That certain age and rape

[wen_spencer]

The odd thing about writing fiction is that you're constantly trying to put meaning to a world that you made up, events you created, and yet because you're digging around in your subconscious you find universal truths without realizing it. Today I read about the horrible events in Steubenville, where a young girl was carried dead drunk party to

Comments

[jmfhildebrandt]

Ms. Spencer,

I can understand how the mother felt, as it was always distasteful to me to read a rape scene in the few books I have read that contain them. I used to think, "Couldn't the author have done without that particular scene?" And then I found myself using an "off camera" rape scene to further one of my own work's plot and had the "ah ha!" moment that is so enlightening for a writer.

Sanitizing the written word of those things people find distasteful would leave the whole body of literature ever so pale and dissatisfying. Some many things in this world upset any given number of people. Should we accommodate their sensibilities and neglect the depiction of what life truly is? I don't think so. Can we truly imagine The Diary of Anne Frank being as powerful were we to strip away the distasteful parts? Or Hamlet? Or even The Bible? I am probably preaching to the choir here in this forum, but your post hit one of my soapbox issues. Censorship, whether it be because the work in question is "obscene" or simply makes someone uncomfortable, is nearly always wrong. And I only say nearly because I am a firm disbeliever in absolutes.

[ext_2022910]

I am a firm believer in the appropriate time and place. Urban fantasy shouldn't be parnormal romance in disguise. Science fiction shouldn't be alien love fest in space and high fantasy shouldn't be 'lets see how many elves we can get in the sack at the same time'. By the same token nothing should be censored so long as its in the appropriate spot and without any false labeling.

Normally I'd point out the double standard of all the rape scenes being men taking advantage of women. However two things mitigate against his, both most rapes are male on female. Most of the highly publisized female on male rapes have been where an older woman goes for a younger man and it takes years of psychological treatment and constant familial socializatioin before male really realizes that he's been taken advantage of. Plus of course Wen wrote a Brother's Price which turns a lot of the standard tropes on its head.

I guess I would say keep it germain and don't preach it. An added dose of realism doesn't hurt, as one writer here mentioned, hardly any 'first encounters' of the non-violent, fully consentual type are anything more than a comedy of errors. Somehow I also doubt that simultaneously hitting that final peak right at exactly the same time (or anywhere close to it) is on the realistic menu either. Especially for a first.

Sometimes less is more, when you're in a non-romance genre. But whatever you're doing stay true to your series. Don't pull a LKH and turn your fairly virginal (actual non-virgin with a bare handful of actual encounters) into whatever flavor of the day you're trying to 'talk about'. If you've got something to say, create a new series and see what the reaction is. If people want it, they'll let you know and if they don't they'll tell you that too.

A a writer I view myself as a creator of entertaining stories first and foremost. If I can do that in an unexplored area of my genre then I am all over that. However expressing myself or preaching to the world comes a far distant second and third to creating fun enjoyable reads. And even though I probably shouldn't do it as much as I do, I apply my own personal standard as an entertainer to most of the writers I look at.

The Deposed King

[jmfhildebrandt]

I couldn't agree with you more, though it is funny that after I wrote my response to the OP I remembered that I wrote a female on male rape scene. The scene was, as you said, germane and furthered the plot of the story. It wasn't designed to be salacious or titillating and there was serious mental confusion on the character's part when he made his escape. And unlike most scenes of that sort, he was not a child or teenager but a fully grown male who was simply overpowered (post-apocalyptic sci-fi story, btw).

I also found it funny that Laurell K. Hamilton also occurred to you as well in the context of this discussion. I was a fan of hers when she wrote Nightseer and the early days of the Anita Blake series. I still read her books, but for a while I have been rolling my eyes at each new reason she has for the characters to disrobe. I keep hoping she would get back to that earlier style of writing and keep the sex more firmly rooted to the reality of the plot that is supposed to be the driver of the story rather than be the reason for it. But I guess when you saw success come your way for writing one style of story it is hard to give that up and go back to what people ignored. Anyway, sorry for the tangent.

[ext_2022910]

As for LKH her first diversion from urban fantasy into paranormal romance, at least as far as I could tell, came from the authors desire to (how to put this nicely) reflect the fact that if you hunt and hang out with monsters long enough you become an actual monster yourself. Perhaps that's why the sudden change in character? I can totally see that if the money came back a rolling in you'd stay on your strange stylistic diversion. Which is why I simply say, start a new series. Don't pervert what you have. Keep it true to itself and go adventure into other areas.

Personally I loved Anita the monster smiting woman. Anita the sexual monster completely throwing her old natural human morals to the winds not so much. Which I guess is why I stopped reading the series. she had what? about a dozen books of the old anita. Which I would have read and reread except for the fact she eventually converted into hot and sweaty monster.

Oh well enough sour grapes. Hope everything goes well with your writing!

The Deposed King