Vomiting

[Scrawler]

I hate when I read this yet again in women's fiction (and chick lit): the MC begins to vomit in the morning. She's queasy. Her clothes don't fit right. The thought of food makes her sick. She vomits again. And again. But she's just too busy with her exciting career and handsome-yet-difficult-boyfriend to find out why!
Why does it always take a "smart", hip, sexually active, good-looking, career-driven, New York woman four months of puking to wonder if she's pregnant? LOL
:Shrug:

[Danger Jane]

Maybe she has a mental block about pregnancy, like repression, suppression, all Freudian and all?

[CaroGirl]

Dunno. The reader sure knows it and I think it gets old fast.

I never puked when I was pregnant. Not once. I got wicked heartburn though.

[veinglory]

I can beat that, the book I just read the main characters have sex several times and at the end she is *surprised* when he brings up the immediate possibility of them having children.

[ChaosTitan]

Why does it always take a "smart", hip, sexually active, good-looking, career-driven, New York woman four months of puking to wonder if she's pregnant? LOL
:Shrug:

She is too self-absorbed with her hipness, sexuality, good looks and career to bother peeing on a stick? :crazy:

[willietheshakes]

Dunno. The reader sure knows it and I think it gets old fast.

I never puked when I was pregnant. Not once. I got wicked heartburn though.

Dear God! Maybe I'm pregnant!

[Garpy]

Almost as bad as an inspector standing over a corpse sucked dry of blood with two puncture holes in the neck and wondering aloud 'Now then, what the heck did that?'

[scarletpeaches]

If these women are so hip and savvy, why the hell can't they work out how to take a pill every morning AND (in case of STDs) use a f***ing condom?

It reminds me of the real-life case of a woman I know getting together with a guy at a Christmas party and having a baby the following September. They're still together and everyone thinks it's romantic. Well, no. What that says to me is she had unprotected sex with a guy she'd just met. Nothing romantic about risking your life.

[Devil Ledbetter]

I hate when I read this yet again in women's fiction (and chick lit): the MC begins to vomit in the morning. She's queasy. Her clothes don't fit right. The thought of food makes her sick. She vomits again. And again. But she's just too busy with her exciting career and handsome-yet-difficult-boyfriend to find out why!
Why does it always take a "smart", hip, sexually active, good-looking, career-driven, New York woman four months of puking to wonder if she's pregnant? LOL
:Shrug:Then you'll be glad to know that in my WIP, it's the man who vomits when the pregnancy is announced. In fact, I don't even have a scene of the female character "discovering" she's pregnant because I thought that would be boring and obvious.

Fainting just before she learns she pregnant is another over-dramafied cliche to avoid.

Why does it always take a "smart", hip, sexually active, good-looking, career-driven,Right. In all honesty, this sort of character should be panicking if her period is a day late.

As one of my sisters once said "You'd know if I was pregnant because I'd be bleeding heavily from the wrists." :D

[janetbellinger]

In my novel the woman was vomiting and everybody thought she was pregnant but she wasn't. It was just migraine or something. The novel fell flatter than a fried fart.

[rugcat]

Then you'll be glad to know that in my WIP, it's the man who vomits when the pregnancy is announced. Ahh, so you're a proponent of realism in fiction.

[Sassee]

You know, weird story here...

One time I had all the classic symptoms of being pregnant, but I wasn't. It was a 1-2 week bug I picked up that vanished as soon as I started taking an antacid. This was in middle school when I was definitely not sexually active.

So... while it's possible she might not know early on, I too get tired of hearing about people who don't know there pregnant. How do you miss that? The ones that really get me are the people who don't figure it out until they're in labor. I figure those are the ones in heavy denial. Or on drugs.

[Andre_Laurent]

In my novel the woman was vomiting and everybody thought she was pregnant but she wasn't. It was just migraine or something. The novel fell flatter than a fried fart.
Fried fart! OMG can I steal that? Bah ha ha ha.

[scarletpeaches]

SOME women don't have symptoms though. They still menstruate, their body doesn't change, no sickness, no weight gain.

In my mother's case, she was four months gone before she found out and that was through having a medical for other reasons. Her periods had previously stopped for nine months and she wasn't pregnant then - as she's since been underweight at other times in her life I wouldn't be surprised if it was due to weight loss in her teens.

Plus, she's thick as pigshit.

[Scrawler]

And.... these are the same "smart", hip women who skip breakfast, eat 3 M&M's for lunch (a stale package is always dug out of their desk drawer), and have 4 glasses of wine instead of dinner. What can they be throwing up???

I haven't finished the book that started this rant (on page 192 out of 274) but I predict she'll be pregnant, but since her wealthy, perfect boyfriend is all "wrong" for her, the "friend" she's hanging out with (dating if you ask me) will decide to love her and the baby. And they'll leave NYC for Indiana, because .... (state the obvious.) I'll let you know if I'm wrong.

Is there already thread "Cliches to Avoid"?

[CaroGirl]

Dear God! Maybe I'm pregnant!
Maybe you need to lay off the onion rings and chili.

[Southern_girl29]

I absolutely hate this. Most women know their cycles or at least most women I know do. So, if you're late, that's the most obvious symptom. Besides, vomiting isn't normally the very first symptom anyway.

[CaroGirl]

I absolutely hate this. Most women know their cycles or at least most women I know do. So, if you're late, that's the most obvious symptom. Besides, vomiting isn't normally the very first symptom anyway.
I'm embarrassed to say that I was 6 weeks pregnant before I knew I was. I spotted and had no initial symptoms, aside from tiredness that was pretty non-specific. I needed an ultrasound just to determine my dates. We'd been trying for 9 months and I'd given up. What did I know? I'd never been pregnant before.

[justpat]

Oh, from the thread title I thought this was going to be... Well, I don't know, but I did not expect this. I'm outa here.

[Jersey Chick]

You know, weird story here...

One time I had all the classic symptoms of being pregnant, but I wasn't. It was a 1-2 week bug I picked up that vanished as soon as I started taking an antacid. This was in middle school when I was definitely not sexually active.

So... while it's possible she might not know early on, I too get tired of hearing about people who don't know there pregnant. How do you miss that? The ones that really get me are the people who don't figure it out until they're in labor. I figure those are the ones in heavy denial. Or on drugs.

Don't smack me, but I actually know one of these people. She'd always had a weight problem, irregular periods, a lot of health problems. One night, she drove herself to the ER because she thought she had appendicitis. She came home with a baby girl. It's weird, but it does happen.

I didn't throw up, but during my first pregnancy I was nauseous 24/7 and it was awful. With my second, not a hint of nausea, but my son kept pressing on a nerve, so now I have back problems. Ah, the Kodak moments of pregnancy! :)

[Lindo]

Hard to pass up a thread with an attractive title like this one.

"smart", hip, sexually active, good-looking, career-driven, New York women generally make me vomit, too. So who knows?

[ClaudiaGray]

You can have an unexpected pregnancy, even an unsuspected pregnancy, but I think the execution has to be a lot tighter than the cliche you're talking about. Explain to me why a character didn't use birth control/why that birth control failed and some slightly less obvious symptoms, and I might buy it.

[kristie911]

I feel like applauding every time a read a book and the characters actually use a condom. Good lord, in this day and age is it really a stretch to have our characters doing this? Unprotected sex is rampant in novels. But without unprotected sex I suppose you can't have the I-never-thought-I-might-get-pregnant-even-though-we-had-unprotected-sex-a-dozen-times cliche. :D

[Ziljon]

For great descriptions of vomiting check out "From the Corner of His Eye" by Dean Koontz. Some wonderfully violent emesis!

[Jersey Chick]

I do know a few erotica publishers say not to use condoms just to be politically correct because it's sort of a "fantasy" world, instead of dull ol' reality, but I also do the "Just how crazy are you?" when they don't.

[kristie911]

I do know a few erotica publishers say not to use condoms just to be politically correct because it's sort of a "fantasy" world, instead of dull ol' reality, but I also do the "Just how crazy are you?" when they don't.

Exactly! These are supposed to be smart women! And you don't have to describe the condom in excrutiating detail...just mentioned in passing is good enough!

[janetbellinger]

I agree with Claudia. The thing I'm wondering though is why have an unexpected pregnancy when that has already been done so many times. I mean, if it's unexpected, let it at least be Siamese twins or quintuplets or something.

You can have an unexpected pregnancy, even an unsuspected pregnancy, but I think the execution has to be a lot tighter than the cliche you're talking about. Explain to me why a character didn't use birth control/why that birth control failed and some slightly less obvious symptoms, and I might buy it.

[janetbellinger]

re vomiting - - why not describe the consistency of it, make it thick or lumpy or full of undigested tomato or it come out of the person's nostrils instead of his mouth?

[Devil Ledbetter]

I agree with Claudia. The thing I'm wondering though is why have an unexpected pregnancy when that has already been done so many times. I mean, if it's unexpected, let it at least be Siamese twins or quintuplets or something.Great! I am dead on. My character's unplanned baby has T-13 with cyclopia. I was going to post a link, but I'll let the bold do a google image search and spare the rest of you.

[DeadlyAccurate]

Almost as bad as an inspector standing over a corpse sucked dry of blood with two puncture holes in the neck and wondering aloud 'Now then, what the heck did that?'

Neck ruptures.

[willietheshakes]

Maybe you need to lay off the onion rings and chili.

I knew that my mom was kidding about that whole "boy parts meeting girl parts" thing - gross! Now I know the truth - onion rings and chili make you pregnant?

(That might explain the weight gain...)

[PattiTheWicked]

What drives me nuts in romance novels -- and Nora Roberts, whom I adore, has an unfortunate tendency to do this -- is when the couple get together, fall in love, and the very idea of pregnancy is what cements their bond of love forver, or some crap like that.

I just finished reading her Gallagher trilogy, and by the end, everyone's thrilled about having babies -- with people they've known for six months. Urgh. My husband and I were together for four years before we even TALKED about reproducing.

[akiwiguy]

I knew my wife was pregnant with our second child before she did. True. We were driving along and she said, "Yeesh, I've got this taste like metal in my mouth." I turned around, "What did you just say!?" Her mouth fell open, and ta-da-ta-da. She was indeed.

[Prawn]

It reminds me of the real-life case of a woman I know getting together with a guy at a Christmas party and having a baby the following September. They're still together and everyone thinks it's romantic. Well, no. What that says to me is she had unprotected sex with a guy she'd just met. Nothing romantic about risking your life.

Would it have been romantic if they had used a condom?

[SouthernFriedJulie]

Great! I am dead on. My character's unplanned baby has T-13 with cyclopia. I was going to post a link, but I'll let the bold do a google image search and spare the rest of you.



Sometimes I wish I weren't so bold.

[kristie911]

Would it have been romantic if they had used a condom?

Yes, condoms are very romantic. ;)

[akiwiguy]

Yes, condoms are very romantic. ;)

What, stuck over your head for the erotic asphyxiation effect? :D

[Sassee]

I like the condom useage when it's put into humorous context. Lindsay Sands is pretty good at that.

kiwi dude, we have a person in our office that can predict pregnancies to a creepy extent. So far in the last three months she's been dead on knowing two of my coworkers were pregnant before they did. I'm like omg keep her away from me!!

kristie911, it puts way more conflict into the story if they don't use protection or birth control ;) Nothing like scaring the bejesus out of your characters for half a novel! (although i will admit, my characters aren't completely dense, and they do get worried)

[Devil Ledbetter]

we have a person in our office that can predict pregnancies to a creepy extent. So far in the last three months she's been dead on knowing two of my coworkers were pregnant before they did. I'm like omg keep her away from me!!
Some people are so sensitive that they can "smell" pregnancy (detect phermones). That's probably the deal with your co-worker. She may not even realize it's an olfactory sensitivity, she may just think she "knows."

[Anne Lyle]

Some people are so sensitive that they can "smell" pregnancy (detect phermones). That's probably the deal with your co-worker. She may not even realize it's an olfactory sensitivity, she may just think she "knows."

True. Smell is a very primitive sense that connects poorly to our conscious levels of thought - it has way more effect on us than we realise...

[Evaine]

When I met the man of my dreams, the first thing I did before seeing him again was to go to the doctor's and get back on the Pill.
The first thing he did was buy some condoms.
Romantic and sensible can occasionally co-incide.