tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post4820578395073662397..comments2023-10-25T05:30:54.507-04:00Comments on Oh Get A Grip!: Define "mistake"...Ashe Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03390519279886657608noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-896467509278016202016-01-05T08:21:12.550-05:002016-01-05T08:21:12.550-05:00Oh, yeah... we need to invest ourselves wholeheart...Oh, yeah... we need to invest ourselves wholeheartedly, but the consequence of feeling every bump of our baby's journey sometimes feels a high price to pay, as I'm sure you know! But I quickly realized that to call it a mistake was a blinkered kind of thinking (or perhaps a thinkered kind of blinking...)Willsin Rowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07255684467269187446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-1407355068413342872016-01-05T08:19:05.983-05:002016-01-05T08:19:05.983-05:00I suppose anybody who can write, could arguably wr...I suppose anybody who can write, could arguably write anything. But it's the quality of what we turn out that matters in the end. If we don't feel it, it will certainly show on the page.Willsin Rowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07255684467269187446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-32523852039758960412016-01-05T08:18:16.239-05:002016-01-05T08:18:16.239-05:00For sure. And if we want to start getting meta abo...For sure. And if we want to start getting meta about it, we could argue "there are no mistakes" (which sounds disturbingly like a line from Kung Fu Panda).Willsin Rowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07255684467269187446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-57575397579374666692015-12-31T07:08:22.274-05:002015-12-31T07:08:22.274-05:00Willsin, I really appreciate the perspective you&#...Willsin, I really appreciate the perspective you've got on mistakes here. It sounds like there were legitimate reasons for each of the three decisions you made, and to me that means they're not mistakes (even if the outcome is ultimately not good). I especially react to the idea that it's a mistake for a writer to invest themselves in their work. If that's a mistake, what are we all doing here? I'm glad you've got the perspective to back away from that!Annabeth Leonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07455191827664110878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-1769519872452008602015-12-31T07:06:56.772-05:002015-12-31T07:06:56.772-05:00Yeah, putting in my two cents here, I get no thril...Yeah, putting in my two cents here, I get no thrill from something being "taboo." In fact, I find it an impediment. I am into some pretty non-mainstream things (hello lactation erotica!), but shame about them is not a bonus for me. I actually do best when I manage to forget which of my kinks aren't mainstream. <br /><br />I also really appreciate the distinction people are making between art and propaganda.Annabeth Leonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07455191827664110878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-89166104783857603752015-12-28T07:55:52.902-05:002015-12-28T07:55:52.902-05:00Yeah, and conversely, the typical enthusiast for l...Yeah, and conversely, the typical enthusiast for lactation erotica would, I'm guessing, find such literature just as much of a turn-on even if lactation erotica were the most mainstream subgenre—in which case the fact that it happens to be a "taboo" would not be the point for those readers. "Taboo" becomes more of a marketing tag or categorization convenience: fans of any fetish that's presumed legal to write about but nonetheless shunned by most publishers know to look for the companies that advertise themselves as open to such "taboos."Jeremy Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01980177431018869829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-36261252539142881582015-12-28T07:54:23.954-05:002015-12-28T07:54:23.954-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Jeremy Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01980177431018869829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-66592775082619900612015-12-27T22:46:51.344-05:002015-12-27T22:46:51.344-05:00I agree, Jeremy. Very few of my stories, especiall...I agree, Jeremy. Very few of my stories, especially the more recent ones, depend on defying taboos for their heat. When they do, it's mostly because of a character's personal, emotional resistance to breaking the rules (for instance, in The Last Stone, where a nun has to deal with her attraction to a hooker).<br /><br />Using taboos like step-incest to ratchet up the sexual charge of a story feels a bit like a crutch to me, in fact. <br /><br />That being said, I think step-incest, lactation, Daddy/little girl and other smut niches appeal to specific readers because those particular scenarios push their individual buttons. I suspect that someone who thinks step-incest is the hottest thing out there wouldn't necessarily have the same reaction to a story that featured the breaking of a different taboo. Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-45401627843772603552015-12-27T15:57:34.191-05:002015-12-27T15:57:34.191-05:00I do realize that without taboos we writers would ...<i>I do realize that without taboos we writers would be out of ammunition</i><br /><br />This, actually, is something that a lot of my colleagues seem to believe that I, personally, would dispute. While challenging questionable taboos is one of the many roles taken on by the arts, I feel strongly that any such agenda in the arts must be secondary to the artistic mission—otherwise what you have is propaganda, not art. And while a work of art can do many things on many levels, I think it is only the artistic aspect (such as the crafting of an erotic effect) that is essential to its identity as a work of art; the arts do not and should not hinge on each work having to make a social statement. Also, I am definitely not a fan of the idea of breaking taboos just for the sake of breaking taboos, rebelling just for the sake of rebelling, etc. Not that I think you're advocating that, Sacchi; but I sometimes do see proclamations from our colleagues that seem to imply this sort of shock-value ideology, and frankly I think it's pretty adolescent. Challenging taboos that, for example, embody racist or heteronormative or sexist social attitudes is constructive because those things are repressive, not because they're taboos per se. I mean, you might call it a "taboo" to spray Silly String all over the room during a funeral service; but anyone who thinks that's a good idea because it's "breaking a taboo" or "pushing the boundaries" is not, in my opinion, to be commended.<br /><br />I do understand the element of transgressiveness that for many writers and readers drives erotic excitement (though I must note that for some of us it totally doesn't). But I don't think transgression as an erotic device should be confused with trangression as a social statement (again, not that I think you're doing so, Sacchi), though of course they're not mutually exclusive.Jeremy Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01980177431018869829noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-24314478749013402032015-12-27T10:28:25.866-05:002015-12-27T10:28:25.866-05:00I think I could only write step-incest stories if ...I think I could only write step-incest stories if the appeal was the story itself rather than the "naughty" aspect. Well, that applies to much of what I write, although transgression of ay flavor is a perfectly good motivation in some contexts. But I don't see any particular reason for step-incest to be taboo for its own sake, except as it negatively affects family relationships in a wider sense. Damn, I sound like a dry stick, don't I! I do realize that without taboos we writers would be out of ammunition, and sex itself would lose some of its appeal. And I also realize the step-incest thing is a major branch of the ever-popular power differential trope, which is unlikely to lose its charm. Im unlucky, actually, that I don't feel its charm enough to write it well, although I do know people deeply into that well enough to write about it not-so-well.Sacchi Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10801164916418570059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-82077827034585427672015-12-26T22:43:18.678-05:002015-12-26T22:43:18.678-05:00"With the benefit of hindsight, we recognise ..."With the benefit of hindsight, we recognise them as what they truly are, whether that be a lesson, an experience, or a lucky break." This is a great take-away from your so-called mistakes, Willsin. <br /><br />I can't write the step-incest stuff either. Well, I could at some level, but I wouldn't enjoy it and that would show.<br /><br />Of course, everyone thinks the stuff I do write is scandalous enough!<br /><br />The Last Three Days is on my TBR list.Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-77573924355672014752015-12-26T11:06:21.343-05:002015-12-26T11:06:21.343-05:00Hopefully, we compensate for our mistakes by makin...Hopefully, we compensate for our mistakes by making adjustments down the line. That could be one definition of "learning by our mistakes."Daddy Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927663248424944119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-16229477277082206922015-12-26T06:54:42.815-05:002015-12-26T06:54:42.815-05:00I think I wrote this blog in too condensed a form ...I think I wrote this blog in too condensed a form for it to be a true soul-search, but it does certainly have elements of that. I suppose it's more about how certain decisions, or lack of decision, can make you slap your own forehead at first, but in the end you realize it was the right decision (or indecision) all along.<br />Thank you for reading The Last Three Days, too! I'm glad it had an effect on you.Willsin Rowehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07255684467269187446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-36142430620745401962015-12-26T04:57:32.567-05:002015-12-26T04:57:32.567-05:00The blog sounds like a bit of a soul search, I fee...The blog sounds like a bit of a soul search, I feel like that about mistakes and like the arrival of it being transient into possibly a good thing. I've read your 'last three days' and it left breathless Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com