When Capitalization Goes Wrong

I write erotica with a definite flavor of kink, specifically various aspects of BDSM and other fetish oriented subjects. For my first novel I have the Kink-o-Meter turned down quite low, but like all authors working with BDSM I’m faced with decisions regarding capitalization of select lifestyle-oriented words.

At some point far enough in the past that I’ve found no clear answer on the topic, some poor misguided soul started a trend of always capitalizing terms like “Master, Mistress, Sir,” etc. This practice goes hand-in-hand with not capitalizing “I” and proper names when they refer to characters who are submissive, even if they appear at the beginning of a sentence. The choice of style is ostensibly intended to reinforce the dominant (wait, Dominant sic) or submissive aspects of the character’s personality in a textual setting.

Quite frankly, that “traditional” scheme of capitalization makes my eyes bleed; and has kept me from finishing more than one book as a result. It has the intended effect, but at the cost of making prose look like the Declaration of Independence.   However,  I don’t feel that the intention was entirely misguided.  So, as most writers of twisted erotica have at one time or another, I’ve struggled with the issue.

Several years ago I did a few pieces for a lifestyle magazine whose house policy on capitalization made such terrifyingly good sense that I adopted it for myself. Intentionally “lower-casing” things like “I” and the first letter of proper names is akin to declaring war on grammar. Regarding capitalization, I cap words like “Master” and “Sir” only when they are used to replace a proper name; precisely like we are taught to do with words like “Mom” and “Dad” when they replace a proper name.

Since both “My dad told me to finish my homework” and “The other day Dad told me to finish my homework” are both correct, I believe that both “My master had me kneeling yesterday” and “The other day Master had me kneeling” are also correct.

Of course, in the end it’s the editors who make the final call on what flies and doesn’t for their imprints. I’d defend my point on this issue, but I certainly wouldn’t go to war over it or risk blowing a deal.