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Skagit Valley Writers
June 30, 2012

Writing Sex & Violence: Using High-Tension
Scenes to Reveal Character

with David Paul Williams

It has been said that a person reveals his true nature only when tested. In crafting high-tension scenes, the danger is characters coming off as one-dimensional, even cartoonish; scenes with excessive violence become gratuitous if deeper insights are sacrificed when orchestrating physical confrontation. Another high-tension scene that can rely too heavily on physical description is the sex scene. Sex is when humans are the most masked and when we are most open and vulnerable. Are you missing an opportunity to reveal your character’s true self because crafting a sex scene without the titillation of juvenilia is so difficult? What about YA or historical fiction–what are the constraints, and should sex even be included? Learn how to use these high-tension scenes to maximum advantage in your work.