Yes, my point is that these current events happen, whether you know about them or not. It's not that you have to know about them specifically. It's that you have to be aware they will be happening. You characterised Europe as 'balanced.' The point I'm making is that you can't stereotype Europe. Or Asia. Or any other place, really.
My lord. I did NOT need to see this eating up my screen space. Yikes. And by the way, this guy is one of the Brexiters who is 'gone.' He resigned as leader of UKIP a couple of days after he 'won' the vote. After making a complete horse's arse of himself at the EU Parliament. Cowardly and idiotic wee shite.
Why does he look like Jabba the Hutt here? AAaaaaaaaaagh! Keep him away from meeeeee!! He's going to eat meeeeeeee!!! <flees> But yeah, that's all Jannert and the others are saying: if you want to set your story in our world, it's best to not stereotype everyone. Not all Europeans are like that guy, not all Americans are like Trump, not all Muslims are bad, etc.
Aw, c'mon, Jan. Don't hold back like that. Tell us what you really think. As for the OP, my view is this - if you worry about "offending" (for whatever reason), you start out writing with at least one hand tied behind your back (as we used to say in the old neighborhood). So, my advice is to simply get on with it and write what you want to write (think how much progress you could have made if all the time you've spent tending to a 4-page-and-counting thread had been spent on writing instead). What's the famous Hemingway quote about writing? All you have to do is sit down at the keyboard and bleed? Well, start bleeding.
First sorry. I felt like my previous responses may have been rude. I was kind of half asleep. Ish... something like that. Plus you are awesome. So I hate thing I annoyed you. But thing, I can too stereotype! I kind of do! I mean, okay that is more of a joke. Funny side note. I thought the offensive side of this was slightly different. But before that. I am not trying to stereotype so much. I mean, the point is in my world, World War 3 happened and changed the borders and cultures on a global scale. If I am discussing my work with anyone and I want to express this idea briefly. The thing ya see as a stereotype I think is a valid way to briefly express that. Would you disagree? If so, how would you describe it? The thought I thought would be considered offeensive is moments when the things happen in named places that those places currently might disagree with. Like my China for example I say has a very dirty look to it. Or the fact I say America has a law that puts certain people to death for the crime of being of that critera. Yep, born trait is a death penalty crime! I figured that part would piss people off. I find your aspect about being too narrow minded... a interesting alternate view.
As a Christian, I find these statements highly disturbing. Mass shooting at a gay club is tragedy. Massacre at a church is comedy? I think this is more of an issue than whether your writing is "offensive". I'd give some thought as to just why any massacre should be funny to you and apparently means nothing to some of your friends. Maybe it's time for some new friends.
I can't speak for my friends, but for me? The humor isn't in the situation. Any death is tragic. Even the death of someone I don't like. I found it humorous because I sort of have anti-religous views BUT! I didn't write the scene based on that. The concept makes sense to the plot, and the characters. So I found it funny that I guess my internal views slipped in somehow. I am in no way saying death is funny. Heck, I make a point to call her a villain for this. Some people agree, others disagree. Not sure if you makes a difference but she did it with a sword. Actually one of my current writing projects is based on this. As the woman returns, sort of. Technically someone tries to steal her persona and is a copy cat, but the persona was responsible for this event. And the book is going to have a huge military response, because, well they never caught her, and she killed 42 people in that massacre(she committed LOTS of massacres) and that is a big deal to the government. Does that make me seem less souless? lol
I guess I've never been a fan of dark comedy much either, so perhaps that's why I just have no comprehension for it. Why should it be funny your views slipped into your novel? Our stories are always a collection of ourselves and our beliefs, I think. And the most poignant stories usually come from deep without the author and reflects what they truly believe of humanity and the world.
with regards to tea Link, I'm probably the most stereotypical Brit there is, (and i have to have at least 5 cups of tea a day else I dont feel right) much like damned Americans and their bastard coffee! (jk guys) However i know where the OP is coming from. @obsidian_cicatrix is helping me straighten out a concept that does rely somewhat on christian themes regarding demons, and i've take a few liberties with it that i'm sure that a few devout christians will definitely be offended by...
Now I am suddenly very interested in your taste. Funny enough, I try not to be very dark. I noticed a long time ago I like serious situations and those seem to innately push darkness into the story. But like, would I enjoy the actual murder scene? Heck no! Do I find it interesing? Heck yes! It makes me wonder how she can do it, or live with doing it. Like, heck, she in the church one killed 42 people! And she had a list. She spent time, built a list, waited for a function to happen in which the list would be there. Calmly(but quickly) went from one to another on her list. She wouldn't even harm someone not on her list. And just proceeded to walk from one room to another. Sometimes I am amazed that people love this character! lol. Well, one thing is for sure, people love her or hate her. Never got a meh review on her. That reminds me of this other moment though! Where I intentionally tried to make the scne dark in chapter 02. Because the girl, Jackie, she is not a nice girl either. And, I wanted the reader to feel they understood this before the book got deep in. So she tortured a man, like brutally! And so for, I swear, 100% of the people I have shown, have laughed out loud to it. Like, I showed them the chapter in person, and they litterally laughed. Not like, I suck way, but like they thought it was a funny scene. Maybe your right! Maybe I do need new friends.
Lol well that depends entirely on how you intended the scene - if it was supposed to be like dark comedy, then the laughter is a good thing. I think what matters then is just what had you hoped to question or highlight by making it funny? What was the point of making it funny? If you've delivered that, then great. But if all the murder scene did was make people laugh without making them think, then... I guess there are all kinds of comedy but I'd say then you've missed the mark.
Well, saying a country has passed a law about something is a lot different from saying the country is a bunch of techno geeks, or whatever. A law is a verifiable fact, and it's applicable to any country, even today. That's not a stereotype, that's a fact. (Even if it's an imaginary fact. ) However, if you say 'Asia' has passed a law saying whatever, you need to get us up to speed on why the entire continent—including Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Viet Nam, Laos, China, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, the Phillipines, Hong Kong, Singapore, Brunei, East Timor, Malaysia, Indonesia, and etc—are all living under one set of laws in your story. Of course it's possible that could happen, but it'll take some doing. And you will STILL have all those cultures and varied languages, religions and individual people contained within the amalgamation, so not everybody is going to think the same way. You haven't annoyed me in the slightest, by the way. I just hope you take on board what I said about national/international stereotypes. They are a bit too simplistic for the real world. It's okay in fantasy, I suppose, although I prefer fantasy to be a bit more diverse as well. But setting China up as another Land of Mordor, or Europe as another Shire, just doesn't sit well when you're dealing with real places and real people.
I don't know what Land of Mordor and Shire is. Actually a friend thinks it is funny because he said I sort of swapped America and Europe, he knows a bit more about this. lol. And, well, to a degree, no, not all those cultures joined. Some were completely lost. Or that was the idea. So places were just completely destroyed. Remember, I am saying the war was so great all those asian nations joined together. I think watching some of those nations litterally lose and die, being completely whipped off of Earth was a good motivator to band together. Wouldn't ya agree?
Really? Oh I loved it! Was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Saw it on the big screen and all My friend who was with me did not like it quite as much as me - she kept asking me, "What's the time?" All at the most exciting moments of the film too. Grrrrr!
I liked that one moment where the girl was riding the horse across the water. The rest od the time o was bored. And my butt hurt by thr time it ended. Lol
I'd only be comfortable being offensive if I actually had an informed opinion on the matter. In order to have an informed opinion, research is required. As long as I'm informed, then I feel comfortable being as offensive as possible.
Ooh, I get so narky about that! In part because, as you point out, it's massively unrealistic, and partly because in sci-fi and fantasy planets/species can always be read as races/nationalities and if you're going to let someone's species or planet of origin define who they are, it reads as a tacit support for real world racist ideas. Re the OP, I recently abandoned a short story because it felt like it was straying into fairly fucked-up territory. It's not so much the fact that it might offend that bothered me, rather that it might encourage. I was already slightly on the fence about whether it was a topic I could/should write on and was doing research... It turned out the central concept 1) actually would not fly with my characters and 2) has a lot of very scary real world fans. It suddenly seemed a lot less fun and clever. Even if no-one is ever going to read it, I can't stomach writing something that could feed certain kinds of beliefs.
