Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Do you offend? Yeah? AWESOME!

A couple of months ago, I was reading over SPARK, making some final edits to it.  I hadn't read it in its entirety since last fall.  There were a few scenes I came to that made my face heat up and caused me to giggle like a thirteen-year-old.  I had forgotten how . . . umm . . . steamy some of the scenes were.  I actually started to wonder if I should tone them down to make them less offensive, but then I realized, those scenes are vital to the storyline.  I have to show my characters walking that dangerous, fine line and their temptation to cross it.  Changing those scenes would've compromised my story. 

I don't think anyone should write for the purpose of offending (seriously, is there anything worse than a book/movie where the f-bomb gets gratuitously thrown around for shock value?), but I also don't think you should write worrying you might.  If what you write doesn't offend someone, then it's probably not worth reading.  OUCH!  Harsh words, eh?  The truth is, no one wants to read fluff. 


The young adult genre is always "offending" people.  Cheerleaders get mad, because they get portrayed as snobs.  The goth community gets mad, because they're portrayed as freaks.  Atheists hate books about angels, Christians hate books about demons, and blah, blah, blah.  My point is, everyone is different; no matter what you write, there's no telling how people will perceive it.  Write what feels real to you, and don't worry about offending people.  The worst that can happen is you get people talking, and that's not always a bad thing.

11 comments:

  1. Amen! It's impossible to please everyone. So just go ahead and write whatever you want to write, and write it well. :)

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  2. So with you on this. Write what you like and don't compromise for the sake of offending, but don't strive to offend either.

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    1. I agree--when you try to shock people, it's often very obvious, and that's DEFINITELY a turn-off

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  3. Very true! Sometimes I worry about unintentionally offending readers, and my book isn't even out yet! But I think people will always take issue with a topic, just because they can. And you're right, the most discussion worthy ideas are often the controversial ones.

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    1. It's funny, but sometimes the things you DON'T think are controversial are the ones people have a problem with! There's no telling what will offend people and what won't :-/

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  4. I was so offended by one particular scene in SPARK I seriously considered swiping a bottle of hooch from the hotel's minibar fridge when I finished reading it. HA!! (you can offend me any day)

    You're absolutely right, my friend. It doesn't matter what you write--you're going to offend somebody. I'm counting down the days until the ADA folks start writing me hate mail. D'oh!

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    1. You crack me up, Bethany ;o) Just you wait . . . If I ever get the opportunity to write the sequel to SPARK, you're going to need a fan and a tall glass of ice water nearby when you read it ;o)

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  5. Everyone will be offended by something; it is human nature. Great advice Angela!

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