Taboo or not taboo...that is the question
Some newbies as well as veterans often wonder when it's time to push the envelope, if ever. There a number of dicey, triggering subjects out there such as rape, incest, child abuse, drug and alcohol usage, violence and porn, to name but a few. The question arises: Should the writer actively pursue writing about those subjects?
For me, it depends on the genre. I write primarily YA Fantasy, so there’s always a lot of action in my novels. Yes, there’s violence, but it's not as over the top and not as gory as in what I’ve read in other novels.
There are some things I will not write about for personal reasons, not because I’m so goody-goody, but because I don’t think it’s necessary to show them. This is me, and I won’t speak for anyone else.
One, swearing. I very rarely swear in my novels. Rare occasions, yes, but by and large, I think it can be worked around. I know people swear all the time, especially young people—hey, I was young once, too—but to me, if someone is cussing every other line, it gets mind-numbing after a while. YMMV.
Two, sex…if they’re eighteen and if it fits the plot and characters, sure. But it’s never graphic, more like a fade-to-black kind of deal, and I’ve used it only a few times. If it’s not part of the plot, then I leave it out. I’m well aware that kids are having sex as young as sixteen (or younger) if the Internet is half right, but that doesn’t mean I’ll write about it. And…my publishers say “NO! Make them eighteen!” So there it is.
Three, death…sure, I’ve put it in there. Death is part of life, after all, and having a character die onscreen, as it were, or offscreen (i.e. mentioned in the narrative) is part and parcel of what I write.
One thing I would never write about is incest. Sure, it happens, but that doesn’t mean I have to write about it. I find it extremely distasteful.
Rape is even worse, a crime I find almost as heinous as murder, and again, while some novels have used it as a theme, I won’t. Disclaimer: I did write about it only once in my second Lindsay/Jo novel. It happened offscreen—Lindsay hears her friend scream—but writing that scene unsettled me and I mentally dithered over whether to include it for a long time. Eventually, I did, as it set up a revenge angle, but even though the readers thought it was well written, I won’t do it again.
Drugs and alcohol abuse. I haven’t gone the drug route, but a few of my characters were sots, so why not? Once again, it depends on which character and what you, as the writer, wish to portray.
Some writers will have no qualms about including the above topics or some others. It's a personal decision they must make and I'm not about to tell anyone what or what not to write about.
For me, it depends on the genre. I write primarily YA Fantasy, so there’s always a lot of action in my novels. Yes, there’s violence, but it's not as over the top and not as gory as in what I’ve read in other novels.
There are some things I will not write about for personal reasons, not because I’m so goody-goody, but because I don’t think it’s necessary to show them. This is me, and I won’t speak for anyone else.
One, swearing. I very rarely swear in my novels. Rare occasions, yes, but by and large, I think it can be worked around. I know people swear all the time, especially young people—hey, I was young once, too—but to me, if someone is cussing every other line, it gets mind-numbing after a while. YMMV.
Two, sex…if they’re eighteen and if it fits the plot and characters, sure. But it’s never graphic, more like a fade-to-black kind of deal, and I’ve used it only a few times. If it’s not part of the plot, then I leave it out. I’m well aware that kids are having sex as young as sixteen (or younger) if the Internet is half right, but that doesn’t mean I’ll write about it. And…my publishers say “NO! Make them eighteen!” So there it is.
Three, death…sure, I’ve put it in there. Death is part of life, after all, and having a character die onscreen, as it were, or offscreen (i.e. mentioned in the narrative) is part and parcel of what I write.
One thing I would never write about is incest. Sure, it happens, but that doesn’t mean I have to write about it. I find it extremely distasteful.
Rape is even worse, a crime I find almost as heinous as murder, and again, while some novels have used it as a theme, I won’t. Disclaimer: I did write about it only once in my second Lindsay/Jo novel. It happened offscreen—Lindsay hears her friend scream—but writing that scene unsettled me and I mentally dithered over whether to include it for a long time. Eventually, I did, as it set up a revenge angle, but even though the readers thought it was well written, I won’t do it again.
Drugs and alcohol abuse. I haven’t gone the drug route, but a few of my characters were sots, so why not? Once again, it depends on which character and what you, as the writer, wish to portray.
Some writers will have no qualms about including the above topics or some others. It's a personal decision they must make and I'm not about to tell anyone what or what not to write about.
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