Taboos

Hey guys :) Have you ever read Lolita? Did you just cringe a little bit? Thought so, Lolita is infamous for its story line. To put this in a nutshell, Lolita involves pedophilia, shudder-inducing hungers and the whole shebang.This post is a little controversial, a little funky and a lot of fun. This post is about taboos in writing and the right way to use them. 

Taboos are a very touchy thing to write about, there are quite a lot of taboos that can be written about, but there is also a very thin line between shocking and repulsive. There are many subjects that are tabooed in our society today, from necrophilia to cannibalism to child soldiers. The thing to remember with taboo subjects is that they must be used very delicately. A lot of things can upset people and writing is a very powerful thing. The important thing to remember when writing about taboo topics is to keep it appropriate. There is nothing wrong about writing about controversial topics, but keeping the taboo as a background theme as opposed to a theme in the forefront of the story is the best idea. Mentioning it as a descriptor of someone is fine, giving explicit details about it, is much less so. My very vague advice when writing about taboos is to be subtle, be delicate and be discreet. I have not yet written about a taboo (I'm too squeamish) but if you have any corrections, suggestions or additions, let me know!