Nearly three years ago, Jules and Madeleine took a look at an aspect of fiction writing that some writers find awkward - writing sex scenes. Both dragons have done a lot more writing since then and with more information, opinions shift, so this week they're revisiting the topic with the benefit of more experience in writing. The inclusion of sex scenes in fiction has been a hot topic of late, with readers, writers and fans arguing both for and against it. This is especially so in YA where the portrayal of healthy relationships and sex positivity has clashed with a certain amount of censorship. The dragons acknowledge that there is no single right answer because your mileage will vary on this subject as both a reader and a writer. That said they can be relied upon to have opinions on pretty much any subject, so they're sharing those opinions here. What should you consider in writing a sex scene? Must it move the plot on or reveal character development in order to avoid being gratuitous? Do sex scenes actually need to include sexual content? All this and more in this week's episode.
Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic
Episode 393: Unlikely Rebels - the Moral Outlaw Trope
Episode 392: An Awful Lot of Walking - Mastering Pacing in Speculative Fiction
Episode 391: Lost in the Woods - Tracing the Origins of Hansel and Gretel
Episode 390: Let the Games Begin - Why the Competition Trope is so Popular in Speculative Fiction
Episode 389: Beautiful Misery - The Hunger for the Afflicted Woman in Fiction
Episode 388: A Conflagration of Authors - AI, Audiobooks and Infringement
Episode 387: Complicated Runes and Ineffable Power - Hard Versus Soft Magic Systems in Speculative Fiction
Episode 386: The Art of Not Fitting In - A collection of Not Like the Other Girls Trope Observations
Episode 385: Both is Good - Examining Bisexual Representation in Speculative Fiction
Episode 384: Appearances Can be Deceiving - The Hidden Power of Modern Fairytales
Episode 383: Gaslit Magic and Immortal Monsters Hunters - Incorporating Strong Historical Elements in UF
Episode 382: Part of Your World - Tracing the Origins of The Little Mermaid
Episode 381: Hard Times in Magic & Logic - Examining the Parameters of Hard Scifi and fantasy
Episode 380: Will He Escape those Dastardedly Clutches - Why Cliffhangers Are a Bad Idea
Episode 379: Exuding Menace 101 - How to Create Menacing Villains
Ep 378: Separated by a Common Language - Examining the Differences between UK and US Urban Fantasy
Episode 377: Bringing in Dessert - Serving Up Delicious Endings Against Desperate Odds
Episode 376: In that Time In that Place - the Monomyth and Other Storytelling Modes
Episode 375: The Batcherlorette - Bookish Edition
Ep 374: Her Fatal Curiosity - Tracing the Origins of Bluebeard
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