Friday, October 8, 2010

Controversy!

Say it the British way: conTrahversy!

"Drugs are Legal, People Ain't" is my first brush with controversy in my writing. Damn, that's a good thing. I was getting worried.

Here's the deal: a Writer should be controversial, but not because of who he is. That is to say, he should be controversial because of who his characters are. The writer is an entirely separate entity who undoubtedly has his own opinion, but (aside from the mere mundane politics of camera placement) is entirely uninvolved in the debate. That is to say, a Writer should write such that if he ever writes a satire it will be clearly labeled as such without his direct declaration.

In other words, write a story, give the viewpoint opposite yours the strongest argument and see if 'your side' can keep up. If they can't, why the heck are they your side again? Either take over or make your own side, with blackjack and hookers. Well, Fair Trade hookers.

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I'm speaking as someone who has a very competent secretary.

I've always been attracted to competence, and there's a certain point at which extreme competence becomes extremely sexy. I'm saying that somebody who can manage the minutiae of a busy executive's life while he wallows in the clouds of Business must have some other skill besides filling out an A-line skirt in a most admirable manner.

She's amazing, and I'm not just writing this because she's looking over my shoulder while tapping her watch-hand for me to take her out on our date.

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250 words? Yes
Project "Untitled"
- - - -
Reading - "Aztec" (Gary Jennings)

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