How much detail about dead bodies should I put in a YA story? (2 Q's)

starrystorm

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I"m not one for gore at all. I really also try to avoid deaths, but for the story I'm writing now I need some "red shirts" to die. I was wondering what level I should get into while describing them. Just a quick glance? Or go into detail?

Also, in my story world, when a certain group of alien experiments die, they turn into actual puppets (small, wood, and everything). In one scene my MC finds a cave full of these puppets (But doesn't know what they are at the time), and shuffles through them. A couple chapters later, she goes back and discovers that the puppets have a secret message tattooed onto them. It isn't until near the third act of the book (much much later) that she discovers what they were.

Is that too disgusting to add? I'm not sure. It would work well for the plot, but I myself get disgusted at it.

Edit: Also during the story, the love interest is turning to wood because he's slowly dying.
 
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The Second Moon

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If the dead bodies are wooden puppets before the MC sees them (and not flesh) then that seems perfectly okay to me. DISCLAIMER: I don't read YA that much
 

mccardey

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That sounds like a lovely idea for a story. I agree with the poster above - the grue is not a problem at all, if they're made of wood or turning to wood.

(For the reader, I mean. Your characters may not enjoy the experience that much ;) )
 

ChaseJxyz

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By dead bodies you usually are talking about corpses, as in no-longer-alive people and animals. You probably shouldn't get into exacting detail of what death and decay looks like, but basics (like it was an orange cat run over by a car or a Red Shirt that got hit by a laser rifle) should be fine. But if the bodies aren't even corpses, like the puppets you're talking about or something like ash/dust, then describing it in more detail is fine. Especially if at the time the character(s) (and reader) don't know that they're bodies. Finding a room full of puppets is very weird and something that warrants extra details.
 

Roxxsmom

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I suppose it partially depends on how necessary the details are to the story. If the plot requires the viewpoint character to notice certain gory details about a corpse, then it's not gratuitous to mention them.
 

frimble3

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I'm thinking that describing wooden puppets should be fine. As to how much detail you need, will your character be looking at them that hard? "Weird little dolls, but I have work to do!"
A more telling moment might be when the character realizes that they were people.

It's like admiring someone's collection of 'vases' only to realized that each one is actually a crematory urn, containing someone's ashes.
 

starrystorm

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Thank you guys. I never thought about it in this way. About how its the same as ashes or even making diamond jewelry with your loved one's ashes. Thanks!
 

Girlsgottawrite

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Hmm... I have all sorts of graphic gory stuff in my YA. It never occurred to me it would be an issue. I mean, I've read some pretty hard core YA before.
 

Kalyke

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I remember totally being into looking at mummys and all kinds of gruesome stuff at age 12 and above. I guess it is just the kid and not the age group. Different kids are emotionally and mentally mature at different times and this is all a big guessing game. When I think YA I have no idea what age group I am thinking of because we had a choice of reading kids or adult literature at the schools I went to. I'm pretty sure that they have seen gruesome movies like final destination type movies. So I would not really be too squeamish with their ability to understand. The real reason for YA is that it highlights their interests and it has a slightly easier vocabulary and sentence structure than say, Cormac Mccarthy or Salman Rushdie (and many adults can't read at that level either).