Mastering Dialogue

Dialogue is more than the art of fictional conversation. Dialogue can provide tension, create conflict, and change the speed of a scene. It should never be on the nose or used as filler.

Dialogue should be a dance or a sword fight. 

Click to tweet

Dialogue can be comic or cutting, deliberately obscure or pointedly cruel. The type of wordplay you use depends on the genre. Comedy would be different from a Thriller or Mystery. Do the characters use irony, sarcasm, humor, or wield words as weapons?

Dialogue defines a character. By assigning each main character verbal ticks, rhythms, patterns, slang, etc. you bring them to life and make them unique. 

Dialogue is affected by setting and where the characters are from. Do they speak the local language or a foreign or alien language?

Dialogue highlights socioeconomic differences in your characters. How educated are they? How "proper" is their speech? Do they use street slang? Do they use words common in specific places?

Dialogue expresses emotion. Are the characters forceful or meek? Joyful or depressed? The way a line is delivered is just as important as the content.

Dialogue reflects hierarchy and position: Are the characters aggressive or submissive, a master or servant, a diplomat or a iconoclast? Do they have to be careful about what they say to save themselves? Do they have to avoid revealing information? Are they reluctant to speak up by nature or demanding? Word choice and delivery are crucial. 

Body language can support or counter the words spoken. If they are restrained in what they say, they may wish to be violent. That dichotomy creates tension.

There is no formula to dictate how much dialogue you need. Each scene has its own requirements.

Dialogue is another tool in your writer's tool kit along with description, action, and narrative. Here are articles  help you improve dialogue skills:

1. Dialogue Tags and Action Tags

2. Why You Should Eavesdrop

3. Communication Obstacles

4. Communication Roadblocks Part 1

5. Communication Roadblocks Part 2

6. Conflicts in Communication

7. The Persuasion Plot Hole

8. Persuasion Tactics Part 1

9. Persuasion Tactics Part 2

10. Persuasion Tactics Part 3

11. Convincing Arguments

12. Lying

13. Eye Contact

14. Facial Expressions

15. Gestures

16. Body Language

17. Revising Body Language

18. How Close is Too Close

19. Five Ways to Use Context

20. Delivery, Cadence, and Dialect

21. Dialogue Enunciation and Inflection

22. Dialogue Pattern and Pitch

Boring on-the-nose dialogue is one of the quickest ways to turn off a reader. How often have you tuned into a movie only to find the dialogue so cringe-worthy you couldn't watch it? The same goes for your novel.

A simple line of dialogue can stay with your reader long after the book is finished. A recent example is a book called Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo about a fantasy con and heist crew. They have the best banter. One line I won't forget is "No mourners, no funerals" as they begin a fight. 

Use dialogue to make your characters come alive and stand out. Your readers will thank you. 

Here are great videos on writing dialogue for film but the tactics apply to fiction as well.

https://youtu.be/qfQpJxRP8ew

https://youtu.be/CIqrWXeiFUs

https://youtu.be/Ge0b5EPdL8I

https://youtu.be/jpWKp-fnZuU

https://youtu.be/ilKxyfOmFGY

Writing Conferences July to September, 2021

Whether a one day session, one week conference, or a month-long writing workshop, writing related events are a good way to commune with other writers. They are opportunities to network and get your name out there. In some instances, you can meet and mingle with editors and agents. Some offer critiques or pitching sessions. Nowhere will you find a higher concentration of introverts enjoying each other's company. Local conferences are a good place to meet potential critique groups or recruit members.

Some are free. Some require a fee. Some are more social than others. Many are for new writers, but a few dig deep into craft. You should choose an event that speaks to your needs and desires.

Unfortunately with the pandemic, many in person events have been cancelled. Some have been replaced with virtual events, podcasts, or online classes and lectures.

Virtual events allow for a wider audience and lower costs since attendance does not require travel and lodging

July 11 - 17, 2021 Squaw Valley Writer's Conference, Squaw Valley, California. Virtual Conference. Room for only 60 participants. https://communityofwriters.org/workshops/writers-workshops

July 11 - 17, 2021 Kenyon Review Fiction Workshop, Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio is excited to offer a new suite of online programs for summer 2021. https://kenyonreview.org/writers/fiction/

July 14 - 18, 2021 Southampton Writers Conference, Southampton, New York is virtual. https://www.stonybrook.edu/writers/

July 17 - 20, 2021 Sun Valley Writers Conference in Ketchum, Idaho. Check site for updates and status. https://svwc.com/

July 18 – 25, 2021 Port Townsend Writers Conference in Fort Worden State Park, Port Townsend, WA https://centrum.org/the-port-townsend-writers-conference/

July 23 - 30, 2021 Writeaway in New Mexico Rancho los Milagros and Viento del Rio Abiquiú, New Mexico. https://www.writeaways.com/writeaway-in-new-mexico

July 27 - July 31, 2020 Green Mountain Writers Conference Mountain Top Inn in Chittenden, Vermont. http://www.vermontwriters.com/

August 1 - 6, 2021 Napa Valley Writers Conference in Napa California. Applications open February 2021. http://www.napawritersconference.org/

August 5 - 7, 2021 Mendocino Coast Publishing Boot Camp will be held virtually through Zoom. General registration will open March 1. We are accepting scholarship applications from now until February 15. http://mcwc.org

August 5 - 8, 2021 Cape Cod Writers Center Conference in Hyannis, Massachusetts https://capecodwriterscenter.org/

August 5 - 8, 2021 GenCon Gaming Convention is at the Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, Indiana. Tentative goal is to hold Gen Con 2021 as planned as a live event. Considering pandemic uncertainty, they are postponing badge registration and event submission until they have a better idea of what the year will hold. Check the site for updates. https://www.gencon.com/ 

August 11 - 21, 2021 Postgraduate Writers Conference, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier, Vermont.  Applications are accepted between October 15, 2020 and February 15, 2021. Notification letters will be sent by email in late May. https://vcfa.edu/postgraduate-writers-conference/

August 19 - 22, 2021 Killer Nashville Franklin, Tennessee. Current plans for 2021 are in-person event. Registration begins January 2021. Check site for updates.  https://killernashville.com/ 

August 25 - 29, 2021 Boucheron Blood on The Bayou event, New Orleans, Louisiana Marriot Hotel. https://www.bouchercon2021.com/

September 9-12, 2021 Kentucky Women Writers Conference in Lexington, Kentucky. https://womenwriters.as.uky.edu/

September 17 - 19, 2021 Writers' League of Texas Agents & Editors Conference, Austin, Texas  http://www.writersleague.org/38/Conference

Sept 23 - 25, 2021 Maranatha Christian Writers' Conference in Norton Shores, MI. Check site for updates.  https://www.maranathachristianwriters.com/

September 24-26, 2021 WhimsyCon Steampunk and Costuming Convention in Denver, Colorado at the Delta by Marriott Northglenn. https://www.whimsycon.org/

  

Dialogue Pattern and Pitch

Some characters talk really fast. Some characters drawl lazily. We tend to speak faster when we are anxious or excited, hyperthyroid, in a hurry, short-tempered or don't wish to have a particular conversation. 

We speak slower when we are relaxed, hypothyroid, trying to calm someone down, reason with them, or question their intelligence. If someone is angry, responding with anger fuels the flames. Speaking calmly and rationally should tamp it down. Unless the fact that Dick is calm really pisses Jane off.

Characters conversing in their native language speak quickly. They have to slow down for children or someone who does not understand their language or for someone with hearing deficits.

Speech patterns differ substantially between the educated and non-educated, geographic locations, and languages spoken. Listeners can often identify a speaker’s origin from their speech, but not always. An African or Asian brought up in the American south will not speak like an African or Asian brought up in London. 

Studies have proven that children are more wary of people who don't sound like them than they are of people who don't look like them. A computer generated voice cannot exactly mimic a human voice, so the mechanical voice makes us a little anxious.

Patterns are expressed through syntax: the way the character structures their sentences. It is choosing to offer a statement as question or a declaration and the subsequent vocabulary choice. 

Changing the modifier after a statement from "Absolutely" to "I think" or "Do you think?" changes the meaning of the sentence from I'm certain to I'm uncertain.

"I want to go to France for vacation, don't you?"

"I want to go to France for vacation, I know you do too."

"Do you think we should go to France for vacation?"

"It is magnificent, don't you think?"

"It is truly magnificent!"

"It is truly magnifique, n'est ce pas?"

Patterns are expressed through morphology: the meaning of words used and subject-verb agreement.

It is referred meaning such as opposites, synonyms, and the connection of one word to another such as disk to disk player. 

It is patterns of words within and across languages and the rules that govern them. Patterns are expressed through phonology which is the way a language sounds. The beats in American English are different from the beats used when speaking English in England or Ireland.

America: "Jerk! Why didn't you wait for me?"

England: "You should have waited, you silly bugger."

Ireland: "And you couldn't wait for me, could you lad?"

Patterns are expressed through acoustics or phonetics. Phonetics is the physical production of sound, like the placement of the tongue to roll R's, the nasal quality, the emphasis on consonants, the way a word is broken up into syllables i-di-ot versus i-diot. It is the hiss of an S or whether a C sounds like an S (certain) or a K (cash).

Acoustics is the way the sound resonates in the listener's ear and hard sounds versus soft sounds.

Patterns can reveal state of mind or pathology. Characters that are confident use short, declarative sentences and offer precise answers. Characters that are confused or lying use long, rambling sentences and never really answer the question. 

Characters with antisocial psychiatric disorders or disorders such as hysteria have problems following a conversation or sticking to the point. They meander, lie, and change the topic.

Pitch can indicate state of mind, gender, or age. Women and children tend to have high-pitched voices. Men tend to have deeper voices. I once knew a little girl with a very deep voice. People laughed and couldn't believe it when she spoke. 

Men with higher pitched voices are sometimes considered effeminate. Conversely, a woman with a deep or contralto voice can be considered sexy. A deeper pitch can indicate aggressiveness when used by male or female. 

We use a higher pitch when talking to babies, children or dimwits. A deeper pitch can be Jane's attempt at sexiness. A higher pitch can mean Dick is mocking Sally.

Purple prose is sometimes used to convey pitch, but should be avoided.

Next week, I provide a master list of blog posts to help you master dialogue.

Dialogue: Enunciation and Inflection

Word choice can say a lot about how your character feels about the topic, the person he is speaking to, and his mood. It speaks to his background and education level. It reveals whether he is confident or uncertain, being diplomatic or insulting. A character may choose their words carefully because they are afraid to offend. A character may blurt out whatever enters their head without filtering it.

In addition to content, you should pay attention to the delivery of your character's conversations. You can use enunciation and inflection to support or refute word choice. 

Enunciation:  Most characters attempt to enunciate somewhat clearly most of the time so they are understood. Some characters mumble, particularly teen boys and small children.

Mentally ill people can mumble. Dementia patients might mumble.

Characters mumble to obscure their words when they don't want to say something or are ashamed of saying something. 

It is important to enunciate clearly when speaking to someone who has poor hearing or is unfamiliar with your language.

Enunciation degrades when your characters are upset or angry. Characters run words together, skip over words, or leave words off. 

Characters over-enunciate when they are impatient, angry, or feel like they are talking to an idiot. 

Enunciation can display caring and empathy or anger and resentment.

Inflection: Inflection, or prosody, is the pitch of the voice, the process of adding emphasis to words or word parts. 

An upward inflection at the end of a sentence implies hope or a question. A downward inflection at the end of a sentence implies doubt or a command. 

A character's voice can be monotone and flat if they are bored. It will be slow and low if they are depressed or sad. High pitched and enthusiastic means they are happy or excited.

If they speed up and get louder, they are angry.

High pitch and slow speed indicated they don't believe you. Whoever your character is talking to will pick up on their inflection right away, especially if it is counter to the content.

If Dick is genuinely smiling when he says something on the telephone, the other person will pick up on the inflection. When you smile, the soft palate at the back of your mouth raises and makes sound waves more fluid. 

Dick might be forcing himself to smile, either to sell someone something or to not anger a dangerous person. If he is relaxed and smiling the other person will feel that he is warm, friendly and receptive. 

Most characters are bad at faking it. They can struggle to maintain a pleasant tone when they are royally pissed, but the edge will come through.

How Dick stresses specific words changes what he is saying. If he is defensive, he will emphasize "would you" as in "What would you like me to do about it?" It is antagonistic. If he genuinely cares, he would emphasize "like us" in "What would you like us to do about it?" If he is bored or does not care, he would not emphasize any of the words.

The way a character breathes affects their inflection. If they are stressed, they breathe shallowly. The more upset they grow, the faster they breathe until they hyperventilate. Their vocal cords contract and make the pitch higher. There is a reason why we tell hysterical people to take a deep breath. Breathing deeply relaxes the vocal cords and allows Dick to say what he needs to say in a reasonable tone of voice.

If Jane is confronting a toddler in the middle of a tantrum who is ranting and raving incoherently, Jane should ask the toddler to stop and breathe so he can clearly state his need or desire. She might yell and give in to her temper which escalates the problem. If she says, "Can you calm down so I can understand you, please?" it will defuse the problem. The upset person or toddler wants to be heard above all.

Next week, we will look at pattern and pitch.

Update on Email Subscriptions to Game On!

Dear email subscribers, first let me thank you from the bottom of my heart for following me. I hope my posts help you in your writing journey. This is a "housekeeping" post. The gadget that allows people to sign up to follow the blog, Feedburner, is going out of business. It is being replaced by https://follow.it.

 You don't have to do anything on your end. Your subscription will be automatically moved to the new service. If you wish to opt out, of course you still can, simply click on the unsubscribe option at the top of this email.

If interested, Follow It is also a curating service so you can select the type of content you wish follow from all around the web.

Happy Writing!

Dialogue: Delivery, Cadence, and Dialect

Dialogue is not everyday conversation. Dialogue cuts out the boring bits and irrelevant information. Dialogue should reveal, obscure, confuse, deflect, derail, demand, beg, placate or anger.

If the reader skims the dialogue, thinking "blah, blah, blah," you have created a plot hole. If you make the reader laugh out loud or identify with the character or situation, you have them hooked. If your dialogue achieves something, it is earning its page time.

In compelling dialogue, the course of conversation rarely flows smoothly. Characters talk about things they shouldn’t, say things they don’t mean, talk at cross purposes, try to shout each other down, wheedle, plead, whine, bitch, mislead, and lie.

A conversation can reveal character. What they choose to say and what they avoid saying speaks volumes. It reveals whether they are patient and kind or brusque and cruel. A situation may force a naturally kind person to be brutal or brusque, but they struggle with it.

A conversation can also bring a character back down from a precipice of anger, frustration, depression, or jealousy. A friend can calm and soothe and bank the fire.

Use dialogue conflicts to illustrate your protagonist’s progress toward and away from his goal, to create conflict at scene level, and to reveal change.

Dialogue cues express how the dialogue was delivered. They impart dialect, inflection, pacing, pattern, pitch, quality, tone, and word choice. Over ninety percent of communication is nonverbal. When editing your dialogue, how your character speaks and reacts are as important as what comes out of his mouth.

Each main character should have unique speech patterns, dialects, tics, and word choice. If they are all from the same small town and share the same ethnicity, they will use the same slang, jargon, and colloquialisms. However, you can give each of them a unique voice through dialogue cues.

Is Jane breathy and timid? Is Dick commanding and confident? Is Sally glib and sarcastic?

Cadence is the rhythm of the words, the number of beats in a sentence, the modulation of a voice. Cadence can be soothing, like a poem about sunshine, or intentionally jarring. Shakespeare and Dr. Seuss used iambic pentameter as their cadence. Cadence is mixing long beats and short beats. Refer to the post on Sentence Structure.

Cadence is obvious when you listen to foreigners speak. Spanish is staccato. German is guttural. French and Italian sound fluid, even when you are being sworn at. Japanese and Chinese sound high and nasal. Hindu and Urdu sound lower and nasal. Swedish and Norwegian sound high and bouncy. English can be fast in New York or slow in New Orleans. 

A foreigner speaking English would use a different cadence than an American would. In some languages the adjective comes after the word. Black cat in French is "le chat noir."  "I cannot dance" in German is "Ich tanzen nicht." The "nicht" would have guttural emphasis and the modifier comes after the verb. A German unfamiliar with English might struggle and say, "I dance not." A Frenchman might say, "the problem impossible." Watch Agatha Christie's Poirot movies. The actor, David Suchet (a Brit) does an amazing job with the cadence of Poirot's Belgian-influenced English.

Dialects cue people in to geography. There are northern, southern, mid-western, east coast and west coast dialects in the US. There are dialects in every country across the globe. Characters living in Wales are almost indecipherable to those living in London. Characters living in Glasgow are indecipherable to those living in Edinburgh.

The debate is whether to spell the dialect phonetically or not. This method was used liberally in the past. Try reading some of the classics now, like Thomas Hardy. It is a hard slog for some. Phonetic dialogue creates a speed bump. Used sparingly and judiciously, you might get away with it. Write all dialogue this way and you lose your modern reader. It's much better to illustrate the dialect with cadence, word order and inflection. "I's got me some a dem," can come across as irritating. It is better to write, "I got me some."

Dialect is reflected by word choice and word order. It is more a reflection of education and exposure than demographic or geography. Whether a character lives in New York or New Orleans, if they are educated they will use proper language more often than not. They may still use colloquialisms, jargon, and slang, but they will "speak" properly. There is nothing funnier than seeing a character on television speak properly then dumb it down or turn on the accent for other characters. This device can be used for comic effect. It can be used to show a character trying to influence someone by talking like them. It can be used to illustrate one character's contempt for another character.

Characters with limited education will use limited vocabulary, and rely on slang and jargon more heavily. As a caution, dialect done poorly can be insulting and you risk alienating readers. You have to decide how sensitive or politically correct you want to be.

The more a character reads and exposes themselves to the written word, the larger their vocabulary. The more they learn about through reading or higher education, the easier it is for them to express sophisticated thoughts. This does not mean their perspective on events will be broader or free from prejudice. This means they are more likely to express their thoughts eloquently and pull from resources to support their proposition or refute someone else's. They may have to limit their word choice when dealing with certain people. A character may be intellectually intelligent but practically useless. A character may not be intellectually intelligent but extremely "street" smart.

Next week, we look at Enunciation and Inflection

Further Reading:

Body Language

Facial Expressions

Lying

Colloquialisms

Jargon

Idioms

Mastering Book Description

I have observed on writing forums that many authors struggle with the description of their book. The descriptions usually contain too much information or not enough of the necessary information. Just as plotting requires you to know what kind of story skeleton you wish to utilize, the description requires you to know the story promise you wish to make.

A basic description is made up of several key elements:  genre, setting, protagonist, antagonist, conflict, goal, and stakes.

In (setting) protagonist is confronted by (inciting event) which leads to a (problem) and must (goal) to achieve/prevent (stakes). 

You can add the antagonist if needed.

Standing in his/her way is (antagonist) who wants X (usually the opposite of the protagonist's goal).

You can add the love interest in a Romance.

Love interest is X who wants Y and does Z.

1. Genre and Tone

Genre is the promise you make to your reader about the kind of story you are going to tell. Readers don't like to be misled. The most egregious sin, in my opinion, is to bait and switch, i.e. changing tone or genre midway through a book. It is promising one kind of story and providing a substantially different one. That is not the same as having twists and turns and a killer surprise ending. It is promising a horror story or a lighthearted comedy family story and turning it into a graphic story about child abuse. I have read both and the books go on the fire kindling pile, not my Kindle Fire. I will never read that author again because I don't trust them.

Is it a murder mystery, romance, science fiction space opera, literary drama, or suspense thriller? Mystery lovers are looking for a crime solver. Thriller lovers are looking for danger. Romance lovers are looking for passionate courting. Horror lovers look for scares. Fantasy lovers want to know if the book is gritty urban fantasy, modern vampires, or medieval fare with dragons. Historical novel readers want to know the era and location.

A writer establishes and maintains tone throughout the entire novel based on how they treat the topics and themes presented. It is expressed through the point of view character(s) thoughts and feelings, the descriptions, actions, reactions, and dialogue.Tone can be uplifting, serious, hilarious, haunting, moving, or thought provoking.

You convey genre and tone with keywords like: romantic, thrilling, epic, suspenseful, haunting, heart-wrenching, uplifting, inspiring, hilarious, terrifying, lyrical, comical, futuristic, historical, etc. 

2. Clarity

Vagueness won't sell your book nor will information dumps. The reader doesn't need the entire plot up front. Many descriptions have too much unnecessary information.

"But I want them to know all of the cool plot ideas so they will read it!"

Nope. They will never read your book if your description doesn't give them an intriguing question they want answered (reference the central question). You shouldn't bog down your description with backstory the same way you shouldn't start your book with a too much backstory or the history of the entire story world. Stick with the overall throughline. Do not include the subplots and secondary characters, no matter how interesting you think they are.

If your description is confusing, most readers won't bother opening the book.

3. Setting

Time period ties into genre. Readers have very distinct preferences about time and place. 

A reader may favor ancient civilizations, prairie westerns, futuristic or intergalactic worlds, or romances set in the past. They may prefer contemporary or historical. Some love World War I and II stories. Others find war triggering or just too depressing.

You can successfully orient the reader to the setting with a few simple words:

In 1960s Los Angeles

In the ancient realm of

In the year 2050, on Venus colony X

In the court of King Henry VIII 

Is there a past and present story woven together? 

In 2021 New York, Character 1 (inciting event, goal, stakes). 

In 1821 Scotland, Character 2 (inciting event, goal, stakes). 

Does your story jump around in time? Some readers will go there with you. Others absolutely hate it. Warn them.

"In this time-hopping thriller ..."

Is your story told in reverse? Is it a time slip novel? Mention that too.

Make sure your description clearly conveys where and when your story takes place.

4. Protagonist

The age of your protagonist can dictate your targeted audience. A large number of YA fans are middle-aged adults. Children and teens read up. Middle and junior school fans dream about high school. High school teens dream about college and starting out in the world. College kids read adult novels. I read adult novels as a child because we didn't have YA or children targeted fiction, but now there are specific marketing categories. Anything you can do to increase the marketability of your book is key if you self-publish. A traditional publisher may even change your story to match a market. It has happened.

Is your main character male or female, straight, or LGBTQ? Does your story explore other cultures? I would like to say sexuality, race, and ethnicity don't matter. They shouldn't, but they do. I hope one day that will change, but it isn't today. Some readers prefer female protagonists, others male. Book omnivores will consume them all, but you need to know how these decisions affect your targeted market. For YA, the age is often mentioned.

Sixteen year-old Mara

Octogenarian sleuth

Middle-aged mother of four

Use a few key words to offer the briefest sketch of your protagonist.

Are there books with more than one protagonist? Sometimes.

George R. R. Martin wrote a Gordian knot titled Game of Thrones. The description of the first book in the series is surprisingly condensed. If your book is complex, I suggesting reading the description of the TheSong of Fire and Ice.

For the record, many readers were turned off by George R. R. Martin's immense cast.

Most books have one protagonist, even in an ensemble cast, and an antagonist. The other characters fall into friends and foes, support cast, and walk-ons. In Romances, the love interest can be a sort of co-protagonist. They may have friends that fall for one another too, but they aren't the stars of the show.

In epic Fantasy tales or in past story/present story weaves, you could have two "main characters." Even then, one of the characters is usually the protagonist, most often the character in the present time frame. You can have serial protagonists in a multi-generational family saga, but you don't need to mention them all. Do not present a genealogy chart for the blurb. Presenting a list of people can be an immediate turn off.

Spanning half a century, this sweeping tale takes you  

In this multi-generational saga, 
Character A ...
Character B ...
Character C ...

5. Inciting Event, Goal, and Stakes

Something happens to start the story ball rolling. This creates the need for the characters to face a situation. This isn't the time to be coy. The plot may be full of twists, turns, reversals, and stunning revelations. However, at the onset of the tale, the character faces a choice, an action, a plan, or a journey. Something makes the plot wheels turn.

This inciting event leads to an initial goal or strategy. The tactics might change along the way. They might find the challenge is different at a turning point. Secrets may be revealed and battle sites shifted, but the reader doesn't need that information yet. They need to know what happens to start the ball rolling, which leads to stakes.

A story without stakes is like a car ride with no destination. You can get away with that in Literary drama stories. However, most genres require a consequence if the protagonist doesn't take care of that goal. Something hangs in the balance. It can be their daily life, job, relationship, fate of the planet, safety of one person or many. The perceived consequences need to offer sufficient motivation. The consequences can be personal stakes or intergalactic stakes (better if there is both). The stakes can shift or expand as the story evolves.

Without something to make the character turn and face the situation, they could just stay home and endlessly stream Netflix. Make sure you tell the reader that if the character doesn't do something about the problem, bad stuff will happen or if they don't achieve the goal, they will be denied their heart's desire.

6. Heat level and trigger warnings

It is crucial to let your audience know if this is a sweet, innocent tale or gritty erotic one. It is best to mention if it contains explicit sex, graphic violence, torture, war, murder, rape, incest, child abuse, sexual abuse, gruesome horror, or focuses on the twisted mind of serial killers. Every reader has content they don't enjoy and images they don't want in their head. For some, content can be seriously triggering. For others, it is merely a huge turn off.

In this violent thriller
hunting a sadistic serial killer (rapist)
In this harrowing tale of a child abuse survivor

Tell your reader your story is a terrifying ghost story then switch tone and tangent midway to be about remembering child abuse and you will deserve the scathing reviews. This comes back to your promise. Make it. Keep it.

You can't please every reader and shouldn't try. Your description attracts your tribe. Clarity helps you avoid bad reviews.

For further reading:

Trigger Warnings and Content Rating

Keeping your Promise

The Central Question for Each Genre

What is Tone

Examples of Tone

Mastering Setting

Protagonist and Antagonist 

No Stakes, No Tension

Story and Scene Goals