Ideas at work

You know, you gotta love it when an idea works.

Yesterday, I was sitting at my computer working on my latest book (which at the time involved a lot of me staring at the screen and thinking), when an idea of what I should do next popped into my head. It just hit me, WHAM, and I thought to myself, "Ohhh, I like this." And the more I thought on it, the more this little idea grew into a bigger one which tied in with a scene that will happen later in the book.

It's funny, because the idea was a little one, not a plot twist or a big to-do in the book. It was just something to move the story forward. And the fact that I can now swing it back around to touch on it later, well, it just made me very happy.

That's what I love so much about this career I've chosen. Little ideas can turn into big ones, or they can stay small and work perfectly right where they're supposed to. Writing, for me, is one surprise after another and I love waking up each day not knowing what my writing will give me.

Kristin (who is anxiously awaiting her writing surprise of the day...!)
www.kristindaniels.com
www.facebook.com/authorkristindaniels
http://twitter.com/Kristin_Daniels

Can there be too much?

Sex, that is.

Can there ever be too much sex in a romance novel? I've been asking  myself this question all week as I work on a hot little scene that pretty much came out of nowhere (Yay for us pantsers!). Now, I'm not talking about an erotic romance novel here. Yes, there's tons of sex in those, and rightly so. I'm talking just your everyday romance book -- a sensual romance, if you will. At what point does the book cross the line and fall over into the erotic category? Is it language? Is it what they do? Well, I'll let you in on what I learned:

According to a couple different agents that I met and talked to (and it's funny how they both had the same, exact answer), to be considered an erotic romance, your novel has to have "extras". Extra people, extra props, extra, um, activities, etc. Language (yes, those words) was not a factor, really. Without all those "extras", what you really have is a sensual romance. Interesting, huh? And it's a concept I really like. As an author, I can teeter on that line of being either sensual or erotic. I've written both, and as a matter of fact, one of my current WIP's (works in progress) is very definitely erotic romance and the other is more on the sensual side. So, I'm getting the best of both worlds!

What about you? As a reader, which do you prefer? Do you like those "extras"? Do they have to be there for you? Or will a hot and steamy sensual romance do the trick? If you're an author, which way do you prefer to write? Can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Kristin
www.kristindaniels.com
www.facebook.com/authorkristindaniels
http://twitter.com/Kristin_Daniels