Thursday, October 04, 2007

Booking Through Thursday Meme

This week's Booking Through Thursday meme is a fun one:

Do you have “issues” with too much profanity or overly explicit (ahem) “romantic” scenes in books? Or do you take them in stride? Have issues like these ever caused you to close a book? Or do you go looking for more exactly like them? (grin)


I don't necessarily seek out books like this, but they certainly don't put me off and I've never closed a book because of profanity or explicit sex. In fact, when I was in talks with an agent for my first novel, back in 2005, she said I had way too much profanity in the book. I was shocked - I mean, I do tend to talk like a sailor (sad, but true), and my protagonist Jonas certainly has a potty mouth...but I obliged her and did a search in my 400+ page manuscript ... and found 400+ "fucks". I'm no math major, but that looks like one per page to me. Oops! I took a little over half of them out, but I still feel like the rest serve a purpose and offer some insight into Jonas' character.

So, yeah, no problem with the profanity or the sex. I don't search out erotica but I have no problem at all with - in fact, enjoy - a well written explicit sex scene.

ETA: A commenter got me curious, so I looked through the MS on the first novel, and found 36 instances of the f-bomb, not 200+. So, significantly fewer cases than I had thought.

7 comments:

  1. OK...that's really funny!!! 400?? I'm duly impressed!! Like I said in my post, my father was a Marine. I can cuss like a sailor, and have on many occasions.

    I don't have a problem with it. It just needs to add value to the story!

    Happy Thursday!

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  2. It was hilarious, and shocking.

    Happy Thursday!!

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  3. Chris, I know! I couldn't believe it. I put it down to the bad influence of...oh hell, it's just my potty mouth that got away with me :)

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  4. Anonymous7:08 AM

    I think even 200 f-words in a 400 pages book is too many!

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  5. Anonymous7:16 AM

    I don't have a problem with any of these things in literature.

    I may not write them myself, but I surely see the value in other writers using them if they are vital to the story.

    Besides, I have been known to use colorful language while playing ice hockey from time to time :)

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  6. Gautami - It's been a while since I looked at that MS, and so you got me curious...I did a search this morning and found 36 instances, not 200. In the context of Jonas' character, it makes sense. In my second novel, I don't think I have a single f-bomb. :)

    Struggling :) - Hockey does bring it out in people. Especially when I watch my Sharks lose in a shootout to Edmonton on opening night!

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