We all know how important the kissing scenes are in YA. They can be exciting, loving, awkward, sweet, fun… I bet there are about 80,000 words to describe a perfect kiss.
On occasion, I’ve read YA books WITHOUT kissing scenes, and well, they just bored me to tears. If you’re going to build up the tension between two characters and then not let them kiss, then well, that’s pretty boring to me. I don’t even care if you’re trying to make some point – I’m still bored. 
Anyhow – I’m working on a new kissing scene where the main character goes out on a date with a guy who’s kind of interesting and cool, but she’s not dying in his arms tonight. They kiss, and she doesn’t feel a spark like she feels with another guy.
So what does this kiss feel like? How would you describe it? How would you describe the main character’s emotions during that moment?
Have you ever had a kiss like that?
HELP!
First off: That picture is really, really disturbing.
I really wish I could help. I haven’t done any kissing in my time, though (clearly). Neither have I read some of the kissing scenes in particular books (too visual). I guess I’m stuck with RTing your request! Sorry, Miranda!
Okay, that picture is totally scandalous!
Weird pic aside, I think that first kisses tend to be awkward. You don’t know the other person’s style or the shape of their lips. A first kiss is about discovery and curiosity as much as it is saliva-swapping. I bet your protag is thinking about how comfortable it is to kiss that other dude, and how weird/new/awkward/foreign it is to kiss date dude. There you go. My twoish cents.
I picked the weirdest picture I could find. I see I was successful!
Hmm…I’ve had spark-ish kisses and I’ve had fizzle kisses. Usually when you kiss someone and there’s no spark, you sort of end up thinking about something else entirely, like what you could be doing instead–say re-grouting your bathtub. A teenage girl imagining grouting her bathtub while kissing a guy would make for a very amusing scene especially since she probably doesn’t even know what grouting a bathtub is. Just a thought. During not great kisses, I find myself trying to pull my head into my body like a turtle. You aren’t trying to pull away, just pull inward.
Interesting question. Good luck!
I know what those non-spark kisses are like! Although I wasn’t trying to compare it with someone else at the time – that could definitely add an interesting edge to it.
Does that help at all?
I guess what I felt wasn’t so much boredom or disgust or ‘Oh, I guess I can’t be with this guy now,’ but more of a pleasant sort of cuddly feeling. The relationship didn’t last because I’m more of an adventurous type in relationships, but it was pleasant while it lasted.
Um… I liked the idea about thinking about something else while she was kissing the guy, but too much introspection in the actual scene could be disasterous. Is she looking specifically for spark? Because this could be a great show-don’t-tell moment if she isn’t. Maybe? I hope it goes well – good luck!
Hi Miranda, I just thought of a cool video to inspire your kissing scene…
http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/04/nuit-blanche/
Theresa – that is a super cool video! I loved it. Thanks for sharing.