The "S" Word is the one word that will make me cringe every time I see it in a novel. I'm talking, of course, about "squatting".
Especially in a Romance.
"He squatted next to her, stroking her tenderly." No. Just... (shudders) no.
"She squatted, prepared to drop a backdoor-growler downwind of the campsite." Okay... maybe.
Giving birth and taking a dump are the only acceptable situations in which a character should "squat".
There is no excuse great enough to justify having your heroine "squat to slip her lover's pants down past his hips". I don't even want to read about her "squatting down to tie her shoes". Let us just say that she "knelt" and leave it at that.
"Squat" is my pet-peeve as a reader. Are there any words that bring bile to your mouth?
