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starfleeting's review against another edition
2.0
I don't think this is a bad book from what I read, per se. But I do think it's a bit misleading with the title. I was under the impression this would help explain how to write good sex scenes not focus on what makes literary sex scenes memorable (I don't care about literary sex scenes because so many of them act like they are allergic to just stating what's happening).
It was such a slog to get through the first chapter that I'm just going to cut my losses and move on to the rest of my reading pile. I'm not going to spend my time reading yet another writing book that gives me redundant advice I already know. There's also just something off-putting about the attitude of the author and the writers she interviews. Again, I don't think it's a terrible book but it's definitely not a book for me.
It was such a slog to get through the first chapter that I'm just going to cut my losses and move on to the rest of my reading pile. I'm not going to spend my time reading yet another writing book that gives me redundant advice I already know. There's also just something off-putting about the attitude of the author and the writers she interviews. Again, I don't think it's a terrible book but it's definitely not a book for me.
audryt's review against another edition
5.0
Best resource I've read on this subject. Full of excellent recommendations for other great books. Took me weeks to read because I wanted to take notes after every paragraph. It's a bit dated on some issues since it was last updated in 2002, but that doesn't really impact its value as a guide to erotic writing for all variety of stories.
maddierandolph's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
Given it's publication date, some of the chapters feel particularly dated now, the most noteworthy cases being the chapter on HIV/AIDS and the section on the internet. But the general ideas still hold, and there are still a lot of great ideas a current-day reader can take away from the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
gabymck's review against another edition
The version I read is 1996. It is really dated and homophobic. That discouraged me from continuing the read.
wandering_not_lost's review against another edition
informative
4.0
A good book for writers both about how to Deal With writing sex on a personal note (because of how many hangups can be involved) and in what factors to think about when plotting sex into your stories. It's pretty dated now, as sex via email/forums/chatrooms seems to be about as advanced as the tech was when the book was written, but it's still got some good points about what sex means, how people/characters make decisions about sex, and how to describe sex in ways that isn't too much or too little.
Also I was interested in how similar the advice in this book was to the advice in a book about including fighting and violence in books: it's a highly emotionally charged thing, it draws attention, but unless you want to seem gratuitous, it's got to mean something to the characters and the plot other than just doing the deed.
Also I was interested in how similar the advice in this book was to the advice in a book about including fighting and violence in books: it's a highly emotionally charged thing, it draws attention, but unless you want to seem gratuitous, it's got to mean something to the characters and the plot other than just doing the deed.
jwdonley's review against another edition
4.0
A good book as in an intro to writing stories which include sexy times. :)
ninette's review against another edition
4.0
I especially liked the acknowledgment of the difficulties and anxieties in approaching sex scenes in general, and found this to be a very helpful guide for writing many different kinds of sex scenes.
To my great satisfaction, Benedict does stress the fact that a good sex scene doesn't necessarily equal good sex or vice versa, because I really wasn't looking for that kind of guide book. In a nutshell a good sex scene is a reflection of the character's dynamics and their circumstances. Now, while you'll obviously have to figure out your characters yourself, this book can provide some pointers as to how certain circumstances might play into the scene.
I must say though that I did miss a chapter about questionable or all together non-existent consent, since that is a rather common scenario in literature after all. Another interesting chapter topic would have been the dynamics of role- and power play. Maybe they'll consider this for future editions given the current relevance of these things in popular literature.
To my great satisfaction, Benedict does stress the fact that a good sex scene doesn't necessarily equal good sex or vice versa, because I really wasn't looking for that kind of guide book. In a nutshell a good sex scene is a reflection of the character's dynamics and their circumstances. Now, while you'll obviously have to figure out your characters yourself, this book can provide some pointers as to how certain circumstances might play into the scene.
I must say though that I did miss a chapter about questionable or all together non-existent consent, since that is a rather common scenario in literature after all. Another interesting chapter topic would have been the dynamics of role- and power play. Maybe they'll consider this for future editions given the current relevance of these things in popular literature.
rosepetals1984's review against another edition
4.0
Quick review for a quick read. This was actually a much better book than I thought it would be going into it, particularly for the strength of Elizabeth Benedict's expansions on each topic within the measure of writing sex in fiction, and examining a variety of relationships and intimacies while doing so. Originally written in 1995, but updated in 2001, "The Joy of Writing Sex" was not so much a how-to book as much as it was a "things you need to be aware of while writing" book. It explores quite a bit on the measure of writing sex within fiction, from barriers that writers may face, to the dynamics of the different types of relationships and sexual encounters that people may have - first times, married couples, recreational interludes, adultery, etc. The examples given for each section are well worth looking into and even gave me some narratives for reference I've never read before.
This is limited in quite capacities though, because even with the revision being penned in 2001, there's a part of it that still feels dated and it really doesn't cover that much when it comes to specific genres or even in the considerations of writing sexual interludes that transcend boundaries (though it does touch on that with some references). I do think this is a must read for people who write in romance or erotica, or even in any genre fiction where they may write in some capacity on sex and the complexities of the dynamic relationship between their characters. For me, it defnitely got the gears turning in my head with respect to considering the relationships that I pen in fiction (I haven't really written many in this consideration, but it's making me want to go back to a few unfinished projects and look at them with a different eye after reading this work).
Recommended.
Overall score: 3.5/5 stars
This is limited in quite capacities though, because even with the revision being penned in 2001, there's a part of it that still feels dated and it really doesn't cover that much when it comes to specific genres or even in the considerations of writing sexual interludes that transcend boundaries (though it does touch on that with some references). I do think this is a must read for people who write in romance or erotica, or even in any genre fiction where they may write in some capacity on sex and the complexities of the dynamic relationship between their characters. For me, it defnitely got the gears turning in my head with respect to considering the relationships that I pen in fiction (I haven't really written many in this consideration, but it's making me want to go back to a few unfinished projects and look at them with a different eye after reading this work).
Recommended.
Overall score: 3.5/5 stars
jenniferworrell's review against another edition
4.0
A very good guidebook to have. Also, plenty of analyzed excerpts and suggested works by other authors. Another one I might invest in down the line.