Rebloggable version, as requested by davrosbro. :)
Oooh! ย Yes! ย I love kisses. ย Kisses are where it all starts ;).
Okay, first, remember that a kiss is much, much more than just lips. ย It is lips, but also tongues, teeth, eyes, faces, hands, noses, bodies, heartbeats, ย breath, voice- and most importantly, a kiss is emotions. ย A kiss without emotion is just wet mushy lips stuck together. ย Ew. ย Gross. ย The most important part of a kiss isnโt the how, but the who- because of the emotions between the two people.
lips- Lips can slide, glide over each other smoothly, or they can be chapped and rough and dry and get stuck on each other. ย They can match, top-to-top and bottom-to-bottom, or they can overlap, with one personโs top or bottom lip captured between the other personโs lips (yummy). ย If there is lipstick or chapstick there is lipstick or chapstick flavor, otherwise, lips donโt have a taste (can you taste yours?). ย Lips also can smack- the sound of two of them coming together or pulling apart, because theyโre wet and warm and soft.
tongue- Tongues are always wet, and always warm. ย Theyโre very versatile. ย They can trace over lips, teeth, or another tongue. ย They can be smooth and graceful or teasing and flicking. ย When tongues are involved, there is drool. ย Itโs only sexy when you like the person youโre kissing, or else itโs kinda gross. :P
teeth- teeth can clack together awkwardly, or teeth can bite down sensually. ย A person biting their own lip is cute, a person biting anotherโs lips is sexy. ย A person biting gently is sensual, a person biting roughly is sexual.
eyes- Eyes can be wide open with surprise, half-lidded with desire, fully closed with pleasure. ย Eyes can gaze lovingly, lustfully, wistfully, hungrily, seductively- it all depends upon the emotions of your characters. ย Have them do whatever you like, but donโt leave them out- give them at least a mention!
faces- Faces are what the lips are attached to. ย Noses bump, cheeks flush, ears turn red, foreheads either wrinkle or relax. ย Kisses can leave lips, quite easily, and become kisses on chins, cheeks, noses, foreheads, ears, necks, throats. ย Kisses on noses or foreheads are cute and adorable, kisses on cheeks are sweet, kisses on chins, ears, and throats are very sexual. ย And a kiss on the lips can be all of those! <3
hands- Hands are super-important. ย In order to describe a kiss, usually you want to also describe the hands. ย Where are they? ย Does one character have their hand behind the otherโs head or back, holding them close? ย Are they on someoneโs shoulders pulling them near, or pushing them away? ย Fingers brushing someoneโs cheek or palms grabbing someoneโs ass convey two very different kinds of situations, even if the kiss itself is exactly the same.
noses- Noses are annoying. ย They easily get in the way, especially for first kisses! ย People have to tilt their head to one side or the other, and if they donโt, noses bump. ย Iโd only mention noses if a kiss is supposed to be awkward or uncertain or nervous.
bodies- bodies are either close together, or far away. ย Someone can be surrounded comfortingly by someoneโs arms, or terrifyingly trapped by them. ย Bodies are warm or hot, they are calm or nervous, relaxed or tense. ย Body language says a lot. ย Is your character pulling away, or moving closer?
heartbeat- Hearts can beat fast or slow, and thatโs about all they can do- but there are lots of reasons why they do! ย A heart can beat fast with fear or excitement or nervousness; a heart can pound with lust or race with terror or sing with joy. ย Hearts can glow, cower, or shatter. ย When you really want to drive the emotions of a character home, mention the heart.
breath- To me, the most consuming part of a kiss is the breath. ย The air that someone else has just breathed going deep into your lungs is very intimate. ย Lips and tongues donโt have a taste, but breath does. ย Each personโs breath tastes different, smells different, and surrounds a person differently than anyone elseโs breath. ย Breath can be warm and sweet, breath can be hot and sexy, breath can be hot and frightening. ย It is something that is very present and should not be left out. ย A lot of writers leave breath out. ย And itโs so important; itโs the most intimate part of a kiss. ย Someone else is breathing into your lungs, and itโs either heaven or itโs hell.
voice- Voice conveys much, even without words. ย A voice can groan, whimper, gasp, moan, catch, whine, scream, sigh. ย Voice can convey emotion powerfully, and while some kisses are silent, usually theyโre not.
emotion- ย Emotion is the most important- and the thing you try not to say. ย You want to describe it, through all of the things above, so that itโs perfectly clear what your characters are feeling, without you ever using the โfeelings wordsโ. ย If theyโre in love, their bodies will lean close, their eyes will smile, their voices will giggle softly. ย If theyโre nervous, their palms will sweat, their noses will bump, their voices will shudder. ย If theyโre afraid, their muscles will be tense, their faces will grimace, their lips will not open. ย Emotion is the color that you keep inside your mind as you write; itโs the base line that drives the description behind everything else you say.
Wow, that was a lot! ย Gosh I hope it wasnโt too much! ย Keep in mind not every kiss has all these things- this is just a list of things to consider when writing a kiss, and based on how long of a kiss you want to make. ย Keep in mind that typing โthey kissed for a long timeโโฆthatโs six words, it takes half a second to read, so thatโs a short kiss! ย If you want a long kiss, you need long sentences that make the reader linger.
So maybe to start off, pick three things on the list to describe in your first kiss. ย Donโt try to do it all- that would be too much for even the most epic kiss. ย Just pick whatโs most important to this particular scene, to these particular characters, and describe those parts along with the lips, and youโve got yourself an awesome, emotional kiss. <3
romaincrisis
amandla
kianamaiart
gracieabrams
