Approaching sexual abuse in fiction

deano said:

Hello, So my new novel deals with a lot of child abuse, much of it sexual in nature. I've never approached something like this in fiction, so I want to be sensitive and avoid any "abuse porn" in my work. Who has dealt with this before, and how did you approach it without going overboard in description, or maintain a mature balance? I need the reader to both empathize, and feel the weight and despair, but there seems to be a line here I don't want to cross. When I wrote a few chapters in graphic detail, I was suddenly worried about the concept of going too far with it? Hope I'm making sense. Thanks for your help!

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Why do you need to write chapters of abuse in graphic detail? Why isn't it enough to reflect back in little flashbacks, or when telling someone, or ...

deano said:

Thanks for the response, cornflake. The story recounts several sexual and mental abuse cases in detail. It's important that these cases are as detailed as possible to ensure the gravity of each case is treated with authenticity. I feel if I were to reduce the graphic nature of each account, I would be doing a disservice to the victims. Does that make sense? I understand your suggestion, to release the info in smaller bites, but that's not the issue I'm facing. My main concern is just having a book full of abuse porn, instead of giving the graphic nature of the abuse importance. I guess I simply need to strike a balance, but I fear my descriptions won't have the weight they deserve.

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Yeah, I'm suggesting not recounting them in detail so as not to have a book full of abuse porn. A disservice to the victims? You... made them up. They're not victims. They're imaginary.

This is a novel, right, not a case study? Speaking as an abuse survivor, less is really more here. You don't somehow honor what I went through by painting an exquisitely detailed picture. The mental manipulation is really the linchpin here anyway--all the mind games that abusers engage in to make the victim blame themselves. So, I agree with cornflake.

We occasionally have writers come through our group with this sort of project. The responses from the rest of us are all over the board, including the squicky sense that one or two members might be secretly enjoying the content.

You will need to find your balance, because your readers will be everywhere in how they react to it.

General suggestion: Seek out an in-person group (meet up.com) and discuss with real people. I think it'll help you decide how to tell the story, as you see how a wide swath of people react to it.

But also, if this is fiction, some of the same rules apply that apply to other parts of the writing--something can sound realistic without being a true representation of events. Ex: Dialog that sounds real in fiction is often very unlike dialog that actually occurs in real life. Similarly, we don't recount toilet vignettes in fiction, even though in real life sitting on the toilet happens far more often than drawing a sword on a villain. So, you might be OK by toning it down like cornflake suggests. It will still be realistic without being exactly true-to-life.

deano said:

Nothing worse than recounting events with a filter so your readers might not experience the authenticity of the scene. I know it's fictional characters, but sexual abuse minimized to lessen abuse porn feels dangerous, especially for those who've experienced abuse. When I mentioned victims, I meant the readers who will surely gravitate toward this book considering the topic.

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I don't think you're thinking about this in the right way.

You're thinking that abuse survivors will gravitate to your book and want you to have pages and pages of detailed abuse you made up, to read, thus you think you need to write pages of detailed abuse.

Write the STORY. The story isn't pages of detailed abuse, I guarantee, as that's not a story.

Every scene has to advance the plot. How does a whole scene that's just detailing that advance the plot?

I agree that less is more. Anybody can describe the mechanics of any action, but it takes talent and skill to get your meaning across without specificity. I don't need detailed torture, rape or sexual abuse scenes and won't read them. And I think a lot of agents are squicked out by this kind of stuff, as well.

Also, I am puzzled by the idea that some readers will be drawn in by graphic and detailed sexual abuse of children. In my opinion, detailed descriptions of sex with a child is just plain kiddie porn. You can draw your own conclusions about who would want to read that.

deano said:

Thanks for the response, cornflake. The story recounts several sexual and mental abuse cases in detail. It's important that these cases are as detailed as possible to ensure the gravity of each case is treated with authenticity. I feel if I were to reduce the graphic nature of each account, I would be doing a disservice to the victims.

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Abuse survivors are the last people to want or need graphic depictions. Really. It's neither necessary nor appropriate.

cornflake said:

Yeah, I'm suggesting not recounting them in detail so as not to have a book full of abuse porn. A disservice to the victims? You... made them up. They're not victims. They're imaginary.

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I agree. I do not do blow-by-blow descriptions of rape. I use reflection.

deano said:

Nothing worse than recounting events with a filter so your readers might not experience the authenticity of the scene. I know it's fictional characters, but sexual abuse minimized to lessen abuse porn feels dangerous, especially for those who've experienced abuse. When I mentioned victims, I meant the readers who will surely gravitate toward this book considering the topic.

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I suppose it depends on the focus of the story and on its time frame. Is it about a child escaping from abuse thought their own agency? That's a different kind of story than one who focuses on a victim who has already escaped and is now dealing with the emotional fallout in their life, even if their life is now ostensibly normal.

Regardless, fiction isn't really meant to be simply a realistic portrayal of events. It needs a protagonist who overcomes obstacles to achieve a goal, or to discover a new goal, and it needs to be a goal the target audience can ultimately get on board with. If the story just shows a victim suffering unrelenting, graphic abuse, day in and day out, with no plot advancement, or resolution--with no change--this may be realistic, but it's not really a story most people would want to read. I certainly don't think it's something most abuse victims would gravitate towards either, though I can't speak for everyone. Graphic scenes of violence can be very triggery for survivors, though, and they may not be your target audience.

Also, as per how the abuse is perceived at the time, even an abuse victim will notice specific details about an assault--like the smell of their assailant, in addition to the pain and humiliation. Other details can blur.

"If you're offended by the reality of sexual abuse, then this isn't the book for you."

The only people I know who are NOT offended by the reality of sexual abuse are those who like it.

I read about a lot of things I find offensive or don't agree with: concentration camps, war, politics, racism, murder. But you're right in the sense I'm not a fan of the prurient treatment of taboo subjects as opposed to what's necessary to the narrative. And I promise you I'm well-versed in the subject from a professional standpoint.

Your original post suggested you were worried about going into graphic detail on the subject of child sexual abuse. My response was and still is that graphic detail is not necessary. Powerful words can have the same effect without being graphic.

mewellsmfu said:

The only people I know who are NOT offended by the reality of sexual abuse are those who like it.

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Yeah, this. Unless you're writing for those people, I'd take a very light hand with child abuse, sexual or otherwise People who've suffered don't need your authenticity, people who haven't have got their own ideas to work with. It can be central to the character, and indeed to the book, without ever going in to detail - and in any case, detail tends to minimise things, rather than making them clearer. It becomes more about the author than the reader, which is not a good thing for the reader.

I think authenticity comes when you concentrate on the character's reaction, rather than the event itself. You're writing about the character, yes? It's not a book about child sex assault, so let the character take the central role.

Roxxsmom said:

Also, as per how the abuse is perceived at the time, even an abuse victim will notice specific details about an assault--like the smell of their assailant, in addition to the pain and humiliation. Other details can blur.

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Really I'd like to second everything about this particular post. But the part I've quoted is the part I want to add on to. Do you do well with mentor texts? Then read Fall on Your Knees by Anne-Marie MacDonald. She goes into more detail than I would personally advise (it was the first time I was hiding behind the couch covering my eyes at a book rather than a film). But she is masterful at using perception, fickle memory, and sharp details standing out from a blur to provide a visceral reading experience.

Why do you need to write chapters of abuse in graphic detail? Why isn't it enough to reflect back in little flashbacks, or when telling someone, or ...

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IMO you should be very careful when writing about abuse - especially if it concerns children. I recall reading story some time back where an author wrote graphic details of a child being abused - his book was banned, and (if I recall correctly) the police even came to his house...

That's not good.

I think bringing light to such things is an important thing for authors to do, but care should be taken.