Today I’d like to touch upon my attitude to sex in fantasy novels. I’ve seen it discussed on Twitter recently and, while I haven’t participated in the discussion myself, I’ve been thinking about it now that I’m starting writing the second novel in my “Highland Court Chronicles” and debating whether I should include some sexy times or not. Cassandra Clare’s fantasy novels have a great deal of romance (sometimes way too much for my taste) as well as intimate scenes of different levels of hotness or spiciness or whatever you wish to call it between her characters. Personally, I don’t mind sex scenes as much as I mind romance. I’m just not a fan of romance in general. If I wanted romance, I would read romantic novels. Yet there’s no denying that when we’re talking about YA fantasy novels, for example, which is my preferred fantasy genre, romance is an integral part of their storylines, because their coming-of-age characters not only fight epic battles but also discover who they are and who they want to be with along the way, which leads them to romance (in different stages of development) as characters explore their relationship, which, at some point, must lead them towards exploring each other’s bodies. So how much of that exploration should there be on the pages and how far should we allow the characters to go? As a writer, I’m still figuring that part out. I suppose much depends on the character and how far they’re ready or willing to go with their chosen one. As a reader, I don’t have any problem with sex in fantasy books and I don’t really care how much of it the characters are having. I have a different problem – a notion stuck in my head that interferes with my perception of what I think should be in a published book without turning it into fanfiction. I have this fixed idea that once things become too explicit, which usually involves calling different sexual acts by their actual names, it all moves into fanfiction territory. To my knowledge, there’s no censorship in fanfiction, but I’m pretty sure that there must be some kind of censorship when it comes to fantasy novels that are destined to find their place on the bookshelves of bookshops around the world. Could it be that my idea has been cemented by the fact that in traditionally published books that I’ve previously read the actual intimate process is usually wrapped in poetic words and vague analogies, neatly drawing a sheet or a curtain or mist of darkness over the characters’ bodies before it has a chance to become too anatomical? I’m so used to that type of depiction of sex scenes in established fantasy books that anything more explicit instantly makes me wonder whether I’m reading an actual book or fanfiction. In the past, I didn’t have any inclination to put too much romance or sex in my fantasy books, but, having read Cassandra Clare’s books, I got a feeling that I might need to consider making my characters a little bit more romantic and sensual with each other. I assume that readers like to follow the development of a romantic relationship between the main characters (who have already been through so much) and it seems foolish not to explore it with all its discoveries and struggles and whatever consequences such explorations could potentially lead to. However, if my characters do end up having sex at some point, I don’t want to cross that line that will turn my novel into a fanfic. So is it just me? Is my notion based on an entirely mistaken misconception? Does anyone feel that way too?
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