How responsible should writers be for how our content affects readers?

Hi,

I'm quite late to this discussion as it was posted almost a year ago. I thought I'd make a contribution from the perspective of someone who had several life experiences that are well beyond the denominator "uncomfortable". It may sound like I'm taking it to the extreme and going off-topic, but from all the replies I gather the underlying theme is sensitivity and personal responsibility, so please hear me out.

I do sometimes have a visceral negative response to different topics, which you may easily call a "trigger" (a term that is being thrown around quite liberately these days).

I'm also a social worker by profession and I stand in direct contact with individuals on a daily basis, that have had traumatizing experiences and therefore avoid certain subjects and thoughts because they are, in any degree, difficult or unbearable. The key word here is avoidance as a coping strategy. It is developed to handle daily life and find quality of life. However, complete avoidance is never guaranteed 100%.

As someone who knows how that feels I can say without any doubt that after being shaken by certain (heavy) topics in film, literature, and journalism, I developed the goal to be able to withstand any and all triggers; I wanted to be a person that can deal with a painful subject and not crumble under the weight of its truth.

Firstly, it is not my rightful place to impose any demands on other people that certain subjects are off the table. I don't ask anyone to protect me, because I'm not a child.

Secondly, I feel all the stronger for it. It means that pain (an integral part of life) is not turned into suffering. Not everyone with scars should stay a victim forever.

Like Stacyshubby says, don't bubble wrap everything. Or like AvidlyCurious says: own your issues,dude!

Adding to this, the young man in question sounds immature, thinskinned and is likely projecting, shedding his guilt and shifting the blame.

No need to censor yourself apart from the reasonable guidelines set by the founder. By the way, in that light, the argument that it is fiction and therefore justifiable content is irrelevant, as certain fiction is prohibited on here, ergo not a self-explanatory term.

The question seems to rise if the following statement is true: "blackmail = coercion = non-consent = a form of "? That's a complex debate, perhaps not for this thread. I could send you some links but it doesn't make for light reading. I did read the story, and despite the pressure, the protaganist seems to have options to refuse, but doesn't. A situation like this would probably be viewed differently depending on where you live on this planet. It doesn't read like a morality tale at all, though. The revenge arch is in the mind of the antagonist, the karma seems to be in the colored opninion of the reader.

I hope I made any sense. Thank you for your amazing story telling.

Thank you so much, GentleSoulDirtyMind! I bet you are a great social worker! Those who have been through it can usually empathize better than others. I admire your attitude and taking things into your own hands to learn to cope. ❤️ I have always told my son not to get angry if he struggles, but see them as an opportunity to learn and show how strong you are.

Thank you for reading about Felicia. After the first story, I decided I had to finish her story and the man's story she pegged, and wrote three more to bring closure to all. Hoped to maybe bring understanding that she had been hurt before and was fragile too ... sort of explain her crazy behavior, not justify, but explain.

I agree with your thought trail on blackmail too.

Thank you so much for your response. 😊

This is how books get banned. People that find issues with stories that have been approved by moderators are fighting their own demons. Their own concepts of right from wrong. That doesn't meant they dictate right and wrong for all.

I've spoken to people here that are passionate and share deep desires that they don't feel safe sharing elsewhere. I've spoken to people that come here because they are trying to find peace while they are going through difficulties in relationships. I've spoken to people about communication skills and restoring the intimacy they have in their marriage. I've spoken to people that just really just are lonely and want social conversation.

There are a wide variety of people that come here. You write your story for you. If it is inappropriate for the site, the mods won't approve it. I write for me and I just share what I write.

I know I'm late to this conversation... but that is my two cents.

Sandra47

If a reader is offended or bothered by a story, they have the right TO STOP READING the story. They DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT to censor someone. For me, I find stories about (and a few other categories) to be morally wrong and offensive. I choose not to read stories in that category nor will ever write in that genre. My rights end when it affects the rights of others. I'm not control of what others write (or say in the forums). I can only control my response.

Omg I feel terrible adding to this two years later however I've just joined (sorry folks I forgot about Lush for 25 years or so then I remembered) but I'm sure many of you will know me from Lit or ASS usenet or even Rusty's BBS back in the day ...

I do feel authors have some responsibility but only if their story is so very good and realistic...

I need to give an example here ...I have been reading a rather fabulous tale here called Glamour Girl by Stormdog and its pretty good and seems very realistic but anyone reading this story and thinking that here is the blueprint for responsible non monogamy is heading for major trouble because the actual real true communication between the main protagonists is very poor and damaging. What's worse is it's like that almost from the very beginning and it does not get better (at least by Chapter 22 it doesn't). However the tale is so good and the couple so appealing and realistic that anyone reading this and thinking about enacting non-monogamy in their life would find the idea very appealing. And there lies the danger and responsibility.

As fiction this is fabulous, as any sort of guide its simply terrible.

If it was shit and didn't seem so damn appealing and realistic it wouldn't be any kind of issue but I think it flies pretty close which is I suppose about as high a compliment as an author can get from another on one hand.

I'm of two minds on this.

In the example Kimmi originally brought up, I agree with most of the people here — the dude was out of line. It's a piece of fiction. It's not on the author how people react to it.

On the flip side, I had a moment of clarity years ago that I was uncomfortable writing stories that didn't have clear consent. At the time I dabbled a bit in dubcon scenarios. They excited me then, and still do today. But I'm not comfortable writing them. I have no problem with the category existing, and I'm not here to yuck anyone's yum. But when I considered what I wanted to put into the world? I wanted stories featuring smart women making their own choices. Women who weren't just a subplot in someone else's story.

But I don't think that's about author responsibility so much as trying to be clear about what you want to put into the world.

As a writer, your job is to create and tell a story. As a reader, it is my job to relate it to myself within my consciousness; a process over which you have little or no control.

In your example, you mentioned a guy who wrote you and accused you of being careless with your words. I would say that he was being careless with his thoughts. If he is having a problem because of something you wrote, then his problems run deeper than any words you can put on paper.

Our stories are written with the intention of entertaining and, occasionally, giving readers a way to express themselves sexually. Taking care of someone's mental health is not our obligation; it is theirs or that of their loved ones.

Although it is regretful whenever an intended audience member has a negative reaction to your work, it is not your responsibility to change your way of writing to pacify the needs of any person other than yourself. It is the idea of providing satisfaction for yourself that enables you to provide satisfaction for others. Happiness for one, however, will sometimes be a source of agony for others.

Hi Kimmi,

Readers opt to come to Lush, most of them know what they are going to read and view on this site. I'm sure a great deal of what is written is fantasy, and quite a bit of it pushes boundaries. I'm sure will all enjoy mainstream fiction, I enjoy detective stories, but that doesn't mean I condone or promote murder. A little perspective is required here. Lush has clear rules about what is acceptable. That young man didn't have to read your story, he chose to and could have stopped at any time.

Oh dear. What a good question, Kimmi, at least on the surface. I've scrolled through the replies, and most seem to support my view on the topic.

I've written many stories that are well beyond my own moral and ethical boundaries. They depict actions and scenes I would not condone, take part in, or even remotely live out in real life—because this is fiction. I've had one story returned from the moderator team because it needed to be toned down, and I pretty much implied as much when I submitted it. After a re-write, which frankly made the story a better one, it was published. So, there's the first layer of 'censorship'—the moderators and rules of the site.

I always make sure to take advantage of the tags so that the reader has ample opportunity to decide if the story is within their own boundaries. For my most bizarre and extreme stories, I use the author's note to warn the reader of the content.

Ultimately, the nature of the site, the content that is allowed, and the tools we have been given should be enough to steer the readers in the right direction. If you read an story and are troubled by the content, you have no one but yourself to blame.

I'd say we're about 60% responsible for how our content affects readers. As a writer, I very deliberately attempt to provoke certain responses (mostly horniness, but at times I'll aim a bit deeper than that) in my readers. I present my own particular vision, along with my own particular system of values, etc. As a mode of expression, my writing is an attempt at exerting some influence on the hearts and minds (and other bits) of the world. It's also in what I decide not to write about. I have some concern about how has been normalized by porn, and choose not to write about it, for example, so as not to promote that behavior in the world. If I were to write about it, it would be presented as a kind of tragic situation, and the characters would likely suffer awful consequences because of it (which is usually the case in real life - but that's not the vibe I'm going for as an author, so it's best to just leave it be), so that my position on wouldn't be ambiguous. A writer is responsible for constraining as much as possible the room for (mis)interpretation of their work. If most readers are getting "the wrong ideas" about my work - and by extension about me - because of my lack of clarity, that's on me. It's my writing that left the door open for them to make those conclusions.

So, that's my part. The remaining 40% is up to each individual reader, and I can't possibly guess how my work will be taken up by every single one of them, or what they'll walk away with. If my writing is an open door, it's still the reader's decision of if and how they'll walk through it. I can't control the perspectives (or reading skills, for that matter) that readers will bring to my work or how they'll interact with it. Once I've produced a story, my role is finished. The story lives out there in the world and will encounter all kinds of characters. It will have to stand up on its own without me. What readers do with it is their business. I'm responsible for the content I produce, and readers are responsible for their reactions to it.