So, I'm giving myself a little over a week to decide whether or not I am going to actually compete in the tournament of secrets. As I'd said before, the last minute censorship has really got me bent. I feel like I've been had by a bait and switch. The fact that the examples I was given weren't under the same creative constraints was A MAJOR factor in my decision to enter in the first place.
I face a very uncomfortable dilemma.
If I lose, depending on who it's to, I might harbor resentment and point to the censorship even if I don't say so. It will eat at me and make me bitter.
If I don't try, I'll have wasted a great deal of time conceptualizing. Literally, I've written 41 pages of warm up material.
Strike that. I suppose I should be thankful that I was inspired to write the character I did in the first place. If nothing else, it will have given me a bit of focus I had been looking for.
I suppose I have nothing to lose but time and sanity.
Mas Tequilla!
Val.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Vulgar condescension...
A foreword: This may turn into something I may privately message someone, as I felt wounded by their insensitivity towards a situation. It's petty, to say the least. VERY petty, but I write what I feel and that's all I can say. Well that and thank you to an anonymous wise person for a little insight given this past month.
This week, I entered the Tournament of Secrets. It's a writing competition in The Secret World forums. For two weeks I honed the character I intended to enter. I've managed to write 40+ pages as a warm up exercise, to develop that character.
Only after the sign-ups had begun, did the contest head decide to mention that the entries would require censorship, so that the admins could point attention to the competition.
The reasoning was good. I accepted it, provided a compromise of being able to write f*** in place of the word fuck. I was annoyed, but placated, as this condition wasn't mentioned until well after I had worked myself into a frenzy of enthusiasm. Disappointments like this are why I generally subdue any and all expectations. I aim low because the ceiling is almost always lowered by outside forces.
Anyway, as I was saying, I had privately messaged the head and reached what I felt was an acceptable compromise.
And then someone made light of it by saying that people could be crass without swearing.
...
I personally feel that the comment was not only condescending, but ignorant.
When I write, I do so with a palette that covers all colors. Saying that the phrase "It's a frigging piece of crap!" conveys the same feelings as "It's a fucking piece of shit!" is retarded. The former doesn't hold the same amount of rancor and acrimony as the latter, and creative writing is about conveying the full weight of a situation. To express something without dilution. Declaring vulgarity as being artless is the height of myopia. There are situations where vulgarity is not only warranted, but appropriate, and saying otherwise shows a lack of insight into the art of writing on the whole. You use the right word to suit the situation, vulgar or no.
In short, just because you "paint in pastels" doesn't mean that someone who "paints tenebristically" can do so with your color scheme. It's not simply about being crass, it's about expressing the full weight of frustrastion or outrage, and censoring that effectively pulls the punch and detracts from the work.
The fact that you had the gaul to try to invalidate my personal style was insulting, and I would appreciate an appology.
And before you try to justify your stance, I challenge you to dull your own palette to see how it feels.
I dare you to write your entire story without using the word beautiful. Instead you may use words like pretty or cute, as they convey that something is aesthetically pleasing, but in a more diluted manner.
It's the same damned thing.
The question isn't whether or not the word beautiful is offensive. The question is whether or not making light of someone else having their writing style handicapped is in good taste.
This week, I entered the Tournament of Secrets. It's a writing competition in The Secret World forums. For two weeks I honed the character I intended to enter. I've managed to write 40+ pages as a warm up exercise, to develop that character.
Only after the sign-ups had begun, did the contest head decide to mention that the entries would require censorship, so that the admins could point attention to the competition.
The reasoning was good. I accepted it, provided a compromise of being able to write f*** in place of the word fuck. I was annoyed, but placated, as this condition wasn't mentioned until well after I had worked myself into a frenzy of enthusiasm. Disappointments like this are why I generally subdue any and all expectations. I aim low because the ceiling is almost always lowered by outside forces.
Anyway, as I was saying, I had privately messaged the head and reached what I felt was an acceptable compromise.
And then someone made light of it by saying that people could be crass without swearing.
...
I personally feel that the comment was not only condescending, but ignorant.
When I write, I do so with a palette that covers all colors. Saying that the phrase "It's a frigging piece of crap!" conveys the same feelings as "It's a fucking piece of shit!" is retarded. The former doesn't hold the same amount of rancor and acrimony as the latter, and creative writing is about conveying the full weight of a situation. To express something without dilution. Declaring vulgarity as being artless is the height of myopia. There are situations where vulgarity is not only warranted, but appropriate, and saying otherwise shows a lack of insight into the art of writing on the whole. You use the right word to suit the situation, vulgar or no.
In short, just because you "paint in pastels" doesn't mean that someone who "paints tenebristically" can do so with your color scheme. It's not simply about being crass, it's about expressing the full weight of frustrastion or outrage, and censoring that effectively pulls the punch and detracts from the work.
The fact that you had the gaul to try to invalidate my personal style was insulting, and I would appreciate an appology.
And before you try to justify your stance, I challenge you to dull your own palette to see how it feels.
I dare you to write your entire story without using the word beautiful. Instead you may use words like pretty or cute, as they convey that something is aesthetically pleasing, but in a more diluted manner.
It's the same damned thing.
The question isn't whether or not the word beautiful is offensive. The question is whether or not making light of someone else having their writing style handicapped is in good taste.
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