How much is enough?

[Princess Ivy]

This is a question that i'm sure troubles many writers. I have a fertile imagination, and can often imagine some pretty terrible things happening to my characters. But when is enough enough? when do we call it quits?
For example, I'm writing a piece, short piece, for a uni tutorial at the moment. the brief is a child who has lost something. Writen from third person and first person. I've never believed in just writing for an excersises sake, and always try my best. So I chose the loss of innocence. A tough subject, especialy when describing first hand, not the rape, but the emotional consequenses of it. This applys in all aspects of writing, i'm using the example that brought the question to my mind today (btw: I've finished the piece).
How gory do you get before you fall into the realms of 'slasher', how sensual, before you become a 'pornographer', how suspensful before you become 'hammer'? Is it all up to the writer? to the story? or are there certain guidelines to follow.
For another example (any feedback here will be welcome as its an ongoing problem) I've a story on the go in which some of the characters are racist. And yet, how to write them? I can imagine what they would say, and yet I'd hate to offend someone (that looks really stupid even as I write it, but you know what I mean). I am very sensitive to that sort of thing, having grown up in South Africa, and yet these specific characters (who in the story will plunge a city into a high state of alert and rioting) would hardly be nice and polite? So how far to go?

 

[Mark Robson]

It very much depends on the audience that you are writing it for, Princess. Where some would blanch at a swear word, others will happily plough through the most vile dregs of humanity without turning a hair. You have to decide on your target audience and pitch it accordingly. If it is a piece for a tutor, then I would say that a fairly middle road would be best.

Some profanity would be required to make the character real, as would some graphic sex/violence if you were determined to follow that particular scene right the way through. However, you could cut from the scene just before it gets too graphic and leave the reader to imagine the rest, as was the acceptable norm for such a scene before the censors began to relax in the 1970s and 80s. I would never write such a scene, because it would be way out of my comfort zone. I tend to shy away from this sort of writing - I guess that as it isn't appropriate for the bulk of my audience, I don't want to be seen writing about these sorts of situations.

 

[Princess Ivy]

That is my problem exactly. I can write the scenes, but I don't want to. They are however integral to the storyline and the 'realness' of the story. One simply doesn't find riot starting hate mongers politely saying 'Mr Jones, I find you a frightful bore and bigot and wish to hereby lodge a complaint'. sigh.
Writing in a fictious world is so much easier in that respect, you can't hurt and alienate an entire group of people

 

[Leto]

Ivy, write everything comes to your mind no matter how graphic or offensive is it. Leave it at rest for a few hours (or days) and come back to read it with a fresh eye. If you're offended or you feels it's too much : cut.
Now, the day you'll be published don't worry. Your publisher will edit everything which is "court material". Or, if it may be too much for the Critiques part of the board, ask someone here and/or in IRL to read the text and to give you an objective opinion.

 

[Space Monkey]

With regards to the racist character question - you have to bear in mind that your characters aren't you, and no-one will think you are racist just because you write a racist character.

Stephen King, in On Writing, talks about this in depth.
In the Dark Half (I think), he has a guy kick a dog to death, and he was getting hate mail because of it - but guess what? It made them really HATE the bad guy, so mission accomplished.
It's about the power of your writing - obviously bearing in mind what the others just said - that you temper it for your target readership.

In regards to how far to go before you get tagged 'Slasher' or whatever, I'd say go as far as the scene dictates to best represent your writing style and strengths.
Chuck Palahniuk seems comfortable writing explicit deviant sex scenes, but he is far from a pornographer. He just has a knack for making the reader 'experience' everything and I think his style intends to gross people out and hit hard. I couldn't ever feel comfortable doing this.

Work with your strengths and detach yourself. You're a storyteller. Alfred Hitchcock wasn't a murderer, Robert Harris probably isn't a cannibal.

 

[Princess Ivy]

thanks for the advice, i suppose i'm just being squeemish and procrastinating about writing a difficult piece.

 

[Princess Ivy]

thanks for the advice, i suppose i'm just being squeemish and procrastinating about writing a difficult piece.
meh, stupid double posting.

 

[aurelio]

I understand the feelings you share here, Princess Ivy. I suppose all you can do is try to be true to the material and ask yourself if it's honest or exploitative. (Not that one can't be legitimately exploitative, but if one is uncomfortable with the result, it begs the question.)

I was suprised by people's reactions to parts of my novel that I worried might have strayed over the line. In the future I wrote, there are these little genetically engineered, um, well... sexual organs that satisfy people's needs. It's very cartoony. They bow and curtsy. It was meant to be funny and ironic, not pornographic, but I'm personally a bit of a prude, so I hesitated. But it was very true to the world and material of the story, so it needed to be there, (and it is pretty funny.)

The acid test was when my father (very straight-laced) and close older/conservative friends read the book - and all loved it. No one expressed any discomfort at all.

I'd just trust your instincts. The very fact that you are questioning yourself is a very good indication that you probably don't have a problem. My guess is you've written something that is powerful enough to shock yourself, which is not a bad thing at all!