Trigger warnings and content warnings are a hot topic in the writing world, especially in books targeted towards teenagers. Content and trigger warnings serve different purposes. Content warnings alert readers to inappropriate content (sex, violence, swearing) while trigger warnings alert readers to content that may relate to trauma. However, there is significant overlap in the types of content covered by both warnings. A rape scene in a book, for example, can be both inappropriate and traumatic. Writers often debate the necessity and effectiveness of putting both types of warnings in books. One element of this conversation that I think deserves more attention is the decision to include content that necessitates a warning in the first place. If you are a writer who worries that something will be triggering or offensive to a reader, is it really necessary to insert that kind of content in the first place?
Recently, my agent and I were editing a manuscript in preparation to go on submission. There’s a scene where a teenage boy is waiting outdoors on a rainy day for his mom to come pick him up, so a teenage girl takes pity on him and lets him wait in her house. Her parents aren’t home, and as she ponders whether or not it’s safe to let a boy into her house while she’s home alone, she thinks to herself, “I don’t think people commit murder or rape when their mom’s coming to get them.” My agent suggested I replace the words “murder or rape” with “heinous acts” because some people get trigged at the mere mention of the words murder or rape. I happily made the change because those three little words weren’t important to the overall book. It’s much easier to remove three words than to write an author’s note that says “Caution: this book contains one brief reference to rape and murder on page 174.”
Seven years ago, I wrote a fantasy book with an assault scene. I had a warrior princess with super strength and I thought it would be cool to have her kill an assailant with her powers to demonstrate an element of the magic system. Two male critique partners gave me the feedback that that scene seemed contrived, that it didn’t fit within the overall context of the story. I ignored them because, y’know, men were the patriarchy. Two years later, when I revised that book, I looked back over that scene and realized they were right. I wasn’t educating anyone (everybody already knows what sexual assault is) and I wasn’t empowering anyone, either. I thought people would somehow benefit from reading my assault scene, but really, no one did. I revised the scene so the warrior princess still got to show off her magic strength, but she didn’t need sexual assault as a reason to do so.
Now, some books feature sexual assault and other types of difficult content because they are what’s called “issue books,” books that were written specifically to explore difficult topics. When I was a teenager, I happily read books like Just Listen by Sarah Dessen or Sold by Patricia McCormick, which dealt with rape and human trafficking respectively. These are both “issue books,” contemporary novels that are marketed as being about difficult topics. I knew before I ever picked up Just Listen that it would have rape in it since I’d read all the reviews. In contrast, I remember teen me putting down YA dystopian and fantasy novels if they featured a sexual assault. Whenever a YA heroine got assaulted in a book that wasn’t specifically about assault, I would think, “Does this really need to be here?”
Issue books don’t really need warnings. Neither do other books that include types of content common to their genre. For example, adult romance novels usually include sex scenes. The back cover, the reviews, and the genre norms already serve as warnings. Still, some authors elect to include them. My friend Kath Richards published two mafia romance novels (they’re great! Go buy them!). Both books begin with content warnings telling the reader that the books include sex and violence. When I picked up A Love Most Fatal and read the warning, I thought, “Well, duh. They’re the mafia.” Readers who don’t want violence usually skip out on mafia books entirely. Kath is covering her bases, though--a few readers might be offended to see sex and violence in a book about criminals falling in love, and this way, they have a heads-up beforehand. I’m reminded of the warning labels you see on hot chocolate and coffee cups that say CAUTION: May Be Hot. Yeah, it is hot. That’s why I’m ordering it.
I don’t personally need content warnings in my reading. The back cover blurb usually alerts me to inappropriate topics, and when it doesn’t, I often comb reviews in search of details about certain types of content before I read a book. Sometimes I specifically google key words about topics that bother me before I go get the book. I’ve also returned books to libraries and booksellers when there’s content I find offensive. If I really want to keep reading that book, I skim over the offensive scene.
Where trigger warnings are concerned, I also have certain things that trigger me in life. I’ll leave a room, end a conversation, and stop reading something if it ties to difficult memories. I’ve never seen a trigger warning that actually called out anything that triggers me. Trigger warnings usually reference severe things (like suicide, self-harm, or sexual assault) and overlook the many less dramatic things that can still be tied to trauma or other difficult memories. I don’t think any author can fully anticipate the full range of topics that could be triggering to a potential reader.
As an adult who writes books for teenagers, I think it’s important for all adults to remember that teenagers’ comfort levels are not the same as our own. Sometimes I share a scene with my writing group and they say, “Erica, we don’t need this much blood in this fight scene,” and then I know it’s time to scale it back.
In some genres, like issue books or spicy romance, certain types of content are actually necessary to advance the plot. For me personally, I don’t write books whose purpose revolves around investigating difficult subjects. For now, I’ll elect to leave warning-type content out of a book entirely to respect that young people (as well as some adults) aren’t always comfortable with the types of material other adults can read with ease.
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