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Post by TeddyBower on Feb 7, 2016 0:08:23 GMT -5
Okay, so I've got a story that I'm preparing to submit to Dave in a week or so. I originally wrote it for a straight, female, evangelical friend of mine who was bravely beginning to ask the difficult questions about God and faith and dogma and homosexuality that many of the rest of us who were raised in that subculture, and who are also gay, were compelled to ask and answer when we were perhaps in our teens and twenties, simply as a means of survival. In her conversations with me she was inquiring about what a gay teenager faces growing up within the evangelical culture so I set out to write the story as my attempt to answer that question for her.
Now my characters often take over the telling of my stories. I don't think this is anything new, particularly. I've had conversations with other authors who say the same thing, but for this story the protagonist really DID wrest control of the story from my hands in a far greater way than is usual.
Without going into detail, seeing as how I don't want to tell the story here and now, suffice it to say that the protagonist finds resolution to his sexuality struggles in a much different and what for many of us would be a potentially controversial way. Certainly it was in a much different way than I did or perhaps how anyone I know has, yet there the story is, sitting in its own file folder within my documents folder waiting for the final touches. As I've thought about it I've come to the conclusion that perhaps it is a sign on my part of growth as an author that I am willing to write something, and attempt to do it well, that on the most basic level just isn't me.
I guess what I'm asking here is for feedback from some of the rest of you who author stories in this genre, or any other genre for that matter, what your experiences are with telling the side of a story that is so divergent from your own approach to or understanding about life.
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Post by Cynus on Feb 7, 2016 0:38:12 GMT -5
Okay, so I've got a story that I'm preparing to submit to Dave in a week or so. I originally wrote it for a straight, female, evangelical friend of mine who was bravely beginning to ask the difficult questions about God and faith and dogma and homosexuality that many of the rest of us who were raised in that subculture, and who are also gay, were compelled to ask and answer when we were perhaps in our teens and twenties, simply as a means of survival. In her conversations with me she was inquiring about what a gay teenager faces growing up within the evangelical culture so I set out to write the story as my attempt to answer that question for her. Now my characters often take over the telling of my stories. I don't think this is anything new, particularly. I've had conversations with other authors who say the same thing, but for this story the protagonist really DID wrest control of the story from my hands in a far greater way than is usual. Without going into detail, seeing as how I don't want to tell the story here and now, suffice it to say that the protagonist finds resolution to his sexuality struggles in a much different and what for many of us would be a potentially controversial way. Certainly it was in a much different way than I did or perhaps how anyone I know has, yet there the story is, sitting in its own file folder within my documents folder waiting for the final touches. As I've thought about it I've come to the conclusion that perhaps it is a sign on my part of growth as an author that I am willing to write something, and attempt to do it well, that on the most basic level just isn't me. I guess what I'm asking here is for feedback from some of the rest of you who author stories in this genre, or any other genre for that matter, what your experiences are with telling the side of a story that is so divergent from your own approach to or understanding about life. I like to think I've broken free from my comfort zone time and time again, trying out genres I'm unfamiliar with or going after subjects I have an only passing knowledge of. I don't know what other's opinions of my work are regarding this facet of my experience, but I feel I have at least some ability to contribute to this conversation. I'm sure you remember our conversation about killing characters (For those who may be reading this and would like context, you can find that here: doghouse.freeforums.net/thread/389/coming-soon). I benefited from that conversation by your perspective, which was completely different than my own, and I like to think it worked both ways. Whether or not our opinions were changed by that discussion is irrelevant to the particular point I'm trying to make, as the discussion led us to think about the subject either way. It was a controversial subject for both of us, but we handled it appropriately (I think, anyway), and walked away with a lot to think about. In at least two stories I can think of, I took an approach I would not normally have considered belonging to me (Jason from Return With Honor comes to mind for me). While I still would never act like Jason in real life, I ended up learning some things about myself in the process of writing him. I found out I was perhaps a bit more attached to dogma than I realized, that I sometimes have a tendency to think I'm right even when I'm clearly being proven wrong. Art is always an opportunity to learn about yourself as an artist. Especially if the character is writing himself, I imagine you've got some self reflection to do. (Speaking from emotion, here. No offense meant by any of this). These characters are a reflection of you in some way, and I highly recommend you keep writing and find out what it is they're trying to teach you. Just because you disagree with his perspective, doesn't mean there's nothing valuable to gain from him. Please, keep exploring. I will always feel that making art is much more important than not making art.  Hope this helps in some way! |
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Post by Dabeagle on Feb 7, 2016 11:29:28 GMT -5
I'm not sure how to answer that, really. My characters can get caught up in an emotion and it sometimes just spirals. One that immediately comes to mind was with Robin Kirkwood in Built to Last. There was an area, there, where my anger was entwined with his and aimed at his parents and it was very hard to pull it back. Even so, he was pretty close to going full on nuclear with his folks, which happens with teens sometimes.
Even though my characters frequently tell their own stories, I do find that my emotions and line of reasoning shows up in each of them so that they are, in essence, extensions of me. I have a hard time writing characters, except in a very flat way, who are really radically different in their thinking from me.
It does, however, bring about some interesting conversations while trying to create something. Sometimes the characters force you to dig out of things they've created or to consider positions you wouldn't have, otherwise.
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Post by Lugnutz on Feb 7, 2016 12:09:38 GMT -5
My story "F.A.S.T." was going to be totally different, but the characters took over and made it their own. Maybe I'll write the next one how I like it. Maybe... I like this one.
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Post by TeddyBower on Feb 7, 2016 22:09:37 GMT -5
Thanks for the feedback, Guys. Yes, Sam, I believe you are correct when you say it's about stretching one's comfort zones. In the case of this particular story my gut reaction to where the story ends up can be summed up in one word, "Bullshit!" Still, that's where it went, and frankly more and more LGBT individuals are going to that same place. It's their story just as it is the story of the protagonist in my story and as such, I think it's a story worth telling. You'll probably understand better once the story is published, assuming Dave decides it is worthy of a place on this site  I also remember our conversation on killing characters, and yes, It did work both ways and I'm still contemplating that conversation. I find it more infinitely more satisfying to talk about differences in a calm and rational way rather than shouting each other down in a doomed attempt at forcing another to hear my side and concede my point. Dave, you said something that really caught my attention in your response. You said: That really got me to thinking about the story in question and whether or not I've got a whole new area of self examination to engage in. On reflection, I don't believe I could have written the story the way I wrote it if it were so very radically different from something within me, perhaps hidden deep in the lowest areas of my subconscious mind? Dunno. Perhaps I'm over analyzing this. Whatever the case the thought is not a conclusion that I particularly like, but probably one I might need to look at honestly. Again, you'll probably understand more easily once you've looked at the story. I can also relate to the deal where the characters just spiral out of control with their anger or other emotions. I've got a couple of stories on the back burner that have been there for quite some time that went so far off track I cannot even begin to envision how to get them back to something that anyone will want to read. Lugnutz, I did enjoy that story you referred to and cannot imagine it being presented any way other than the way you did. Now you've got me curious. I do know that just like my experience in this story, the characters can sometimes take the whole thing all catawampus. I've kind of learned to go with the flow on that, figuring that the ultimate outcome will be better than what I had in mind anyhow. |
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