April Tucholke Takes The Truth

I chose Lisa Mandina's truth. She asked:

Would you ever put a very sexy scene into a YA book?

The answer is yes, but probably never again. Yes, I did once put a very, very sexy scene into a manuscript called The Staining--it was a Wicker Man/The Giver mash up, set on a remote Scottish island. This was a manuscript that editors read. And I'm sitting here, right now, and blushing to the roots of my gosh darn hair, just thinking about that one sexy, sexy scene. What made me do it? Was it about pushing boundaries? Was it to create tension? Did I just want to see if I had the courage to write it? I don’t know. But…yeah. I wouldn't do it again. I have sensual scenes in my Devil book, but they are nowhere near as graphic as that one scene.

Regardless of said graphic level of said sex scene, I do stick to one rule: suggestive phrasing is generally more evocative than explicit descriptions. Personally, I would hesitate to use any explicitly sexy prose in a YA love scene, as in: no heaving bosoms, no rosy nipples, nothing engorged, nothing throbbing. The website All About Romance discusses some particularly interesting sexual terms, like manroot, and honey-pot. I think it takes a lot of…practice…to use these kinds of words and not distance the reader. Of all the scenes in a book, the sexual scenes are usually some of the most serious. And the last thing I'd want a reader to do is laugh when my main character experiences intimacy.

That said, I didn't laugh when I read Flowers in the Attic as a teen. The rampant exclamation point abuse, the swollen, the rigid, the resisting flesh...no, I didn't laugh. Not once. (Any other Flowers in the Attic fans out there? Read this wicked funny review.)

Poll:

What sexual word/phrase would make you put a book down?*

A. Nethers

B. Dew-moistened

C. Manroot

D. Surge of ecstasy

E. Purred

F. Honey-pot

G. Tickle

H. Nectar

I. Turgid

J. All of the above

K. None of the above

*Have you ever used one of these words or phrases in your writing? Elaborate in the comments section.

Thanks, Lisa, for the great question. My cheeks are still burning, by the way. Your reward? A 13-page critique. Or, if you're not a writer, I could send you a V.C. Andrews of my choosing. I could also, uh, send you the aforementioned sexy scene. Write me at fridaythethirteeners(at)gmail(dot)com

Next up: the brilliant Ellen Oh. Have a truth or dare you'd like to see her answer next Friday? Submit one now.