Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Names Left Out to Protect the Guilty

Some friends of mine attended a meeting recently of a writers' group that is made up primarily of women, most of them Romance or Mystery writers. The speaker for the day got off to a bad start when he indicated a certain fascination with a brutal serial killer who had preyed on women. He then proceeded to do a reading that involved the rather graphic torture of a female victim. Several people walked out, including my friends.

My thoughts? Know your audience, dude! And don't be stupid.

2 comments:

Sidney said...

I've always tried to choose topics carefully when talking to groups. I read a short story for a church group once, and it had been a while since I'd re-read the material. I wound up editing a little as I went. Guess it's good to take on a task that makes you think on your feet every now and then.

Charles Gramlich said...

I've had to do the same thing a time or two when I've been asked to read in front of English classes at Xavier, which is a Catholic university.