Let's Get It On

It's true that sex scenes are hard to write. But I think the explanation for that is simpler than a literary mystery: sex is hard to write about because sex is generally something that human beings don't understand terribly well. And capturing the irrationality of the truly erotic is only one of the writing challenges involved. Sex can be painful, vengeful, confused, comforting, sorrowing: it's not always about making the scene hot. Michael Chabon tends to do best when he's describing the moment before coitus begins, while George R. R. Martin, who writes a lot of sex scenes, does best describing the glow after completion. A.S. Byatt tends towards great metaphors or moments. Tamora Pierce writes scenes that are appropriate for an audience new to, or on the cusp of sex, attuned to anxiety and emotional resonance. No single author is going to master all the circumstances or natures of the sex scene, if only because there is no such definitive thing.