09-21-2006, 05:12 AM
I know this is an ancient dinosaur of a thread, but I couldn't help but give my thoughts on two of the subjects that have been brought up here.
Name a language with more irregular verbs and exceptions than any other language in existence. As Nate so eloquently put, it's not vague for a lack of options, It is vague because there are far too many of them.
In his example...there are enough meanings of 'love' that I can't just say 'love' and my reader understand what I am trying to portray.
E.g, I love Jeff.
Do I have a deep, romantic attachment to Jeff? Is my love a sexual love? Brotherly love? Fatherly love? Or do I just adore Jeff, an adoring, detached kind of love? You can't tell, for the singular reason that the language we use in every day life is far too vague to describe it.
But, there are other things to adress as well.
As for the original post of the thread, I have exactly the opposite problem, which I have no doubt you will notice once I complete the series I'm working on. My descriptions of sex are fairly abstract, more within the context of what they're feeling to be with one another in this way than within the context of their physical actions.
So, I don't really think I'm the one to help you, since I have struggled to do exactly the opposite--describe sex. However...I'll try.
First...forget you're writing a lemon. The focus of a 'real lemon' is...sex. Don't focus on the sex. If you do that, you'll probably just end up with another few paragraphs about some people / digimon / whatever having sex.
Second...Question yourself Question your work. Question your characters. Why are they having sex? What do they feel about each other? What do they feel like, having sex with someone that they love? Is it culturally acceptable, what they're doing? Do they care? Is it their first time? How long have they known each other? What were their first impressions of one another? These questions, with a little bit of work, are all answerable within the context of sex--and at least in my opinion, they greatly enhance its description.
Third...Don't start with them having sex. Start with them doing something, and lead into the sex. Otherwise it just becomes meaningless sex. And, obviously, meaningless sex does not include real passion. Start with something else. It doesn't necessarily have to be related to sex. In the wonderful word of fantasy and fiction, dates are not always prerequisite for sex. Maybe they were involved in a battle, and the first of the two was near death. The second risks their life to save the first. Watching in their near-death state, the first person witnessed this incredible act on their behalf, realizing just how much the second person cared about them.
If the other person is intelligent, is familiar with the character, and you make clear what you wish to make clear in your written work, then I believe you could use the material you get to create a more interesting backdrop and atmosphere for the scene.
Quote:Since when is English vague? It has a dozen subtly different words for every single concept!English has always been vague. It was vague in the time of Caedmon, when everyone else laughed at it's dullness and simplicity. It still is. How many serious English operas have you seen? None. Because the opera requires accuracy and precision in language. It needs to be able to equate music with a word that will evoke the same emotion in the listener. English just can't do that.
Name a language with more irregular verbs and exceptions than any other language in existence. As Nate so eloquently put, it's not vague for a lack of options, It is vague because there are far too many of them.
In his example...there are enough meanings of 'love' that I can't just say 'love' and my reader understand what I am trying to portray.
E.g, I love Jeff.
Do I have a deep, romantic attachment to Jeff? Is my love a sexual love? Brotherly love? Fatherly love? Or do I just adore Jeff, an adoring, detached kind of love? You can't tell, for the singular reason that the language we use in every day life is far too vague to describe it.
But, there are other things to adress as well.
As for the original post of the thread, I have exactly the opposite problem, which I have no doubt you will notice once I complete the series I'm working on. My descriptions of sex are fairly abstract, more within the context of what they're feeling to be with one another in this way than within the context of their physical actions.
So, I don't really think I'm the one to help you, since I have struggled to do exactly the opposite--describe sex. However...I'll try.
First...forget you're writing a lemon. The focus of a 'real lemon' is...sex. Don't focus on the sex. If you do that, you'll probably just end up with another few paragraphs about some people / digimon / whatever having sex.
Second...Question yourself Question your work. Question your characters. Why are they having sex? What do they feel about each other? What do they feel like, having sex with someone that they love? Is it culturally acceptable, what they're doing? Do they care? Is it their first time? How long have they known each other? What were their first impressions of one another? These questions, with a little bit of work, are all answerable within the context of sex--and at least in my opinion, they greatly enhance its description.
Third...Don't start with them having sex. Start with them doing something, and lead into the sex. Otherwise it just becomes meaningless sex. And, obviously, meaningless sex does not include real passion. Start with something else. It doesn't necessarily have to be related to sex. In the wonderful word of fantasy and fiction, dates are not always prerequisite for sex. Maybe they were involved in a battle, and the first of the two was near death. The second risks their life to save the first. Watching in their near-death state, the first person witnessed this incredible act on their behalf, realizing just how much the second person cared about them.
Quote:Roleplay/cyber the scenery with a person.This is also something I would try, To be brutally honest, I had never cybered at all until this month when I came here...which, when you think about it, is really sad. But I digress.
If the other person is intelligent, is familiar with the character, and you make clear what you wish to make clear in your written work, then I believe you could use the material you get to create a more interesting backdrop and atmosphere for the scene.