How to Write Stories People Will Love

Question 43: Writing uncomfortable scenes

brads_gurl asks: I feel uncomfortable with writing inappropriate scenes but in my book I want to say that my leading character gets pregnant. And I want to let the readers know what happened without actually having to write a sex scene.

The great thing is, we don't have to write scenes that make us uncomfortable. They can merely be hinted at. Scenes that are necessary for the understanding of the story can sometimes be explicit, boring, or any number of other things that make it undesirable to include in a book. Those scenes can be glossed over in various ways.

Implying the Act

In movies, there is often romance that leads to sex, but they find ways to not show it. They instead imply pretty heavily that it's happening. Here are some examples of how they do it:

- The couple is kissing, then they move into the bedroom and shut the door. All we see is the door being closed, and not what's behind it.

- We see a love interest exiting a house in the morning, waving goodbye to the other person at the doorway, maybe blowing a kiss.

- We see a woman wandering around the kitchen in an oversized man's shirt and no pants.

- People in the living room can hear sexy giggling coming from one of the bedrooms.

- An uncomfortable scene begins, like maybe a struggle or groping, and then it fades to black. This leaves it open to interpretation, and can be an effective tool to convey a bit of mystery as to what actually happened.

Talking About It

Uncomfortable scenes can be alluded to in dialogue. Someone can be chatting with their friend about what happened last night. They can go into as much or as little detail as you like, as long as it adheres to the character's personality. (For example, a shy person wouldn't go into any detail at all.)

Thinking About It

A character can think about the uncomfortable event in his or her mind. They can re-experience the elation, fear, or whatever emotion they had again. They can give a narrative commentary about it, like how they can't believe it finally happened, or how they hope it never happens again.

Discovery By Another Character

Prima_Voltera makes a great suggestion: Have a different character stumble upon the uncomfortable scene. Whatever is going on will immediately stop, but the reader will see a freeze-frame of what's going on. For example, someone opens a room where two people are making out. Or someone turns into an alleyway and interrupts a gruesome beating. You just need to describe what the person sees, and no more than that. The reader will put the pieces together.

You don't have to detail out any scene you are uncomfortable with. These scenes can simply be referred to in various subtle or not-so-subtle ways. The reader will figure out what's happened without needing the specifics.