Are there any limits?

seun · Apr 24, 2007

Where should horror fiction draw the line - if at all? Are there areas you wouldn't go as a writer?

I'm edging to saying no. Reality has no limits. Horrific situations can occur to anyone so why not in fiction?

Andre_Laurent · Apr 24, 2007

seun said:
Where should horror fiction draw the line - if at all? Are there areas you wouldn't go as a writer?

I'm edging to saying no. Reality has no limits. Horrific situations can occur to anyone so why not in fiction?

I used to say that I would never slaughter children in a story...but, it happened.

Jamesaritchie · Apr 24, 2007

Limits

seun said:
Where should horror fiction draw the line - if at all? Are there areas you wouldn't go as a writer?

I'm edging to saying no. Reality has no limits. Horrific situations can occur to anyone so why not in fiction?

I don't do child abuse. And anything else I consider in poor taste or repugnant. Just because reality has no limits does not mean I have none.

Calla Lily · Apr 24, 2007

I don't do anything remotely nasty involving children, animal abuse, or any kind of sex.

Soccer Mom · Apr 24, 2007

callalily61 said:
I don't do anything remotely nasty involving children, animal abuse, or any kind of sex.

That almost made me fall off my chair! I'm so glad you don't "DO" kids, animals, and sex.

LOL--but ditto for me. Those things squick me out, so I stay away. But teens and grown ups are fair game.

Calla Lily · Apr 24, 2007

Soccer Mom said:
That almost made me fall off my chair! I'm so glad you don't "DO" kids, animals, and sex.

LOL--but ditto for me. Those things squick me out, so I stay away. But teens and grown ups are fair game.

That interpretation never occurred to me! Serves me right for posting while still on cold meds.

kristie911 · Apr 24, 2007

I don't hurt kids...I might scare them but I don't hurt them. Everything else is totally fair game.

Chasing the Horizon · Apr 24, 2007

There's nothing I won't do other than kill a character I really like (unless I plan to bring them back somehow). But I'll make them wish they were dead.

Usually the babies and cute furry animals are the first to die in my stories (both fantasy and horror).

bsolah · Apr 24, 2007

I really don't see a limit to what our rulers and such will do to inflict horror on the population of the world, so really there's no limit in the horrors I describe. Except I won't portray reactionary (racist, sexist, homophobic) violence in a positive light. As long as you're clear that it is horrible and in no way justified (as some horror writers unfortunately do) than I think it's ok.

Also I don't like to just make horrible violence come from them just 'being evil' or 'born psycho.' It's not only poor characterization, but it has no connection with reality at all.

Pike · Apr 25, 2007

I feel that this is individulaized from writer to writer. Everyone has their limits and some folks will take it to the outer extreme. At the moment, I can't bring myself to write about direct child abuse or rape, thought I doubt I'll ever feel comfortable about the ladder. I can always mention it indirectly without lying the graphic details at the reader's feet, then slaughter the perps for doing it.

Pike

Jamesaritchie · Apr 25, 2007

bsolah said:
I really don't see a limit to what our rulers and such will do to inflict horror on the population of the world, so really there's no limit in the horrors I describe..

So if the rulers do it, this justifies you doing it?

kristie911 · Apr 25, 2007

Jamesaritchie said:
So if the rulers do it, this justifies you doing it?

Why not? At least he's only doing it on paper.

bsolah · Apr 26, 2007

I'm not doing it, just reporting the horrors that need to be told. Better than keeping it under the rug so they get away with it.

seun · Apr 26, 2007

Jamesaritchie said:
So if the rulers do it, this justifies you doing it?

Isn't that where the line between reality and fiction comes in? We know what we write isn't real just as we know what we see on the news is.
If shitty, horrible things happen in reality, then what the hell? I'll kill a few babies and eat some dogs...in my stories, of course.

bsolah · Apr 26, 2007

seun said:
Isn't that where the line between reality and fiction comes in? We know what we write isn't real just as we know what we see on the news is.
If shitty, horrible things happen in reality, then what the hell? I'll kill a few babies and eat some dogs...in my stories, of course.

I still think that you can't totally disconnect your fiction from reality. The actual events are fictional but it still reflects reality to an extent, something similar happened, something similar happened to the reader etc. and even if you're going for the completely absurd and unreal, your reader will still view it through a pair of eyes that have experienced the world uniquely and will interpret it based on their experiences.

Andre_Laurent · Apr 26, 2007

seun said:
We know what we write isn't real just as we know what we see on the news is.

You believe everything you hear on the news? They lie like dogs if it makes the story better...I KNOW this for a fact because I heard a story on the news that I was involved in and what I heard did not jibe with what happened.

bsolah · Apr 26, 2007

Yeah sure the media lies, but you can't deny there's a war on, there's a growing gap between rich and poor etc. These things are real horrors and need to be revealed.

Pike · Apr 26, 2007

Being inspired by reality is one thing but to say that do to unthinkable horrors in the world we can delve into those darker regions light hearted and throw out things disgusting, horrible, and just plain sick with such non-chalance is disturbing. I can write about all kinds of things if I really wanted to but would rather not be associated with such things depraved. That's me. And just because part of the world is ran by a bunch of wackos doesn't mean that all leaders are corrupt and we should breed abject anarchy for shits and giggles.

I don't consider myself a voice of the people or a collective voice dying to heard. I write what intrigues me and hope that people enjoy it. Not social commentary or the hidden truth, just wacky stuff that I felt needed to be in print.

Pike

bsolah · Apr 26, 2007

It's not just for 'shits and giggles.' I have serious political ideas that you may or may not agree with -- that's fine. I am totally disgusted by what's going on in the world and horror fiction is my medium of expressing that.

What I was saying was that whether or not you see your writing as social commentary, your ideas of society and the reader's ideas of society will have an effect on the way you read and write, even if it's not conscious.

Andre_Laurent · Apr 26, 2007

bsolah said:
Yeah sure the media lies, but you can't deny there's a war on, there's a growing gap between rich and poor etc. These things are real horrors and need to be revealed.

Just tossing out a fact dude.

seun · Apr 26, 2007

Andre_Laurent said:
You believe everything you hear on the news? They lie like dogs if it makes the story better...I KNOW this for a fact because I heard a story on the news that I was involved in and what I heard did not jibe with what happened.

No, I don't believe everything I hear on the news. That's not the issue. I'm saying there are no limits to the shit that happens in real life. So when it comes to fiction, where do we draw the line or should we draw it at all?

Pike · Apr 26, 2007

Hey Ben, sorry about the S&G crack; it was early and I was feeling whimsical. I agree that our view points shape our writing. No matter where you stand on a subject or the world today, all writers add a bit of themselves, and their environment, into their writing. But as the question was asked "where do we draw the line", I don't see the answer as being cut and dry. As we've seen here, each of us draws a line in the sand and works around it. Some times we might cross it or just steer clear of it. It all comes down to your personal beliefs and what you're willing to do, or not do.

Pike

HorrorWriter · Apr 30, 2007

Seun,
If it moves the story along, I'll talk about whatever I want---because we're writing fiction. We aren't really hurting anyone. I work in the human services field and have seen humanity at its worse. I will not hesitate about including these horrific things in my fiction because it can create dialogue about the horrors that occur to children, the mentally retarded, the mentally ill, etc. This is really happening in real life, and it needs to stop! BUT I won't pretend that it does not occur by not including it in my fiction. I want to talk about the really hard issues and hope that they can finally be resolved through dialogue and changing laws with "Big Brother" rather than pretending that they don't exist. When I see disparities in this society, I will offer discourse through my work. JMHO. :Soapbox:

Writer2011 · Apr 30, 2007

I would never kill kids--scare them definitely but to me it's immoral. Although there are stories (Pet Sematery) for instance where the little boy is run over by a truck--that right there turned me off and I actually walked out of the theater.

Still if a writer chooses to have children killed that's his/her choice.

Andre_Laurent · Apr 30, 2007

seun said:
No, I don't believe everything I hear on the news. That's not the issue. I'm saying there are no limits to the shit that happens in real life. So when it comes to fiction, where do we draw the line or should we draw it at all?

I know that isn't the issue...just sayin'...

I guess I draw the line at child torture or rape...nope, I'm not touching that. I torture the crap out of adult characters though. And yes, I did let a character whack a newborn, but it was quick and clean...and it had to happen to send my character off the deep end.

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