Ron

This is a new idea to me. I never would have thought of the whole sinning on purpose angle. Though, sadly it doesn't surprise me.

Even as an adult, which I was when this debuted, I still watched it and thought it amazingly well done. I have the entire series on DVD. Though I have not watched any of it in a long, long time, your review makes me want to give it another look. Thanks

Having Mattie see the counselor with Dylan was a nice touch. Spin is balking at his being forced to 'take it easy'. Who couldn't see that coming? I liked that the first rescue horses weren't on their last legs or damaged physically. We get eased into it along with the characters and that's a nice touch. Thanks.

That was really a nice interview. I run into Lisa all over the place too. In fact, Lisa was the first person to review my first posted story. She found two mistakes and was very nice about pointing them out. Not something or someone that I am likely to forget.

The plot prompt was not so hard to figure out this week. This little slice gave me a good laugh. Thanks.

You point out the distinction of my using Censorship in the thread title and self-censorship in the leading thread comment. Self-censorship was perhaps the wrong word choice but like Brink mentions, it falls into the greater catchall of Censorship even so. Still, it is a distinction that many are making in this thread and one that I use myself when it is convenient for me to do so.

Brink's reply was shrunk to save space Hey, hey, hey no reason to go all ninja on me. I have said it privately and I will reiterate for you and also say it publicly... I value your opinions. This one no less than any of your others. The question is indeed inspired in part by what you said. I am sorry if you feel that I have somehow mangled your words or turned them around or against you. That is simply not the case nor was it my intent. I don't like thinking that I can be faulted for taking the one paragraph of yours, coming to my own conclusions and then furthering the thought. Or, asking a question and making a connection to another thread because of it. I was not couching and if it seemed that way, you should not have assumed that it was in order to deceive or misdirect anyone. It was my hope that folks would link to Sasha's thread and read it. Sasha's story, 'Home Grown' is a tough story. Its' depiction of a incestuous pedophilic uncle and two brothers who fall in love was surprising to say the least. I thought that it was extremely brave of him to put that out there but perhaps also a bit crazy to do that here. Although I hit the like button, I did not leave a review. My thought at the time was that liking it was a safe option but reviewing it might be a way to shoot myself in the foot. I am a new presence here on GA and still unsure of my place in it. I am most certainly a new author and very new to the craft. I want folks to read what I write so I don't want anyone making false assumptions about me because I reviewed a story containing incest in a positive way. But, I wanted to leave a review and my self imposed censorship has bothered me ever sense. I wondered all along if I was alone in my action? When Sasha began his thread - The Last Taboo, I thought that I may possibly find out if there were others that felt as I did. I did not find any such thing and so I continue to wonder. What I did find was a lively discussion of incest and other possible taboos. Then your reply showed up and one thing led to another.

Yes, indeed we censor ourselves everyday and 'Does this make me look fat?' isn't likely to influence anyone's opinion of whether it is acceptable to be gay or not. Nifty.org allows the various subject matter that you expose and while it is not be appreciated here on GA, each subject has it's following there. Irregardless of its possibly being biographical, it is written as fiction which makes it covered under the 1st amendment. You say, James that you are not interested in exploring any of these topics, to which I reply - fair enough. I respect that but it still beggars the question, should we censor these types of stories in order to present ourselves as normal?

This is not the reasoning behind my post. My reasoning for the question was an off shoot from Sasha's topic and perhaps I can clarify for you. Should we, and by extension those whom are accepting, avoid or self-censor topics in our writing that might portray us as in a less than 'normal' light? Should our writing avoid taboos or any other controversial topics merely to be perceived as somehow okay and therefore acceptable?

Sasha Distan created in the member Q & A thread this topic: https://www.gayauthors.org/forums/topic/37643-the-last-taboo/ The topic has been given much attention and many varied opinions abound within the thread. During the discussion of this topic, the subject of how we might like to be perceived was touched upon. Are we as gay men and women, in order to normalize ourselves to the greater world, supposed to censor ourselves? This is my question, but it has been posited that if we present ourselves in a less that positive way, that we have only ourselves to blame if we are mistreated. That we have, in fact, given the opposition ammunition of a sorts to use against us. This thought has some merit to it, I believe. I also believe that it can lead to the slippery slope of censorship. My question is... Should we self-censor our writing, by avoiding topics that may be perceived in a negative light, in order to present a more normalized impression to the world? no actual edit this morning, lazy finger on iPad

I also thought that Brink made many good points. This particular point though is one that I want to applaud but it is also one that I find disturbing. It seems a valid point of view and one I agree with on the surface but to follow it further we then touch on censorship. Do we then stifle a creative voice in order to promote some version of normalcy for the world at large; give them something sweet that they can swallow down more easily or perhaps something cozy to snuggle up with. Then they will shout to the heavens... "Why, they are just like us!" It is not going to happen. So whether it be a self imposed censorship or administratively done, such as for this site, is beside the point. It will be censorship nonetheless and not likely to spare us any hate if in fact we do it either way. Sasha's story, 'Home Grown' may not have been everyone's cup of tea but it was a good, a solid, and creative work, and it should stand on it's own merits. I think that it does and if the incest is hard to swallow, then move along... this is not the story you want.

James Carter is one of my favorite sax players. Below is a link to the James Carter Quintet playing at a 2009 peace festival http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JS0DZ-Gvvms&list=PLD7B3E28E1C1B7F3F Zombie, may I ask what gear you listen to your music on?

Ignore the wolf, don't drink - you're underage. Beside's it will mess with your mind. Welcome to GA, Dovesfield. We are happy to have you here and l look forward to seeing your prose.

Thank you for writing this, James. It isn't every story that grips me hard enough that I have to walk off the effects of it after finishing. Well done!

Thanks, Myi. I wanted the narrator to be removed from the story and more like a commentator. Thank you for reviewing.

Thank you for the compliment. This was emotionally hard to write and my first story with a hard edge to it. Thank your for your review, comicfan.

I felt amazingly inspired by prompt 270, so here it is, http://www.gayauthors.org/story/ron/apromptresponse/1

My 2013 Prompt Responses. All stories rated mature even if perhaps not necessarily needful of the rating.

Prompt 270 - First Line: “Because, I’m leaving you.” “Because, I’m leaving you.” Aaron can’t get those words out of his head and the sadness behind them, the tremble in Ben’s voice, the exact timbre and the long pause after that first word all echo inside his mind and will not leave him. Images of Ben standing at the door, the look on his face agreeing with his voice, eyes red rimmed and wet, the unshaven face that was so unlike him and the bags on the floor, popping through his mind as bac

James' direction was where my mind went with that as well. He went to such great length to get that story out.

You have to figure that some of the negativity (obviously not all) in the replies comes from self hatred. Like ex-smokers (don't hate, I'm one of them) who have recently quit, they are among the most virulent in their dislike of smokers. Part of this behavior is because they get their sense of smell back but mostly because it reaffirms the belief that they made the right choice. Luckily, this mellows over time. At least it did for me. Those whom are gay and don't want to be, often protest the most and can be violent in their responses to homosexuality. All in the game of trying to constantly reinforce that they cannot be gay. If I'm beating them up then I can't be gay - If I hate them, I can't be gay, etc, etc. A toned down version is the verbal beat-down and could be the reason for some (again, not all) of the nasty comments. Just a thought.

This is supposed to be the YouTube link for part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2BOoAGL_Nw&feature=youtu.be

Knowing that this was the last chapter, I tried to hold back and save it, yeah. But I couldn't hold out for too long. And of course, I can't keep my mouth shut and just be happy to read it can I? Well... this is bitter sweet isn't it. The end. You had me from the get go. The first paragraph was so interesting and it rolled on from there. The school picture scene was particularly touching as it was when Marcus doesn't come home. The last three sentences say it all and for all three. Very nice. I especially like the ending. The part where you talk directly to us, you softy, you. YOU are equally appreciated. Thanks!

I want a green one. It will coordinate with the background of my avatar! I am so gay!

I highly endorse this chapter! This is why I enjoy this story line so well, Andrew. Great writing and story telling. There is much love in it and it comes across so sweetly. The energy and drive of it comes through in such a balanced manner and the blending of compassion and anger makes this soar. I have my own suspicion of who did the dirty deed, like every other reader, which I will keep to myself. Should I be right, I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone.