A friend of mine called me to tell me that he found the scenes in which Jack was sexually molested profoundly sad and moving. He felt it was particularly well written. The perpetrator of the abuse was a man. My friend confessed that as a small boy, he, too, had been molested.
In my research, I knew going in that there were very few laws protecting children during that time period. And to make it worse for the character Jack, he was in an orphanage. There was literally nothing in place to protect him in his miserable existence. As I wrote those sexual abuse passages, I strove to give a hint of the desperation he was feeling. There was absolutely zero hope for the boy. No one knew what was being done to him. And, even if someone did find out…say, his wife, she wouldn’t have cared. All she needed the man for was his braun. And, she was far to involved in her own kind of depravity to even care. Anyway, considering my friend’s circumstance as a child, I was appreciative of his comments.
The following day, another friend of mine, a woman, called to tell me that I simply must remove those sexual abuse passages from the book. She was shocked and discussed. I tried to explain that, although I agreed with her, the passages were gruesome and difficult to read, I assured her that the passages were there for a few strategic reasons. They were fuel for the story. Basically, it spoke to character and foreshadowing. She would hear none of it. Keep in mind, this woman is a major corporate attorney. For all of her brilliance, she was unable to understand the nature of story structure and plotting.
The whole point to this mini blog is, for every one-hundred persons who read a book, you’re going to get one-hundred different opinions. So, write for you. Because no matter what you write, there is going to be someone who doesn’t like what you’ve written. So, you may as well satisfy yourself and just move on.