I am very sorry that you have had such terrible experiences in your life. It is very hard to be "othered" in Western Culture, whether it is by sexual preference, gender preference, gender performance, religion, body shape, or skin color. I know you are speaking honestly and out of your own pain, and I honor and value the courage it took for you to do this. And I am very sorry that something I wrote has caused you pain.
But your experiences are not mine. Nor are they those of many homosexuals. Yes, it can be painful to discover that you are homosexual, and yes, living as a homosexual can be a frightening and ugly experience. But I sincerely believe that the fear, the pain, and the ugliness come from bigotry, oppression, and injustice that homosexuals face, and not from the fact of homosexuality. I hope that you are able to find peace and happiness without having to conceal who you are or by forcing yourself to become someone you are not.
Writing--even the worst writing by the worst of writers--is about truth. Not the kind of truth that says "elves are real", but the kind of truth that says "this is the story I have created and I will be true to its shape and structure". Any writer, any kind of creator at all, who rejects their own truth for someone else's truth will find that their art suffers because of it. Even if I cut a scene from my book, or a character, they are still there in the story-world in my mind, the one that exists because of my truth and in service to it.
Please take care of yourself, and know that you are a good and a valuable person. And very brave--it takes courage to voice an honest opinion, especially to a stranger.
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merlinscribe) wrote2016-05-01 10:41 pm
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But your experiences are not mine. Nor are they those of many homosexuals. Yes, it can be painful to discover that you are homosexual, and yes, living as a homosexual can be a frightening and ugly experience. But I sincerely believe that the fear, the pain, and the ugliness come from bigotry, oppression, and injustice that homosexuals face, and not from the fact of homosexuality. I hope that you are able to find peace and happiness without having to conceal who you are or by forcing yourself to become someone you are not.
Writing--even the worst writing by the worst of writers--is about truth. Not the kind of truth that says "elves are real", but the kind of truth that says "this is the story I have created and I will be true to its shape and structure". Any writer, any kind of creator at all, who rejects their own truth for someone else's truth will find that their art suffers because of it. Even if I cut a scene from my book, or a character, they are still there in the story-world in my mind, the one that exists because of my truth and in service to it.
Please take care of yourself, and know that you are a good and a valuable person. And very brave--it takes courage to voice an honest opinion, especially to a stranger.