Where's Your Line?

TABOO

There are all levels of good and evil, sweet and nasty, lovely and horrible in creative works. And there are all kinds of taboo across the globe.

Which brings me to our topic of the week: how far is too far in your writing and is there anything you find taboo? 

Everyone will have something they find taboo because we all live in society. You can’t have something be taboo without society as a whole viewing the thing/action as unacceptable. Which means, put taboo into your characters lives! 

I’m not talking about using it to write lazily, KAK talked about it Tuesday. Whatever actions are enacted upon your characters or are done by your characters should have purpose and move the plot or their personal arc forward. Yes, there is a pool of people out there that enjoy gratuitousness for the sake of gratuitousness, but you’ll reach a wider audience if there is meaning behind actions. 

That said, of course there are things too taboo for me to write about, but there are also ones that toe the line. Murder, stealing, adultery, taking advantage of the old…kinda sounds like the ten commandments. Those taboos have become so commonplace in entertainment, and sadly in real life for many, that their unthinkableness is very thinkable—which translates to, very easy to write. 

I don’t think I’ll ever be able to write a character with a high level of profanity. It’s just not in me. And I still want to write about hope. As long as I know where my lines in the sand are, I’m good. 

How about you? How do you know how far is too far?