The Joy of Writing Sex A Guide for Fiction Writers [Paperback]

Twelve years after it was first published,The Joy of Writing Sexremains the classic writer's resource on creating compelling sex scenes. Elizabeth Benedict covers all the issues, from the first time, to married sex and adultery, to sex in the age of AIDS.

Her instruction, supported with examples from the works of today's most respected writersamong them, Dorothy Allison, Russell Banks, Alan Hollinghurst, Joyce Carol Oates, Carol Shields, and John Updikefocuses on crafting believable sex scenes that hinge on freshness of character, dialogue, mood, and plot.

In this revised edition, Benedict addresses the latest sexual revolution, intimacy on the Internet; adds new interviews with Edmund White, Darren Strauss, Stephen McCauley, and other writers; and updates her selections to include examples from the best fiction of the past few years.

Elizabeth Benedictis the author of five novels, includingSlow Dancing, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and the national bestseller,Almost. She writes nonfiction for many publications, including The Huffington Post,The New York Times,Allure,Tin House, andDaedalus. She has taught writing at Princeton University, the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop, Barnard, and MIT, and lives in New York City.

Skillfully balanced between a primer for the M.F.A. crowd and a smart essay for the literary generalist...The Joy of Writing Sexproves again that when it comes to books, quality is what counts. The Philadelphia Inquirer

Here is clearly the most enterprising how-to book of our era...sane and straightforward and-he said bashfully-veryinteresting. Scott Turow

The definitive book on writing sex in fiction that is a wonderful and handy compendium of how to write-and have fun with-sex Carolyn See