Some of us recently participated in an interesting discussion of ‘graphic’. How graphic is too graphic? One author responded so eloquently that I asked her to be my guest and elaborate on her point of view.
Please welcome author bestselling author, Amanda Ashley.
In a recent discussion on one of the author loops, the question was posed ~ how graphic is too graphic?
At the time, I said that, in my opinion, I thought less was more, and that it applied to everything. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to read graphic descriptions of murder or torture or rape. I’m reading to escape reality, not have the ugliness and evil of the real world spelled out for me in vivid, gory detail.
I don’t want to read a lot of profanity and swearing and curse words on every page. I know a lot of authors claim to do this because it adds to the “reality” of the scene, but honestly, did you ever finish a book you loved and find yourself raving about the profanity and how many times the author used the “F” word?
Have you noticed you hardly ever read any other cuss words these days? Everything is “f” this and “f” that. Personally, I hate that word and just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, I read a book by a really well-known author who used a word that is even worse, one that I never thought to see in print, especially in a book written by a woman. I no longer buy her books.
I feel the same way about love scenes. I want high emotion and feelings and sensuality, but I don’t want graphic descriptions of who’s doing what to who. I don’t want to read it, and I don’t want to write it. I’ve made love, I know how it’s done. I want to experience the wonder of it, the newness, the excitement, not the ABCs.
In my own books, I’m always aware that I have girls as young as 12 and 13 reading my stories.. If they don’t know how it’s done, I certainly don’t want to teach them!
Again, I know there are authors who aren’t bothered by this because they say they’re writing for adults, and that’s fine, for them. But not for me.
Given the “anything goes” nature of books these days, and the fact that editors seem willing to go along with that, I guess it’s no wonder that I find it harder and harder to find a book I want to read, and why I’ve stopped buying several authors that used to be “auto-buys” for me.
I’ve been a published author for over 20 years and in my opinion, the times they are a’changin’ not only in books, but movies. And not for the better.
Thank you so much, Amanda. My husband asked me tonight, after reading an especially graphic blurb for a supposed erotic romance, “How low can you go? This is depraved.” Not much shocks him…this did.
I can write hot and I can cuss like a truck driver. Occasionally one of my characters has a potty mouth too, but whatever I write is story driven first and foremost. Context is everything. Sex taken out of context is meaningless.
Click here for Amanda’s Website.
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