BDSM fiction provides a unique opportunity to look deeply into the dynamic of communication and exchange of power that takes place between a dominant and a submissive. This workshop is aimed at writers and readers who want to understand that complex dynamic and how that understanding can enrich the stories we tell. Doms and subs have different modes of communication and sometimes even vastly different interpretations of what they say or do: in both real life and fiction it’s crucial to tease apart these differences and it’s crucial to convey to readers each character’s intent. Miscommunications take place between doms and subs all the time when they misread each other’s intentions: come learn some of the common pitfalls and breakdown points that BDSM practitioners struggle with in real life and use them to expand your own understanding of the dynamic and/or discover new conflicts to put your characters through.
Susie Bright says Cecilia Tan is “simply one of the most important writers, editors, and innovators in contemporary American erotic literature.” Her BDSM romance novel Slow Surrender (Hachette/Forever, 2013) won the RT Reviewers Choice Award in Erotic Romance. Her books often explores sex, sensuality, and sexuality, among them: Black Feathers (HarperCollins), White Flames (Running Press), and Edge Plays (Circlet Press), The Prince’s Boy (Circlet Press), and The Hot Streak (Riverdale Avenue Books). Her short stories have appeared in Ms. Magazine, Nerve, Best American Erotica, Asimov’s Science Fiction, and tons of other places. Tan was inducted into the Saints & Sinners Hall of Fame for GLBT writers in 2010, was a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Leather Association in 2004.