Monday, January 30, 2006
Are there places you won't go?
Okay, I realize that's a loaded question, given that we're all writers of "sensual" romance. Get your minds out of the gutter, ladies! For once, I'm not talking about sex. I want to know, are there subjects you won't touch, whether it's in your own work, while reading for pleasure, or even in a movie? I'll give you an example: my husband will not watch movies about serial killers (and he wouldn't read books about them either, if he ever read any fiction other than the James Bond books). He gets creeped out by the whole thing. As for myself, I love Silence of the Lambs, and I just finished The Prey by Allison Brennan and can hardly wait to buy the next installment tomorrow. I, personally, have a big problem with stories that involve adultery. Now I'm not talking the "my husband beat me and I'm on the run and didn't have a chance to get a divorce but now I'm in love" kind of adultery, or even stories where couples are formally separated. I'm talking about the movies that depict a spouse who is simply bored with the status quo and decides to go bone someone just to shake things up a bit. I don't care how good the movie "Unfaithful" is, I'm not going to watch it.
ooh, but I did catch myself in my own hypocrisy there - I'm an avid fan of desperate housewives... Will have to go ponder that.
Are there subjects you won't touch? Are there elements that will ruin a book/movie/tv show, regardless of how entertaining or well written?
ooh, but I did catch myself in my own hypocrisy there - I'm an avid fan of desperate housewives... Will have to go ponder that.
Are there subjects you won't touch? Are there elements that will ruin a book/movie/tv show, regardless of how entertaining or well written?
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LOL! I've got so many "can't-read-ums" it's not even funny. Anything that puts a child in peril, or has a sad ending or a really scary story. I had to quit reading some of my favorite authors when they switched over to romantic suspense because they scared the poo out of me with their books...that doesn't mean I won't WRITE scary stuff...because when I write them, I know exactly where the bad guy is and that he'll definitely get "his" in the end! Serial killers? NO WAY!
killing a child. It upsets me emotionally to see a child killed in a book, and once I get over that, I can't help but question the author's intentions.
Was it really necessary to do it, or was it simply a "cheap" way to get an emotional response out of the reader. There are other ways to engage the reader.
Was it really necessary to do it, or was it simply a "cheap" way to get an emotional response out of the reader. There are other ways to engage the reader.
Oh, the child thing - I totally forgot about that. As a relatively new mom, I'm astounded by how much more sensitive I am now. It's still not a "no read" for me, but if it's part of the premise, I'll avoid it.
I can't read anything with child abuse, scary stuff, anything non-Disney basically. I'm such a wuss when it comes to movies and books--I like Zoolander and Pretty Woman. That pretty much says it all, doesn't it?
;-) Bella
;-) Bella
I absolutely cannot deal with gory, slasher, Freddy Kruger(?) movies that pass for thrillers these days. There is nothing 'scary' about watching someone getting hacked to pieces. It's just sick and upsetting to me.
But, I do like the kinds of books you mentioned, Jami. I read everything by Dean Koontz. But I'm hypocritical: While I love reading these books, I'm not sure I could write them. Somehow, writing an 'entertaining' story about a serial killer, seems exploitive. This stuff really happens in life, so I'd feel guilty writing a fictional account for purely entertainment. And yet I don't feel guilty buying these kinds of books written by others.
Where's the logic in that?
Like Jasmine said, it is a great question!
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But, I do like the kinds of books you mentioned, Jami. I read everything by Dean Koontz. But I'm hypocritical: While I love reading these books, I'm not sure I could write them. Somehow, writing an 'entertaining' story about a serial killer, seems exploitive. This stuff really happens in life, so I'd feel guilty writing a fictional account for purely entertainment. And yet I don't feel guilty buying these kinds of books written by others.
Where's the logic in that?
Like Jasmine said, it is a great question!
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