| Essay Non-Fiction posted February 8, 2015 |
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I'll Blog If I Want To (an essay)
To Blurb or Not To Blurb
by Dawn Munro
I'm sorry -- I just don't get it -- what is the big push for personal information on this site? Okay, it's a vanity site, and yes, we make cyber friends and maybe some of us want to pursue closer relationships with a select few, but since I've been here, someone is always trying to either attribute what I write to my own personal experience or get me to 'fess up.
Honestly -- are we here to socialize or better our writing skills? Isn't there a danger of encouraging gossip or even potential harm by 'baring all' to (let's face it) strangers? (Okay, so perhaps you aren't a stranger -- maybe you are a cherished friend, but what about the others who can read this? All are not FanStory members, and what we write is PERMANENT. This is cyberspace, folks -- the stuff is 'out there' for anyone with a little tech-savvy. Who knows the damage that could be afflicted by anyone with an axe to grind or simply some nutcase?)
Does James Patterson write about his life and hit all-time best-seller author status with it? Does Stephen King tell all? How about Jody Picoult, Clive Cussler, heck ANY of the greats? For that matter, did Shakespeare, Dylan Thomas, Hemingway?
I have absolutely no beef with any author who wishes to publish nonfiction -- none whatsoever! But if I told you the number of so-called critics/reviewers who seem to feel if you aren't willing to spill your guts you don't 'write with passion', 'reach deeply enough', you wouldn't believe me.
To those so-called experts I say this -- get with the program -- your opinion is just that, your opinion, and the statistics do not back it up! In ALL fiction there is an element of truth, but FICTION is the stuff that makes the bestseller list most often, not autobiographies, not textbooks -- sheesh, what happened to keeping an open mind? Some of us ENJOY writing fiction! (In my case, for example, just like I used to enjoy acting on stage, 'becoming' that character -- a beloved hobby! There, another tidbit of irrelevant, personal information.)
Yeah, you're right -- I'm ranting about the same subject again, but I assure you, it's because the topic keeps coming up and frankly, if it weren't for the majority of my reviewers here whose opinions I respect and admire so much, I'd be gone. I don't share my private life in total (the way the pressure is by some folks here to do) with my closest friends, with my LIFE MATE! NOT because there are things to hide but because I put my trust in GOD first and myself second, in my life mate third, and my friends (respectively) last. Strangers aren't even on the list, at least not when there isn't an emergency.
WHY is it so important to some of these members to know these things? Isn't my writing enough? SKIP if you don't enjoy it -- that's all I can say. I am not going to repeat myself about the basis of fiction-writing, but I am going to say, "Shame on those of you who believe yourselves so qualified and yet can't see that life experience and observation make for good poetry and stories, that passion comes from 'heart', not necessarily from writing something that may be cathartic for the author."
'Nuff said. I rest my case.
I'm sorry -- I just don't get it -- what is the big push for personal information on this site? Okay, it's a vanity site, and yes, we make cyber friends and maybe some of us want to pursue closer relationships with a select few, but since I've been here, someone is always trying to either attribute what I write to my own personal experience or get me to 'fess up.
Honestly -- are we here to socialize or better our writing skills? Isn't there a danger of encouraging gossip or even potential harm by 'baring all' to (let's face it) strangers? (Okay, so perhaps you aren't a stranger -- maybe you are a cherished friend, but what about the others who can read this? All are not FanStory members, and what we write is PERMANENT. This is cyberspace, folks -- the stuff is 'out there' for anyone with a little tech-savvy. Who knows the damage that could be afflicted by anyone with an axe to grind or simply some nutcase?)
Does James Patterson write about his life and hit all-time best-seller author status with it? Does Stephen King tell all? How about Jody Picoult, Clive Cussler, heck ANY of the greats? For that matter, did Shakespeare, Dylan Thomas, Hemingway?
I have absolutely no beef with any author who wishes to publish nonfiction -- none whatsoever! But if I told you the number of so-called critics/reviewers who seem to feel if you aren't willing to spill your guts you don't 'write with passion', 'reach deeply enough', you wouldn't believe me.
To those so-called experts I say this -- get with the program -- your opinion is just that, your opinion, and the statistics do not back it up! In ALL fiction there is an element of truth, but FICTION is the stuff that makes the bestseller list most often, not autobiographies, not textbooks -- sheesh, what happened to keeping an open mind? Some of us ENJOY writing fiction! (In my case, for example, just like I used to enjoy acting on stage, 'becoming' that character -- a beloved hobby! There, another tidbit of irrelevant, personal information.)
Yeah, you're right -- I'm ranting about the same subject again, but I assure you, it's because the topic keeps coming up and frankly, if it weren't for the majority of my reviewers here whose opinions I respect and admire so much, I'd be gone. I don't share my private life in total (the way the pressure is by some folks here to do) with my closest friends, with my LIFE MATE! NOT because there are things to hide but because I put my trust in GOD first and myself second, in my life mate third, and my friends (respectively) last. Strangers aren't even on the list, at least not when there isn't an emergency.
WHY is it so important to some of these members to know these things? Isn't my writing enough? SKIP if you don't enjoy it -- that's all I can say. I am not going to repeat myself about the basis of fiction-writing, but I am going to say, "Shame on those of you who believe yourselves so qualified and yet can't see that life experience and observation make for good poetry and stories, that passion comes from 'heart', not necessarily from writing something that may be cathartic for the author."
'Nuff said. I rest my case.
Honestly -- are we here to socialize or better our writing skills? Isn't there a danger of encouraging gossip or even potential harm by 'baring all' to (let's face it) strangers? (Okay, so perhaps you aren't a stranger -- maybe you are a cherished friend, but what about the others who can read this? All are not FanStory members, and what we write is PERMANENT. This is cyberspace, folks -- the stuff is 'out there' for anyone with a little tech-savvy. Who knows the damage that could be afflicted by anyone with an axe to grind or simply some nutcase?)
Does James Patterson write about his life and hit all-time best-seller author status with it? Does Stephen King tell all? How about Jody Picoult, Clive Cussler, heck ANY of the greats? For that matter, did Shakespeare, Dylan Thomas, Hemingway?
I have absolutely no beef with any author who wishes to publish nonfiction -- none whatsoever! But if I told you the number of so-called critics/reviewers who seem to feel if you aren't willing to spill your guts you don't 'write with passion', 'reach deeply enough', you wouldn't believe me.
To those so-called experts I say this -- get with the program -- your opinion is just that, your opinion, and the statistics do not back it up! In ALL fiction there is an element of truth, but FICTION is the stuff that makes the bestseller list most often, not autobiographies, not textbooks -- sheesh, what happened to keeping an open mind? Some of us ENJOY writing fiction! (In my case, for example, just like I used to enjoy acting on stage, 'becoming' that character -- a beloved hobby! There, another tidbit of irrelevant, personal information.)
Yeah, you're right -- I'm ranting about the same subject again, but I assure you, it's because the topic keeps coming up and frankly, if it weren't for the majority of my reviewers here whose opinions I respect and admire so much, I'd be gone. I don't share my private life in total (the way the pressure is by some folks here to do) with my closest friends, with my LIFE MATE! NOT because there are things to hide but because I put my trust in GOD first and myself second, in my life mate third, and my friends (respectively) last. Strangers aren't even on the list, at least not when there isn't an emergency.
WHY is it so important to some of these members to know these things? Isn't my writing enough? SKIP if you don't enjoy it -- that's all I can say. I am not going to repeat myself about the basis of fiction-writing, but I am going to say, "Shame on those of you who believe yourselves so qualified and yet can't see that life experience and observation make for good poetry and stories, that passion comes from 'heart', not necessarily from writing something that may be cathartic for the author."
'Nuff said. I rest my case.
 Recognized |
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I've been told that I should be flattered when someone thinks something I write is real - I know this - the thing is, I AM flattered, and humbled (when it's not a murder mystery, for example. LOL.) That's not my point - my point is that good writing does not only come from writing about our own lives.
Yes, the accompanying picture is of me when I was 38. The one on my page (beside this) is me at 58. See? I haven't changed a bit. (ROTFL). (I just turned 63 a few days ago, and no, I don't have this year's picture or I'd use it. Actually - I do have one taken in the last twelve months, but it's on my phone and I can't get it loaded onto the computer.) Russell - AKA despiser? Any luck yet? *grin* But this is evidence that I DO write about myself - occasionally, and with discretion - I choose what I want to divulge, and so should anyone, don't you think?
So for those who think pressure applied will equal results, in most cases all you do is make the one being pressured scorn, or question your real motives...yes?
Pays
one point
and 2 member cents. Yes, the accompanying picture is of me when I was 38. The one on my page (beside this) is me at 58. See? I haven't changed a bit. (ROTFL). (I just turned 63 a few days ago, and no, I don't have this year's picture or I'd use it. Actually - I do have one taken in the last twelve months, but it's on my phone and I can't get it loaded onto the computer.) Russell - AKA despiser? Any luck yet? *grin* But this is evidence that I DO write about myself - occasionally, and with discretion - I choose what I want to divulge, and so should anyone, don't you think?
So for those who think pressure applied will equal results, in most cases all you do is make the one being pressured scorn, or question your real motives...yes?
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