Not in this world

Sorry I was so quiet last week. I was Working Some Things Out with the book and that tends to suck me away from the internet for a while. I get all questiony and angsty and waaah! why can't i just be writiiiiiiiing! and, really, no one needs to hear about that. Well, except for Kaz. She has to hear about all my emo garbage but, hey. Such is the price of BFF-dom. ;)

So I was going to post about gender and racial bias in writing but that will have to wait because what's on my mind tonight is neon signs. And radar. And about a million other words or phrases that we use in casual conversation that are firmly grounded in modern technology THAT HAVE NO FRICKING PLACE IN MY POST APOCALYPTIC BOOK.

Have you ever played the game Taboo?

It's a word guessing game played in teams. One member of the team has to get the other members of his or her team to guess a word without using any of the words on the card. For example the word to be guessed might be 'snow' and the taboo words might be 'white,' 'flake,' 'winter,' 'cold,' and 'cocaine.' (just kidding on that last one, kids.) (you could totally say cocaine.) So, while you're frantically thinking of ways to describe/define snow without using the taboo words, there's a member of the competing team with a buzzer. See the dude in the tan shirt above? He's got the buzzer and the dude in the dark shirt has clearly just said one of the taboo words.

Well, when you play Taboo like I do, you're a complete asshole with the buzzer. You stand right behind the describer-person--whose job is already hard enough--and you hold the obnoxiously loud buzzer about four centimeters from said person's ear. Say a taboo word? BZZZZZZZZZ!!! You're partially deaf. Now! With bonus almost-peed-your-pants humiliation! (good times, my friends, good times)

I need someone with a Taboo buzzer standing over me while I write this damn book. (aaaaaaand we're back to the post...)

It is amazing how many common phrases I'm having to cut out and rethink because they are things my sixteen year old main character would never have had exposure to, living in a world that has been virtually tech-free for forty years. Nothing can be 'lit up like a neon sign.' She can't be 'showing up on everyone's radar all of a sudden.' Nothing can be 'in the spotlight.' And so on.

I'm going to have to be very, very careful in revisions. Critique partners, prepare thyselves! We'll need to go through the manuscript with a fine-toothed comb. (wait, can I say that? yeah, ok, they have combs...)