Many readers don't pick up a romance novel because they're afraid they're going to spend weeks reading a novel that is sappy and focuses too much on emotions and feelings. While you may find novels that are extremely heavy in feelings and emotions, it's not common that authors are going into great detail about their characters' state of minds. In fact, many stories focus on the love relationships where they get to share more perspectives on the romance. Plus, many novels are feel-good stories about two people Falling In Love despite obstacles.

As in real life, authors may run into the issue of sex when it comes to telling a love story.

For some, sex is an important element to falling in love and finding the right person. So how do you handle the sexual encounters in the love story that's supposed to stay positive, happy, and perhaps even focus on floating on cloud nine? There are many ways you can do this but remember that you not writing an erotic novel here. It is wise to probably keep it PG-13 and leave out the details.

There are some rules

When it comes to sexual encounters in Romance Novels, there are some rules that you must keep in mind. For one, a sex scene can't just happen randomly. It wouldn't be a romance novel if one of the main characters is all about the one night stand. And it certainly wouldn't be a romance if the story ends with your character being happy with his or her single life, being fulfilled by numerous one night stands, and not being in a truly committed relationship.

If sex does play a role in your novel there has to be a reason for it. It has to be organic to the story, it has to add to your overall storyline, and plot, and it has to be a sense of development. You can't just add a sex scene for the sake of adding a sex scene. Instead, focus on whether the characters learn something new about each other.

Perhaps, they realize – in a funny moment – that they were meant to be because they have something in common. You could definitely twist the scene to be something that's PG-13 but that adds importance to start.

Skipping the pages

The last thing you want is for readers to start skipping through your book and skipping over the pages that discuss the encounter.

In romance novels, it's a given that your characters probably get hot and heavy at some point, but if the scenes don't add anything valuable to the overall story, it's left out. It's the same thing in movies. In a romantic comedy, you may see you couples getting together. But you won't see them getting hot and heavy on the screen unless the scene actually adds something to the story.

If you struggle on how to handle such a scene, watch romantic comedies to see how they handle the subject matter. You can also watch some funny romance movies to see how you can skip the sexual activity altogether. Just because you don't talk about it doesn't mean it's not present, as your relationships developed between your characters.

Do you use sex scenes in your romance novels? How do you think they work effectively if you do?