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Haunted
After reading Chuck Palahniuk's "Haunted," I am wondering about the boundaries of writing as far as subjects are concerned.
Telling a stomach-churning story, describing down to detail about people boiled alive, for instance, is something that challenges my own approach to writing. How far are you allowed to go in the research for your fiction writing? Rather, where do you, as a writer, draw the line between what is "tellable" and not?
What's more, are you, as a writer, bold enough to get into a subject that makes you very uncomfortable?
Because of my work, I have the odd privilege to see, most of the time without being warned, raw videos that feed in our network. I remember the video showing the beheading of Nick Berg, the American contractor who had been looking for work in Iraq. It was April 2004. I remember --I was sitting at my computer when a coworker told me to look up at one of the TV monitors that are hanging above me. We all could see it, the raw feed of the actual decapitation that, certainly, our network didn't air blow-by-blow.
As a newswriter, I am exposed to horror on a regular basis. I get to watch the images that will be filtered out when they make it into your average family home. Beheadings in Iraq, recovering badly decayed bodies in post-Katrina's New Orleans. I remember --this white puppy labrador being gassed to death by Al Qaeda. I remember --this crazy driver in Mexico who was upset because a children get-together on a street would block him, he rammed his pick-up truck head-on into the children, the images being edited out later for our broadcast. I remember --this guy in Turkey attempting to defuse a bomb in a suitcase, the bomb going off.
Horror. It happens every day. Perhaps Chuck Palahniuk is right when he argues in "Haunted" that a writer should write about the horrors of this world if he wants to survive one more day.
A study suggests that "composure, when exposed to horror, depends on your receptors." It goes on to say that it is "part of a neurochemical system, these mu-opioid receptors play an important role in pain relief and pleasure responses. Understanding the role of these receptors in a person's response to seeing awful images may lead to a better understanding of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is suffered by soldiers, rescue workers and others who experience traumatic events," say the study authors.
A newswriter is also exposed to horror. I certainly am.
How do you cope with horror?
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Interesting piece. I have thankfully not been exposed to much horror and tend to avoid it because I find it very upsetting. The most disturbing thing I recall seeing in recent times was a deer that had been hit by a car.
I live in a suburb that was at one time rural with a lot of surrounding farmland. There are still large pockets of vacant forested land with fairly good sized deer populations. As more and more land is developed for housing, the deer lose their small habitat and are forced to wander into populated areas for food. I even recall that one day in high school the most bizarre thing happened--a young deer burst through the glass doors of the school and went charging down the hallway, exiting at another door at the end of the school. It was bloodied but not severely injured, I think.
Another day, perhaps 5 years ago, while driving down a busy 4 lane road in the center of town during rush hour, I spotted a deer in the center of the highway. It had been hit by a car and was severely injured. It was lying down but struggled to get up and eventually succeeded in rising. It had a huge gash in its belly, partially exposing its entrails. As it rose its entrails began to spill out. It is truly the most horrific thing I have ever seen. All I could think about later was how much terror and pain that poor deer must have suffered, mortally injured with traffic speeding by on both sides of it and drivers seemingly ignoring it. I had been against deer hunting prior to that. On that day, I changed my mind forever. Better to keep the deer populations under control so that these types of accidents don't happen as often.
Despite being an animal lover and a strong opponent of firearms in general, if I had had a gun that day, I think I would have been capable of putting that poor deer out of its misery. |
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Comment by: Hulohot - 2006-05-30 05:05
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interesting, ive never actually experienced any horror like you have because im young, but there have been a few disgusting moments like when i saw a cat get splattered on a road.. quite disgusting.
Also, i didnt see it but a postman was hit by a lorry and decapitated near where i live and that was pretty disturbing and depressing.
a good read :) |
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| How I feel about this issue: write everything and then consider if you need to take anything out. but first, get it down. especially the horror. i agree with Palahniuk; i think the process of writing it can heal, like an exorcism. artists need to express. thanks for this post, Mr. Trucco. a good ponderance to your colleagues in writing... |
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Interesting blog. I read in a book for creative writing that we should write about our fears and loves. We are technically passionate about both and it will therefore bleed through our own words.
I know when Im writing about something that frightens me, the pen or keyboard just flies. |
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