I am still in recovery from the flu. Honestly, this whole year has had me either ill or looking after someone else who is ill. Not a great start to 2026.
This is also why I’ve not been replying to messages and emails. Sorry about that, I will reply too.
Anyway, I am here, showing up for week 3 of The Writer Blog Prompt Project, with today’s topic of Content Warnings.
Let’s go!
Quick reminder, if you join this project and write an article about this week’s topic. Let me know and I’ll link your article at the bottom of mine.
C Is For Content Warnigns
I have a love-hate relationship with Content Warnings.
Before I get into that, I should say, I personally view Content Warnings and Trigger Warnings as two separate things.
For me, trigger warnings are exactly what they say. Warnings about actual triggers. Many people seem to use the word trigger to refer to “discomfort” and “things I don’t care for”, whereas, for me, it means real triggers.
Triggers were things that affected a traumatised person by bringing back memories of their trauma and making them feel as if they were reliving it. Triggers could be sights, sounds, smells, or thoughts.
Big triggers were usually things connected to what that person went through – such as news reports of assaults, or for those in the armed forces, things like loud explosions. While small triggers such as a song, a smell, even the sound of rain could affect someone with trauma.
So, Trigger Warnings were a list of big things that were featured in a book or movie that could possibly trigger someone’s trauma and affect them in a mental and physical ways. The main ones mentioned were assaults, deaths, suicides, etc – especially if these were shown or described in detail.
These warnings gave people, who suffered, the choice to opt out of reading/viewing such content were they maybe even have a visceral reaction if they read it.
Now, Content Warnings, again, in my eyes – are different from Trigger Warnings. For me, content warnings are more about personal preference.
For example, if you want a story without spice then a content warning that states the book includes open door spice scenes tells the reader “this book might not be something you like.”
Content warnings can be useful, as they help your target audience find your book. I’ve read lots of reviews were people left negative reviews because the book had bad language. If that’s not something you want to read, then it may put you off enough to leave a bad review.
Now, back to my love-hate relationship. One of the reasons I’m not a fan of content warnings, is that I’ve seen so many that actual spoil the book (for me).
I see content warnings that state it’s a Happily Ever After. (Again, in a content warning NOT in a trigger warning).
I get that some people need to know that, but to me, I like to be surprised and some books HAVE surprised me – were I thought they were going in one direction and then ripped the rug out from under me.
I like the possibility that I don’t know how it ends. Not to mention, that there is such a thing as Genre Expectation. For example, if you are writing a standalone romance book – the expectation is that the main character will end up in love and happy by the end.
But if it’s a dark gritty fantasy, I don’t want to know it’s a HEA. I want that to be something I discover and if it ends without a HEA, then I want to experience that.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand WHY people want to know if it’s a HEA. But for me, that ruins a little of the story.
Maybe it’s because I’m a child of the 80s and 90s who grew up reading and watching Old Yeller, Plague Dogs, Watership Down and the Animals of Farthing Wood series.
Tragedy and heartache were in almost everything I consumed and I love stories that can make me feel things so intensely – even the sorrow.
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Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this article. If you aren’t joining the Project, let me know your own thoughts about content warnings in the comments below!
Next week’s topic is the Drop Caps
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Below are articles from other participants of The Writer Blog Prompt Project
Suzanne Rogerson Fantasy Author
Thanks for reading
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I never understood why some people want to know the type of ending. Personally, that takes away some of the emotion of the journey for me. Everyone’s different, though. I agree with the differences between trigger and content warnings. I feel like content warnings can be better suited to list certain types of tropes, too.
Exactly! There are people who seem to want all the details and the issue is, there is only so much you can tell without ruining some of the story and not to mention, there will always be something you forgot to add that someone wanted spelling out.
There was an author on Insta who put that her novel had no spice and no “fade to black” scenes. And apparently (really hope it was a joke) some reader started listing off all the “fade to black” scenes… that included characters fainting or going to sleep. *head-palm*
Personally, I don’t think we should have to spell everything out. There are even websites that will tell you all this anyway.
It’s like when you’re watching a movie that’s an 18 with violence and there are warnings like “smoking depicted” and “bad language”. Like, yeah, it’s a violent action movie – I’d be surprised if they said things like “oh darn!”
Wow… the internet has made people more dumb. That’s all I can really say. I assume they were being cheeky but whether they were or weren’t… why? I don’t see the satisfaction anyone gets from that, lol.
Honestly, I like to think people are joking but time and again they prove they arent! It’s scary out there. ;p
Pingback: Content Warnings – Alex's Stories
Great post, Ari! I’ve used trigger warnings and content warnings together and saw them as synonyms. But, you excellently described the difference. I will use them separately from now on.
I think content warnings are very helpful. I’m not a fan of having a lot of spice in books. To be clear, there is nothing wrong with having a lot of spice, a little spice, or having no spice (and people should not be judged for preferring any of these). But it’s a personal preference, and I like to know beforehand about how much spice there is. Also helpful for me would be a content warning for how graphic/brutal it is (I think you can make a general summary about that without giving too much away).
But you’re right that content warnings can be spoilers too. I too wouldn’t exactly want to know that there is a HEA in a grimdark story.
“Tragedy and heartache were in almost everything I consumed and I love stories that can make me feel things so intensely – even the sorrow.”
And I too love it when stories make me feel emotions intensely. It’s tough to sit through the difficult emotions but also shows how powerful a story is, and I love it. 🙂 Great post, my friend. Take care.
I don’t assume to be an expert and I think a lot of writers use trigger and content warnings synonymously.
But to me, I always felt they were different. Something that triggers a PTSD attack is going to be a lot more serious than someone who wants to know if there’s smoking depicted or bad language in a book
Yes, I think content warnings are good for things like violence level (anything extreme should be in a trigger warning), spice level and excessive bad languages as these can be a big turn off for readers.
But I’ve seen readers complain that they didn’t know a fantasy book was deriding a religion (one created FOR the book). Some actually didn’t like that as they were religious and even though the religion mentioned was made for the book – it still offended some people.
Problem is, there is only so much we can do to help readers not get offended or upset. We truly can’t cater to everyone.
Thanks for reading and being part of the project!
Pingback: The Writer Blog Prompt Project – Content Warnings | Suzanne Rogerson Author
Thanks for explaining the difference.
Thanks for reading, Andrew.
I know a lot of readers see them as the same thing – and I’m not saying that’s wrong – just for me, that never felt right. 🙂
You’re welcome.
It’s interesting you see content warnings and trigger warnings as separate, I’ve always lumped them together. Your argument has won me over and shows that everything is subjective!
Thanks for reading, Suzanne. Yeah, I know a lot of writers that see them as the same thing.
For me, though, it always felt very distinct. Glad you found this interesting 🙂