My blogging pal, H.R.R. Gorman recently wrote an interesting post about including bathrooms and bathroom scenes in novels. You can read her post here: https://hrrgorman.wordpress.com/2020/10/01/5-tips-for-writing-about-bathrooms/
This post made me think about bathroom scenes and whether or not I have used them in my books. I realised that I have used them rather often. Here are a few extracts from my books that are about toilets and bathrooms:
From A Ghost and His Gold – Adult supernatural history COMING SOON!
“Every morning, when the family passes the tents belonging to a group of Bywoners on their way to the latrines, which are nearly half a mile from the main body of the camp, Estelle is obliged to listen to Marta loudly expressing her disgust at having to live in a camp with such dirty people.
“Look at the ground around their tents,” she complains. “It’s soiled with slops and rubbish because they are too lazy to dig a hole near the fence and bury it. They don’t even use the latrines; they just do their business wherever they want to; it is completely unhygienic, and they are putting us all at risk of typhoid and other illnesses.”
In some ways, Estelle doesn’t blame them for not using the latrines which comprise of a mixture of trenches, similar to those used by the army, and a bucket system which was easier for the small children. As she draws near, her gorge rises from the overpowering stench. Ardrina carries the makeshift chamber pot that the occupants of their tent use during their night and empties it into the latrines. It’s the largest cooking pot that Marta had managed to pack, and keep, on the day the Khakis attacked the farm. The pot is always overflowing by the morning and Estelle finds it revolting, but she is grateful she doesn’t have to try and make her way to the latrines during the night or, even worse, find somewhere to squat away from the tents in the open.”
From Through the Nethergate – YA supernatural fantasy
“There was only one toilet in the small rest room. Katharine used it first, followed by Lizzie.
Elizabeth was the last to enter the small cubicle. She was washing her hands at the basin when she heard the voice of Sarah Jukes calling her:
“Help us! Help us, Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth looked around, startled. The small space, with its starkly painted white walls and water-stained basin, was empty.
Elizabeth shook her head to clear it and turned the tap on again to rinse the soap off her hands.
“Help us, Elizabeth.” Now the voice of Sarah Newton echoed around the small room, bouncing off the walls. A wave of dread washed over Elizabeth making her shake.
What is wrong in Nabs Wood? Why are the children calling me?
The bright light bulb enshrined in its plain white glass bowl started to expand. Elizabeth watched it grow with astonishment and fear. The light became fuzzy and stretched looking, as if she was seeing it through heavy rain on a dark night.
The other children in Nabs Wood joined in the calling. “Help us, Elizabeth. We need you.”
Their cries boomed inside her head, making her clutch her head in pain. In the centre of the large pool of light, Elizabeth saw Nabs Wood.
The children were standing in a half circle, gazing at her. Their eyes were wild and frightened. Sarah Newton was clutching her face with her small hands, as if she was in a frenzy of fear. They were all calling for her to help them.
She took a step forward into the glowing circle and her eyes widened in horror.”
From While the Bombs Fell – Children’s fiction
“First thing in the morning, Mother emptied the ceramic chamber pots that the family used if they needed to wee during the night.
Next to the cowshed outside, across the dirt yard, stood the family’s toilet, a dark and cold outhouse.
During the winter, Mother lit a paraffin lantern and place it near the pipes to prevent them from freezing during the night. People used newspaper, instead of toilet paper which was unavailable, to clean themselves as best they could.
The chamber pots were usually full to overflowing by the morning and Mother emptied them into a pail and took it across the yard to empty out into the toilet.
Later in the year, during the warmer spring months, the trip across the yard to the outside toilet could be rather hazardous. The cows were turned out to pasture, and this affected their bowels dramatically. At that time of year, sticky greenish cow poo covered the dirt path to the outside toilet, and if you didn’t jump accurately, it could end up a slippery ride! Falling and landing on your bottom in the muck did not bear thinking about.”
Do you use bathrooms and bathroom scenes in your writing?
roberta-writes.com 
Fascinating Robbie! Bathrooms are a part of our daily lives, and interesting how you have incorporated them into all of your writing! Can’t wait for the book release!
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Thank you, John. I was quite interested to discover how often I mention bathrooms and toilets in my writing. I have a few scenes in every book.
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It is interesting what makes up a fiction book. And latrines are part of life.
Great post.
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Thank you, Bella. They are, especially if they aren’t nice.
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You handle bathroom scenes well, Robbie. Chamber pots . . . makes me thankful for flush toilets!
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Thank you, Priscilla. I never really thought about them before reading this post but I do seem to use bathroom settings a fair bit. These are a few extracts, there are others. I was quite surprised!
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Shower scenes, yes 🙂 I’m not so sure about bathrooms, but you did it well.
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Well, romance in the shower is better than in the bath, Jacquie [smile]
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Those are interesting scenes. It’s easy to want to avoid the room, but you make it sound as normal as it is.
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You know, Dan, I never gave it a thought until I read H’s post. Then I wondered what I’d done and found these and other scenes when I searched my own books. I thought it was quite interesting.
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I have used them in writing, but not as much as reality requires:)
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I think to much reality in this area would be unnecessary. I only bring these scenes in when they fit naturally into the story.
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Your scenes seem to be a natural part of the story. It should not, as you say, just be added to make things “real”. Now I’m thinking of all those toilet training children’s books. No shyness there! (K)
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No, but those serve a different purpose.
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Robbie – I actually read that writing about bathrooms post and so seeing it mentioned here was fun – it was a great post and left me with ideas and interesting
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Hi Yvette, it was a fun post by H. and it led me to have a delve into my books to see what I did in this regard. I had more references than I expected when I looked.
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How cool!
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The main thing I got out of this was that “Ghost and his Gold” is going to be a good time! But very intriguing – I think I missed something on that post I made about how toilets can make such an impact on setting!
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I really enjoyed your post, H. It made me think about my writing relationship with toilets and bathrooms. I think it is a natural and accepting one [smile].
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These are great extracts, Robbie 😊they show off your writing chops nicely 👍
Having a blast with your stories in Nightmareland – you’re one of the best writers in the anthology, no bull!
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That is very kind of you, Jessica. Dan Alatorre helped me a lot with my horror story development. He painstakingly developmentally edited every story. I don’t need as much help now which shows how much I’ve learned and improved.
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Yes, I do have bathroom scenes in my fiction, now that you mention it, playing various roles. Speaking of bathroom scenes, the most memorable one I ever read was in John Updike’s novel Couples. After reading that book, I never read anything of John Updike’s again. That scene was very disturbing on multiple levels.
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It sounds most intriguing, Liz. Now you piqued my interest. Sometimes it is entirely natural to include a bathroom scene.
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In the case of Couples, I’d advise you to skip it.
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I generally don’t include bathroom scenes or the need to pee etc., but when it sets a scene or adds to the story, as it does in your excerpt, Robbie, that’s another thing altogether. The snippet from your story shares so much about the conditions and the dangers of the camp. Really well done.
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Thank you, Diana. I do include bathroom and toilet scenes for atmosphere in many cases. It is also a good place to set creepy scenes as people are vulnerable when in the bath or shower.
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Great point.
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Interesting. It is a part of life after all.
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It is, but people like to skirt around bathrooms and toilets particularly. I bring them in where they add to the historical understanding or atmosphere of a story.
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The examples you gave seem to do that well, Robbie.
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What a fun topic, Robbie. At first I didn’t think I had a bathroom scene, but then I remembered doing one for Atonement in Bloom, and a cranberry bog clogging the bathtub. LOL. Your snippets are fabulous. Hugs on the wing.
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It is an interesting topic, isn’t it? I think we do avoid bathrooms and toilets – well, a lot of us anyway. Atonement in Bloom is the one of your books I haven’t read yet. I must do so before the end of this year.
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lol good to know you paint your characters as very human … we all have bodily functions!
Your last one reminded of a converted school house I lived in … the cows were fenced off from us but we had to dodge snakes when we visited our outside dunny!
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Oh my, snakes are bad, Jules. I still have nightmares about the toilets at my high school 😫
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ha we grew up with them so it’s no big deal, those ones were harmless … I have had to dodge deadly ones for bodily functions elsewhere 🙂
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Bathroom scenes–leave it to you to spotlight those! I do address them for my ancient people but only once per book, to show how it was done in the distant past.
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Hi Jacqui, I also don’t make a habit of setting scenes in the toilet or bathroom but sometimes, for supernatural and horror, it is a good and creepy place to set a scene. For my historical writing, I also find that describing the ablutions help set the tone and scene.
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