: Re: Should I describe my characters going to the toilet? Should I let the narrator (third person) describe that my characters are going to the bathroom (for a sense of realism and accuracy) or

@Debbie451

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Like anything else, if it's critical to the plot, or if it would be very weird to leave it out, then put it in. If it's unnecessary or there's enough passage of time offscreen to cover it, leave it out.

If it's a hostage situation, everyone involved is going
to be tense and focused for hours. The hostages may get desperate and
sob that they have to pee, or the negotiator might be telling herself
to ignore the urge because she has to stay on the line with the
kidnappers.
If the character has eaten something foul or been given a poison,
then the effects on the digestive system are important. There was a
scene in one of the VC Andrews books, the Heaven series IIRC, where
the main character is given a severe laxative while at a fancy party
but the bullies lock all the bathrooms, so figuring out what to do
and how not to ruin her outfit is a plot point. (She uses a dry
cleaning bag.)
If you're describing the minutae of your character waking up and
getting dressed, then using the bathroom is part of the morning
ablutions. (as is washing hands, don't forget that part)
On an episode of House, MD, "Top Secret," there was some weird side
effect of his Vicodin use which prevented him from urinating, so he
had to insert a catheter into himself. The viewer saw him on the loo,
appropriately shot for broadcast TV, and then walking around with the
catheter bag. A later nighttime accident (he's in bed and you see a
dark splotch on the sheets) turns out to presage a typical House
epiphany.

In any case, tailor the description to what's appropriate. "He went to the bathroom." "He used the toilet." An old-fashioned phrasing is "She performed her morning toilet," which covers all the washing and eliminating. But if she's been poisoned, "her innards rolled and cramped. Horrible noises rumbled from her guts. She felt like she'd been stabbed. When at last she was able to push out the noisome mess, it burned and splattered. She felt like she needed two showers to get everything off." The reader knows what is being described without actually, you know, getting the description.

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