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

[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

[gehayi]

I think that the main reason writers use the word "fuck"--as in "They fucked all night long"--is that it's clear to the reader that the people in question were having some variety of sex

[gabrielsknife]

...They why can't a writer simply say "they had sex all night long?" Why do they have to include the undertone of violence by using "fuck

[gehayi]

...They why can't a writer simply say "they had sex all night long?" Why do they have to include the undertone of violence by using "fuck"?

Because they don't HEAR the undertone of violence in the word "fuck." They don't hear the word "fuck" as unpleasant. I don't, myself. All they (or I) hear is a vivid expression that means people had sex.

Instead of "ass", why not "buttocks" or it's shorter brother, "butt"?

Some characters might use the word "buttocks"--I could see your young lord using it, for example. But for some characters, "buttocks" would be too polite...or too laughable. It's a funny-sounding word, and the last thing you want is for the audience to start giggling at a particular word during a sex scene. And "butt"...well, while the word has been used to mean "rear end" since around 1450, it doesn't sound any more attractive than "ass/arse," frankly.

Yes, "sex" is a bland word; why not toss a few descriptors before or behind it to spice it up?*puzzled* What kind of descriptors? "Oral"? "Anal"? Specific examples,

[hotchikk]

All I keep thinking of is Forrest Gump. "Where were you shot?" "In the buttocks."

Point being? Language choice is a deliberate part of characterization. Writing "buttocks" when your character would say "ass" is just as bad as the other way around.

[gabrielsknife]

I've seen almost every possible descriptor for the posterior, the gonads of both male and female bodies. Also, I am a low-class urban white boy

[bean_montag]

This must be YMMV, because I see nothing wrong with anything you posted... lol.

[hotchikk]

I am going to have to disagree with this one. Nothing personal, just my opinion. But for me, it's all about finding the character's voice and being true to it.

Some characters would only ever say "fuck" or "ass" and would never use more polite euphemisms; writing them in would ruin the characterization. Other characters would never ever say such words.

So the question is, are you writing about a drug dealer in downtown Detroit? About a prim and proper southern belle? About a royal magistrate in the nineteenth century? What's the most realistic language for them?

[hotchikk]

And, sorry, small point: You have a typo in the word "thesaurus" in your post title.

On a related note, I *hate* writers who rely too heavily on a thesaurus. Especially if they don't know what the words they choose mean, really. Or when it's obvious that they're doing so. Overly flowery language messes up a story, real quick.