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Word Triggers


Certain otherwise-innocuous words can be a trigger for some people.  Maybe it's a negative association with the word - a reminder of past trauma or a social faux pas.  It could be a word that becomes an inside joke - an innocent word given a not-so-innocent meaning.  These words make us cringe and avoid them and not really want to explain our reaction to other people.  For me, a certain spring-blooming flower is a word trigger.  I avoid saying the name of this flower because I have  negative associations with it.  A family member used to tell a quite inappropriate joke about it, so I cringe and get a little bit angry inside whenever I hear it.   I snicker whenever I hear someone mention a Mars bar (candy bar in the US) because in high school, my BFF used to use it as a euphemism for uh... let's just say "is that a Mars bar in your pocket or are you happy to see me?"

Let's write some prompts exploring some word triggers.  

PT Prompt #245:

Your character freaks out over a trigger word at an inappropriate time.  What is the word?  What is the trigger associated with the word?  What are the circumstances that lead to the meltdown? 

PT Prompt #246:

Write a paragraph/short story/vignette telling the creation of a word trigger - positive or negative. 

 

Please include the prompt number either in your story/chapter description or title to help readers who would like to search for specific prompts. Also, please remember that stories less than one thousand words must be posted as part of a collection.

If you check the subgenre 'prompt' in your story tags, then people/readers can find everything here:
https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/subgenre/prompt/

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Bill W

Posted

I usually think in terms of trigger objects, not trigger words, so I'm interested in seeing what people do with this. 

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CassieQ

Posted

I don't get this so much with words in general,  but more with names.  There are some names attached to people I very much dislike that I won't use in stories, unless it is attached to another unlikeable character. 

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Bill W

Posted

32 minutes ago, CassieQ said:

I don't get this so much with words in general,  but more with names.  There are some names attached to people I very much dislike that I won't use in stories, unless it is attached to another unlikeable character. 

Actually, I know what you mean.  Sometimes when I began a story, or was currently writing one, I would base the antagonist on a person my thoughts and feelings of loathing were currently consumed with.  Sometimes this person was someone I worked with, but at other times it was merely someone I had come into contact with in a social setting and had built an immediate disliking for.   Either way, those people either inspired me to begin writing a story or merely insert a despicable or very dislikeable character into the story I was currently writing.   

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Cia

Posted

It's interesting that just certain words can trigger people but most people have very strong likes and dislikes that relate to personal experiences and memories. I do get the names. I can't use names of people, specifically young people, in IRL and even reading stories where they are in can be squicky. Certain visuals or sensory things can also be issues, since I don't see the words when I read, but more of a movie in my head. The sound of a belt sliding through pant loops, especially a leather belt, is a HUGE trigger for me IRL and I've found it'll knock me right out of a story because so many romance authors will mention it in relation to stripping down. Just... nope, no, nuh-uh. Food can also be a big plus or minus in a story for me. 

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