On Mar 28, 2005, at 2:46 AM, Jason wrote:
> Hey, I missed most of this, but I think Charlie
makes some excellent
> points and I thought I'd do one last post on the
subject. I think a
> lot of crime fiction (as opposed to mystery fiction)
portrays a
> realistic vision of the world and part of this is in
the use of
> language. I'm not saying that language needs to
mimic the way people
> speak in real life, but I think it should at least
reflect it...
I'm not disagreeing with you, Jason, but look at your own
words. You're talking about portraying a "realistic VISION of
the world." That's what I'm saying -- that fiction is a
vision of the world, and not the world itself, so allowances
must be made. And achieving that vision of reality works both
ways: sometimes it means taking a "fuck" out; sometimes it
means putting the "fuck" in. You're creating a reality, and
to make it seem real there's all sorts of trade-offs, not
just in dialogue, but in plotting, character, setting, etc.,
etc. it may be true in real life, but it doesn't necessarily
make for a good story.
"But it happened in real life" is the familiar whine of the
beginner writer who doesn't know how to create a believable
world.
> And I
> love what Charlie wrote about how he won't sensor
himself. I feel the
> same way. If I hear a character talking in a
particular way that's
> the way I write it. When I do a revision, if
something sticks out or
> seems awkward I'll cut it, but I won't make a cut
simply because I
> think a word will offend a reader...In fact, that's
the kind of stuff
> I always try to keep in.
Well, whatever turns your crank. But I've never read any of
your stuff where a word has offended me or seemed
particularly gratuitous. And your stuff seems real to me. But
I have read work where some cardboard tough guy writer has
deliberately tried to offend people, and it comes off, not as
offensive, but adolescent and shrill and phony, not the
"realistic" they claim. In fact, it comes off just as phony
as those antiseptic stories where the murderous thug says
"Golly, let's kill him."
The problem, as I see it, is when someone is so in love with
their own vision that they see the very necessary act of what
you call cutting anything that "sticks out or seems awkward"
as some sort of censorship. It's not. It's called
writing.
Kevin
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