Have any of you ever written something that you think might be "too far" or even "triggery" for your crit partner?
If so, how did you handle this?
If so, how did you handle this?
Too much for a Crit Partner
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Does your crit partner know you write horror? Or is this particular story a one-off thing?
Either way, I would just tell them, before handing over the story, "look this piece might be a little extreme and it deals with difficult subjects, if this is something you don't want to read please let me know, I'll understand."
Either way, I would just tell them, before handing over the story, "look this piece might be a little extreme and it deals with difficult subjects, if this is something you don't want to read please let me know, I'll understand."
I've never had a single critique partner. When I share something which might be triggery or too graphic for my critique group, I provide both a verbal warning as I distribute it and a short warning printed (yeah, we still do paper) at the top in case anyone wasn't listening.
If you have a partnership deal going but some of your work is too much for the other person, you may not have the ideal partner. Be careful you don't self-censor just to please this person--unless s/he represents the readership you hope to reach.
Maryn, whose readers can handle a lot (but apparently not periods)
If you have a partnership deal going but some of your work is too much for the other person, you may not have the ideal partner. Be careful you don't self-censor just to please this person--unless s/he represents the readership you hope to reach.
Maryn, whose readers can handle a lot (but apparently not periods)
Emily Deibler
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I have. I have had circumstances where I knew a subject in my story could potentially trigger someone. I agree that it's best to discuss it before sending or sharing anything and to write out any concerns for their benefit and comfort. If the content could still be potentially harmful and unsafe for them, it may be best for their sake to find another partner. 
The wonderful person who offered to critique mine still went ahead, but people cope differently.
The wonderful person who offered to critique mine still went ahead, but people cope differently.
thank you.
This is more of a preemptive question, so it could be not a non-issue, to be honest.
I was matched up with a partner because my 'mentor' thinks we would be good together, but I do not know her reaction to horror, especially the kind I tend toward which deal with sometimes triggery subjects. My current WIP deals with rape and I am trying to capture more a mental nature instead of the physical one, and I already know there are some people I could not have read it. So just in case, I wanted to see if anyone else had ever run into this possible problem and how it was handled...
This is more of a preemptive question, so it could be not a non-issue, to be honest.
I was matched up with a partner because my 'mentor' thinks we would be good together, but I do not know her reaction to horror, especially the kind I tend toward which deal with sometimes triggery subjects. My current WIP deals with rape and I am trying to capture more a mental nature instead of the physical one, and I already know there are some people I could not have read it. So just in case, I wanted to see if anyone else had ever run into this possible problem and how it was handled...
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A forewarning should suffice. Everyone has someyhing they can't read. It's sometimes hard to gauge and helps if you ask your reader first.
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My WIP isn't exactly horror, but it does have strong horror elements in it. A recent batch contained the death of a child--it wasn't graphic or gory, but it was obvious that it wasn't a pleasant death. I asked him if he needed a trigger warning since he has a daughter around the same age--he assured me that he didn't. So I sent him the batch.
Next day in my email I get a long and rather impassioned appeal for me not to kill the child, and ways in which he thought I might be able to manage it. I told him that I had warned him, and that unfortunately it's integral to the plot that the child be killed, so I couldn't spare her. He wasn't thrilled about it (hell, I wasn't thrilled about killing the kid) but I think he understood.
Next day in my email I get a long and rather impassioned appeal for me not to kill the child, and ways in which he thought I might be able to manage it. I told him that I had warned him, and that unfortunately it's integral to the plot that the child be killed, so I couldn't spare her. He wasn't thrilled about it (hell, I wasn't thrilled about killing the kid) but I think he understood.
thank you. Like i said, I dno't know if this is going to be triggery, but given how many people I know would not be able to read what I wrote, I wanted some advice to be prepared just in case...
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A) Warning messages often do the trick, but everyone has different levels of trigger-y-ness and sometimes (if they're like me) they might not realize how much is "too much" until after they've read it. But messages often do the trick.
B) You're allowed to have more than one crit partner, y'know. You have enough posts to get into the Share Your Work section in here--why not post some scenes/chapters/hunt for an additional beta?
B) You're allowed to have more than one crit partner, y'know. You have enough posts to get into the Share Your Work section in here--why not post some scenes/chapters/hunt for an additional beta?
A) that is a little bit of what I am concerned about, since she and I have talked mainly about my other writing but oddly enough, very little about my horror interest, which really is probably 50% of my writing. As I type that, I realize that this is a talk she and i should probably have, so I will jump right on that.
B) I thought I had to have 100 before I could submit stuff like that. Anyway, I will be honest, this piece is not at that point yet. I could have someone I know look at it and possibly help me figure out the trouble spots that I am ignoring and working past to fix later, but I am not ready to have it fly free for less familiar eyes to analyze yet. Does that make sense?
B) I thought I had to have 100 before I could submit stuff like that. Anyway, I will be honest, this piece is not at that point yet. I could have someone I know look at it and possibly help me figure out the trouble spots that I am ignoring and working past to fix later, but I am not ready to have it fly free for less familiar eyes to analyze yet. Does that make sense?
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Yes, it's 50 posts, that is correct.
And if you don't feel comfortable doing that yet, that's fine--just wanted to let you know you have options here.
And if you don't feel comfortable doing that yet, that's fine--just wanted to let you know you have options here.
Nothing triggers me and I really like horror, PM me if you want a random potential reader to crit something extreme.
I don't mess around with crit partners who can't get on my level. Art is art, horror is horror, the genera is supposed to be trigger-ey and uncomfortable and harsh. it's supposed to horrify. You need to make sure you are writing the story for the sake of the story, and not tailoring it to the exact tastes of your partner. This crit partner may not be the right crit partner for this story. If you are looking for a crit partner with a stronger stomach, feel free to hit me up
In my crit group we have 2 people who don't like horror at all, and one person who writes it- (plus I LOVE horror so that's 2 on the horror side and two who aren't).
Just mention that it's horror and what's in it, and tell people you won't be offended if they don't read it. Horror isn't for everyone
Just mention that it's horror and what's in it, and tell people you won't be offended if they don't read it. Horror isn't for everyone
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