Reading Boundaries

Trigger warnings are great– especially for those who have experienced trauma. It’s a way for helping readers safeguard their own mental health.

What I’m talking about doesn’t necessarily always pop up on trigger warnings. Such as… I don’t do cheaters. As in, stepping out on a significant other and/or a spouse. I also don’t do drug use and definitely not when the author has a Male Main Character drug the Female lead. I’m going to nope right out of those.

I just found another boundary within one of my favorite authors. Adult children who leave their parents behind for no discernable reason. My recent history probably has a lot to do with that but still. It broke my ability to read someone whose prose just sings to me. 

I read a lot of romance. I quit reading a favorite romance author way back in the day, many many moons ago, because of a rape scene of the Female Lead where the hero was basically her… Kidnapper/rapist.  This was way back before Trigger Warnings. I just did what we did back then– I threw the book across the room and quit reading that author. It offended me so badly that the book ended up in the trash, not passed along or donated or taken to a used book shop.

Oddly enough, if it’s done right, a stalker doesn’t bother me. I’ll talk more about the character that made me love a certain type of psychopath in our next meetup.

I know there’s a faction of people who look down on trigger warnings. I implore all my writing buddies– please use them if they are necessary. It’s a gift we give our readers. We want them to enjoy our stories, to know that we are a safe space for them to come enjoy our worlds. Will we push boundaries? Yes. That’s our job. To push both our boundaries and theirs. But at the same time, we need to keep them safe. Quite frankly, until recently it would have wrecked me to read something about a parent dying. Still might, but I’d like the option to know about what I’m getting into before starting the book.

TA my Lovelies! Hope all is well for you!

Writing Life

Have you ever been in the midst of writing a story and realized…you probably need to go back and rewrite the whole thing?

I’m not talking about when you write something, then press the delete key, or rip the pages out and metaphorically burn them. This is not being unhappy with the story, or your own skills….

This is knowing you need to go back and tell the story another way.  It might be telling the story from someone else’s POV, changing the framework, a whole host of reasons.

For me right now it’s the perspective. Right now it’s told in a close 3rd, alternating between 2 different characters: one male, one female.

It’s no big deal, except it is a big deal. When you write 1st, you get into your character’s heads in a way you can’t in 3rd. It also changes the dynamic because the voice has to change between characters.

Which sounds obvious.

Also a bit moronic.

However. But.

It’s not as easy as you might think. In 3rd person writing, the writer (or narrator) is the one plucking the details to show, highlighting this or that. It’s their voice that infuses the story. But in 1st, that’s all character voice . And if you have more than one main character, you have to make certain sure whose head you’re in when the story is being told. And because you have more than one voice you can’t use the party trick of just using your own “voice.”

(character voice and author voice are different. I don’t know how to explain it but maybe one of my friends will do a guest post for me on it.)

So, here’s the crux. I’ve written men before. Of course I have. In close 3rd. But never in first. I’m kind of scared to do it because… Welp. Obvious reasons.

Am I still gonna try?

Absolutely.

Trying new perspectives, new techniques, it’s one of the ways I love to write. Might crash and burn. Might write a really good story. Will definitely enjoy the process, learning my way around it.

I’ll try to update you soon. I know I’ve been a little absent this month.

For now, Ta, my Lovelies!