The Word Cloud

i've started up my other book and noticed that they may be some lines which may offend people. for example if a character made a joke about how much men or women nag it might put off a reader from buying their books, so how offensive can one go without self destroying ones career? are jokes which may offend a certain class of people best left out? if not it would be good to have a few names of books or films which have been offensive to some but have still done really well, eg like dirty harry dressing up as a nun may have put nuns off buying his films, nuns dont buy films! so who cares if their offended?

i think that if you dig, you're sure to find something to offend someone or the other. if the 'offensive' remark is in keeping with the character, i dont see why it should be a problem...
brick lane offended the bengali community of brick lane . slumdog millionaire only 'caused offence' after the film was released...the book itself didnt stir any pots - and there are books that portray the bombay slums in 'worse' light.

thats encourageing maybe the character should be left free to say what they want, do what they want, maybe if somebody didnt like this they perhaps wouldnt like the book anyway. good debating

i agree - i think most characters will have flaws - if these cause offence - well, thats life, innit. generally though, the offended ones are usually those who havent bothered reading - your book or much else!

yea as long as its not extreme offence then i will let the characters let rip, it is the main characters who may cause offence in my book so i was wondering whether to edit it out of the book, but on second thought its a crime book anyway and theres no preists buying crime books : ) so i will just leave it in the books. good debateing

It's the character speaking, not you. If you hold back on causing offence, or saying things that may, you will never be able to write about racists, misogynists, or bigots of any kind. All your characters would have to be sweet and lovable people...

I think you should write anything that's "in character" for your character. But then i'm thick skinned!

yes but isnt everything like little house on the prarie? perhaps not but one has to think of those smug readers no? or perhaps the book could go the other way and be like coronation street where every character is destined to become incest, batter the life out of their friends and family and everyone on the street, everyone speaks to everyone even though they are suspose to have nothing in common and lets not forget when coronation street is about to film its last shows everyone on the street shags the shit out of everyones ass and on the final show they arange another orgy no?

takeing the mike aside one needs the right balance of drama

There's nothing wrong with offending people. They like it. At least, a lot of them do. There are a lot of sourpussies out there. Look at how many people go out of their way to be offended. It gives them somewhere to go and something to do.

And the power! Imagine seeing some poor comedian on TV, wringing his hands together and apologizing for some silly ass remark made on the spur of the moment, trying to save his career while destroying his image, and knowing that you and your delicate sensibilities helped make it happen!

Practise your hand-wringing, then get out there and offend! Consider it a public service.

(In case anybody finds my attitude offensive, I'd like to apologize in advance for expressing the incorrect opinion) :-0

I think you have to pick up a copy of Irvin Welsh's Filth and ask yourself 'am I more offensive than this?'

If you are, you should immediately adjourn to the nearest public house and order yourself a congratulatory pint. It'd be a tough one to pull off ;)

You've sort of got to ask yourself why you're doing it. Most people like to be challenged. And, again, most people are more willing to be directly challenged by a book or a play, than by direct communion with another living being face-to-face. With theatre it's called 'the fourth wall'. The play happens on one side of the proscenium arch, the audience observes from the other, safely tucked away in the dark where nobody can scrutinise their expression. Free to think what they like and to question themselves.

A book's not much different. It affords certain magical properties such as 'suspension of disbelief' - you can get away with just about anything, however outlandish or impossible it would be in real life. The other is to allow you to present offensive and challenging situations, viewpoints and language.

There will always be muppets who think it's fun to gather at their local library and cross out curse words. For instance:

A Tennessee Library Has No-Curse Words in their Books

But mostly these people are challenged enough by the weekly grocery shop, so aren't likely to be picking up a copy of your book anyway.

Wonder if I've offended anyone with that remark. I do hope so.

Although, people are unlikely to flick through your book looking for offensive paragraphs before deciding to buy it. Usually that decision’s already been made by the cover art and the blurb ;)

If you're talking about offensive language, this can be a turn-off if there's no point to it. Language needs to fit the character and the conversation to be believable. If it isn't, people might drift, and it's a poor show anyway by that point. If it's offensive ideas - well, writing's all about exploration of the human state which, in itself, is fairly abhorrent most of the time. From homophobia to racism, genocide, domestic abuse and incest. Some of the best books are based on the baser instincts, and what they mean. Or at least, using controversy to explore potential meaning.

Look at how many people go out of their way to be offended.

lol Spot on. Okay, so, really, you need to hire a DVD of Frankie Boyle and ask yourself, 'am I more offensive than this....'

It can't be done ;)

You cannot condem actions/opions without showing them first; as long as your book is on the right part of the book shelf, people know what they are getting. I have read books which made me feel sick, which other people love; but to paraphrase Oscar Wilde, there is nothing worse than being talked about, apart from not being talked about; so if your book causes a stir, the sales will go up! You can't imagine a hard bitten ganster saying 'oh botheration, you chaps have really messed up my plans!' nor can you imagine noddy saying 'Fuck you, big ears, and the horse you rode in on!' If you're writing about people who swear, they are going to swear; if you don't want to read that, stick to chick lit (yawn) It's all about context, the Bible has some pretty disturbing and offensive views after all......homophobic, sexist and that God bloke kills thousands at the drop of a hat!!

You cannot condem actions/opions without showing them first

Tenacityflux - that's such a good way of phrasing it!

Love your dialogue examples. On that basis, I'm off to campaign for a remake of Noddy - preferably something gritty and fly-on-the-wall ;) What happened after PC Plod entered rehab...

Be as offensive as you damn well please if it's coming from dialogue. Your characters are people, and like people they have predjudices and all the rest of it. They are not always your own personal mouthpiece. If i write a story now, that has a character that kidnaps and tortures ginger people to death, purely because they are ginger (and have no souls), does that mean i plan to kill gingers? or advocate their mass slaughter? Of course not, and any reader who assumes such a thing is frankly a berk anyway.

I'm cool with gingers by the way. Especially the girls.

That's good to know.....

'You're over the edge Noddy, I need your badge and your gun, you're on suspension!' 'Yeah?Well the day I take order from a big eared freak like you ,Big Ears, is the day you can prize them from my cold,dead hands! Who made you the boss of me, asshole? 'Toy Town, that's who, and ten years at the coal face while you were still wet behind the ears and pissing your pants; now get your coat, and if I hear you've been near those Gollywogs again, If I hear you've so much as stepped on their shadows, I'll have you in here so fast you'll be locked up last week! 'Fuck you big ears, fuck you!' Pulsating with rage the little jolly man with bells on his hat was out of there, stopping only to grab the hand of Looby Lou and pull her roughly to her feet. 'You're with me, baby,' He snarled, 'I don't care what Big Ted says, you're my bitch now!' 'But he'll kill you, Noddy, he's crazy, he'll do it!' Her button eyes filled with tears, Noddy kissed her roughly. 'Yeah, we'll I'm more crazy, crazy for you Doll face; if that fluffy freak and his hand stitched goons come near you again, I'll rip the stuffing outta them; don't forget, I've got a little red car!' 'I love you, Noddy!' She breathed.

Hahahahahahahahahah ... hahaha; hahaha, haha, haha.

Wow!...now there is a children's book in the making TF! I'm with Alanboy! 'chubby, dead fingers, dickhead!'
Love it, love it, love it!
Offensive Shi*, there is such a melting pot out there, no matter what your character says will offend somebody. If its true to the character, go with it and fuck those who don't like it! Hopefully they will have paid for the book before they find out. ND

Just don't insult Scientology. Nobody's allowed to insult Scientology.

Else they disappear.

Fact.

I'm cool with gingers by the way. Especially the girls.

I am so glad you qualified that, Valk - you were treading some dangerous ground there for a moment... *tosses back ginger mane and gives Valkia the Deadly Ginger Minger Stare*

^^p

BTW, there are some wonderfully insulting books out there. A new one I have just pre-ordered is a book called 'Go The Fuck to Sleep', written in the style of a young children's book about toddlers and their inability to, well, go to sleep. You wouldn't believe how many people think it is a serious children's book and are complaining about it already...

Oh, you reminded me of one of my all-time favourite Family Guy quotes where they're thinking of potty training Stewie so Peter goes to the bookshop to find a training manual:

Peter: I'm looking for some toilet training books.

Salesman: We have the popular 'everybody poops', or the less popular 'nobody poops but you'.

Peter: Well, you see, we're Catholic...

Salesman: Ah, then you'll want 'you're a naughty, naughty boy, and that's concentrated evil coming out the back of you'.