How to write sex scenes in fiction
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
- Course Code: HW270
- Dates: 08/06/24 - 22/06/24
- Time: 10:30 - 13:30
- Taught: Sat, Daytime
- Duration: 3 sessions (over 3 weeks)
- Location: Online
- Tutor: Maame Blue
Course Code: HW270
Duration: 3 sessions (over 3 weeks)
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Centre for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.
What is the course about?
Writing sex scenes in fiction can be notoriously challenging. Unlike film, where real-life actors can perform scenes for an audience, in fiction language is the only tool available for communicating characters’ sexual desire and experiences. In this inclusive and practical short course, you’ll explore how to write compelling and convincing sex scenes that feel true to the characters that feature in them, and necessary to the story you are trying to tell.
Please be aware that this course is unsuitable for screenwriters, and those writing pornography or erotica. If you are unsure as to whether this course may be suitable for you, please contact the writing department before enrolling.
This is a live online course. You will need:
- Internet connection. The classes work best with Chrome.
- A computer with microphone and camera is best (e.g. a PC/laptop/iMac/MacBook), or a tablet/iPad/smart phone/iPhone if you don't have a computer.
- Earphones/headphones/speakers.
We will contact you with joining instructions before your course starts.
What will we cover?
- What makes a fictional sex scene effective?
- Overcoming squeamishness and writing sex scenes with honesty and clarity
- Techniques for writing compelling and convincing sex scenes in fiction
- Exploring the relationship between love, intimacy, and sex through characterisation
- How to judge whether a sex scene is what your story needs
- How to evaluate the effectiveness of sex scenes in our own fiction.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
- Write an original sex scene with confidence
- Identify at least three different techniques for writing compelling and convincing sex scenes in ficton and apply these in your own writing
- Analyse and discuss sex scenes in published fiction with sensitivity and confidence
- Evaluate the effectiveness of sex scenes in your own writing
- Give and receive feedback on written work with sensitivity and confidence and apply feedback to your own writing.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
This is an intermediate course that will require some prior experience of writing fiction. You will need to be fluent in written and spoken English. This course will also include analysis of a diverse and inclusive range of sex scenes in published fiction, and you will be invited to contribute to discussions on how to write different types of sex.
Please note: this course is unsuitable for screenwriters, and those writing pornography or erotica. If you are unsure as to whether this course may be suitable for you, please contact the Writing department before enrolling.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
- Interactive tutor presentations
- Discussion and analysis of sex scenes in published fiction
- Writing exercises designed to encourage creativity and practise skills
- Constructive tutor and peer feedback on written work
Your tutor will set optional homework assignments during this course.
You will be set optional homework assignments to complete in your own time.
City Lit Writing endeavours to create a safe and welcoming space for all and we strongly support the use of content notes in our classes. This means that learners are encouraged to make their tutor and classmates aware in advance if any writing they wish to share contains material that may be deemed sensitive. If you are unsure about what might constitute sensitive content, please ask your tutor for further clarification and read our expectations for participating in writing courses at City Lit.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
No additional costs. Please bring a pen and paper, or be prepared to use your computer.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
City Lit has a range of courses to support fiction writers in developing their skills. You might try one of our Craft Focus courses to work on a specific area of craft, or maybe our intermediate course, Writing fiction. If you are interested in novel writing, you could try Starting your novel, or Developing your novel. You may also be ready to share your writing for constructive feedback in one of our Advanced fiction writing workshops.
All students are invited to join us at Late Lines, our regular performance night for City Lit writers. Students are also encouraged to submit their work to Between the Lines, our annual anthology of creative writing. For the latest news, courses and events, stay in touch with the Department on Facebook and Twitter.
Maame Blue is a Ghanaian-Londoner and author of the novel Bad Love, which won the 2021 Betty Trask award, and was shortlisted for the Betty Trask Prize. She has been a scriptwriter on a Venezuelan telenovela remixed for African audiences, and her short stories have appeared in Not Quite Right For Us (Flipped Eye Publishing), New Australian Fiction 2020 (Kill Your Darlings), and Joyful, Joyful (Pan Macmillan). Maame is a recipient of the 2022 Society of Authors Travelling Scholarship and was a 2022 POCC Artist-in-Residence. Maame contributes regularly to Writers Mosaic and has written pieces for Refinery29, Black Ballad and Society of Authors Magazine. She is a Faber Academy Creative Writing Tutor and regularly runs creative writing workshops for organisations including Arvon, Spread the Word and Writing New South Wales.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
