Inappropriate Subject Matter

As I get farther along in the first draft of my work-in-progress, I begin to suffer some sort of vague but growing doubts about the subject matter and the characters I have chosen. I'm not second-guessing my choices so much as I'm starting to feel a bit ill at ease over the reception this book will get from my agent, possible future publishers, Mighty Reader, et alia.

Mighty Reader and I were talking just last night (over dinner of chicken Provencal, if you must know) about books we won't read even if we admire the authors who've written them. There are subjects that I'll simply steer clear of: modern warfare, terrorism, pedophilia, serial killers, anything with explicit sex scenes, cyberpunk stuff, clown romances (kidding; I love clown romances), white collar crime; there are also subjects that aren't so nice that I will read: adultery, occult stuff, slavery, poverty, murder, imprisonment, death of all sorts. And the book I'm currently writing might, maybe, be one that I wouldn't necessarily pick up off the shelf and buy were I in a bookstore. Which is what I find most interesting here, that I'm writing a book about things and characters that I usually don't read about.

And, really, mosty my issue is that I'm writing about characters for whom I don't feel I necessarily have adequate standing. I am not an escaped female slave, nor am I a priest, nor am I a widow, nor am I a gay man, nor am I an American Indian. All of these characters appear in my book, as do (I attempt) all of the worst things about their lives when viewed through the above-mentioned societal identifiers. Who am I to presume to speak for any of them? Also, there is a violent act in each chapter. Is this the sort of book I normally buy? Not in the least. But it's the sort of book I am writing. Imagine my embarrassment at the library as I ask for books about how African slaves were tortured during the colonial era, or what the symptoms of syphillis are. Really, thank god for the internets sometimes.

Anyway, Davin's already written a post about "dark subjects" so I won't get into the question of avoiding possibly-inappropriate subjects, but I will wonder if any of you have awakened to the reality that you're writing a book about things you would normally never even consider reading about?

Rebel Without A Cause

In our comments earlier this week, blogger Jennifer asked us to discuss using curse words, specifically the f-bomb, in sections of prose that aren’t dialog. She questions her own motives for using it, whether she’s subconsciously trying to be shocking or whether using the word is truly consistent with her character's personality. She also wonders about how much she is letting her readers influence her decision and how the word affects the tone of the piece.

We’re happy to offer our opinions! We hope you chime in as well with your own ideas and thoughts.

Michelle: Sorry, Jennifer, I'm going to use a dialogue piece to illustrate my point, but I think it can also apply to thoughts of the narrator or character, as well.

In the end, using profanity needs to fit, if that makes sense. In the play A Few Good Men, Colonel Jessup, the commanding officer of the Marine Corp. Company stationed at Guantanamo Bay, fires off the f-bomb soon after his famous speech titled "You Can't Handle The Truth".

My husband had the chance to play this character in a theater class. He and his classmates went in circles trying to decide if they should put the f-word in or not. They came to the conclusion that Colonel Jessup is a Marine Corp. officer who has completely lost his temper as he is being arrested. In the end, my husband delivered the line with the f-bomb included because using anything else weakened the character in that moment of passion.

I've included a movie clip of the courtroom scene of the movie, A Few Good Men with Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise. Please be aware that there is strong language in this clip. The scene I mention specifically is at 6:30 minutes into the video. It is an amazing scene and worth watching if you have the time and are okay with the language.

In the end, if the profanity draws attention away from the character or scene, it's not necessary or appropriate, whether it's used in dialogue or otherwise (sometimes the genre of the piece will set this precedence). Most of the time, in my experience, if the character is intelligent and not flying off the handle like Colonel Jessup, he or she will usually find a much "smarter" word to use than simple cussing.

I hate the f-bomb. I avoid most movies and books that use it excessively, and I don't plan on ever using it in my writing. I know that it might fit in certain cases, and if that ends up weakening my character, so be it. But I do use other curse words that fit into scenes and specific character's mouths and thoughts. I choose my words wisely to make sure they serve a purpose not in and of themselves.

Scott: I think to answer this question, you only need concern yourself with the story and the characters. What are you writing? Does the profanity fit? Does it serve the story or does it distract the reader? If you write a version without any profanity, do you feel the lack? Does it ring false? If you write a version with profanity, does it feel right to you? Does it ring true? The voice of the character and the needs of the story should determine what you do. I don't think the word itself is particularly shocking anymore. Is your intent to shock, or to show the character's internal conflict around her urge to use profanity? Would her use of profanity increase the conflict? Resolve it? Have any affect at all on the real story? Conflict is dramatic, but profanity in and of itself isn't. If it's your character's true voice (and I understand that she never curses, yes?), then it's not for shock value.

Davin: I’d discuss the shock/rebellious idea first. As an editor of an online magazine, I read through hundreds of submissions in a month, and curse words are everywhere. It isn’t shocking to me. I don’t read it and become impressed that the writer has dared to go against convention. It’s so common that, to me, it has become boring, and I’m often more impressed when a writer decides not to use curse words and works harder to come up with suitable replacements. Most curse words are fads, and as evidenced by phrases like “the bee’s knees” and “it’s hip to be square,” they can lose their cool in just a few years. At the same time, people really do curse. So, it can be a completely sincere choice to include a curse word in a story. If it’s situated in a way that doesn’t highlight it, so that the word really is simply part of the language and not the climax of a scene, then I think it can be effective.