The deep, complex truths about the desires of queer, trans, nonbinary, BIPOC, polyamorous, fat, neurodiverse, mentally ill, disabled, chronically ill, and other strategically undervalued folks are still undertold.
Our art tells of our histories. We create to prove we were here, to leave artifacts for the next generation, and to share what it’s like to be in this experience at this time.
Writing erotica is one of my favorite ways that I’ve found to document, share, and celebrate my own queer, nonbinary, trans, butch desires.
Join me, Sinclair Sexsmith, for this six week long writing group where we will dive deep into the craft of writing dirty stories.
We’ll look deeply at the parts of an erotic story: the opening paragraphs, the first consent moment, the climax (orgasmic or not), and finally the ending.
We’ll be reading plenty of examples to emulate and learn from along the way, and we’ll be bravely sharing our work to encourage constructive feedback, support, and encouragement.
Come join me and a supportive community, and dive into writing erotica.
Writing Spicy is a six week guided writing group focusing on constructing erotic stories.
Each week, we will:
- Read short erotic fiction and study the craft
- Draft different parts of a short erotic story
- Share work with each other in Google Classroom
- Give & receive constructive, positive feedback in Google Classroom
- Meet on Zoom for a 2-hour workshop, where we will:
- Do a writing promp (or two) together!
- Discuss a craft technique
- Discuss the readings
- Workshop selected pieces (in the Spicy Seat!)
- Answer your questions
At the end of the class, you will have a revised story from writing prompts ready to polish and submit.
This class is for:
- Beginner to intermediate writers
- Writers who want to hone their craft (and maybe publish more work)
- Unpublished writers! You do not have to have published anything
- Experienced, published writers! Who might want to refresh their craft and get re-inspired to write
- People who never “make time” to write, but who want to
- People who want to write in community! With friends! And become fans of each others’ work!
- All genders, all sexual orientations, all experience levels welcome — no specifics required
Queer characters, sex, and kinky acts are not required, but this will be a queer-centered and kink-positive space. The workshop container is trauma informed and includes content warnings.
Dates: October 20 to November 24, 2024
Live webinars are held on Sundays
4pm-6pm PT / 7-9pm ET / 12 midnight-1am BT
October 20
October 27
November 3
November 10
November 17
November 24
If you cannot attend the webinars live: that’s okay! They will all be recorded and you will have access to the recording. There are also multiple other ways to engage live with the group, including drop-in office hours on Zoom, writing sprints through Discord, and chatting with other writers in the Google Classroom.
Cost: $500
Sliding scale available, click here for more details and to sign up.
Already know you’re going to sign up?
How to sign up:
Last day to register is October 19, 2024.
1. Click here to pay via the Sugarbutch shop!
2. When you sign up and pay, you will get an email before October 15st on the next steps — which will include signing up for the Google Classroom, and an intake survey (please fill it out to give us a better sense of who will be attending!).
3. We’ll have our first webinar on Zoom on Sunday, October 20.
Who is behind this?
This series will be led by me, Sinclair, with assistance from Tobi Hill-Meyer and Kiki DeLovely.
About Tobi:
Tobi Hill-Meyer is an Indigenous Chicana trans woman. She believes creating stories is a critical part of making change, they can give us strength, model paths to success, provide encouragement, and create greater empathy. She is dedicated to community support and fighting for positive change at a local level. Tobi’s work has been in Best Lesbian Erotica, Ask: Building Consent Culture, Trans Bodies Trans Selves, Take Me There, Beyond Binary, Coming Out Like a Porn Star, and Girl Sex 101. She is editor of the Lambda Literary Finalist anthology Nerve Endings: The New Trans Erotic, author of children’s books A Princess of Great Daring and Super Power Baby Shower, and director of the award winning erotic documentary series Doing it Online. tobihillmeyer.com
About Kiki:
KIKI DELOVELY is a witchy, kinky, polyamorous, mixed, nonbinary femme who moonlights as an erotica writer when she’s not weaving magic through energetic healing and spiritual coaching. Their work has appeared in dozens of publications and they have toured both nationally and internationally, living and traveling all over the world before setting down roots on unceded Occaneechi-Saponi land. Kiki strives toward erotica that reads as fine literature and connects us with our highest selves. More about their work at Open Heart Active Healing.
About Sinclair:
SINCLAIR SEXSMITH (they/them) is an award-winning queer trans masc writer focusing on queer culture, trauma, dominance, submission, spiritual kink, and transgender and nonbinary issues. Sinclair’s creative nonfiction and queer erotica writings are widely published online and in more than thirty anthologies, including eight volumes of Best Lesbian Erotica series. They are the editor of Best Lesbian Erotica of the Year Volume 4, Volume 5, Volume 6, Volume 7, Best Lesbian Erotica 2012, Erotix: Literary Journal of Somatics, and Say Please: Lesbian BDSM Erotica. Their short story collection, Sweet & Rough: Queer Kink Erotica, was a 2015 finalist for a Lambda Literary Award. Sinclair writes at sugarbutch.net since 2006, recognized numerous places as one of the top sex blogs. They have been teaching about erotic writing, the power of queer narratives, somatic arts, and many sex and kink techniques since 2002. Sinclair is an international leather titleholder and an avid creative journaler, and lives on unceded Duwamish land. Find them all the places online at sugarbutch.net/find-sinclair.
Questions?
Do I have to write erotica?
Nope. You can be working on any kind of writing — poetry, plays, short stories, a novel, comics, visual art. It could include erotic content, but it doesn’t have to. The craft aspects are focused on writings with explicit sex in them, but what you turn in as your writing assignments is up to you.
Will the webinars be recorded?
Yes! Webinars will be recorded and available to you to download after they happen.
Will you have an ASL interpreter for the webinars?
There can be — please get in touch at sinclair@sugarbutch.net. I will accommodate access needs.
Do I have to publish my work?
No. There’s no requirement to publish! But, you might find that you want to share your writing with others. We may spend some time going over tips and procedures for publishing, submitting to anthologies, self-publishing, and web & social media publishing.
What kind of feedback will I get?
We focus on giving feedback in the Amherst Writer’s Method, which enhances what is working in the piece and gives the author feedback to encourage them to play to their strengths. The feedback will focus on what’s working, what we love about it, and what stays with us.
Do I have to share my work with the class?
No, it’s optional to share your work. Participants will be encouraged to share their reactions to each other’s work in a particular framework, using primarily positive feedback, and all participants will be able to ask for the kind of feedback that they would like to receive, which could be things like some critique, positive feedback, or just to witness with no feedback at all.
Will there be content warnings? Is this trauma-informed?
Yes, we will use content warnings in this workshop, to let everyone decide what they are equipped to read and make decisions with agency. More details about how to use content warnings will be in the class guidelines. I have studied trauma, restorative justice, and community safety in various forms, and I will do my best to keep the needs of survivors forefront in the structure of the workshop.
I can’t afford it. Is there a sliding scale?
click here for more details and to sign up.
More questions?
Email me, sinclair@sugarbutch.net.
Need a new notebook?
Take a look at the blank notebooks with the spicy pepper on the cover! Perfect bound (lined), or spiral bound (dot grid). Can’t wait to see what you write in these!