I invite you to respond to Melissa Febos’ prompt in her essay “Mind Fuck.”
Write the history of your sex life in 5 sentences. Repeat. Repeat again. Repeat at least 5 times.
She gives many great examples, so I’d recommend reading her essay in the book Body Work: The Radical Power of Personal Narrative.
Here’s one of my own examples: the first paragraph of Maggie Nelson’s The Argonauts:
October, 2007. The Santa Ana winds are shredding the bark off the eucalyptus trees in long white stripes. A friend and I risk the widowmakers by having lunch outside, during which she suggests I tattoo the words HARD TO GET across my knuckles, as a reminder of this pose's possible fruits. Instead the words I love you come tumbling out of my mouth in an incantation the first time you fuck me in the ass, my face smashed against the cement floor of your dank and charming bachelor pad. You had Molloy by your bedside and a stack of cocks in a shadowy unused shower stall. Does it get any better? What's your pleasure? you asked, then stuck around for an answer.
The body is the key to great writing and to healing trauma. If you’d like to learn more, check out my upcoming class Writing as Healing with Beth Brewer (LCSW). Save $75 with the Early Bird price. Offer ends 2/4. 🔥
