Obscene words

[recipient12]

I do not use obscene words in my stories. What do you think of a story with no obscene words?

 

[Rob_Royale]

I do not use obscene words in my stories. What do you think of a story with no obscene words?

Not to be a smart ass, but your account is a day old. You have no posted stories for me to peruse. Writing erotica sort of has obscene, baked in. It's part of the recipe. Calling everything by clinical names isn't really erotic to most folks. But, when you do post something I'd be happy to check it out, and would have no problem being proved wrong.

Edit - this post would have been better in the Author's Hangout forum. And trust me, you'll get some strong opinions there.

 

[DanDraper]

Writing erotica sort of has obscene, baked in. It's part of the recipe. Calling everything by clinical names isn't really erotic to most folks.

Very true. You can't write these kind of stories without using some obscene words, especially when it comes to describing the erotic scenes. Without them it'll be like reading a medical journal.



....

 

[Carnevil9]

I don't know about that. I think there is a wide middle ground between "obscene" and "clinical." Most romance novels seem able to get the gist across without being either, yet still manage to be quite erotic.

 

[CuttingEdge]

I do not write obscene words either, preferring other words instead. To me obscene words are just to crass and vulgar, yet I do not get over flowery either. It is pretty easy to get the middle ground @Carnevil9 is talking about.

Crass: He put his cock into her my cunt.

Too Flowery: Laden with muscles, and swooping down seemingly from heaven, he was fully exposed and like a quill from cupid's bow, was poised for the lady garden of my love now advertising my want with droplets of lady-dew.

My Style: What more could a lady want? He was tall, dark and handsome. And naked. Very, very naked. With his hardened shaft, there was no question who, and what, he wanted, and with confidence like that, I had no problem with him letting him have it. Have me. Have all of me any way he wanted...

 

[ericalauren]

I prefer words like vulva and breasts over slang like cunt and tits. I’m guessing it depends on the person, though.

 

[LiverpoolMaster]

I prefer words like vulva and breasts over slang like cunt and tits. I’m guessing it depends on the person, though.

And I tend to agree.

I don't buy the line that 'you must "of course" use coarse slang when portraying erotica'. To be subjected to a constant stream of cocksandcunts smacks of a kind of desperation IMHO...and all too typical of amateurish writers whose erotic content depends slavishly on non-stop, would-be 'shock tactics'.

I use the anglo-saxon, for want of a better term, but sparingly... such that it can then have a jarring effect when needed. I appreciate the 'medical speak' observation - yes, this is an obvious pitfall which awaits but which can be avoided by the intelligent writer. To me, taking care to be less 'in-your-face' provides a kind of detachment which can be extremely valuable.

Personally, I thank the OP for raising this here, even if it is not a story idea, as it is no bad thing occasionally to consider the 'how' of putting things down and not just the 'what'.

 

[yowser]

I think the word usage depends entirely on the story and the characters involved. The range can be enormous.

I was pleased to get this comment on one of my tales:

The sex was also insanely hot. I noticed you tended to use a lot more refined words for the organs involved than most other stories do on this site and I thought that was fitting to the story and actually made the encounter more arousing.

 

[MargotPayge]

I like "obscene" words. But I grew up reading flowery yet extremely smutty romances. I also grew up in a very conservative household, where if you used a term that was obscene, you had better have a "damn" good reason for it. If I heard my Mom utter a "damn" you knew her level of distress. But I can count the number of times I heard it on one hand. I tend to stick to that philosophy: No word is banned, but you should use them by choice rather than habit.

If I use the word "cunt" in my story, you better believe there is some kind of shock value involved, either the character is using it by habit, so I am casting them as vulgar. Or I, the writer, am trying to shock the reader into feeling a certain way during the scene. Or the sex is going to get rough. I love to have my dominatrix figures use the word to assert a kind of power. "Come here and worship my cunt" sounds way more powerful than, "Come here and perform cunnilingus" or "come here and worship the flower of my womanhood," to me, anyway.

But, there is some reason, and for me, it is usually based on how the words make me feel. I can't guarantee that they will make you feel the same way. But I hope it does, otherwise, why make any choices in writing at all?

 

[Rob_Royale]

My word use escalates in obscenity as the intensity of the scene escalates, which unconsciously reflects my own sex life between my wife and me.

 

[CuttingEdge]

My word use escalates in obscenity as the intensity of the scene escalates, which unconsciously reflects my own sex life between my wife and me.

My ex-wife was interesting in that she was VERY religious, never being outside the church if the doors were opened. It was not always healthy for her, but a unique off-shoot of that forced lifestyle was that she would moan and coo during sex, but if she orgasmed she would inevitable... uncontrollably... scream out "Fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk".

It was the one and only time she EVER swore.

It was the funniest thing

 

[Rob_Royale]

My ex-wife was interesting in that she was VERY religious, never being outside the church if the doors were opened. It was not always healthy for her, but a unique off-shoot of that forced lifestyle was that she would moan and coo during sex, but if she orgasmed she would inevitable... uncontrollably... scream out "Fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk".

It was the one and only time she EVER swore.

It was the funniest thing

Exactly. My wife has never used the word cunt before, but not long ago she used it in an encouraging way as she neared orgasm. It was awesome.

 

[CuttingEdge]

Exactly. My wife has never used the word cunt before, but not long ago she used it in an encouraging way as she neared orgasm. It was awesome.

The only time I ever heard my ex-wife use the word "Cunt" was when another ex-wife was taking us to court over a custody issue with my daughter, her step-daughter.

She gripped the paper from the deputy sheriff, shook, fisted both hands and said, "that... that... fucking cunt".

You could have beaten me to death with a feather I was in shock so much from her uncharacteristic foul words. I have NEVER used that word myself. EVER!! Granted, she was irritated, I could see that, but her words showed just how completely bullshit mad she was inside.

I have since used that micro-scene a few times in novels of mine, when I needed to convey that sense of internal anger.

 

[MargotPayge]

That is exactly what I mean. Su[[ly and demand work for language too. The less often you use a word, the more powerful it becomes, up to a point.

 

[CuttingEdge]

That is exactly what I mean. Su[[ly and demand work for language too. The less often you use a word, the more powerful it becomes, up to a point.

Absolutely.

I have used the word "Fuck" in my mainstream, non-erotic novels, but I am never flippant with them. First, my MIL's book club reads them, and she is 83 years old, so I have to tone things down, but even they will tolerate a strong word if it is there to show impact.

Even myself, stories on here that are vulgar and crass, I will stop reading.

 

[000zing]

Another vote for restraint. Less is more.

It's one of the markers which distinguish that small minority (on here) of writers who wish to get their readership on board from the the crass majority who, bluntly, are merely out to express in text their own wank journey in their own terms.

Oh, and there is a very wide middle ground between obscenity and 'flowery'. There is no obligatory 'either-or' choice'.

 

[PenelopeX]

What's 'obscene'?

In 1914, the first English-language version of George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion premiered in London. It contained the line "Not bloody likely!". This caused quite a fuss. British newspapers obliquely referred to the naughty word - bloody - without actually printing it.

Shakespeare's works include such obscenties as gadzooks and zounds. Sounds like something you'd hear in Scooby-Doo, right? Sure. Now. But in the early 17th century, they were very profane. Which, of course, is why the Bard used them.

All that matters is that you use the right words. Do that, and you'll never go wrong.

 

[nested456]

I generally keep swear words to a minimum, once a story at most. Not because of some prudish thing but because then the impact is greater when you do use them.

If it's written like a Tarantino film with the characters using the f and n words in every sentence, those words lose their impact. IMO its better to keep them as real bombs that you use on occasion, then they can really shock the reader.

 

[JaxRhapsody]

I generally keep swear words to a minimum, once a story at most. Not because of some prudish thing but because then the impact is greater when you do use them.

If it's written like a Tarantino film with the characters using the f and n words in every sentence, those words lose their impact. IMO its better to keep them as real bombs that you use on occasion, then they can really shock the reader.

Not really.

 

[JaxRhapsody]

I don't know about that. I think there is a wide middle ground between "obscene" and "clinical." Most romance novels seem able to get the gist across without being either, yet still manage to be quite erotic.

I'm happy you said this. Not that I wasn't aware, but it redirected my mind from the Flanderized sex scene it was thinking of first, and to reason.

 

[Reenigam]

Not really.

It would depend on the reader, presumably, and the degree to which he/she lives his/her life surrounded by coarseness, willingly inflicted on self by self or otherwise.

 

[CuttingEdge]

I think it would depend on the character in the story and how they react to sex. If the character is a well-heeled daughter of a wealthy businessman, then they most likely would be more reserved. A crack whore would probably use a lot of foul words. The point is, when you write, it should be from your point of view character that is speaking at that moment. You never want your reader to think as they are reading along, 'they would not say that', as it pulls them out of the story.

But i do say, "react to sex" because for many of us, our sex lives are MUCH different than our real lives. And as adults we want to be that way, sex is our only real chance to be something else, or act a different way, or just to give in to the pleasure that it is. It's why that CEO that holds 1050 employee's economic life in his hands Monday through Friday, might be wearing a leather collar and being whipped Saturday night. He wants to be something different and take orders... at least for a few sexual hours. I had an ex-wife that was at church every time the doors were opened, yet during an orgasm would scream "fuckkkkkkkkkkkk" to the top of her lungs.

Its okay to use out of character dialog, a writer just has to explain that a little better in the narrative somewhere, so the reader is prepped for those moments.

 

[bestkeptsecret678]

Gre

I think the word usage depends entirely on the story and the characters involved. The range can be enormous.

I was pleased to get this comment on one of my tales:

The sex was also insanely hot. I noticed you tended to use a lot more refined words for the organs involved than most other stories do on this site and I thought that was fitting to the story and actually made the encounter more arousing.

Great point. And something I should probably pay more attention to. I tend to simply mix it up, but perhaps that ignores the points you make here.