagining her in her shoes? I would think it would be rather difficult to really picture it from that side, and you might personally prefer to desribe how your female protagonist is like. But then if you switch POV to the male just for that scene, won't the sudden change seem somewhat forced or artificial?

What does one do?
 

Stacia Kane

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I'm a female writer and have no problem writing sex scenes from the man's POV. (That is what you're asking, right? Sorry, that huge video thing you have in your sig distracted me and hurt my eyes, so I can't be certain I understood your question completely.)