Honesty - People Can't Handle It

Reposted because it disappeared off my blog.

The other day we were visiting some family friends. While we were
sitting and talking, one of the women (in her 90s) brought up how she
didn't think sex had a place in books. She told me she wrote to an
author and complained about the way she put sex scenes in her stories.
Her main argument was: What if children read it?

My response:
Adult books aren't written for children. They're written for adults. If
children are reading them, their parents are at fault for not paying
enough attention to what their children are getting their hands on and
reading.

I also made if very clear that people who write
ADULT
books don't have children in mind when they're writing them, because the books are for adults.

Later, I was informed that the woman thought I was "opinionated."

This
didn't offend me in the least. I know I am. I'm proud that I know
myself well enough to stand up against something I don't like or believe
in just because it might upset someone else. I can't live with the
what-ifs of others and be true to myself.

People have to be
responsible for themselves. This goes along with people getting
offended, and the thinking that the author is ultimately responsible for
who gets their hands on their books, regardless of the genre or age
group.

I can't be responsible for a child getting a hold of one
of my stories or books that isn't written for their age group. That
child and their parents are responsible for regulating their intake of
literature. That's the truth. Take it or leave it.

Stop blaming
everything on the authors. If you don't like what they write, find an
author you like better. God knows there are plenty of authors out there
and they could use real fans.

Authors don't sit and think about
how everything in there work will offend people, or make them like their
work better. We sit down and we tell a story. Maybe it's a happy story.
Maybe it's an ugly story. Maybe the characters are messed up. Maybe
everyone in the story is completely sane. Who knows! At the end of the
day (unless it's nonfiction) it's all made up and not real anyway; it's
just a story for entertainment. If the stories authors write happen to
push your comfort zone and make you think beyond you're own experience,
so be it! But don't blame the authors for what you like or don't like.
We didn't write the story to personally piss you off.

Read and be
enlighten, and stop pointing fingers at authors who have no control
over each reader's likes and dislikes. Because, if you continue to do
so, you might just run into a writer like me who will straight up tell
you you're wrong.




Copyrights owned by Rebecca Besser, 2013. All rights reserved.