Your choise of details

Want to start a discussion on a matter we have yet to bring up...

What do you believe okey to write about? And how should it be written?

I read on a forum, another one some time ago, that a guy was talking to his girl-friend about the story he was writing on. And at least one of the scenes would be about a rape.
She said that it wasn't okey to write about rape, that it was horrible and wondered how he could have it in his stories. Which made him wonder.

Which made me wonder, as rape (and such) has a special and sometimes vital place in my own stories. It's part of reality, after all. Part of the one we usually don't come across, the one we never really see the true face of in books and stories alike (especially if they're from USA and alike).

What are your thoughts? Is rape something you could read about, do you feel it's okey to write about it in detail? Is there something else you feel like you wouldn't want to read about, or something you don't want to get in detail?
I'm curious, as my stories bring out the reality, and not the reality most would want to know about.

I think that you can write about rape and all the other cruelties of life. It's something that happens everyday somewhere in the world.
For those who don't want to read such things, there should be a warning so they know what awaits them if they continue to read.
Maybe this should also be discussed with the admin because of the under aged members of the forum. I know that kids nowadays don't care when they see that something isn't suitable for them, but to avoid possible legal disputes...

If a rape scene is a logical part of your story, and not just tacked on for sensationalism (not saying that you would do that, but some authors might), then by all means include it. It's a horrible fact of life, and ignoring it won't make it go away.

Black_Magnolia brings up a good point though, regarding under-age members of the site.

Maybe if a topic has the potential to get a bit unsuitable we could put at [ExC] next to the title? As in Explicit Content. I don't know, it could just be an unofficial rule.
Regarding the subject in books, I read a really affecting one in Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett and it was vital to the story so it should have been included. But I really didn't like reading it and it had me upset for a few days afterward. Likewise, when it happens in Stephen King novels, they're the bits I consider most horrifying because it's such a terrible thing to happen.

term that's real and in the world these things happen and well the news full of it , so if its part of the story then u cant miss it ,and to be called adult fiction as taboo subject , as i don't think there's any law that u cant put it in a book its up to the person who will read t , ur also going to get people bad things about the book or any thing either, books ,news ,tv ,films

if u read the news paper ur find rape and other taboo in it so having a book with info about should be there


as the world isn't nice fluffy bunny's with birds singing

The world isn't perfect, but most seem to believe that by pretending it to be, all bad things will go away.

And Midnight, I understand your feelings. Not sure if it's the same, but once got to see a documentary about genital mutilation, where they took up all the awfull parts and described them well. I, with more empathy then the norm, wanted to run away after less then 5 min. Luckily for me, a guy in there passed out, and the class ended by then. I couldn't get the feeling out of me for more then a week.

But I'm still unsure of how to approach the scene - I don't believe detaild would be good, but when is details of a scene involving sex ever good, besides porn?

And I'm also sure I think about it too much - when writing it, it'll all come down well, in the end.