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Originally Posted by Keryl Raist
After all, how many of us can think of wince inducing euphemisms in a fight scene? Brandon kicked Jack squarely in the manhood. Ummm... no. Or how about a fight scene where the tension builds and builds and then the author suddenly decides to get coy about what is actually happening? I don't think so.
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And that's the problem, in a nutshell: Only sex scenes induce writers to resort to euphemisms; and they should not. As ScalyFreak points out, the stigma causes overcompensation (sex euphemism ahoy!) and the sensible rules of writing go to pot.
When I wrote my scenes, I made sure I wrote them the way I'd write any other scene: The same style, the same elements used to prompt an emotional investment in the scene, and no euphemisms... because I don't write that way. So the scenes do not seem like the work of someone else shoehorned into my story. If you can't do that... you shouldn't be writing the scene, IMO.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScalyFreak
Or maybe editors and publishers have unreasonable demands and make it more difficult than it needs to be?
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I think that's a big part of it, too: If the writer isn't concerned about appearances, the editors and publishers are, and they force the issue. That's why I like writing for myself... no one looking over my shoulder that I have to satisfy.