Beyond Spicy: Writing the Taboo

with Sinclair Sexsmith

a live-only online writing workshop with Wicked Grounds

10/28 6pm Pacific

Advanced ticketing required to participate, and all participation will be live (with no recording). Get your advanced tickets from Forbidden Tickets or Plura and mark your calendar!

And RSVP on FetLife to let friends know you're coming.

Step into the charged, alluring world of forbidden desires in this two-hour erotica writing workshop. We’ll explore what makes something taboo—whether rooted in culture, power, fantasy, or the edges of consent—and how to write it with heat, depth, and care. We all know the thrill of a dark romance novel—the delicious tension, the forbidden spark, the way it keeps us turning pages late into the night. This workshop shows you how to bring that same intensity to your own writing.

Through discussion, guided prompts, and optional sharing, you’ll discover how to balance erotic detail with emotional resonance, craft scenes that pulse with tension, and navigate risky subject matter without losing the spark. No experience necessary—just curiosity and openness. Leave with fresh writing, sharper skills, and the confidence to take your stories beyond spicy into the deliciously dangerous.

PRESENTER:

SINCLAIR SEXSMITH (they/them) is a queer trans butch, a leather dominant, and a writer, focusing on individual, interpersonal, and institutional systems of power. They study dominance and submission, social & restorative justice, the energetic body, trauma, and transformation. They have been in the kink communities since 1999, and orchestrate transformative kink scenes through written erotica and ritual practice. They actively explore the philosophies of power exchange and the practicalities of sustainable, long-term D/s. As a leather community member, titleholder, and organizer, Sinclair has presented and performed 200+ times at 75+ venues, including International Ms. Leather, Dark Odyssey, SXSW, Harvard, and Oz Kink Fest. Their short story collection, Sweet & Rough: Queer Kink Erotica, was a 2016 finalist for a Lambda Literary Award, and they have edited 7 queer erotica anthologies; their latest book is Daddy4Daddy: Queer Kink Erotica. Find Sinclair online at http://sugarbutch.net/find-sinclair

TICKETING:

$20 - $40 in advance. Please pay at the level you can comfortably afford.

https://forbiddentickets.com/events/wicked-grounds/cc9f8ec7b6

We offer a sliding scale, so that cost is not a barrier to attendance.

So - that's it! Choose the level you can comfortably afford.

Patreon members at the VIP+ level may get discounted tickets for $10. Just see your Patreon membership emails for this month's discount code. Find out more at Patreon.com/WickedGrounds!

If cost is a barrier at any level, please use the "Volunteer List" to request a free scholarship ticket. We will award as many scholarship tickets as we can on a space-available basis.

ACCESS:

This will be a live, online class offered through Zoom. To participate, you may need to download the free, basic version of the Zoom app before the class! This class will not be recorded.

Zoom now provides closed captioning, which will be available for this event.