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Lean into it. Don't treat it as shocking -- a reader too scandalized by your subject matter probably shouldn't be reading this book to begin with. Instead, use all the tools of worldbuilding and ...
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#4: Attribution notice removed
by
System
·
2019-12-12T20:06:05Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/32049 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added
by
System
·
2019-12-08T07:32:21Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/32049 License name: CC BY-SA 3.0 License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision
Lean into it. Don't treat it as shocking -- a reader too scandalized by your subject matter probably shouldn't be reading this book to begin with. Instead, use all the tools of worldbuilding and exposition to portray this world **as it is to its people**. It isn't taboo for _them_; and that's the society you're portraying. As long as you're presenting their point of view, they see menstruation as **deeply significant**. You need to construct that significance; lead the reader into being able to understand it. This is no different than presenting any other worldbuilding element that differs wildly from our own -- except that you'll be anticipating a slightly different reaction from the reader. * * * In this particular case, I'll point out that there are plenty of people who do not consider menstruation a taboo topic by any means. Definitely ask some women, and some outspoken women's hygiene advocates, for an opinion on your manuscript once you've gotten through a draft or so.
#1: Imported from external source
by
System
·
2017-12-17T21:06:39Z (almost 7 years ago)
Original score: 9