As much as some of us aspire to embrace the taboo and forsake the moralistic, there are still things that I think most writers would avoid. I feel that not many people would contemplate writing a piece predicated on the events of 9/11 being fantastic. For instance. Likewise, I feel that a first person novel about a paedophile, glorifying and even somewhat cloying (even if it was subversively trying to make a point) would not get too far past a first draft. In fact, I have tried to write this novel but found the potential for people to not recognize that it was fiction, and label me as a paedophile or a sympathizer was too great. This is self censorship to a tee. The point I am trying to make is that we all self censor, and whether that is a good or bad thing is rather beside the point, as it is human to adhere to the norm. Obviously some mavericks exist - the Nabokov's, the Marquis de Sade's - but they will always be the exception. Traditional crime writing is so mainstream now that even glorifying serial killers will hardly cause most people to wince. In fact, it is rapidly becoming cliched. I suppose that this is all beside the point, but what I am trying to say is that, whilst I might think of something truly sick and be exited about its prospects, I will invariably self censor. So to a certain extent you could say that this is being bothered by my own thoughts, in a manner. Apologies for the ramble, i am somewhat drunk.
Was that the one filmed and committed by the Russian neo-nazis? Anyway, I'm not bothered by my imagination, especially since I write with @KaTrian and she's cool with even my darker ideas and I'm cool with hers. I'm more bothered that pretty much all that shit and worse happens in real life. But like Kat mentioned, we want to give a voice to the people who've experienced some of those things (a lot of the horrible stuff in our stories are modified versions of things that have happened to people we know or have known), so instead of treating the darker side of humanity like a taboo subject, we do our best to discuss these serious issues with due respect without averting our eyes even when it gets ugly because guess what? The real victims couldn't just skip ahead either; they had to endure it all from beginning to end, and we feel it would be disrespectful to their suffering if we behaved as if their experiences should be ignored, treated like something that nobody wants to hear about etc. Likewise, we want to reach out to those victims of violence who are still struggling with their experiences; sure, not all of them like that approach (we haven't figured out how to please everyone, so we go with what we find comforting ourselves when dealing with bad experiences), but some do react positively when they encounter similar things in fiction that they've experienced (where those experiences are treated respectfully and realistically), making them feel like they aren't alone with their suffering, that other people are aware of the things they've gone through, that people are acknowledging and discussing those issues, that other people besides them have experienced similar things, that they need not feel like outcasts or disgraced freaks because of what was done to them. We know our style isn't for everyone, but then again, what is? We write about those dark things like we would like to see them written, and since we like realism even with things like violence, sometimes our stories do get ugly, but we try to only depict the bare minimum and even then only things that are a part of the plot, that have a meaning and purpose in the story instead of just writing horrific scenes for their own sake (i.e. violence porn). Furthermore, reveling in violence, treating it like fast food or light entertainment goes against our principles, as does depictions of violence that are fun or cool. We've both experienced real violence, so we have some grasp of just how scary and unpleasant it can be. That's what we want the readers to feel when reading our darker scenes; we want them to feel like they are right there in the thick of things, like it's not a nice place to be. It's impossible to match the intensity of the emotional charge of a real violent altercation, but we can always strive for authenticity to show the luckier, less experienced readers that no, violence really isn't fun or cool. Sure, a person can get a rush from e.g. successfully defending themselves against some asshole who started stirring shit without any provocation, but even then it's always ugly. In that respect, we see light-hearted depictions of violence as something more offensive than realistic, gruesome scenes. But that's just a personal opinion. Of course, ours is not the way, just a way.
Cheers, @DromedaryLights. I know some don't agree with us, but that's okay too. Kat and I believe in shining a light on even the uglier things in life 'cause far too much bad shit is going on and is then quietly swept under the rug; out of sight, out of mind, or then they are "prettied up" so they don't shock or disturb the more delicate members of the audience, so they can be treated like light-hearted entertainment. I'm not saying all fictional works should be dark, disturbing, and depressing, only that ones that are shouldn't be automatically lumped together with "violence porn" (not saying anyone here did) even if the depictions can get graphic.
I find it difficult to not be able to share my work with those I love because of the subject matter I prefer to write about.
I find it a little disappointing 'cause my folks come from the "out of sight, out of mind" school of thought who insist that any research done to learn about the more horrific things in our world (e.g. murder, rape, child abuse, the Holocaust etc) is tantamount to digging shit, and that by doing so, you will only find more shit and nothing good will come out of it, that one should only devote their efforts to consume positive, happy-happy-joy-joy material. That was highlighted one Christmas when they expressed their disapproval of a gift @KaTrian gave me, the book "Children of the Flames," which is about Mengele's experiments on children and twins. Just goes to show she knows me much better than my closest blood relatives. Needless to say, much to the disappointment of my folks, I loved the book because of the perspective and insights it provided.
