I’m in the process if working on a story and a small detail came to mind, as something I can add to give more depth to one of the characters.
Only problem with adding this particular detail is two fold:
a) I don’t have the slightest idea on what I’m thinking to mention
b) I don’t know anyone I can resort for first hand information (and possibly embarrassing questions)
For context
In the story, two persons meet again after several years, now completely different individuals. The relation between the coprotagonists builds over memories of when they first met and what opportunities were lost then and what they are in the present and what made them into it.
Plus some other things, which are not relevant now.
Throughout the story, there are several moments where I put out background but details, the kind that can be easily overlooked in a first readthrough, is what, for me, makes a good story great and a book re-readable, and that is what I’m looking to do.
One of such details I want to insert is one of the protagonists having had nipple piercings, which are no longer used. This is not openly stated; I just go into a very detailed description of a piece of jewelry that can be mistaken for coventional earrings and have a dialogue between the characters where nothing is really confirmed nor disproved.
I intend this to build on a background of a troubled time in teenage years, hinting at a period of rebelion, some anger towards others, even a small degree of low self esteem, but also a gesture of self affirmation, of going into a new personal direction, that after some time fell out of need.
My doubts
Well… if you managed to read this far, you’re probably thinking (or saying out loud) something along the lines of me being full of it. I agree. I read what I wrote above and thought that exact same thing.
But does/can my idea hold any water? Is it credible? Or am I trying to put too much weight on a twig?
Well, one thing is that the kind of jewellery used in nipples isn’t going to be the same as in ears. You can kinda use actual hoop earrings as a ring in other places, but it won’t be a great idea. Most of the time, hoop earrings have a very thin part that goes through the ear, as in thin enough to essentially be a wire.
The way nipples get pierced leaves a bigger channel through the nipple. So, you use the thin wire in that hole, and you get irritation as well as a higher risk of it causing trouble when it gets snagged because a thinner gauge is going to pull through skin easier (up to a point). Most hoops for ears also use a different way of closing. The little wire gets put into a hollow in the opposite end, whereas body jewelry tends to be secured by balls that are either screwed on, or are pushed into place and secured by divots in the ball.
I’m not saying that nobody ever uses regular hoops in their nipples, I know plenty of people that do. I’m saying that you wouldn’t mistake one kind of ring for the other; there’s really not much visual overlap.
As far as how you would write the kind of idea you’re wanting to express, that’s a more complicated question. I tend to favor such things coming out via dialogue. Two old friends talking about the things they’ve left behind, there’s a dozen ways to say that one of them has stopped wearing their body jewelry.