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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/30948
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/30948
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

You should always be mindful of why a reader is reading your book. People are reading for a reason. In the case of fiction, they are reading for pleasure. People may take pleasure in reading about serious and difficult subjects. One of the functions of fiction is to provide vicarious experiences that we can use to prepare ourselves for the things that we may face in life.

But when it comes to scenes of violence, there are two very different way in which the reader may enjoy what they are reading. Their enjoyment may come through sympathy or it may come through sadism. Their pleasure may come from vicariously resisting the pains that are inflicted, of from vicariously inflicting them. Any great dwelling on the detail of the abuse itself seem more likely to excite the reader who is taking pleasure in vicariously inflicting those pains, rather than in vicariously resisting them.

Remember that armchair travel, even for serious purposes, is travel with most of the discomfort, tedium, danger, and pains removed. The armchair traveller wants to come near the most enjoyable parts of the journey without suffering all of its trials and tribulations. How much do you really think the reader of your story wants to have their nose rubbed in the abuse itself. It is more likely that the reader you seem to want will want to spend most of their time on the effects of the trauma rather than the trauma itself.

Remember too that effects in fiction are achieved largely through correct setup, not through lurid description of the event itself. Establish the innocence of the innocent and the vileness of the vile first, and then let the innocent wander into the lair of the vile and let the reader's imagination do most of the work. This way the reader is in control over how long and in how much depth they dwell on the details of the event itself.

Original score: 23