General Discussion

@Cormaranth

I like what you're saying.

@DigDog

I also like what you're saying too! I'm very much concerned about censorship; and while there are certainly things I don't like, I'm not going to try to ban them. That's the fear I have; that people will take that one scene and not only take it out of context, but get it banned for that because they don't like the subject matter.

Look, (this is a general you) the reality is that most people don't have triggers and can enjoy things involving war, sexual assault and other heavy content without a problem. And if I'm reading a book and get triggered, I can put the book down, deal with my trigger and then decide if I want to continue. I don't want people to feel like they need to treat me like I'm a piece of glass. I'm not; I have PTSD but dammit, I'm strong and doing what I can!

If anyone is curious about a nice talk (writing?) on this topic, I'd actually suggest read the introduction to Neil Gaiman's Trigger Warning short story collection. He wrote on why exactly he chose that title, and I quite liked it! He was very respectful towards the term as well, but mentions also that fiction can (and sometimes should be) a dark/scary place- but that in that darkness there can also be such bright moments from what we face.

Or something of that nature. I may be misquoting slightly. Anywho, I thought it was good!

Sometimes a summary can be a trigger warning... but sometimes I disregard the summary thinking it won't be that bad. Or something triggering is just not included in the summary. Imagine if they put ratings on books like the ones for movies, though.

The database idea sounds good. I wouldn't put warnings on the actual books or if there would be warnings I think they should be e.g. at the end, last page, so you'd have to open the book and look at them to find out if you need to know. Then people who need trigger warnings would be able to check them and people who'd rather not have too much of an idea about the book's content could easily skip them.

A rating system would be ok. Movies have ratings and then reasons why they're rated as such. It's not so much a trigger warning as a "it's got these objectionable things in it, if this ain't your cup of tea don't read it." For instance, I can stand normal violence well enough, but swearing isn't really my thing.

At the same time, a book is an immersive thing. More so than with movies and a little more than video games I think, you need to be surprised or on the edge of your seat to truly enjoy them. Movies are just... mostly visual. And the music tends to give cues to the point of being a spoiler itself.

However, I read a lot of stuff I probably shouldn't have when I was younger, but I wasn't interested in the sexual stuff. If I hadn't gotten my paws on the Pern series and Eragon or Age of Fire or Redwall at a young age I probably would not love fantasy as I do, and I might not even want to write! I had a very overprotective mother, and had those things had even general ratings on them.... there is no way I would have been allowed to read them.

So.... on the fence.

....I have an idea, let's bring back synopses on the backs of the books or previews. I don't care if some famous author said it was good I want to know to have a general idea of what the book is about!

a book rating system similar to the movie rating system in the US (don't know if it's international or not) would actually be really nice, now that i think about it.

@missw00t

but had the violence not been covered with camera angles and shakiness, and been as direct as it was in the books? that would have been enough to give it a R rating.

i skipped the part and went on, because it wasn't a trigger, just something that made me uncomfortable, but for people who have that as a trigger they might end up in a panic attack or something even after they close the book.

No. Its the person who has the triggers' responsibility to deal with their own issues.

Anything can be a trigger, and the nature of triggers is to overcome them.