Kevin McIlvoy: A Sex Scene Sutra (July 1993)

“Many writers,” Kevin McIlvoy notes, “avoid presenting ‘the sex scene’ in their short stories no matter how essential the scene is to the whole work. Others present many sex scenes, no matter how irrelevant.” With reference to contemporary and classical fiction, McIlvoy explores the challenges that erotic scenes pose for writers, and offers “a respectful set of considerations, recommendations, and provocations regarding the authorial choices involved in presenting this one form of human interaction.”