Sypha Nadon on 3/12/2006 at 02:36

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Paz, I'm not being a tit. It's simply my philosophy. Everyone could hate what I do but I'd still do it anyway. I mean, I posted music on here years ago and got flamed horribly, but it didn't really dissuade me, as I'm still at it years later. I just realized that what interests me might not interest other people. Or should I say, the majority of other people, as there's an audience for anything. I think with art you just need to remain as true to your vision as possible, and that everything else is secondary. I tend to view both positive and negative remarks with the same level of interest. In the end, it just comes down to issues of personal taste/opinion. I think my book is great, otherwise, I wouldn't of written it. People can either choose to read it and judge it and come to their own conclusions, but that's their call. It won't really influence me in the long run, good or bad, as long as I'm satisfied. Of course, my standards are very high and I find them very difficult to meet sometimes, but that's life. I just don't want you to think I'm under any illusion that I think people won't like it because I think they don't understand it. As I wrote the book there were many points where I realized that the average reader would probably hate such and such scene, such and such character, they might find this pointless, whatever. But the point was that I enjoyed it, and that's why I put it in there.

In regards to peer acceptance, I pretty much expected the response it got so far. Pre-ordained, you could say. Actually, I'm surprised, there wasn't as much vitriol as I expected there would be. The fact of the matter is, pretty much every creative project I've ever posted on here has met with scorn, ridicule, and what not, so this latest reaction doesn't surprise me. But I long ago accepted that TTLG just isn't comprised of individuals who enjoy the kind of thing I do (generally speaking... I don't want to stereotype here).

To quote Bret Easton Ellis, another one of my favorite writers: "You write how you write. Some people will like it, some people will not like it. But it's not really about pleasing people or making people understand things. Writing is really a very selfish thing. You're writing a book because you want to write a book and you're interested in these characters and you're interested in this story and you're interested in this style and you're basically masturbating at your desk with all these papers and these pens and if it goes out there, hits a nerve, fine; if it doesn't, well, fine, too. It's really about expressing yourself in a lot of ways, to yourself and not to anyone else. You're pleasing yourself when you're writing, you're not pleasing a bunch of other people. You're not constructing a little candy house, or a little gingerbread house that everyone can take a piece of and feel sweet and nice and that makes themselves feel good about themselves or about reading a book. Writing a book is actually a very selfish and very aggressive thing. You're writing this book and putting it out there and it says, Read me! Read me! Read me!"

I think he hit the nail on the head with that one. I mean, who am I going to listen to, an established writer or a bunch of snarky nerds who hang out on message boards?

Oh yes, Scots, I was thinking of that character in "Collateral" at the time. I thought it was a pretty cool look, actually.

SD on 3/12/2006 at 02:41

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What the FUCK are you talking about you silly tart

I hope to Christ this is your mental illness speaking because there's no other excuse for you being such a clueless fuckwit

OnionBob on 3/12/2006 at 02:49

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i doubt it

SD on 3/12/2006 at 02:59

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Maybe he can be a character in your next book.

It's certainly no more unlikely a name for a real-life person than Sypha Nadon!

Sypha Nadon on 3/12/2006 at 03:02

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Oh Stronts, give it a rest, you're as much an object of ridicule around here as I am. The difference between you and me as I only put up with it every few months or so whereas you're a masochist who takes it day in and day out. And for your information, Sypha is a real first name and Nadon is an actual last name, so it's not totally impropable. Not that I give a fuck about "realism".

Oh, and Noid, I wasn't referring to people I've met in real life in the above comment... only via the Internet. Perhaps I should have been more specific?