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BlackShanglan
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I think you could easily leave it out. It's all a matter of control of perspective. You follow the characters' thoughts and sensations. If they're more focused on the emotional aspects, or if they're looking at each others' faces and not downward, or if they simply aren't thinking about it, then your perspective will easily elide it.
(I've just realized that in my posted and unposted stories, I have four losses of female virginity, and they in fact go two with blood and two without. I did "Sweetness and Servitude" chapter 5 without, if it's of any interest at all to you. I think it follows that comment above about perspective - the leads just aren't thinking about it.)
(Continuing to waffle, I've also realized that the two with blood are cruel and angry experiences, and the two without warm and emotional. Now wasn't that clever of me to do that without noticing?)
Shanglan
(I've just realized that in my posted and unposted stories, I have four losses of female virginity, and they in fact go two with blood and two without. I did "Sweetness and Servitude" chapter 5 without, if it's of any interest at all to you. I think it follows that comment above about perspective - the leads just aren't thinking about it.)
(Continuing to waffle, I've also realized that the two with blood are cruel and angry experiences, and the two without warm and emotional. Now wasn't that clever of me to do that without noticing?)
Shanglan
Is it important to your story that her hymen is intact?
In my research for my own first time story, I found that some women don't have hymens at all. I've found that some have only partial hymens that don't completely span the opening. If she uses tampons, it's possible that she could have broken her hymen a long time before she loses her virginity. As you say, some women don't bleed when they lose their virginity.
There are a lot of very realistic possibilities in terms of avoiding blood. I would do a bit of research yourself, and find out from more authoritative sources than me if it's important to you.
Unfortunately there are a bunch of readers out there who think the hymen is sacred and of paramount importance in any kind of devirginization. Along with that comes the evidence of its breaking (i.e. blood), but if you want my opinion... I wouldn't worry too much about your potential audience in that regard. Write what you want to write, and in terms of realism, like I said, what you're proposing is certainly possible.
Ultimately, as Shanglan said, I think the loss of virginity is a much more interesting event in terms of what's going on in the characters' heads, and less so in terms of how much or how little blood there is.
In my research for my own first time story, I found that some women don't have hymens at all. I've found that some have only partial hymens that don't completely span the opening. If she uses tampons, it's possible that she could have broken her hymen a long time before she loses her virginity. As you say, some women don't bleed when they lose their virginity.
There are a lot of very realistic possibilities in terms of avoiding blood. I would do a bit of research yourself, and find out from more authoritative sources than me if it's important to you.
Unfortunately there are a bunch of readers out there who think the hymen is sacred and of paramount importance in any kind of devirginization. Along with that comes the evidence of its breaking (i.e. blood), but if you want my opinion... I wouldn't worry too much about your potential audience in that regard. Write what you want to write, and in terms of realism, like I said, what you're proposing is certainly possible.
Ultimately, as Shanglan said, I think the loss of virginity is a much more interesting event in terms of what's going on in the characters' heads, and less so in terms of how much or how little blood there is.
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Green_Gem
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Yes it could easily be left unspoken. Blood doesn't necessarily always accompany a girl's first time having sex. Many girls have their hymen ruptured long before they have penetrative sex, and so blood isn't a factor then. And even in cases where there is rupturing of the hymen resulting in blood, it isn't copious. My view is it's entirely up to the author as to whether he or she wishes to include it in a 'first time story.' With or without it, the story can still maintain realism providing it's sensitively written.
Best of luck with the story.
Green_Gem
Best of luck with the story.
Green_Gem
BlackShanglan
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MLyons said:
You know, that's a good point too. It has a sort of emblematic cultural value. In one of my "with blood" stories it was necessary that the male protag recognize at that specific moment that the female lead *was* virgin, and there is a certain inarguability to it. But if you don't need "evidence," I think it's very simple to ignore the (possible) blood.
Shanglan
BlackShanglan
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Sub Joe said:
Are you seriously suggesting that Elastagirl is not a searing beacon of sensuality?
She can wrap around me any day.
Shanglan
BlackShanglan
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Sub Joe said:
Groan, indeed. You have a twisted gift for punning.
Shanglan
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That sounds great to me. Shanglan is much better than I am at the "spare" kind of writing that's required to leave those kinds of details to the imagination as it were. My own writing, on the other hand, I think is mired in detail. My preference is to try (and mind you... I don't know that I succeed) to leave MEANING to the imagination of the reader through the conveyance of carefully selected detail. Or at least, that's one of the goals I have for the story I'm currently working on.
Anyway, I think you have the right approach in mind, for what my opinion is worth.
BlackShanglan
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MLyons said:
Oh dear lord. If you're calling my writing "spare," MLyons, I think you might need an intervention of some sort
Shanglan
(Edited to add: Of course I take it as an immense compliment, as I strive for it - but it seems hopelessly florid to me.)
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BlackShanglan
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hmmnmm said:
Yes, I think left to imagination is fine. Just think about what the character is looking at and do a good job of describing that. If you do, it will be obvious to everyone why there is no mention of blood - because the character was busy with some other more entracing image.
Shanglan
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It seems to me that the bleeding is a subject for after the act, as the two partners are lying in bed or in the back of the car or wherever they are. Obviously, some people have some very strong reactions to blood, especially if it is their own blood, or blood that they have caused to flow from someone else. Depending on how you want to explore the character, it can be an extremely emotional moment that you may not want to pass up. When a friend of mine lost her virginity, it didn't really it her, she claims, until the next morning when she was doing the laundry and came to the blood stains, at which part she was overcome with emotion and broke down in tears. She hadn't even realized that she had bled before that. Maybe not the most erotic thing, but it's an intense detail.
shereads
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Back in the day (Old Testament and throughout the Middle Ages in Europe) blood was the only acceptable proof of virginity and brides who failed to provide some could be put to death. When a marriage was politically important, it was customary to hang the bedsheet from the window as a sort of "A-OK" to signal that the bride wasn't a slut and wouldn't have to be ostracized or killed, the groom wasn't a girlie-man, and the line of succession was not in jeapardy - provided, of course, that the bride gave birth exactly nine months after the torn hymen, or was never alone with the butler thereafter; which, if you think about it, would have been the only way that a virgin's blood on her wedding night would assure that her firstborn was fathered by the groom.
Also, the Cuisinart and other wedding gifts wouldn't have to be returned. What a relief for all concerned! Except for the percentage of virgins whose hymens didn't tear sufficiently to produce a drop or two of blood. They were what we call, "screwed."
It's a shame that the Bible didn't include The Book of Gynecology.
Also, the Cuisinart and other wedding gifts wouldn't have to be returned. What a relief for all concerned! Except for the percentage of virgins whose hymens didn't tear sufficiently to produce a drop or two of blood. They were what we call, "screwed."
It's a shame that the Bible didn't include The Book of Gynecology.
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BlackShanglan
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hmmnmm said:
Yes, I just looked in on that myself - it's been some time since I wrote it - and thought, "Lord, this needs cutting back!" Perhaps once I am done with the current one. The metaphors were fun for me; given the characters, particularly the convent-raised female lead, one couldn't just throw in modern slang terms. Sometimes it got to be a struggle to avoid repeating phrases - at times, I see on review, not entirely a successful struggle - but it was fun.
Shanglan
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BlackShanglan
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Thank you, hmmmm ... I take that very much in the spirit intended, and am grateful for it.
The two with blood are not posted at the moment - still in progress, although the sex scenes are done. If you're desperate, I can email, but it probably best if I just snipped the sex scenes, as they are long - I am incapable of brevity - and one is really a novella.
Shanglan
The two with blood are not posted at the moment - still in progress, although the sex scenes are done. If you're desperate, I can email, but it probably best if I just snipped the sex scenes, as they are long - I am incapable of brevity - and one is really a novella.
Shanglan
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Green_Gem
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Hmmmmm,
Just reading the posts, and have to say that I've also been told I have the ability for 'spare writing' by my good friend MLyons. If you're still seeking first time stories and want a perspective on virginity loss with some blood, but not overwritten, you might like to read my 'Innocent Invitation.'
Green_Gem
Just reading the posts, and have to say that I've also been told I have the ability for 'spare writing' by my good friend MLyons. If you're still seeking first time stories and want a perspective on virginity loss with some blood, but not overwritten, you might like to read my 'Innocent Invitation.'
Green_Gem
Colleen Thomas
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The only time I can remember conciously including blood was in a period piece where the ustom of showing the bloodied bedsheet was in vogue. I may have in other works, although I don't too often write about virgins. As with anything, inclusion or deletion of any particular sequence or descriptive from a story is as much a matter of the writer's personal taste as anything. Flow, mood and feel in a passage will generally dictate what is neccessary and what is extraneous. Trust your own feelings as you re read is my opinion.
