Do you censor your own work?

I ask myself if the content serves the story. If yes, then it stays in, no matter how Extreeeeeme. If no, I cut it or change it to fit before anyone reads it the first time.

Someone's always going to be offended. Someone's always going to disapprove. Write what you want to write. Life's too short.

Interestingly, something similar happens in one arc of my work... though what one later realises is actually going on is very different, and in its own way much worse. That said, one never actually sees said event transpire, though there are plenty of hints. Lovely hints.

I try to censor through implications, but I un-censor scenes if the story genre is related to horror. I am not very good at writing erotic scenes, so I just imply these scenes constantly through 'Imagined Innuendo' by the characters themselves.

edited 9th Jun '11 1:43:29 AM by sabrina_diamond

I used to, yes. I don't now. If there's something I'm worried about, I either bounce it off of others, or just write until it's out of my system. And others are right: if people want to find subtext in something, they'll find it, ergo sum: conspiracy theories.

I've actually come up with some of my more lucrative (albiet more disturbing to me personally) ideas that way, ideas that grew into plot points or facets of characterization. Even just toying with ideas works, and even if I don't use them, I have them there if I want to.

The two are indeed different, and good thing to point out...but I would add that the line between the two concepts is thin, fuzzy and damnably hard to draw.

I agree with Bluepenguin, and I think it's reasonably easy to tell the distinction.

If I really want to put something in and feel that it's a good idea and would totally work, but I don't want to because I think someone would object and/or I would be embarrassed to share the work with that element in it, that's self-censorship.

However, if I just feel like that element is not appropriate to that story, that's not self-censorship, any more than it would be censorship to decide that dragons would be inappropriate for this sci-fi setting.

JD: However, (and I only say this because I've argued this point before, this isn't directed towards you) that does not apply when people seem to be, well, skirting the line. For instance, having a bunch of masturbation references (not just blink and you'll miss it, the kind that the characters notice and comment upon) or something like, but having a no-sex policy, which results in a jumbled clumble of messiness.