Warning: explicit discussion of what to call lady bits. And boy bits which are not so hygienic.
Lest you think editing is all fun and games and that every word isn’t sweated over, have a look at our comment discussion between Jules, our Loose Id editor, and my cowriter Thursday, about the usage and evolution of the term poon/poonis/poontang.
And yes, I’m the spoilsport who says pussy.
If you haven’t bought your own copy of Black Gold, allow me to assist you with a link.
LOL, Clancy, trust you.
Poo-penis (if they understood what poon meant) would probably ick off a few readers, judging by the comments when the “gritty feeling” was mentioned in one of my beta reader’s Don Schecter’s stories. Apparently although it is a real problem and issue with gay guys, girls don’t like to be reminded of this fact. Or not that reviewer’s anyway.
Poonis/poontang are new words for me though. You learn a new thing every day!
Is Jules, Jules Jones?
Jules Robin. She’s pretty funny and kind of rolls with our weirdnesses.
I think maybe poontang or poon is sort of a southern thing, though it’s etymology is apparently French. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/poontang
We’re pretty close to Louisiana which was French settled so perhaps that is that — as far as poontang goes.
Yeah, I wouldn’t invoke the poonis so much. I think there are some realistic details that can enhance the sexiness of the scene, but generally poo isn’t one of them. Unless you’re just into scat.
We had another funny editor conversation about how I tend to assume bleached, hairless porn star anus unless someone tells me different. There are fetishes for hairy anuses, so often I don’t get too descriptive so people can picture what they want. But I think along that same train of thought is to assume enemas, even when there haven’t been any or any time for one.
I’m writing smut, porn usually. What are the chances that the guy delivering the pizza to the other guy had an enema before his shift? Sex is messy, porn generally isn’t.
There is a place for the, erm, gritty realism. And as much as anything, it really depends on your story and what kind of writer you want to be. For every reviewer who is icked, there are probably others who find it a sexy detail that reminds them of their own experience. For me, for obvious genetic reasons I haven’t experienced the poonis but a poo…er…fist and it’s not that upsetting. Well, to me. It’s not something I usually include, but I’d probably smile and nod at reading it.