The Joy of Writing Sex A Guide for Fiction Writers

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 Benedict is the author of four novels, including Slow Dancing, which was a finalist for the American Book Award, and the recently published Almost. She has taught fiction writing at Princeton University, the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, the New School for Social Research, and Swarthmore College. She lives in New York City.