Violet Reigns's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing-erotica"
Why I don’t use the F word
No, I do not use the F word... but only in my books. In real life, I’ve been known to swear like a trooper.
Fuck is an interesting word. It holds a special place in my heart as the only word in the English language that’s a verb, an adjective and a noun. You can make a complete sentence with fuck, as in: fuck the fucking fuckers. That’s pretty fucking cool, huh?
But as a word used in erotic fiction, it leaves me cold. Possibly because it’s often used to excess, but mostly because it doesn’t tell me much as a reader. It's a powerful word, but it’s also a vague word.
She fucked him.
He fucked her.
They fucked.
What does this tell me about what’s happening for the characters?
Erotica is an exploration of human sexuality, so I feel it needs descriptive writing that puts the reader not just in the shoes of the characters, but inside the body and soul of the characters. As a genre, it demands more of the writer than creating sympathy for the characters, it’s about showing what’s going on for them physically, emotionally and psychologically.
So, as I wrote my first novella, No Nursery Rhyme, I decided not to use a single F bomb in the book at all, to force myself to describe the above with the most precise language in my vocabulary. As a writer, it was a most enjoyable challenge. I hope it translates into a fucking great read.
Fuck is an interesting word. It holds a special place in my heart as the only word in the English language that’s a verb, an adjective and a noun. You can make a complete sentence with fuck, as in: fuck the fucking fuckers. That’s pretty fucking cool, huh?
But as a word used in erotic fiction, it leaves me cold. Possibly because it’s often used to excess, but mostly because it doesn’t tell me much as a reader. It's a powerful word, but it’s also a vague word.
She fucked him.
He fucked her.
They fucked.
What does this tell me about what’s happening for the characters?
Erotica is an exploration of human sexuality, so I feel it needs descriptive writing that puts the reader not just in the shoes of the characters, but inside the body and soul of the characters. As a genre, it demands more of the writer than creating sympathy for the characters, it’s about showing what’s going on for them physically, emotionally and psychologically.
So, as I wrote my first novella, No Nursery Rhyme, I decided not to use a single F bomb in the book at all, to force myself to describe the above with the most precise language in my vocabulary. As a writer, it was a most enjoyable challenge. I hope it translates into a fucking great read.
