To write spice or not to write spice, that is the question

I think it's safe to say that in this day and age everyone's got their own opinion on spicy books. Some read it some don't. Some reach for it like it's the antidote to all their problems and some rebuke it like a priest performing an exorcism. But those are the two furthest, most opposite ends of the spice reader spectrum.

As for myself, I fall somewhere in between. While there are people out there who refuse to read a romance unless there's spice, I don't think there's anything wrong with a spice-free novel. As long as it's well written, the chemistry works on the page and I can believe that these two will probably bump uglies at some point off the page, then by all means I will engage with a spice-free novel. Likewise, I have read some truly sinful (not derogatory) spice that had me perspiring through my clothes but unable to tear the book from my face. Again, as long as the spice is well-written and believable, I am down.

But the question, at least for me, becomes a lot more intimate when it comes to writing spice.

I always knew that there would be a spice scene in my upcoming contemporary novel. Suddenly, when it was time to write the scene, I felt the creative wheels of my imagination slowing down. Not because I didn't have ideas. Not because I'd never written spice before. I'd written plenty of spicy scenes before. For myself. Therefore, writing it for my novel meant that this would be the first time people would read spice written by me. And of course, when I say people, I'm thinking specifically of my family. My friends. Close acquaintances.

It's easy to say "But, Maria, everyone has sex!" Like saying "Everybody poops!" It's one of the most natural, human acts we all take part in. Like breathing. As simple as falling in love.

And yet. I was suddenly aware of how hard I'd judged some past spice scenes before. How cringe they had come across. How unnecessary. How over-the-top.

Then I thought of my favorite spice scenes. How much thought and attention had been layered into every moment of every scene, how much emotion, how much care had been put into choosing the right word with every turn of phrase.

Could I, half-a-virgin spice writer that I still am, possibly avoid the former and achieve the latter?

Nevertheless, I couldn't dawdle forever in indecision. I had a deadline, so I had to put something down on the page to have something to work with, whether I hated it or loved it. And so, I ended up writing and rewriting several spice scenes for my novel.

What I discovered was that the novel itself was guiding me toward the right level of spice that it needed.

The spice scenes I wrote ranged from implicit to graphically descriptive. And as I reread my work, I would listen with my reader's ear and sense when something started feeling tonally off. There were areas of the story where I ended up cutting some spice and instead scattering mentions of it through memories and call-backs. There were places where it was just more fun to play with something that was implied. Not outwardly saying a thing in these cases truly ended up adding a level of sexiness that I didn't know was possible. And then there were areas where the scene had played out too mild, and when I amped up the heat, it ended up intensifying the moment, the chemistry and passion between the two MCs jumping off the page.

It's fair to say I've landed somewhere in the middle of the spice spectrum with my novel. It's not a final draft, and things could shift either way as I proceed now to revise and rewrite much of my novel.

This is also not to say that I've committed myself and my writing to one hard, middle-of-the-road spice rule. What I'm committed to is listening to what the story is asking for. Tonally. Energetically. Emotionally. In the future, I may write a much spicier book. Or I may write a book with absolutely no mention of spice.

My point is this: spice should not be treated as a trend to fulfill. Whether you want to write spice or not is completely your choice. But for us writers who are all over the spectrum as readers, I think it's okay to accept that we can be all over the spectrum as writers as well. If you're not sure how much spice to add, but you're okay with being in either end of it, then just let your story lead the way.