Cog, while yes, it is a very gory piece, that isn't what I was talking about.
Many times, to be "edgy" or to shock readers, authors will put in gore and violence purely for that purpose, with no literary intent behind it.
For example, I was once asked to review a story that basically went like this:
"And then Jake swung his battleaxe at his foe, the blade cutting through his flesh as blood poured out, his intestines spilling from his body as he screamed. Then Jake chopped off his head, his spine sticking up out of his ruined neck as blood and spinal fluid oozed down him."
It's ridiculous.
I made The Return of Zaros as almost an ode to suffering and pain.
If you'll notice, I heavily use alliteration and assonance to give it almost a poetic feel. The gore heightens the tension, but it's not there just to shock.
If it was, I wouldn't have two separate notices warning you how gory it WILL be. If gore is your thing, then read it; if not, STAY AWAY. I don't want to write gore for the sake of gore.
That piece would completely lose its power if I toned it down. Each aspect of the gore isn't written or played up to be awful, I'm simply telling it like it is, describing each minute detail without going out of my way to over-emphasize it.
I hope that gets you a little more into my mindset as I wrote it.
EDIT: And thank you Sith. :-) I have always been quite proud of my status as the only horror author in this forum.
Maybe one or two others have tried with some measure of success, but I got it. ;-)
04-Oct-2008 17:27:27
- Last edited on
04-Oct-2008 17:29:06
by
A White Wolf
