Can I really start a novel with the word fuck?

1. Do you think I would lose an audience because of it, or do you think they´d be thankful for a book with balls?

2. Is it realistic, or is it trying too hard?

3. Are there any other books out there that start with fuck as a first word?

What do you think of this passage? Please leave comments below. Be brutal - I can take it.

Together Max and the kitten went back to the bedroom. He hauled off his shoes, tugging at the laces and then finally scooping one shoe off using the toes of his other for leverage. The prize gift was deposited on the floor and Max kissed his finger, and then pressed it to the creature’s head. The alcohol filled him too much now, giving him heart burn and earth shattering belches that erupted with precision timing and made the kitten shake.

“Time for a piss.”

A sound like a distant car door slamming ricocheted through the emptiness. Max cocked his ear, and stayed still for a moment.

“Is that you, Lily?”

The thick black blanket of stairwell and corridor was filled with his voice. Max groped the bathroom door handle and shoved it, relieving himself a little in the wrong direction firstly, and then with his eyes closed he swayed to the tune of his own piss splattering the floor. He heaved an appreciative sigh, shook, zipped up and started back towards the emptiness. It was then that he found her.

“Fuck” he screamed, almost too loud to be heard. “Fuck”

The curdled tones echoed throughout the flat. His hands clutched his hair and again he screamed. The tiny kitten crawled under the bed and lay down, trembling.

poll results - what ruins a book for you?

The voting has closed and there were 23 votes. Apparently, what ruins a book for you is overly complicated language, a weak ending and a lack of suspense; so i´ll be ditching the thesaurus (well, not quite!) and making sure the plot thickens and the twist and turns are in abundance.

In addition, the most popular name for the book keeps coming up as Tasting Freedom and Moribund...the original title of Chastise and Compromise is a slow runner - a bit of a lame donkey in fact. But I was playing with the idea that "Moribund?" is better as a question, rather than just plain old "Moribund". The poll opens again...

And in terms of book length, you´re an avid lot. A book is not a book if its not at least 150 pages long. Looks like the length is hitting the correct target!

break from novel - redraft in february - until then...

Please take my polls on the right hand side and help me figure a few things out?

nano is over but what about the following:

My MC used to work for a restaurant but now works on her own... i thought there would be more about food in the book than there is currently - how important do you think mentioning the reasons behind the switch to working for herself is?

Max´s mother

OK. His mother was originally going to have also tried to commit suicide and be a drunk. Now however, there is no need for her in the story. The poor woman is redundant. So, do you think it would be convincing for her to have successfully committed suicide...it is a story of hope despite the dark topic, and this way Max can have a chance to get his drinking in order and put things right...thoughts please!

nano is completed but...

I have completed the nano challenge, so thank you for your help all. However, it doesn't stop there. I am continuing with the draft zero, up to around 70,000 words probably though much less intensive.

Then, February will be first draft, followed by a second draft in May. If it´s good enough, it will go to publishers. If it´s not, more drafts will follow.

So what I´m asking is...stick around? I´ll be needing more help for sure. If you know anyone else who might help, please send them the link. Oh, and thanks again all.