Accidentally offending readers

[Sam Landstrom]

Hmmm, seems like your book description is pretty clear that there's an armageddon on. The picture (an awesome one BTW) further backs that up... Do people just click on "Buy it Now" without even reading anything about it?

Bottom line is there was no "bait 'n switch" here so the reader shouldn't have complained. My book MetaGame has a lot of religion in it, a strange and perverse religion, in fact. Only one review mentioned that it was somewhat blasphemous, but she still gave me 4 stars since she at least realized THAT IT WAS FICTION. Others thought that I was taking a political stand on the sanctity of marriage (some thought I was liberal and some thought I was conservative).  

My new fantasy book that I'm writing has a ton of profanity in it. I will probably include a warning in the book description, but my guess is that people will still low-rate the book saying stuff like "Tolkien rolls in his grave! This is disgusting, not what I expected" blah, blah, blah.

[Daniel Arenson]

Hmmm, seems like your book description is pretty clear that there's an armageddon on. The picture (an awesome one BTW) further backs that up... Do people just click on "Buy it Now" without even reading anything about it?

I think the main issue is... some readers might expect Flaming Dove to offer a classic Good vs. Evil story.  However, I tried to do something different.  To avoid cookie-cutter Good Heroes vs. Evil Villains, I tried to make the story more deep and complex.  I gave my angels flaws, and I occasionally let them falter and make the wrong moral choices.  Similarly, my demons are not pure evil; I explain their motivation, show things from their points-of-view, and give them a sympathetic side.  And of course, the main character is a half-demon, half-angel, which truly lets me explore the good and evil within each person.

In my opinion, this just makes for better drama--a more complex, thought-provoking story.  BUT it might offend readers who expect pure good and evil in a story about angels and demons.

Like other people here have said, Paradise Lost offered similar themes, so it can't be TOO controversial. 

Flaming Dove is still new, so I don't yet have a large sample of opinions.  I'll have to wait and see how most people respond.  Should be interesting!

[T.L. Haddix]

I'm still shaking my head at the Bible-thumpin' grannies and D&D.  I didn't know places like that still existed in this country.  I can only imagine what they would think of my metalhead hubby's 'devil' music. 

[Daniel Arenson]

I'm still shaking my head at the Bible-thumpin' grannies and D&D.  I didn't know places like that still existed in this country.  I can only imagine what they would think of my metalhead hubby's 'devil' music. 

I think it's largely ignorance.  People who hate D&D have never played it.  People who think Harry Potter is evil have never read it.  People who think heavy metal is evil have never listened to a heavy metal album.

BTW, racism is similar; most racists have never met members of the minorities they hate.

Hatred usually stems from ignorance.

[T.L. Haddix]

Remind me to tell you all about my neighbors one day.  I'll have to title the story "A study in Ignorance".

[JL Bryan]

All my books are horribly offensive.  Please email all your religious, community and political groups letting them know all about my books, and how offensive they are.   

[rcanepa]

Another serious Writers' Cafe thread descends into silliness... 

Well, if our books don't offend people, talking about eating whales might do the trick.  A backup plan, really.

[rcanepa]

I'm still shaking my head at the Bible-thumpin' grannies and D&D.  I didn't know places like that still existed in this country.  I can only imagine what they would think of my metalhead hubby's 'devil' music. 

Story of my high school years right there. D&D, metal, and fighting ignorance the whole way.

[BTackitt]

Story of my high school years right there. D&D, metal, and fighting ignorance the whole way.

Yeah, I promise, none of those grannies come to my house ever... I like my metal, especially for house cleaning.. you can hear it over a vacuum. & D&D was a great way to teach my kids about the consequences of actions in a non-real life confrontational kind of way.

[JL Bryan]

"I think the main issue is... some readers might expect Flaming Dove to offer a classic Good vs. Evil story.  However, I tried to do something different.  To avoid cookie-cutter Good Heroes vs. Evil Villains, I tried to make the story more deep and complex.  I gave my angels flaws, and I occasionally let them falter and make the wrong moral choices.  Similarly, my demons are not pure evil; I explain their motivation, show things from their points-of-view, and give them a sympathetic side.  And of course, the main character is a half-demon, half-angel, which truly lets me explore the good and evil within each person."

Having grown up in the Deep South, I can tell you there are tons of evangelicals who think angels and demons are real.  Not metaphors, not vague celestial and infernal influences--I mean angels and demons actually flying around your head, and sometimes taking human form and things.  I am not kidding.  With a book like yours, they'd be terribly frightened of offending those supernatural entities or something.  So they'd want your book to fit exactly into their specific beliefs, which of course vary depending on the individual and their specific church, or else it's blasphemy or something.

Don't worry about those people, they're going to be offended at just about anything that happens.

[Jessy]

I think it's largely ignorance.  People who hate D&D have never played it.  People who think Harry Potter is evil have never read it.  People who think heavy metal is evil have never listened to a heavy metal album.

BTW, racism is similar; most racists have never met members of the minorities they hate.

Hatred usually stems from ignorance.

In the case of my grandma, she has read the books (or at least has an idea of what they're about). She takes offense with the simple fact that there is magic in the books and thinks it's blasphemous for people to believe in magic. I've tried explaining to her that it's just a story - fiction means we're making it up and (probably) don't really believe in it, but she doesn't want us fantasy writers to even touch the subject of magic. *shrugs*

I think it's all quite silly, but then again I'm not religious.

[Daniel Arenson]

I wonder if Narnia ever offended anyone.  Those are Christian books, and they're full of magic.

I read Harry Potter and didn't see anything offensive to religion.  It's clearly made up and fun; a fairy tale. 

But maybe you guys are right.  Maybe instead of worrying, I should be happy; maybe controversy DOES sell.   

[Valmore Daniels]

All fiction is lies, and liars burn in hell.

I overheard someone say that once on a subway.

I carefully found a seat as far away as I could ....

[Michael Crane]

I think no matter what you write, you're bound to offend somebody.  It's just going to happen.  If people find Harry Potter offensive...   

Seriously, it happens.  I don't think any one of us ever sets out to offend people, but it's a risk you have to take.

I'm sure there will be people who will be offended by some of the stories I put out there.  While that makes me sad, I'm still going to tell the stories that I want to tell, and in the way that I find best to tell it.

[T.L. Haddix]

I suppose I believe in angels and demons.  *ponders for a moment*  Yeah, I do.  I will confess that I have a stronger belief in demons than in angels, and on occasion, I have nightmares about one breathing down my neck.  I wake up huddled against hubby's back with my head under the covers, whimpering.  Yeah, demons scare me. 

[LCEvans]

Love that camel story. As for offending people, think of what's happened with political correctness. It's gone from a mild social sense of being careful to not deliberately offend others to complete censorship because there's always someone, somewhere, who is going to take offense and the political correctness police work overtime setting up rules and laws to make sure no one is offended. Ever.

I say write your books and know that some people will be offended and some won't. Remember the camel and write on.

Linda

[William Campbell]

This past summer, at a family gettogether, I ran into my ex-sister-in-law who I hadn't seen in many years. So we got on the subject of me being a writer. She was curious so I gave her a book. Then later, I found out from my brother (to whom she was once married) that she passed the book to him because "she couldn't read it," he explained. This was only after reading the blurb on the back cover. It was about reincarnation, she had said. Can't read that.

That's all fine, and I expect plenty more. In my story, Heaven and Hell are the same place, both invented by enslavers who have mind-washed a population of immortals into believing they live only once, and sent them to a BFE edge of the galaxy to a lone planet called "Earth." The hero's name is Adam, he eats an apple then has steamy sex in a garden, indulges in excess alcohol while watching exotic dancers who want to do one of his women, then in the second book, a fellow named Noack is part of an effort to save wildlife from a flood. Anyone offended yet? I'm mocking the entire idea, and suggesting that the tales of past are true -- except it's like a game of telephone. Everything has mutated over the ages.

Don't like what's on? Turn the channel. It's a free country, and nearly a free world. Let's free the whole galaxy.

[Brendan Carroll]

I received a 1 star review from someone who claimed to live in France... therefore, I'm assuming French.  There are some bad French guys in my second novel.  I had totally forgotten that there are no such things as 'bad French guys'.    But yes, my books are full of religion, religiosity and paganism.  Bound to happen.  Can't please everyone.

[Michael Crane]

I think the main issue is... some readers might expect Flaming Dove to offer a classic Good vs. Evil story.  However, I tried to do something different.  To avoid cookie-cutter Good Heroes vs. Evil Villains, I tried to make the story more deep and complex.  I gave my angels flaws, and I occasionally let them falter and make the wrong moral choices.  Similarly, my demons are not pure evil; I explain their motivation, show things from their points-of-view, and give them a sympathetic side.  And of course, the main character is a half-demon, half-angel, which truly lets me explore the good and evil within each person.

In my opinion, this just makes for better drama--a more complex, thought-provoking story.  BUT it might offend readers who expect pure good and evil in a story about angels and demons.

That's the kind of stuff I love, and I think it does make for better reading/writing.  Makes the characters seem that much more real, IMO.

[rcanepa]

That's the kind of stuff I love, and I think it does make for better reading/writing.  Makes the characters seem that much more real, IMO.

Agreed.  That's been my complaint about most "I'm going to destroy the universe!  Mwa ha ha ha ha!" -type evil.  Rare is the person who is actually that devoted to chaos / void so as to want to eradicate everything.

[Daniel Arenson]

Agreed.  That's been my complain about most "I'm going to destroy the universe!  Mwa ha ha ha ha!" -type evil.  Rare is the person who is actually that devoted to chaos / void so as to want to eradicate everything.

That's what I try to do.

Beelzebub, fallen angel and main villain in my novel, is far from pure evil; I portray him as flawed, tragic, often immoral but not "evil".   He's more of an antagonist to Laila (the protagonist) than a true "villain".  I think it makes the novel more interesting... even though it seems to surprise some readers.

Michael, the main angel character in my novel, is overall a "good guy", but is a flawed hero; he lies if he must, he makes a few selfish choices (and suffers from guilt), and struggles with his morality.  This may be a little offensive to some people, but is (I hope) better storytelling.

I hope readers read Flaming Dove as a work of literature... not an interpretation of scripture. 

[William Campbell]

Agreed.  That's been my complaint about most "I'm going to destroy the universe!  Mwa ha ha ha ha!" -type evil.  Rare is the person who is actually that devoted to chaos / void so as to want to eradicate everything.

Just like the hero, the villain's behavior needs to be rooted in reality, and acts no matter how evil, need motivation to achieve believability. Some reason, no matter how insane. The antagonist is the hero of their own story, too. And best if both the hero and villain are less than perfect in some manner. Perfect people are unbelievable.

[JL Bryan]

Evil people don't believe they are evil.  Even Hitler thought he was building a great new civilization or something.  So I think your approach is much more realistic as far as human nature is concerned, and makes for a richer and meaningful story.

[Daniel Arenson]

Just like the hero, the villain's behavior needs to be rooted in reality, and acts no matter how evil, need motivation to achieve believability. Some reason, no matter how insane. The antagonist is the hero of their own story, too. And best if both the hero and villain are less than perfect in some manner. Perfect people are unbelievable.

There is only one human character in Flaming Dove, and she appears in only a handful of scenes.  My main characters are demons and angels, so I made them my humans -- flawed, jealous, angry, lustful, frightened, impure.  Otherwise I'd have no drama; I'd have a 300-page war between light and darkness, but no human story.

[Daniel Arenson]

Evil people don't believe they are evil.  Even Hitler thought he was building a great new civilization or something.  So I think your approach is much more realistic as far as human nature is concerned, and makes for a richer and meaningful story.

Agreed.  Bin Laden too is convinced he's the good guy, and considers himself a freedom fighter.  Even history's most horrible villains thought they were doing good; they just had twisted (to us) views of what "good" means.