Directing the Plot away from Taboos

RemusShepherd · Mar 8, 2010

Have a literary knot that I've been chewing on, and I think I'd like some fresh eyes on the problem.

The setting is a sci-fi future Earth. I have an old warrior named Race who has rescued a gang of near-feral children, ranging in ages from 6 to 20 years old. For story reasons, they are naked or near-naked (the Big Bad enemy can infect inanimate objects, including clothing).

I should explain Race's character arc until now. He began as a firm proponent of sane, civilized society...until he was forced to fight like an animal to save these children. My plan was to strip every remnant of society from him one by one until he is forced to appeal to aliens (the representatives of anarchy, from his perspective) for help. Thus, he's doomed to lose these children. I need to hurt Race, I want to break him.

I have two problems, though.

One, this story is a comedy, although obviously one with pretensions.

I can't just kill these children off. My plan was to have them get fed up with Race's stuffy rules and walk away from him one by one. As soon as he takes them to a safer place, I was planning for most of them to abandon him.

Two, the situation is set up to almost guarantee taboo sexual content. Naked teenagers are going to giggle, then grope, then do things that I don't want in my book. One sure way of separating Race from his moral background is to have him tempted by a lolita, until he realizes in horror just how far from civilized society he has fallen. But I'd rather not go down that road. Beyond the fact that I don't want to write or read such things, it would probably make this story unsellable. (For other reasons it probably is already, to be honest.)

So.

I can get rid of the nakedness, which kills most of the taboo potential. But that also gets rid of a big source of humor in this very bleak section of the story. It also opens up a plot hole, because the Big Bad *should* be infecting clothing.

I can reshape Race's character arc so that he keeps these children and civilizes them. But that removes a lot of tension -- my protagonist will be doing well, just when I need him to suffer -- and it removes his reason for going to the aliens, which is a necessary plot point later. (I think. Hmmn.)

Or I can follow the story to where it wants to go, with hopefully vague and short references to underaged sex and pederasty, and decide that this is just a trunk novel that I'll never show to anyone out of embarrassment.

Or maybe there's another option. That's why I want some brainstorming help. Can anyone see a way to conclude this plot arc in a dramatic, possibly comedic, and most importantly non-taboo way?

On a wider focus, and maybe this is what you would all rather discuss: What do you do when your story wants to go into taboo topics? Do you follow it whereever it wants to go, or do you wrestle it back toward the mainstream?

I prefer doing the latter, myself, when I know there's a mainstream solution to be found. Not sure there is one here. And my limits on taboo and weirdness might be outside of the mainstream to begin with...which may be my root problem as a writer.

kuwisdelu · Mar 8, 2010

I let it go where it wants to go.

I worry about getting the story right first; it can always be edited to make it more publishable later.

Be true to the story first.

On the other hand, remember one person's taboo isn't always another person's. In your case, remember that nakedness need not automatically be sexual.

Maryn · Mar 8, 2010

Stray thoughts:

All the children are Gender A, and all are heterosexual--and Race is interested only in Gender B
Children do not sexually mature until 25 in this world
Race's background includes a moral code with forbids sexual interaction and exploration unless certain conditions are met (akin to marriage), which he enforces with ferocity--and which is why the kids abandon him
Race has a sexual interest which cannot be met by a young person, whether an attraction to grandmotherly types or a very specific fetish scenario
Naked is normal, clothes worn only as protection from the elements--to the kids, who don't find the sight of one another's nudity arousing and who find Race's 'normal' modesty hilariously uptight

Maryn, thinking there are many directions one could go with this

alleycat · Mar 8, 2010

My first thought is to get rid of the story reason for them to be naked in the first place. Perhaps the Big Bad enemy can only infect non-organic (non-living) elements and the kids are wearing animal skins. That might not work for your story, but you get the idea. Come up with a reason for them to be able to wear clothes of some type if you feel their nakedness would create a problem later on.

kuwisdelu · Mar 8, 2010

Maryn said:
[*]Naked is normal, clothes worn only as protection from the elements--to the kids, who don't find the sight of one another's nudity arousing and who find Race's 'normal' modesty hilariously uptight

I agree, especially if they're "near-feral" as you call them, it's likely they see nothing odd or arousing whatsoever about nudity. Naked is normal for them.

Al Ross · Mar 8, 2010

The "big bad" could be only in their imagination. Race might have to convince them he is immune. The real reason why Race does not want to be naked is because he has a tiny pecker. Eventually they discover this and ridicule him, in shame he leaves them behind.

About taboo: In my writing. I just write. I do not care about what might and might not be taboo. My wife complained I will not sell many a book that way.
I believe a story needs to be left free and develop into something without too many constraints. If it's too wild for the mainstream then a pity, you never know it might just be the kind of story that may set a new rage. There always must be a first.

Imagine one of the few Heroes with a small dick.

Could be that edge that make a story interesting.

Lady Ice · Mar 8, 2010

Nudity would probably be normal for them; they wouldn't have a problem with it. Including taboos in stories is a problem as the taboo tends to overshadow the story.

You could have Race arguing with them or being disgusted by them but if you have it so he's attracted to one, that taboo could just take over the story.

DeleyanLee · Mar 8, 2010

RemusShepherd said:
On a wider focus, and maybe this is what you would all rather discuss: What do you do when your story wants to go into taboo topics? Do you follow it whereever it wants to go, or do you wrestle it back toward the mainstream?

If I'm going near taboo topics, then I need to be FAR more honest about them, why they're taboo, how the various characters feel about the taboo, what they're doing about it and why they make those decisions, than normal. Anything else is not only bad for the story, but it'll ring false with a reader. Yeah, it makes it harder for me, but sometimes writing is HARD.

Comedy/Humor is especially great for exploring the honesty in taboo subjects. Making someone laugh about it takes some of the edge off even as it engaged the mind into thinking about how true it is, so I think you've got the right venue for handling it.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

geardrops · Mar 8, 2010

The only taboo is being boring.

DeleyanLee · Mar 8, 2010

dempsey said:
The only taboo is being boring.

QFT

sohalt · Mar 8, 2010

Naked teenagers are going to giggle, then grope, then do things that I don't want in my book.

Why would they?

In their situation, nakedness has probably no erotic connotation.

And if it has, why should teenagers be any less neurotic and awkward and shameful about it than everyone else? (I'd venture that they are likely to be even more neurotic and awkward and shameful about it than everyone else).

Libbie · Mar 8, 2010

I am always for following the story where it wants to go. It might not be pretty when it reaches its destination, but it will be true.

Libbie · Mar 8, 2010

sohalt said:
Why would they?

In their situation, nakedness has probably no erotic connotation.

And if it has, why should teenagers be any less neurotic and awkward and shameful about it than everyone else? (I'd venture that they are likely to be even more neurotic and awkward and shameful about it than everyone else).

Also true.

RemusShepherd · Mar 8, 2010

Lady Ice said:
Nudity would probably be normal for them; they wouldn't have a problem with it. Including taboos in stories is a problem as the taboo tends to overshadow the story.

You could have Race arguing with them or being disgusted by them but if you have it so he's attracted to one, that taboo could just take over the story.

Yeah, that's my concern exactly. I was headed for Race arguing with them and driving them all away. But I'm worried that the age thing could take over the story.

DeleyanLee said:
If I'm going near taboo topics, then I need to be FAR more honest about them, why they're taboo, how the various characters feel about the taboo, what they're doing about it and why they make those decisions, than normal. Anything else is not only bad for the story, but it'll ring false with a reader. Yeah, it makes it harder for me, but sometimes writing is HARD.

Comedy/Humor is especially great for exploring the honesty in taboo subjects. Making someone laugh about it takes some of the edge off even as it engaged the mind into thinking about how true it is, so I think you've got the right venue for handling it.

Well, I'm going to take that as a vote to follow the story where it wants to go. I might be able to use comedy as a shield, under the theory that if I keep the reader laughing, they might not notice being creeped out.

I just wish I had an example to follow, or at least give me confidence that it can be done. Would Lolita be banned anywhere if it were a comedy? We may never know.

dempsey said:
The only taboo is being boring.

Oh, I have to disagree. There are a lot of ways to write things that are interesting but bad.

It's easy to write interesting stories. The step past that -- writing interesting stories that appeal to people -- is a greater challenge.

Danthia · Mar 8, 2010

Two, the situation is set up to almost guarantee taboo sexual content. Naked teenagers are going to giggle, then grope, then do things that I don't want in my book.
Who says? In our current society where public nakedness is frowned on, this is true, but in a society where this was the norm they'd probably not even think twice about it. You make up the rules of this society, and if you don't want your teens to do that, then crate a society where they don't. Don't force our morals on them. Show how they feel differently about nudity. There are plenty of cultures right now who wear very little clothing and the kids aren't grouping each other all day.

One sure way of separating Race from his moral background is to have him tempted by a lolita, until he realizes in horror just how far from civilized society he has fallen. But I'd rather not go down that road. Beyond the fact that I don't want to write or read such things, it would probably make this story unsellable. (For other reasons it probably is already, to be honest.)
Then don't go down this road. (and personally, Lolita is such an iconic story you might want to avoid that cliche anyway). It's your story. You don't have to do anything you don't want to. Just think up another way and create a world and situation in which this works. It's all made up anyway, so you don't have to abide by modern day morals.

I can get rid of the nakedness, which kills most of the taboo potential. But that also gets rid of a big source of humor in this very bleak section of the story. It also opens up a plot hole, because the Big Bad *should* be infecting clothing.
If you make it so the kids don't care about the nudity, then you don't have to do this.

I can reshape Race's character arc so that he keeps these children and civilizes them. But that removes a lot of tension -- my protagonist will be doing well, just when I need him to suffer -- and it removes his reason for going to the aliens, which is a necessary plot point later. (I think. Hmmn.)
This sounds like a plot issue, and without knowing what you want from Race, it's hard to give advice here. But do what feels right for his character arc. Don't change the arc just because finding the right answer is hard. Figure out a way to make your story work the way you want it to.

Or I can follow the story to where it wants to go, with hopefully vague and short references to underaged sex and pederasty, and decide that this is just a trunk novel that I'll never show to anyone out of embarrassment.

Again, if these kids have a vastly different sense of morality than we do, you don't have to do any of this.

On a wider focus, and maybe this is what you would all rather discuss: What do you do when your story wants to go into taboo topics? Do you follow it whereever it wants to go, or do you wrestle it back toward the mainstream?
It depends. If the taboo subject is vital to telling the story and it serves the story, I go for it. Because it'll feel right for the story, and thus not be so taboo. But if it's taboo just because it's cool or racy, then I scrap it.

I'd suggest you shift your thinking about this story and get yourself out of your own head. Stop thinking of these kids like they were typical teenagers. The world you've created has very different rules and they'll live by those rules. For all you know, this society might be less prone to groping because it's so easy to accidentally miss-touch someone that they've adopted strict social rules to avoid it. Delve more into your world building and think about how this group might live if it were real. And perhaps research some cultures on our own planet who have vastly different views on nudity and behavior.

kuwisdelu · Mar 8, 2010

You said 6-20. It wouldn't be creepy or pedophilia for him to be attracted to the more sexually mature ones. (E.g., 16+)

Stormhawk · Mar 8, 2010

I worry about taboo stuff, how certain people will perceive it, or how it would affect my chances of being picked up in the future...then I stop worrying about it.

The two big things I have are:
1) What is easily be perceived to be an incestuous relationship with a pair of twins - in truth, it's closer to...autophilia I guess, since it's more one being split into two. But still, canon twincest. Canon doctor twincest. (Haven't had any complaints yet).

2) Reference to a character who traded sexual favours whilst under age to avoid getting detained by authority figures. Also, a future reference will have her being in a p0rno for money whilst still under age. None of this is shown explicitly, but it's still there.

Thump · Mar 8, 2010

I never shy away fom a taboo. If it serves the story, I use it. In one of my novels, the 13y-o is fondled and fingered by an adult and later on is tricked into sleeping with her brother. Both scenes are necessary and are not written to arouse. They are just graphic enough to unsettle without being over the top. I am in the camp that believes a writer has to have a strong stomach and be willing to show even the ugliest aspects of humanity.

"You have to be irresponsible or you're not telling the best stories." - Joss Whedon

Miss T · Mar 8, 2010

Irrelevant: If you Big Bad can affect inanimate objects, and clothes made of dead plants and animals count as inanimate objects, can he zombiefy corpses? Oh my.

geardrops · Mar 8, 2010

RemusShepherd said:
Oh, I have to disagree. There are a lot of ways to write things that are interesting but bad. It's easy to write interesting stories. The step past that -- writing interesting stories that appeal to people -- is a greater challenge.

If your story is interesting (to more than just you) and keeps the reader on the page all the way through to the end, then it's not boring. It appeals to people.

Whether or not it has mass appeal is a different question. Focus on what works in your story, not what you think will get a publisher to pick it up. By the time you're done and through with edits and ready to sub, there'll be a whole new set of criterion anyway.

ETA: Also, I didn't say BAD, I said BORING. Difference

DeleyanLee · Mar 8, 2010

RemusShepherd said:
I just wish I had an example to follow, or at least give me confidence that it can be done. Would Lolita be banned anywhere if it were a comedy? We may never know.

You're worried about getting banned?!? Seriously?!? Dear gods above and below, I'd love to have my work banned! There is no sale driver better than getting your book banned--then EVERYONE will have to buy it (much easier today then when I was younger, with internet ordering) just to see what all the fuss was about.

You don't think that The DaVinci Code sold a gazillion copies because it was a good book, did you? I mean, seriously. Brown went taboo places, got people talking and WHAM! Mega-best seller.

And, honestly, if a little teenaged sex is supposed to creep readers out, you need to get out more. There's that and FAR worse in fanfic written by teens themselves.

job · Mar 8, 2010

The combination of 'I want to break Race,' and 'All the kids reject him,'
and 'This is a comedy,'
sounds like a bit of a challenge, frankly.

I think the problem isn't exactly the subject matter. Neither teen sex nor nakedness is 'taboo' in modern America. You can write about them all day long. And they can be funny. Heck, Woody Allen can make us laugh at Death.

The question may not be a shock value downside. But -- is there a comedic upside? Does your core story have the potential to be amusing? Does your main character move us to laughter or to wry smiles?

For instance, we see this adult man wanting or planning to have Lolita-like sex with a young girl. She's available because, unlike most young girls, she doesn't have a family to protect her.

I kinda go 'squick' at this. I'm not feeling the funny.

So I'm missing the comedic component of the story. This may have to do with looking at summary of the plot rather than at the actual writing. Is there a book you can point to that's similar to what you have in mind? Robert Aprin? Jim Butcher? Terry Pratchett?

kuwisdelu · Mar 8, 2010

Comedies can still be dark...

ishtar'sgate · Mar 8, 2010

You could always take a page from The Island and have 'rules of proximity'

shaldna · Mar 9, 2010

If these teenagers are used to being naked then it will be normal for them and they won't giggle etc.

Directing the Plot away from Taboos

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