E-Book Overview
The author has explored sensuality in her own novels with great success. So, in The Joy of Writing Sex, she deftly covers all the issues head-on--from dealing with "internal consorts" to writing about sex in the age of AIDS. Accompanying her instruction are spirited opinions by John Updike, Joyce Carol Oates, Carol Shields, Russell Banks, and many other prestigious writers.
E-Book Content
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The Joy of Writing Sex: A Guide for Fiction Writers. Copyright ® 1996 by Elizabeth Benedict. Printed and bound in the United States of America. A l l rights reserved. N o part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review. Published by Story Press, an imprint of F & W Publications, Inc., 1507 Dana Avenue, Cincinnati, O h i o 45207. (800) 289-0963. First edition. Other fine Story Press Books are available from your local bookstore or direct from the publisher. 00
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Benedict, Elizabeth. The joy of writing sex : a guide for fiction writers / by Elizabeth Benedict.— 1st ed. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 1-884910-21-1 1. Fiction—Authorship. 2. Fiction—Technique. I. Title. PN3355.B38 1996 808.3—dc20 96-7333 CIP Designed by Clare Finney Cover illustration by Celia Johnson The permissions opposite this page constitute an extension of this copyright page.
PERMISSIONS
" A Lesbian A p p e t i t e " is excerpted f r o m Trash. Copyright ® 1988 by Dorothy A l l i s o n . Reprinted by permission of Firebrand Books, Ithaca, New York. " P l a n B for the M i d d l e Class" is excerpted f r o m Plan B for the Middle Class by R o n Carlson. Copyright ® 1992 by R o n Carlson. R e p r i n t e d by permission o f W . W . N o r t o n & Company, Inc. " O n e H o l y N i g h t " is excerpted f r o m Woman Hollering Creek. Copyright ® 1991 by Sandra Cisneros. Published by Vintage Books, a division o f R a n d o m House, Inc., New York, a n d i n hardcover by R a n d o m House, Inc. " H o w to Talk to a H u n t e r " is excerpted f r o m Cowboys Are My Weakness by P a m H o u s t o n . Copyright ® 1992 by P a m H o u s t o n . R e p r i n t e d by permission o f W.W. N o r t o n & Company, Inc. Excerpt f r o m The Bluest Eye. Copyright ® 1970 by T o n i M o r r i s o n . Reprinted by permission o f International Creative Management, Inc. Excerpt from "Spot-the-Ball," an unpublished work by Ian M c G u i r e . Copyright ® 1995. Reprinted by permission of the author. Excerpt f r o m " O u t T h e r e " by Wesley Gibson. Copyright ® 1992 by Wesley Gibson. First published i n New Virginia Review. R e p r i n t e d by permission of the author. Excerpt f r o m " C o n t a c t " is reprinted f r o m the short story " C o n t a c t " by J o h n L o n i e , by permission o f the author.
This is for J e r o m e Badanes (1937-1995), who taught me that sometimes it has to be over the top to be i n the right place, and for L e e G o e r n e r (1947-1995), who cared about every last word.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We think of sex as something done i n very small groups, a n d sometimes all alone, but writing about writing about sex has more closely resembled an orgy that grew larger by the week. I c o u l d not have put together The Joy of Writing Sex without the brains, brawn, g o o d h u m o r and e-mail of many friends, colleagues a n d near strangers, who offered book titles a n d ideas, who listened patiently to m i