What Do You Mean 'Headache'?

I am not one of those authors who is detached from her characters. They are "alive" in my head and, especially when I'm pantsing, tend to direct the action. When I plot, they do the same thing, they're just nice enough to do it in advance.

Now, a not-so-secret secret. I like sex in my books. I prefer characters who, if they're going to do the deed, do it on screen. Fade-to-black tends to be reserved for my YA work. (There are occasionally characters who don't have sex, but that's a post for a different day.) So, imagine my frustration when my characters finally hook up and they're on the path to smexy time and... they derail.

The piece I'm working on right now is a prime example of this. (For a sample of the new story, see this post.)

Cal and Penelope got on the road to sex without any argument. Everything was going great. Until they actually started making out. Then there was the should-we-shouldn't-we. I pounded on the keys and might have screamed "Yes, dammit, you should! Now get naked!" Eventually, I got their clothes off and then the non-fuckers had a different issue. I was ready to throw my computer.

Sure, it was something I knew would come up, but then?

This is a couple that is totally meant to be together, so I knew they'd get past it. Total frustration mode on the author's part though. So... back on the road and... another stumbling block. I messaged my CP while pulling my hair out and said, "Please tell me as a single woman that you'd _________." And she laughed at me.

After all the madness, they finally did the deed (of course they did, it's me...). But, with all the build-up, it needs more. I'm sure my crit partner and beta readers are going to give me a big "What the fuck was that?" So, I'm hoping I can make it better on pre-reader revisions.

But damn, Cal and Pen... stop this shit, okay? We're on a damn schedule. You don't have sex when you're supposed to, it throws everything off.

*grumble*