Gore in books? Or skip the details?

[Choine]

I've been writing action-packed scenes for years now and I am wondering if gore/detailed murder scenes should be avoided. A lot of authors have included torture/murder scenes in their books with few to many details. I have read some books where antagonists approach a character to begin torture, then the author skips to the next scene. Other authors describe every detail of the scene as if the reader is actually there. I know this can be a sensitive subject for some, but I'm curious if anyone prefers details or a scene skip? Are you squeamish when it comes to gore in books? Do you think it's appropriate to include such details?

[JPalomares]

Howdy, Choine,

The inclusion or glossing over of any detail in a book is fully dependent on the author's purpose for the book and the scene at hand:

• Is the author's purpose to make us feel something specific (fury, horror, satisfaction...)?

• Is a key plot element involved in the scene that necessitates our presence or absence?

• Does the scene positively or negatively affect the overall pacing or emotional arc of the novel?

• Which audience is the novel to be written for?

Happy writing,
JPalomares

[Fifi_eve12]

To be honest, it doesn't matter if a specific couple of people are squeamish when it comes to writing gore. It depends on what you have the urge to do and what suits your writing style. Go into as much detail as you would like, as long as it doesn't drag out. Also take into account what age you would aim to sell it to.

[jahagen]

I think it's completely dependent upon the purpose of your book and what you are trying to accomplish. I think that if adding the details of the torture and the gore adds to the story, makes the reader sympathize or feel more for the character being tortured and makes them hate the villain more, then I think it can be beneficial.

But there's also the concern of becoming overly reliant upon the gore in your story. If the gore is the only thing that is making the scene action-packed, then I think the scene might need to be re-evaluated. I've found that a lot of the action scenes I enjoy have an equal measure of gore and tension in other areas as well.

[Inkroverts]

It depends on your target audience and the message of your book.
Some books like to portray the dark side of humanity and most of their content is gore, like American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis.