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Posted by Scratch on August 2, 2009, 3:28 am, in reply to "[OT] abuse of "softly""
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You know, I was thinking about this word (actually the words soft, not softly) a few days ago and it's overuse in describing the interior of mouths or viscera. Soft to me is more of a texture word in that use, and I've always associated it with fabric or fur that gives way and has a dry but pleasant texture - not the slick, skin like covering of the inside of a throat or the bumpy firmness of a tongue. However I think people use it often to evoke feelings of comfort and gentleness in a scene that other, more appropriate words, like pliant or slick or smooth, don't really convey.
The solution of course is to not rely on a single descriptor to set that mood, instead using pacing, character reaction/dialogue and more precise and active descriptions (ex: the slick walls of her throat gave easily when he pushed against it; the tongue reminded him more than anything of a heated waterbed, and he felt his body sink slightly into the warm flesh as it seemed to form around him; he clenched his eyes shut waiting for the first asphyxiating squeeze to clamp around his body, but when she swallowed he was surprised to find only gentle contractions of the moist flesh easing his body down to her stomach).
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