No Shame In My Game
Feb. 12th, 2011 11:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
keiramarcosI appreciate the support that I've gotten over the last couple of days. I received some great emails offering support from people who don't have LJ accounts or who weren't comfortable posting in public. So, thanks to everyone who emailed me, especially if I haven't had a chance to respond.
I sort of had an epiphany about my fiction and about the people who complain about what I write. I'm not ashamed of what I write. I'm not ashamed of the sex that I write. I'm not ashamed of the BDSM. None of it makes me uncomfortable and 99% of it frankly turns me on.
Most of you know I received a great deal of private communication regarding Ties That Bind when I first started posting it. Some people were very uncomfortable with the themes and characterizations in the fic. The world building made them edgy, the social circumstances in the scenes were difficult for some people. They often made assumptions about what they were reading and made dramatic leaps about the ideals in the series.
I told more than one person during that first six months that they should stop reading the series because it was NEVER going to be what they wanted it to be. I wasn't interested in their political views and I wasn't interested in hearing how uncomfortable they were with the series. It simple wasn't my problem and I still believe that. It's not my problem if someone is made uncomfortable about what I write here or in my fiction.
Still, that last email about the HP fic really pissed me off. It's not my problem she's irritated by writing habits. I'm sure she's not alone and that's fine because that's not my responsibility either. I'm going to keep reminding myself of that.
I sort of had an epiphany about my fiction and about the people who complain about what I write. I'm not ashamed of what I write. I'm not ashamed of the sex that I write. I'm not ashamed of the BDSM. None of it makes me uncomfortable and 99% of it frankly turns me on.
Most of you know I received a great deal of private communication regarding Ties That Bind when I first started posting it. Some people were very uncomfortable with the themes and characterizations in the fic. The world building made them edgy, the social circumstances in the scenes were difficult for some people. They often made assumptions about what they were reading and made dramatic leaps about the ideals in the series.
I told more than one person during that first six months that they should stop reading the series because it was NEVER going to be what they wanted it to be. I wasn't interested in their political views and I wasn't interested in hearing how uncomfortable they were with the series. It simple wasn't my problem and I still believe that. It's not my problem if someone is made uncomfortable about what I write here or in my fiction.
Still, that last email about the HP fic really pissed me off. It's not my problem she's irritated by writing habits. I'm sure she's not alone and that's fine because that's not my responsibility either. I'm going to keep reminding myself of that.
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Date: 2011-02-13 02:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 02:40 am (UTC)You have my support. Truly.
~L
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Date: 2011-02-13 03:00 am (UTC)In summation: You're my hero.
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Date: 2011-02-13 03:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 03:11 am (UTC)Random side note! I hardly ever read AU fics, but Ties That Bind is one of my favorite stories EVER. Tangled Destinies is another one of my favorites... Soooo I'll just be in my lurker's corner enjoying your writing to no end. :3
Edit! I'm grateful that Xanthe created the idea of the BDSM universe. However, I just liked her story - while I loooove TTB! It's so awesome~! ...Okay, sorry for my outbust. Back to the corner!
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Date: 2011-02-13 03:16 am (UTC)I love Ties that Bind, the world you built is great. I will never understand why people don't just stop reading a fic, if they are uncomfortable with the subject matter.
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Date: 2011-02-13 03:21 am (UTC)What I found so relieving was/is the social structure, the understanding of power play when you concentrate on individual relationships, and your explorations of underlying personal dynamics. You got a hell of a lot very right. There's a hell of a lot more that I would wish for in reality.
Anyway, I could make this an extremely longwinded appreciation for your writing, but I believe the validation that you could really need to hear is that I honestly hope you don't stop writing. If that alternate reality really is out there, I wouldn't mind getting sucked into it one bit. As it is, I'll enjoy reading about it. It's pretty damned hot!
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Date: 2011-02-13 03:35 am (UTC)Well. I have wrestled the internet demons and fucking finally made it back both online and to a functioning computer.
*falls in a heap of pom poms*
I've been gone and people have been mean to you.
I'm devastated. I have failed in my duties as a rabid Keira!fic geriatric fangirl! Worse yet, I missed the opportunity to watch you kick ass.
*pouts*
I'm sorry they were mean and stupid. You have absolutely NOTHING to be ashamed of, and I'm reassured by the fact that you recognize that it's not your reponsibility if they don't like it. That's why there's a back button.
Hmph.
'Illegitimi non carborundum' may be psuedo-Latin but the phrase is most appropriate. Or as Bette Midler phrased it in somewhat more contemporary language: 'Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke.'
*sniffs*
Honestly.
--->insert the Rodney-ism of your choice here. It's sure to be more articulate than anything I could come up with. \o/
What is WRONG with these people?! They're complaining and I'm thinking we should have you proclaimed a priceless asset! Anyone who can write like you should be spoiled and pampered and pandered to shamelessly.
*toddles off to watch the clip*
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Date: 2011-02-13 03:38 am (UTC)Great clip.
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Date: 2011-02-13 03:56 am (UTC)No seriously.
There is no way you could possibly be ashamed of anything you write. I can't see how that would be possible.
I totally don't understand people who, not only read stuff that makes them uncomfortable, but then WINGE about it. The solution is simple. Don't read it.
I don't like death fics. They get me down. So I read warnings, guess what it works a treat. Some people, honestly.
I love that commercial, I loved the last CM vid as well.
<3
M
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Date: 2011-02-13 04:21 am (UTC)Be proud and free.
YOU GO, GIRL
Date: 2011-02-13 04:54 am (UTC)The only rational explanation I've ever conceived of for why people don't just take their marbles elsewhere is that their persistence has its roots in arrant crusader-ism. They don't like it, it doesn't fit their picture of decency, so it must go away. It can't even exist in corners no one looks at.
All things considered, I'd rather they expended the energy on the outernet, or what some people might call real life. There are plenty of intentional wrongs going on out there that the most fervent crusader anywhere should have a field day making right. Harassing fanfic writers is a complete waste of time and energy that could be put to far better use.
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Date: 2011-02-13 05:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 05:27 am (UTC)If I actually paid you to write me a specific story I'd think I was entitled to complain about it. But this is all for free. Amazing.
(BTW I think they should read it. I never thought I'd enjoy a bdsm story but TTB caught me like nothing before, I couldn't put my computer down and sacrificed two nights of sleep when I found it and still is completely OCD about the next part. That taught me to simply try everything you write and most things others write as well.)
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Date: 2011-02-13 05:29 am (UTC)thumbs up and cant wait for more of your hot BDSM man love!
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Date: 2011-02-13 05:39 am (UTC)I'm not ashamed of what I write. I'm not ashamed of the sex that I write. I'm not ashamed of the BDSM. None of it makes me uncomfortable and 99% of it frankly turns me on. - so with you there!
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Date: 2011-02-13 06:00 am (UTC)Fangirls/boys
Date: 2011-02-13 06:47 am (UTC)As a side note, Cervantes said in Don Quixote, "Your unreasonable treatment of my reason so enfeebles my reason that I have reason to complain of your reason." A roudabout way of saying, "I find you to be a moron because your logic is utterly illogical." If people don't like your fanfiction, they can go to Wraithbait or Fanfiction dot net and READ SOMETHING ELSE. I never cease to be amazed at the number of stupid people in the world unable to comprehend this simple fact. For my own part, I'm one of your rabid fangirls that is eternally grateful you decided to use your writing skills in the world of fanfiction, and I look forward to anything you choose to post in the future.
Re: Fangirls/boys
Date: 2011-02-13 01:28 pm (UTC)I am proudly a Rabbit Keira Fangirl.
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Date: 2011-02-13 06:54 am (UTC)For the record I LOVE THE TIES THAT BIND SERIES. It is a piece of writing that is not only thought provoking but seriously arousing. I never thought the BDSM world could make me so hard but through your writing it did and I am grateful beyond words that you continue to write in it.
Grrrr idiots like the HP flamer make me want to hurt things.
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Date: 2011-02-13 11:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-02-13 07:17 am (UTC)I can't wrap my mind around all these people that can't distinguish between a written fantasy story and real life. The stories are not based in reality.
People really scare me at times! If they can't wrap their minds around your universe then they should just fly off and write their own stories to their own satisfaction. As I have said before Keira, yours (WMHB) was the first slash fic I ever read (and how utterly terrified to leave a comment asking if there would be more because I enjoyed it) and I liked your universe and am grateful to be allowed to hang out here and read it. Please keep writing, I want to see what happens next!
"HUGS YOU"
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Date: 2011-02-13 08:08 am (UTC)I am never going to get off on people hitting one another, not in a million years. But I do love a bit of dominance and possessiveness and brilliant, edgy characters. Which you deliver in spades in TTTB.
When I wrote I was often critisised for my themes, 'hanging curtains' (as they called domestic themes back then), kidfic ( you know what that's like). Mpreg. Gender bending.
But I took comfort in the many fans who did let me know that they enjoyed my work, and in one other fact:
I wrote what I liked. (I still do, although I seldom share any more.) I put the characters I loved into situations I wantd to see them in, then played the story out on the page.
I didn't ever, nor will I ever apologise for it.
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Date: 2011-02-13 09:24 am (UTC)If you ever decided to share them, I would be happy to receive.
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Date: 2011-02-13 11:22 am (UTC)I've often been baffled by some people's behaviour; it's like they never grew out of the bratty phase where a child expects all its needs and wants to be met immediately. It's childish and obnoxious, and really, really ridiculous. Those people need a reality check.
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Date: 2011-02-13 11:33 am (UTC)I think I've said this before, but it took me a while to read TTB. I understood very little about the lifestyle and it made me uncomfortable. Then I read the story and was blown away by it. Pun not intended! I have it all on my kindle with an NC17 code so my nosey granddaughter knows she's not to go there.
Reading that and a couple of other writers who write BDSM opened a new world for me. I think I'm a pretty accepting person, and I realized that by reading TTB and others like it, I would learn about something I knew nothing about. TTB actually made me surf to get more information. I am not attracted to the lifestyle at all, but the personal dynamics and the people who live it interest me. TTB is one of my favorite series EVER. And I learned a hell of a lot about sex toys.
If anyone watches Castle, there have been a couple of episodes that took the characters into sex shops and touched on the lifestyle. I think it's a riot that Beckett knows so much about it and Castle is trying to figure her out.
I read somewhere that the best writers are the ones who take people out of their comfort zone. It worked for me! And I blame you, Keira, for the look I got from my daughter when she was searching for a leather jacket and I gave her a link and not thinking said they have some really cool whips and floggers. :-)
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Date: 2011-02-14 11:57 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2011-02-13 11:40 am (UTC)Also, I never thought I would like the HP story, but I trust you, and boy am I glad I did. I think it's wonderful that you open up new areas and fandoms (whether that is your intention or not. ;)
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Date: 2011-02-13 11:48 am (UTC)I love your TTTB universe, as you very well know. I get tired of BDSM fics that consist of an angry man (or woman) throwing a collar on someone weaker and beating the tar out of them before raping them and then calling it love or something. That's not BDSM or love, that's just abuse! The Ties That Bind was like a breath of fresh air, and I freely admit, there are times when I wish I lived there! Well... except for the Wraith threat that is. But, you know what I mean.
You write what you are called to write, and you, Keira, write it very well. If a few disgruntled people don't like it, that's their problem, not yours.
*hugs*
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Date: 2011-02-13 12:16 pm (UTC)And as an amature writer myself, it's my oppinion that if you can't inspire the feelings you want to get across to your readers in yourself, you're probably not doing it right. *grins* So the fact you're turning yourself on definitely means you're doing it right.