Fade to Black?

[Falls Apart]

Okay, sorry if there's already a topic on this, but - what are your opinions on fade to black sex scenes? I've heard people say that they're always bad, that it's the only way to do things, that it's good or bad in certain contexts... If the author doesn't feel a sex scene would advance the plot at all, but the events leading up to it would, would you say it's okay for the story to just fade out at that point? Or does that make you feel ripped off as a reader? Alternatively, do you wish more authors did this?

[HillaryJ]

I don't think there are any hard and fast rules for this.

On the page/off the page depends on context and the tone of the story, Falls Apart. That being said, if you're writing with the intent of publishing in certain genres or with certain lines, there may be expectation in terms of whether sex scenes should/should not be shown and/or how graphic they ought to be.

If the lead-up to a sex scene is quite sensual or provocative, or the level of romantic tension particularly high, a reader might feel that the couple wasn't properly paid off...or that they as a reader were "led on". I've seen read "morning after scenes" that felt stilted, like the author felt the need to explain how the blacked-out sex scene changed the characters or dynamics, when that could have been shown without being risque.

[MattLarkin]

I personally use fade-to-black, and expect to do so for any projects I currently foresee. I think it's difficult to do sex scenes well in such a way that they add to the story. Unless, of course, your genre is one that calls for it.

[Quill]

Okay, sorry if there's already a topic on this, but - what are your opinions on fade to black sex scenes? I've heard people say that they're always bad, that it's the only way to do things, that it's good or bad in certain contexts... If the author doesn't feel a sex scene would advance the plot at all, but the events leading up to it would, would you say it's okay for the story to just fade out at that point? Or does that make you feel ripped off as a reader? Alternatively, do you wish more authors did this?

If you write erotica, you'll probably want to fade to black in between sex scenes. So yeah, genre and context are everything.

[Gypson]

I don't think there are any hard and fast rules for this.

Agreed.

I think importance and relevance are key here. A fully described sex scene should be intregal to at least one of the following: the character(s)/setting/plot. The focus should not be so much on the mechanics of sex, but on the reactions/roles of the involved characters, the emotion/tone, the motive/reason, the aftermath, the significance of sexual position(s). (Personal example: one of the only sex scenes I write out in my WIP has non-con undertones. My male MC is in the passive role; this is his first sexual encounter. Although I do not go into graphic detail, I wanted to include the scene because it echoes the nature of his conception--his mother was raped. I knew that, in order to make this parallel, I would have to describe the scene.)

Fade-into-black scenes are probably my preference. I often find graphic descriptions of sex to be silly. In any case, I'm more interested in the emotions, characters, and significance. Usually the build-up to a sexual scene is more fulfilling to me than the sex scene itself. A short, potent description of a kiss or caress can be extremely erotic.

Either way is fine with me.

What I don't like is gratuitous sex that serves no purpose and has no impact on the characters/plot. As with any scene included in a novel, a sex scene should have an impact.

[polymath]

I'm not fond of cinema-like overtures where the camera looks away, does some kind of fade, dissolve, pan, substitutes fireworks or crashing waves or some other traditional or quirky symbolism for graphic scenes.

I like lead ups, lead ins, jump transitions, skipped scenes, and aftermath fallout reports when the content is too mature for audiences: PG, PG-13, R. Though, M or X, XX, or XXX doesn't look away. Even if a graphic scene isn't pivotal to a plot, which I like even less than looking away.

[Gypson]

substitutes fireworks or crashing waves or some other traditional or quirky symbolism for graphic scenes.

*cough cough* "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg" *cough cough* =P

[polymath]

substitutes fireworks or crashing waves or some other traditional or quirky symbolism for graphic scenes.

*cough cough* "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg" *cough cough* =P

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Yep, a popular cinema gimmick of the times. '60s. What movies parody the method? Hint. Many of the parodies following that period do. '70s and '80s. Parody has an uncanny tendency to single out clichés.

[Quill]

I don't think there are any hard and fast rules for this.

Heh, heh. Puns intended?

[Sommer Leigh]

Yeah it depends.

There seems to be two strong camps in this topic, one that says sex scenes NEVER add to the story and should be skipped and one that says sex scenes CAN add to the story and shouldn't necessarily be skipped just because it's a little uncomfortable to talk about. I fall into the last group.

So there's this YA book by Kody Keplinger called The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend). The book is primarily about how we see ourselves vs. how the world sees us and how the way we see ourselves can influence how the world treats us. In the book, the main character is not the skinnier, flashier, more adorable of her girlfriends. She sees herself as the frumpy one, the ugly one, the fatter one, the one who has no one to dance with while her BFFs are always surrounded by boys. When a play boy at her school calls her The DUFF of her group and tries to get her to have fun so that her girlfriends will see that he's being nice to their group's DUFF and therefore will make him look like more of a catch, she freaks out on him and spends most of the book haunted by this term. She also ends up spending most of the book haunted by him. It's a major part of the book when she starts having sex with him because he will be with her to pass the time and because she momentarily feels wanted when she's with him. Most girls can relate to this type of situation. Had Kody Keplinger faded to black and skipped these scenes, the book wouldn't be as meaningful and it would lose a big chunk of the theme around how we let people treat us and how we treat ourselves. These scenes aren't graphic like YA erotica or anything, but they aren't sugarcoated either.

So yeah, it depends entirely on what the scene is doing for the story. It should *do* something, like any other scene in the book. It's just a type of scene and should be treated like any other.

[CharleeVale]

Yeah it depends.

There seems to be two strong camps in this topic, one that says sex scenes NEVER add to the story and should be skipped and one that says sex scenes CAN add to the story and shouldn't necessarily be skipped just because it's a little uncomfortable to talk about. I fall into the last group.

So there's this YA book by Kody Keplinger called The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend). The book is primarily about how we see ourselves vs. how the world sees us and how the way we see ourselves can influence how the world treats us. In the book, the main character is not the skinnier, flashier, more adorable of her girlfriends. She sees herself as the frumpy one, the ugly one, the fatter one, the one who has no one to dance with while her BFFs are always surrounded by boys. When a play boy at her school calls her The DUFF of her group and tries to get her to have fun so that her girlfriends will see that he's being nice to their group's DUFF and therefore will make him look like more of a catch, she freaks out on him and spends most of the book haunted by this term. She also ends up spending most of the book haunted by him. It's a major part of the book when she starts having sex with him because he will be with her to pass the time and because she momentarily feels wanted when she's with him. Most girls can relate to this type of situation. Had Kody Keplinger faded to black and skipped these scenes, the book wouldn't be as meaningful and it would lose a big chunk of the theme around how we let people treat us and how we treat ourselves. These scenes aren't graphic like YA erotica or anything, but they aren't sugarcoated either.

So yeah, it depends entirely on what the scene is doing for the story. It should *do* something, like any other scene in the book. It's just a type of scene and should be treated like any other.

I totally agree with you Sommer! They should do something.

My sex scenes fro my WIP are fade to black, because they're something deeply intimate between the characters, and it would almost be weird for the audience to see that.

Also, I'm friends with Kody, Sommer. I shall pass on your kind words!

CV

[Sommer Leigh]

I totally agree with you Sommer! They should do something.

My sex scenes fro my WIP are fade to black, because they're something deeply intimate between the characters, and it would almost be weird for the audience to see that.

Also, I'm friends with Kody, Sommer. I shall pass on your kind words!

CV

I'm a huge fan of Kody's She's one of the few authors I've made a point to email and thank for writing the book she did. I wish I'd had The DUFF when I was in high school. It might have changed everything for me. *love*

[CharleeVale]

I'm a huge fan of Kody's She's one of the few authors I've made a point to email and thank for writing the book she did. I wish I'd had The DUFF when I was in high school. It might have changed everything for me. *love*

Well, if you wrote her I'm sure she knows, but I'm sure she'll be glad to hear it again! That's great that it did so much for you. She and I are in a writing group together, so I'll see her in a couple weeks.

CV

[HillaryJ]

I don't think there are any hard and fast rules for this.

Heh, heh. Puns intended?

I will neither confirm nor deny.

[dios4vida]

What I don't like is gratuitous sex that serves no purpose and has no impact on the characters/plot. As with any scene included in a novel, a sex scene should have an impact.

^^ This. Actually, let me just echo all of Gypson's statement there.

I tend to prefer fade-to-black. I love the lead-up, the emotions, but the sex itself usually doesn't make the reading experience any better. I do read books that have plenty of sex in them from time to time (J.D. Robb, Karen Marie Moning's Fever series, just started Charlaine Harris) but I honestly get tired of Eve and Roarke (Robb) having sex every single time they're in the same room together. I know, it's really Nora Roberts, romance author extraordinaire, but I don't read the romances for a reason!

Even though I read those books and really enjoy them, my favorites are the ones where the sex is minimal and emotions/relationships/interactions are the focus - Ilona Andrews, R.A. Salvatore, Jim Butcher. I've never felt cheated by any of them not describing the acts of sex, because the characters' emotions were priority, they were led TO the bed, and I was thrilled for them because I knew what this act meant for them.

All that being said, you need to do what's right for your story and characters. If the sex itself - not the relationship or emotions, but the physical act of sex - is important, then sure, put it in. (Just be tasteful, and like others have said, focus on emotions and responses rather than describing every physical action.) Otherwise, I think it's the author's discretion.