what bodily function are we obsessed with

[Bowler1]

I have just realised my characters hardly ever poop! That would explain the pained looks they all have.

I did have one character hooked on drugs that had a pooping problem, but that was for plot and not day to day needs.

The things discussed on-line.

 

[Warren_Paul]

Any bodily function - whatever it is - should only be included in the scene if it has a relevance to the story. If your character has a habit of having epiphanies on the toilet seat, then by all means, have them 'poop'. Same goes for the classic 'ambushed while taking a dump' scene.

 

[Perpetual Man]

Even Audry Hepburn went to the bathroom

Noooooo! I'll never be able to watch My Fair Lady Again.

I don't think I obsess with bodily functions when writing, they just do what they do but.... not quite the same I do seem to refer to eyes/eye colour an awful lot.

 

[Galacticdefender]

I use food sometimes to help with world building. (Example: The characters sit down at a restaraunt on a space station, and wierd space food is described.)

 

[David Evil Overlord]

I've got some super heroes who obsess over what colour their eyes glow when they use their powers.

 

[Warren_Paul]

I've got some super heroes who obsess over what colour their eyes glow when they use their powers.

Knowing your current WIP, I'm surprised that's all they are obsessed with.

 

[David Evil Overlord]

I didn't say that's all. Just an obsession.

There is another character who makes jokes about science and high-tech. Usually, these jokes sail right over the heads of all the other characters. However, one comment does bear repeating:

"And her jokes about Black Holes can't be repeated in polite f***ing company."

 

[Bowler1]

David Evil Overlord - This thread has your name all over it, I agree with Warren Paul - are you sure your characters don't have other body functions you'd like to share with us?

 

[Warren_Paul]

David Evil Overlord - This thread has your name all over it, I agree with Warren Paul - are you sure your characters don't have other body functions you'd like to share with us?

I think the below says it Bowler. Somehow I don't think we want to hear what they are. Might have the mods up in arms.

"And her jokes about Black Holes can't be repeated in polite f***ing company."

Unless it's snorting thai chicken.

...

Hey, at least it has nothing to do with chainsaws.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

Any bodily function - whatever it is - should only be included in the scene if it has a relevance to the story. If your character has a habit of having epiphanies on the toilet seat, then by all means, have them 'poop'. Same goes for the classic 'ambushed while taking a dump' scene.

I have a couple of shower scenes that have raised eyes One is a moment of deep contemplation that involves one of two functions many men do everytime they shower and the other showed a girl's leg in the same shower as a boy in a YA lol (It was attached)

Oh and my MC just have a whole obsession with not being seen naked.

 

[Anne Lyle]

I like a bit of blood and gore myself. And allergies. Are we expected to believe people in fantasy don't suffer even a wee bit of mild hayfever?

Hayfever, maybe, but not the slew of allergies we get nowadays. There's strong evidence that early exposure to cow dung and other mild attacks on our immune system trains it to tell germs from random chemicals.

I tend to enjoy writing about meals - they're a good opportunity to have characters discuss something plot-related without it being "talking heads". I only mention other bodily functions if they are plot-relevant or noticeable even to characters who are inured to open sewers...

 

[Gumboot]

I tend not to make mention of "bodily functions" unless they're pertinent to the plot. I'm writing a story, not a documentary.

 

[David Evil Overlord]

David Evil Overlord - This thread has your name all over it, I agree with Warren Paul - are you sure your characters don't have other body functions you'd like to share with us?

Well, there is one character who gets stage fright, and hopes she can testify in court and still be on speaking terms with her bladder.

And another character who might have to do something similar when forced to confront her greatest fear.

Hmmm, I think I know why super heroes wear their underwear on the outside of their costumes...

 

[chrispenycate]

In my WIP one of my viewpoint characters obsesses about defecation in general, but this is partly because her injuries restrict her to bed, she has a crush on the boy who has been assigned to see to her physical needs, and considers needing him to sit her on the bucket, then wipe her afterwards (and quite possibly her beforewards too), not very romantic.

As soon as she can get herself to the latrine trenches she obsesses over more reasonable matters.

 

[Lilmizflashythang]

One has a concussion, one is greedy, and I got one that's a gadget collector.

 

[James Coote]

I sometimes get worried people will see my characters as unrealistic because they never seem to think about sex or sexual relationships.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Strangely, for all my reputation on the Chrons, mine rarely do, too. Well, okay, occasionally. Counting them now.... still the minority But growing. Bad influences at work, me thinks.

 

[Warren_Paul]

I sometimes get worried people will see my characters as unrealistic because they never seem to think about sex or sexual relationships.

Not all stories revolve around relationships of a sexual nature.

Romance is a natural human trait, and should be there somewhere, but it doesn't need to be focused on, and certainly doesn't have to lead to sex, or even thinking about it.

The friendship factor is more important than the sex.

 

[Esfires]

I sometimes get worried people will see my characters as unrealistic because they never seem to think about sex or sexual relationships.

A lot of writers these days are following the G.R.R. Martin model, using sex and shock value as a substitute for maturity. While Martin can write deep characters and complex plots, the overall tones and themes of his work feel adolescent to me, as if it was written by some pimply teenager with a sticky keyboard. Goodkind did the same thing with his bondage fetish. It just makes a story feel immature and childish.

That isn't to say that sex in a story is bad, those are just two examples of where it has been grossly overdone and misused. In general, though, I find it doesn't add all that much to a novel. It's the relationships, not the sex, that give character to a story. Sex is actually a fairly amateurish and heavy-handed way of dealing with romantic relationships. There are so many more artful ways of handling it.

Think of it as the difference between a hooker and beautiful woman in an evening gown. You can pay your money and get a bounce from the former. But a sultry look, a flash of toned leg or the graceful line of a neck curving down to a delicate, bare shoulder from the latter can put a fire in your blood more intense than any streetwalker in a halter top and jean shorts ever could. My own WIP has a developing romance between two characters, but if they jumped into bed together it would completely ruin all the tenderness and hesitancy of a budding relationship.

 

[Warren_Paul]

A lot of writers these days are following the G.R.R. Martin model, using sex and shock value as a substitute for maturity. While Martin can write deep characters and complex plots, the overall tones and themes of his work feel adolescent to me, as if it was written by some pimply teenager with a sticky keyboard. Goodkind did the same thing with his bondage fetish. It just makes a story feel immature and childish.

Oh yes, I completely agree. GRRM can write, but the sex in ADWD came over gratuitous and gave me a bit of a creepy old man feeling. Most of the sex scenes in that book I felt were poorly done, and against character, and most definitely written from a stereotypical male PoV - like certain uses of their mouth, used almost obsessively.

Terry Gookind is really bad for gratuitous use of sexual content, most of his books revolve around it to the point that it feels like you are reading some school kids fantasy. Some of the scenes, like how the Sisters of the Dark get their powers, is quite disturbing even.

It's the relationships, not the sex, that give character to a story.

Quote for truth. Explicit sex scenes and nudity for the sake of it is just for dirty minds. I'm way more interested in reading about how they developed their relationship to that point, than the actual act.