In writing you should never express emotions of weakness. Never take a position that invites to be flexed or shows your availability to be controlled. This will attract (conciously or subconciously) scorn from the reader, repulsion, boredom and worst of all; disinterest in you as the writer (me).
The most obvious and also most radical manoeuvre is to always write in character. I am the writer, who’s disposition is a construction. You are the reader, my subject. I penetrate you not directly, but through my disposition. This literary condom protects me from your disease; your opinion. I am unaffected. But you, dear reader, I can scar you; fuck you up. Maybe I will not, but it is a possibility worth contemplating on my part. The writer is unfuckwithable, untouchable even; an extatic emulsion of cultural molecules contained in metaphysical diamond.
I do not prepare for criticism. I do not respond; I reflex through the sublime, postmodern irony that has haunted social science for several decades, but of which even the ancients were aware. I absorb anything you say through the relationship between me and my character, while your words become tools to deconstruct you.
I am sure many of you understand this and agree with this. Others will be annoyed but at loss for proper counter-arguments. However, I will not dabble with you in discussion of the above. It is a position I have tried to counter myself (although unsuccesfully) not only because it is perverse (because a position of absolute power is taken by the writer on the grounds of arrogance as much as of fear), but also because there are serious practical problems with deflecting arguments through absolute, reflexive and recurring irony.
If there is interest I will (at some point) post and discus these problems, of which your opinion would honor me. Untill then, I’ll just leave this here.
It seems to me that I already reacted to that in the past and gave reasons why it is more interesting, for me at least, to not frame my writing in such a way that it cannot be traced back to me as a person. I wouldn't call this a weak point because it it gives room for the possibility of a proper discussion and for individual chance. If one allows oneself to point the finger at the fictional character, responsibility will be taken away from the author.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenI reacted more, but that was taken away by this stupid fucking blog. I hate this thing. I will throw it out of the window and piss on it.