G Younger: Blog

Here are a series of emails I received today concerning my book Getting it Wrong.

IFS: "Like the case with the little boy, my training
had kicked in and it was over before I could stop
myself."

Except that *actual* firearm training *always*
entails knowing what you're shooting at.
*Always.* So that shit like this doesn't happen.

Me: I think I actually say that later in the chapter and why his mindset was wrong.

IFS: "the Kun sisters, Kelly and Barb. At first I
didn't realize they were related. I was dating
them both in a rather casual way"

It's really unreasonable for him to not know their
last names.

Me: Thanks so much for your feedback.

IFS: Unfortunately, I can only "know what I know" at any point in time (if that makes any sense). Unless CIA firearms training is horribly incompetent (which is vaguely reasonable), he'd have never passed those courses with that mindset, and thus not be sent out into the field.

Me: So what do you want me to do? This was intended to show he was flawed. I would have to go back and reread that part of the story, but my recollection was he admitted it was wrong and regretted it. Hell, he shoots through a door without verifying a target and kills a woman. Take a deep breath and remember that this is FICTION. Just a story. All made up. I know that time travel is not real...

IFS: So what do you want me to do? This was intended to show he was flawed.

It's not a flaw when you rely on training (something he repeated over and over and over again), since that's what you're supposed to do.

I would have to go back and reread that part of the story, but my recollection was he admitted it was wrong and regretted it. Hell, he shoots through a door without verifying a target and kills a woman. Take a deep breath and remember that this is FICTION. Just a story. All made up. I know that time travel is not real...

With that attitude, JRR Tolkien would have had Frodo teleport from the Shire to the Cracks of Doom and dropped in the ring. Damned short story, but hey, it's FICTION. Just a story. All made up, since we all know that there's no Middle Earth.

Me: Wow ... I guess I am a piece of shit today. Thanks for sharing.

IFS: Even in fiction, why in the world would a
PHARMACEUTICAL company develop time travel?
Ignoring magic, that's the realm of esoteric
branches of physics.

Me: Thanks again for you insight. I would suggest that you read something else. I obviously don't know what the fuck I'm doing and need to be reminded of it over and over and over again.

I actually feel sorry for you. You just became That Guy. The one at parties everyone sees and wants to avoid. He comes IFS to tell you what a terrible person you are... You were such a dumb ass to take the time and write a book and post it on a free website. You should slit your wrist because of it. You are the guy that Jay Cantrell talks about in his posts.

If you are looking for something more believable please jump on iBooks or Amazon and PAY for something to read.

IFS: What is it with writers and their egos more fragile than stemware?

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Welcome to my world.

G Younger

This is a sad day. This will be the last chapter that BlackIrish was able to help me edit.


Many of you have noticed David has taken a harder edge. This was due to his help. He explained that my main character had to go a little extreme and then he'd figure it out and be able to find a balance for his character growth to be believable.


I learned a lot form him and I like to think I'm a better writer because of his mentoring. He will be missed.

The West Coast of Florida where I live got rain and some wind. My neighbor lost some tree limbs, but that was it. It was nice to look outside this morning and the sun was out. That's why I moved here!

Thanks for all the emails.

I see my fellow author Jay stirred the pot over the last few days about feedback. He made a very good point about this being a free site that is for us to practice our craft. I would say that 95% of the feedback I get is either supportive or helpful.

While some of it may irritate me at first read ... I am able to step back and look at it objectively and many times learn from what is said and in turn make my writing better.

There is about 4% that will send you stuff that makes you scratch your head. I just had a guy send me three messages. The first was how much he enjoyed my story. Thanks. The second message said it was unrealistic and he would have to stop reading. Good choice - I don't want to bore you. Then I get a next one telling my how funny the next chapter is. I think he was off his meds.

Then there is the 1%. In college we called it getting your beer muscles. These are the ones that use the internet to unload on you. In one of my stories I had a character that had left leaning politics. I received a hate filled email about how I was the scum of the earth for being a liberal. I tried to explain to him that it was a story and story characters did not define who I was in the real world. Wow, he then got nasty...

I honestly thought about leaving SOL after that. Jay is right. We do this as a hobby. This is meant to be a fun release, not something you need to defend yourself over or be cyber bullied.

Thanks for letting me rant a little bit.

G Younger

I live in the great state of Florida and we look to get hit by Hurricane Matthew. The good news is I live on the West Coast. The bad news is this is a BIG one. We've actually started to see the first few bands of rain come through.

The thing about these storms is they can be unpredictable. The last big one decided to crisscross the state three times. It hammered my friends in Orlando, and they are in the center of the state.

As of now we are out of the direct path, but there is a 50% chance of wind gusts of 40+ mph. I guess this is a long way of saying the next chapter of Stupid Boy may not appear on Saturday. If that happens I will send a note when I can and let you know when it will be up.

Thanks
G Younger

In the most recent chapter of Stupid Boy - Junior Year it appears that one character sexually assaults another. This part of the story is actually setting up a serious discussion about rape much later in the story.

Of every 100 rape allegations, 46 get reported to the police. Of those, 12 lead to an arrest. Nine will get prosecuted and five will be convicted. The sad truth is only three will serve any time. This is an example of the 54 that are not reported.

This is currently a discussion going on at college campuses. Many times people, including the police, think of rape as a violent act. What happens when drinking or drugs are involved can begin to put doubt into people's minds. Did she go to the party voluntary? Did she drink the alcohol? Did she flirt with the man? Could she give consent?

For those that thought I handled it wrong ... sorry. The main character will get an education before everything is done.

Personally I take this seriously and didn't write what I did to be callous.

G Younger