Major Smackdown · 4:08pm Mar 25th, 2017
There are times in life when a person has to stand up for themselves and defend their beliefs, and there are times when one has to admit that they are wrong. Unfortunately, I just had to deal with one of the later.
Writing critiques of various individual chapters of stories, I'm learning, one should probably not cast dispersions on an entire story (duh) I admit that I was way too emotionally hurt by the chapter I read, and probably needed to step away from the story. But, instead I questioned a lot more than I should of. I knew even then that the whole thing would probably resolve itself into some kind of tolerable new reality. But, quality not withstanding, the whole premise was so gut wrenching that I couldn't bring myself to go on. (Damn, I don't think I've been that worked up since the knife fight scene from "Saving Private Ryan")
If I could pass along any advice to everyone out there about how to handle difficult stories, it would be that if you come across parts that are emotionally upsetting, walk away from the scene and give yourself time to calm down before you comment. And, as I have learned on Facebook and should have remembered, never make a comment you are not prepared to back up. ( I was almost tempted to argue the point, but I was clearly wrong on too many issues, and keeping up the conversation would have required me to reread the chapter, which is something I NEVER want to do)
As you can tell, I still can't bear the thought of going back and finishing that story. But I hope that in making that choice, I haven't relegated myself permanently to the kiddie table. I guess only time will tell.
