The Journal: On Censorship and Cancel Culture

In today’s Journal

* Quotes of the Day
* Topic: On Censorship and Cancel Culture
* Patreon
* Of Interest
* The Numbers

Quotes of the Day

“The job boils down to two things: paying attention to how the real people around you behave and then telling the truth about what you see.” Stephen King

“Authors are now being successfully pressured to remove lines from published books that are deemed objectionable by some readers. … The point of cancel campaigns is to create a chilling effect for academics, writers, editors, and others.” Jonathan Turley, author of the first item listed in “Of Interest”

“It seems we have all collectively forgotten the old childhood rhyme about Sticks and Stones. The most liberating thing one can do is to simply stop caring or listening to what others say or think about you. Call me whatever you want. I really don’t give a damn.” currentsitguy in a comment on the above article.

Topic: On Censorship and Cancel Culture

In today’s “Of Interest” are a couple of articles on censorship and cancel culture. Thanks to PCM for sending me a link to the first article. He also wrote, “Good God, indie publishing came around at the right time.”

He’s right. It absolutely did.

As an aside, I think “appease” is probably the ugliest word in the English language.

The fact is, every citizen of this nation, regardless of race, color, creed, national origin and other human-created and manipulated divisions, has a right to express his or her opinion. It’s called freedom of speech (expression), and it’s a freedom that’s being sorely tested at present.

Fortunately, I’ve personally endured only one experience with cancel culture. A reader of this Journal didn’t like a short story I wrote because of the way I portrayed the politics that drove the scenes, and she took issue with it. (The tactics portrayed in the story have been widely documented around the world.)

For a very brief time, I thought we were going to engage in an honest back-and-forth. I hoped-for and welcomed that. When I finally recognized the bait-and-switch and haranguing tactics that earmark cancel culture, and I ended the conversation.

The whole thing was my fault. I should have been less trusting and more distant. In response to her first volley, I should have written, “Thank you for your opinion” and then blocked her.

That short story, among many, many others, is not yet published, but it will be as soon as I can find appropriate art for the cover. I would publish it even if I didn’t personally like it (I do) because Freedom of Speech.

l certainly won’t avoid publishing it just because one person out there thinks it’s a good idea to bite one of the many hands that have worked to guarantee her right to not like a given story.

One person’s rights stop where the next person’s rights begin.

I sincerely hope you’re all of the same mind no matter your personal political, religious, etc. leanings. As “currentsitguy” wrote above, “The most liberating thing one can do is to simply stop caring or listening to what others say or think about you.”

Be brave, folks. Write your truth and your characters’ truth. Don’t toe some bully’s imaginary line. Because really, in the real world, Sticks and stones may break your bones but words will never hurt you. Unless you let them.

Also in “Of Interest” is a link to an article about Patreon. The article delineates just a few of the many reasons I will never establish a Patreon account. If you want to support my work, consider becoming a personal patron at https://hestanbrough.com/become-a-patron/.

Talk with you again soon.

Of Interest

See “Authors Facing Increasing Pressure To Retroactively Edit Their Work To Appease Critics” at https://jonathanturley.org/2021/06/10/authors-facing-increasing-pressure-to-retroactively-edit-their-work-to-appease-critics/. I also recommend reading the comments.

See “Positive Writer” at http://positivewriter.com/. If you’re still iffy about writing, this might help. Several good articles. If you subscribe, you get two free ebooks.

See “Exodus: Patreon: A Threat To Free Speech Part 4” at https://jonathanturley.org/2019/01/05/exodus-patreon-a-threat-to-free-speech-part-4/.

See “The Benefits of Collaborative Writing” at https://authorspublish.com/the-benefits-of-collaborative-writing/. Maybe some gems.

See “Yes, 2020 Decade Ahead is Now 2022” at https://www.deanwesleysmith.com/yes-2020-decade-ahead-is-now-2022/.

See “You Won’t Find the Hardcover of Dave Eggers’s Next Novel on Amazon” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/you-wont-find-the-hardcover-of-dave-eggerss-next-novel-on-amazon/. For some serious comic relief, see PG’s comment.

The Numbers

The Journal…………………………………… 710 words

Writing of WCGN: Assignment: Brownsville (novel)

Day 1…… 2890 words. Total words to date…… 2890
Day 2…… 3178 words. Total words to date…… 6068
Day 3…… 3124 words. Total words to date…… 9192
Day 4…… 2977 words. Total words to date…… 12169
Day 5…… 1001 words. Total words to date…… 13170
Day 6…… 3791 words. Total words to date…… 16961

Total fiction words for June……… 26544
Total fiction words for the year………… 481033
Total nonfiction words for June… 6690
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 112920
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 593953

Calendar Year 2021 Novels to Date…………………… 9
Calendar Year 2021 Novellas to Date……………… 1
Calendar Year 2021 Short Stories to Date… 3
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 62
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 217
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31

Disclaimer: In this blog, I provide advice on writing fiction. I advocate a technique called Writing Into the Dark. To be crystal clear, WITD is not “the only way” to write, nor will I ever say it is. However, as I am the only writer who advocates WITD both publicly and regularly, I will continue to do so, among myriad other topics.