Favorite TV Couples

I’m totally swamped with revisions and judging for a contest on top of my usual stuff, so I’m cheating a bit for today’s post, but it sure was fun finding the best videos for your viewing entertainment. I didn’t create the videos, I just spent some time searching on YouTube:

Who is your favorite TV couple? I have so many that I love: Booth & Bones (Bones), Castle & Beckett (Castle – although they’re not really a couple, yet), Eric & Sookie (True Blood)… and I’m really digging Bo & Dyson (Lost Girl)

First Kisses

One of my first posts a couple of months ago talked about being a bad kisser. Today I want to talk about excellent first kisses. I think most people have experienced the good, the bad, and the so-so for a first kiss. But I believe that sometimes, it goes beyond being good, deep into WOW territory and that’s the kind of kiss I look for, especially the first kiss, between my characters.

I read a lot of romances because it’s a great way to take a break from my work and my writing, while still keeping my brain engaged. I’ve read about all kinds of kisses, but I find that most kisses between the hero and heroine fall into one of two categories: the passionate – hard and fast, or the sensual – slow and gentle.

Neither kind of kiss is better than the other. They both serve their purpose. It boils down mostly to what fits the characters. I’m in the middle of revising one manuscript while I write my current WIP. I find myself rereading those early scenes, the first kisses because they feel off. Part of it, especially in my WIP, might be because I don’t know my characters as well as I think I do. Are they passionate or sensual?

I think I tend to go for the sensual by default. It’s my fallback kiss. But the more I go through revisions, I think I might have to ramp things up to suit the characters. I have one heroine who is flighty and fun and one that is worse than a stick in the mud. (In fact, the hero often accuses her of having a stick placed elsewhere. 🙂  )

Then, I went back to my list of YouTube videos to use in this post and I got lost. I went back and searched some more. Really tough work, let me tell you, watching steamy kisses for hours at a time… Anyway, I digress again. What I found in looking at all those videos, is that while my supposition about the two types of kisses seems to hold up, it also looks like more often than not, that first kiss is of the slow and sensual variety.

Which made me think some more. Maybe it fits that the slow kiss is the first kiss. Both people are kind of seeing what works, hoping not to get shut down. Then I thought about times when the harder, more passionate kiss might come into play (other than when heading directly for the bedroom). I think if the characters have a history and the sexual tension has built up enough, I think that’s where the hard and fast kiss comes in. Maybe they’re friends-turned-lovers or they are lovers reunited.

Either way, it definitely makes me look at my characters more carefully before I have them lock lips.

Here is a cool collection of kisses (one of many I looked at) for your viewing pleasure:

What do you think? Is the first kiss between the hero and heroine based more on the characters or on their history? Do you have a preference for the type of kiss you like to read?

First Kiss as First Impression

I finished writing the first kiss in my current WIP (work-in-progress). For my first draft, I usually don’t mess around. I get the words out and move on and then fix it up during revisions. For some reason, I couldn’t do that this time. For me, the first kiss between the hero and heroine is pretty important. Sometimes, it’s the first time they act on their chemistry, other times, it’s a test to see if the chemistry is really there.

I finished the kiss scene and knew it was bad. When I mentioned it to my critique partner, her response was, “Oh, poor Elizabeth [heroine].” It took a minute for me to realize that she thought I meant the kiss was bad. I explained that it wasn’t the kiss that was lacking, but the scene itself; it didn’t hold the importance I thought it should. The conflict and emotional intensity weren’t there.

I couldn’t leave the scene as it was, so I went back and at least tried to fix it before going on. I know I made it better, but it’s still not quite “there.” It will be eventually, probably during long and torturous revisions. The experience got me to thinking about first kisses.

Personally, I think first kisses can make or break a budding romance. In one of my other manuscripts, my heroine, Quinn, goes out on a few dates and is bothered by men who can’t kiss. One kisses like a lizard, jabbing his tongue in and out. As she says, she doesn’t have time to teach a man to kiss. I’m in agreement (not that it matters, since I’m married, but you know what I mean).

I dated a guy in high school who was a great guy. He was really nice, had a job, a car, and treated me well. I don’t remember our first kiss, which isn’t a good sign. But he wasn’t a good kisser. He wasn’t a horrible kisser either; he was a sloppy kisser. Like he had too much spit in his mouth and couldn’t figure out what to do with it. It wasn’t the reason I ultimately broke up with him, but it was a factor.

In searching for a clip to include about kissing, I found lots and lots of first kisses that went well, which I’ll save for another day, since they’re so much fun. I did find this one, that covers the issue of bad kisses.

From Sex and the City:

Every time I watch it, I get grossed out. The man’s like a dog with his tongue all over her face. What’s worse, she goes back for more. I didn’t watch Sex and the City when it aired, so maybe this guy had some fabulous traits that this clip doesn’t reflect. I suppose anything is possible.

What do you think? Can you come back from a bad first kiss? I almost want to write a scene with a bad first kiss between a hero and heroine to see how it will play out.