Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Story Link and Violence

My flash piece was published Tuesday. You can find it at: http://www.flashesinthedark.com/2011/05/31/the-most-beautiful-tree-by-jennifer-jackson. If you read it, please tell me what you thought, good or bad.
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A couple weeks ago, I wrote a blog about the necessity of plunging into the darker aspects of life. There exists within us all a line which we feel we cannot cross. The line makes us shiver so badly our bones knock out morse code when our feet touch it. As a horror writer, my line is somewhere way past blood and gore.
But, in one of my last short stories, I crossed it completely. In the tale, a man violently murders a dog. Now, this probably seems like a tame thing compared to some stuff out there but it was different; when you have to imagine it vividly enough to describe it... It just feels more raw.

Did I need the scene? I believe so.
I want readers to know what sort of danger he represents and take the shades of gray from him. Though I think it was the right choice, it still bothered me.
Does what you write ever bother you? How do you deal with it?
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3 comments:

  1. Some things do bother me. I have to tell myself they are needed in the stories. One of the hardest is when a character 'dies', but that is real life too.

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  2. I'm still in bed when I get the chance. I do my posts on the Wii because I don't want to leave you guys. I still read posts, it is just impossible for me to comment there. I have my husband help when I need it.

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  3. After a difficult semester, I'm back from the brinks of academia. I read The Most Beautiful Tree, and I liked it. I appreciate a story that is written well and conveys meaning without dialogue.
    -TDK

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