I'm wondering if you ever find yourself writing stuff that is too creepy for even you. I mean if you saw it in a book, would you skip over it? Obviously this would differ from person to person, but I find myself in that situation and wonder if I'm going too far.
After spending his morning writing an article on sixties feminism, my husband and I went to a garage sale where he found something he wanted to buy for a $1.00. He paid the man standing near him who was wearing an apron. The man told my husband that the woman at the cash box would give him a bag. Husband walked over and said, "The boss said you would give me a bag." Now I ask you, if the two people had been reversed would he have said the same thing. He claims yes, but we know better.
Two films on DVD in two nights. Both dealt with trying to solve a crime of some type but how differently they did it. One used atmosphere and mood to keep your attention while the "detective" poked around.. The other seemed tedious because it had no atmosphere or mood even though it was set in Paris. We can learn a lot from the movies of the forties/fifites in that regard. Also all female detectives seem like they're doing a poor imitation of Helen Mirren now.
7 comments:
There was a scene or two in my second novel that was a little creepy for me to right... I think when I write things that get too close to home, it gets a little weird, but at the same time, I know I'm close to doing the right thing.
Or at least I hope so.
Not so far. But then I haven't dealt with those subjects in my fiction that really push my hot buttons. Rape, for instance.
It's not even that. I decided on a highly sexual protagonist. Now I've got to give up the goods or take it back.
Trying to invent kinky stuff for her to engage in is a bit out there. I should have picked up some tapes/books I guess.
One of the first stories I wrote for a college workshop was about a kid who rapes his female best friend and then kills her so she wont have to deal with the shame of it. I didn't make many friends in that class, but I was still glad I tapped that edge. Also, I felt really creepy the whole time I was writing "Donkey Show" but it turns out to be one of my most popular stories, so there's no telling how many other people are just as weird and kinky as you are.
Keep going forward. If it ends up being too creepy you can cut it later. Don't make these decisions now.
Also, read Viki Hendricks. Toughest female writer around and writes the most erotic stuff you'll read currently.
Keep going.
I got Miami Purity sitting right on my table. Somehow I have to finish Snowflower and the Secret Fan first for my bookgroup. I
must quit my bookgroup for six months or force them to read crime.
Good question--- Been a few times I've gawked at the monitor and thought "Where the hell did that come from?" I'm not particulalrly squemish, but if something I've written makes me queasy I'm inclined to set it aside and look at it another day.
Also, I'll never write [or read] anything graphic involving children. In one of my flash fiction pieces, Hoboken Haiku Two, I worked around it by having the main characters reacting to what had happened to the kid without describing any details. It's just how I choose to do things, others mileage may vary.
John McAuley
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