Young Writers discussion
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Self Publishing--Thoughts?
Define "lunatic." Anyone with slight mental problems could be considered a "lunatic" back then. The answer is obviously not to LOCK THEM IN THE ATTIC. How is that okay? You should read Wide Sargasso Sea.
No, it's fine. I don't think people are stupid for reading shallow literature and liking it, I just think it's a bad example for them. That's it. Some teenagers think it's cool to drink and smoke weed after they read Gossip Girl.
Some teenagers think it's cool to drink and smoke weed after they go to high school. It's not like I read about a fictional character murdering someone and think "gee, that sounds great."
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YES. THIS. I understand that teenagers are immature. But I think that the love we experience can be just as real as love that adults experience. Yes, a lot of the time it's naive and hormone driven. But it can still be love, even if it's a different type.
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False."
False? Elaborate."
Because look, bro, look. I obviously have the best taste out of anyone on the planet. So it's like, my duty to make sure the rest of you understand how terrible your taste is and get you on the right junk.
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Maria [the clockwork creeps on useless lives], Butts butts
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![Maria [the clockwork creeps on useless lives] (mariachhile) | 8772 comments](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1322709957p1/2412416.jpg)
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A lot of people can read books and go on from them.
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... I see.
BUT I WILL LIKE WHAT I WANT NO MATTER WHAT YOU SAY. SO HA.
Some teenagers think it's cool to jump off of a cliff and die to try to see their sexy vampire boyfriend.Teenagers are influenced easily. Trust me on that.
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And this is why it's super fine to tell people they are stupid for liking what they do. Cause it don't matter.
I'm sure there are some in that group, Elle, but they're not the majority. Dying isn't high up on the priority list.
Amy wrote: "Some teenagers think it's cool to drink and smoke weed after they go to high school. It's not like I read about a fictional character murdering someone and think "gee, that sounds great.""Hey, it happened with Catcher in the Rye. Not joking. Apparently the guy that killed John Lennon was obsessed with that book.
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Touché. I think you win this round.
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Maria [the clockwork creeps on useless lives], Butts butts
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Mod
Well he was probably pretty crazy in the first place. It was not entirely reading the book that caused him to murder John Lennon. I am positive on that.
Oh mi gosh, Elle.Some teenagers think that they can wear their shades at night, say sugoi all the time, have a kitty named Frigglish, and play Sburb 24/7.
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... Holden Caulfield doesn't murder anyone in The Catcher in the Rye.
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Yes, because that guy was INSANE.
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Maria [the clockwork creeps on useless lives], Butts butts
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Mod
Yeah, that's what I was thinking.
But I'm so tired I was wondering if I just missed something big.
Nepeta wrote: "Oh mi gosh, Elle.Some teenagers think that they can wear their shades at night, say sugoi all the time, have a kitty named Frigglish, and play Sburb 24/7."
I literally have no idea what any of that meant.
What Maria said. I like Game of Thrones. I'm not going to go bang my brother. Or I wouldn't, if I had a brother.
And I like Supernatural, but I don't want a Chevy Impala or to learn how to shoot a gun.
I honestly have no idea where you're going with this. If that's what all teenagers are like, it's not the ones that I talk to, go to school with, et cetera.
The secret language of insane Homestuck fans.That's what it means.
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Some teenagers think that they can wear their shades at night, say sugoi all the time, have a kitty named Frigglish, and play Sburb 24/7."
I literally have no ide..."
Sugoi means super cute in chinese
You should seriously go on deviantART. You meet all the psychos of all the fandoms, Amy. They're so scary. One time, I ranted on Evermore, and some girl called me a female dog and said that I should die in a hole for not liking it.
I think I'll stick with tumblr, thanks. Getting into debates about fiction is fun for about an hour. And then arguments go in circles and one ship calls another ship rape apologists and someone insults all people that watch Glee and it all goes down from there.
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Maria [the clockwork creeps on useless lives], Butts butts
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They're so scary. One time, I ranted on Evermore, and some girl called me a female dog and said that I sho..."
Being called a female dog is actually not that offensive. Some are quite pretty.
Don't forget about drunk 15 year olds and scary green skull things, Nep.Speaking of ships, never get into an argument with a Hetalia or Homestuck fan about them. They will gladly murder you.
Also, it was an example. Books DO influence people, whether you want to admit it or not.
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Yes, but that doesn't mean that if you read a book you're going to want to do everything the characters in that book do. If that was true, people could end up with some extremely contradictory moral codes.
Bu...people like me on dA :( Also, as Elle said, books do influence people. Not so long ago, I heard some idiot threw a metal bucket at someone at Comic-Con because they thought it was funny.
And this is from a fandom that I LOVE.
Obviously. But not to the extreme that some people make it out to be. Like how that one guy is suing WB for making Dark Knight Rises too violent and somehow being responsible for the shooting.
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Maria [the clockwork creeps on useless lives], Butts butts
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Mod
And if they do, they started off as crazy bitches in the first place so all evidence of influence doesn't matterr.
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Maria [the clockwork creeps on useless lives], Butts butts
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But the shooting was at the midnight premiere! He hadn't even known what was going to happen, and he was prepared. Ugh. People.
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That's ridiculous.
So, I got on here after work to see how this discussion was going. Holy crap...50+ new comments in four hours?
Then I read them, and realized most were spam. I'm gonna be a pushy jerk and suggest we stay on topic.
I'm not entirely sure what is being debated right now, so I'm gonna hope somebody will get this topic back on track.
Then I read them, and realized most were spam. I'm gonna be a pushy jerk and suggest we stay on topic.
I'm not entirely sure what is being debated right now, so I'm gonna hope somebody will get this topic back on track.
Spam, you say?OOOGACHAKAOOGACHAKAOOGACHAKAOOGACHAKA.
What is being debated right now is whether books influence people or not.
I fail to see how the nuances of the TDKR shooting have anything to do with self-publishing.
So...my question is, why would books NOT influence people?
So...my question is, why would books NOT influence people?
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Sorry, I was asleep and I skimmed through stuffs.
So THAT'S why the shooting was mentioned. IIIIIIII see. Okay.
So...here's some food for thought. I recently watched a lecture by someone who was promoting the mental health benefits of playing games. She talked about how creating an idealized avatar in a game helps us be better people -- we strive to be more like this idealization when we have created a simplified version that can be visualized. I think this is the same with books. An author creates a character -- one that we admire and think is cool and that we care about -- and as we become attached to said character, we become more like him. My father, who enjoys the Marvel superhero movie franchise, told me last night that watching those movies makes him try harder to be that hero to someone else.
So, while I wouldn't say we would read a serial killer thriller and go out and mimic the serial killer, I believe that our actions are heavily influenced by books and other media.
So...here's some food for thought. I recently watched a lecture by someone who was promoting the mental health benefits of playing games. She talked about how creating an idealized avatar in a game helps us be better people -- we strive to be more like this idealization when we have created a simplified version that can be visualized. I think this is the same with books. An author creates a character -- one that we admire and think is cool and that we care about -- and as we become attached to said character, we become more like him. My father, who enjoys the Marvel superhero movie franchise, told me last night that watching those movies makes him try harder to be that hero to someone else.
So, while I wouldn't say we would read a serial killer thriller and go out and mimic the serial killer, I believe that our actions are heavily influenced by books and other media.
Maybe you should read what was being discussed before labeling it all spam? Or leave the topic policing to the mods. Justa thought. Well, that's a good. Everyone's a hero in their own way, after all.
I read everything. That's why I was so irked. Because there were like 54 unread comments in a couple hours. And I don't mean to seem like I'm topic policing -- I would just prefer to stick to a debate. I just came on and was like, "How do I jump back into this? Nothing I have to say about self-publishing fits with massacres."
It just caught me off guard. Please don't take offense at that. :)
Back to the discussion:
The point is that the readers subconsciously become like who they are reading about, I suppose as a way to identify with said character. This can be good and can make a book be very successful...or it can tooootally flop and turn someone into a mass murderer who dyes his hair red.
It just caught me off guard. Please don't take offense at that. :)
Back to the discussion:
The point is that the readers subconsciously become like who they are reading about, I suppose as a way to identify with said character. This can be good and can make a book be very successful...or it can tooootally flop and turn someone into a mass murderer who dyes his hair red.
Sorry; I didn't realize that you'd aready used the phrase. I was just thinking about how after a big suicide story- not in books, but like, Phoebe Prince, whose death put her on the cover of People, some people might follow. A friend told me a story about how when a member of the football team died, they put his name on their jerseys and stuff. And then some other kid offed himself too- she said it was because he wanted the attention, but I'm going to go out on a limb and assume there were lots of other issues.
So I see where some people might be concerned. And I don't think they're all "sped up"; if some people had waited longer, they might have gotten better, or they might have chosen a less effective way that would end with them alive and in an IPU somewhere.
But I don't know. Shit happens.
And some shit you could argue was influenced by the media.
but not to the extreme, I don't think, that some people say it is. but that changes person to person
sorry. this post isn't making sense.
I need to sleep.
Mod
But back to the subject of people mimicking characters. For the most part, I don't think a perfectly happy, content person is going to all of a sudden become depressed because they read a book about a depressed character in the same way that someone isn't going to go shoot someone with a bow and arrow because they read the Hunger Games.
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Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.
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As Lav said, I don't believe the average kid will decide to kill himself/herself just because he/she reads about a character doing it in a book. I think a particularly powerful book could potentially drive a depressed kid over the edge––then again, many things could. But again, it depends on how the suicide is portrayed. There are certain books that glorify suicide and make it look like the "only/right" choice for a character; and in those cases, it could drive a depressed teenager closer to suicide. But there are also many books that convey the pain suicide causes to the victim's friends/family and whatnot, and it's books like that which could actually prevent suicide rather than cause it. So, it depends on how the author chooses to address the issue.
Anyone who thinks self-publishing works is deluded.
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Young Writers
Books mentioned in this topic
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (other topics)Angelfall (other topics)
Everything is Illuminated (other topics)
The Things They Carried (other topics)
John Green liked Twilight? Okay...I'm going to slowly back away. First of all, I NEVER called anyone stupid for liking a certain type of book."
He made a video about it. He didn't think it was a masterpiece or anything, but he said he liked certain things about it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkoBoF...
You didn't SAY that, but I thought it was what you were implying. I'm sorry. I misunderstood you, and I probably shouldn't have said that because you can say whatever you want and have your own opinions.