Let's pull out our Thesarus, people! [warning: language NWS]

[gabrielsknife]

Okay, how many of you wonderful individuals have run across situations like this? You're sitting in front of your computer, reading what you hope to be some great, smexy slash. Got your favorite drink in hand, and your eyes just begin to scan the fruitful beginnings of your goal

Comments

[gabrielsknife]

Hang the polite euphemisms; they're trite, PC vernacular to please the un-pleasable masses. Why can we not use the likes of "buttocks" or "butt" instead of the unpleasant imagery of the ass?

IMHO, Words like "ass" and "fuck" make stories sound so juvenile. I can just see the writer, giggling like some schoolgirl behind the monitor, writing words her mother hoped she'd never learn. It's worse when the *rest* of the story is all flowery, poised and graceful and then you get such a harsh word, stabbed into a young paragraph's heart.

Perhaps if we kicked the crutch of these words out of crippled stories, we can help improve them to the glorious, lovely roses they could become. As you said, if a story is carefully and well written, then I'm sure *you'd* never notice if the writer used those vile euphemisms instead. ^_^

All words have their use in a sentence, setting, and story. "Colouful metaphores", as Captain Kirk once described them, are usually associated with negativity. A man will cry out "fuck!" (or any number of alternatives) when his foot is smashed with a hammer. I'd rather have them stay well away from my love-scenes, then be included in the fun.

I'm not saying that profanity is a horrible, disgusting cockroach that we much swat out of the English language. Far from it! Whatever will I scream when my soccer team is loosing! I'm just saying that it's rather disruptive to have a rose-garden disfigured by my neighbor's ass.

(Please excuse me if I'm a little too colourful on this subject. I seem to be channeling someone again; that, and I've been keeping quiet about this topic for months. *respectful bow* Please don't take my response poorly.)

[thecommandant]

This thread is fascinating! I actually did a poll not too long ago regarding sex scenes because I was having difficulty writing them. I thought that they would be the easiest, that the words would just flow from my fingertips, but it's harder than one might think (no pun intended). I can see where both of you are coming from.

Whilst it neither OK to abuse profanity for the lack of better wording nor to make extensive use of purple prose (least of all use clinical jargon), it largely depends on the situation and the characters involved, whether they are urban or rural, from what time period they hail, etc.

And rispacooper has a point. Profanity has been around forever and using it does not diminish the respect between two loving people unless it's extreme, i.e. "take that you sleazy bitch" (tmi- in the heat of the moment, swearing comes out naturally sometimes, but the above example will NEVER come out unless there is some resentment that is being harboured).

Gabrielsknife, you've a legitimate argument as well. Profanity should not be overused and given the opportunity, we should all try to grow as writers and diversify our vocabulary.