... but they can be a right bugger sometimes :-).
OK. So first, if i may, a caveat/ disclaimer. This post isn't about me, isn't about TatterJack's writing (though it was sort of sparked by some) and is in now way trying to fish for compliments (blush).
Phew :-))).
So if it isn't about all those things, what is it about?
It's about Erotica. Or Porn. Or, um, maybe both :-)).
Damn. I knew I had a point here somewhere. Where did i leave it? Oh. Right. There it is.
Recently I was talking to a friend (yes, even i have some :-P :-) ). The where and the when doesn't matter, but what does is that the friend in question writes as well. This isn't the time or place (for me at least) to get into the difference between 'someone who writes' and 'a writer', so I won't :-). But the friend in question didn't, up to that point, know about Tatters - only my 'other hat' writing. And one way or another, largely because the friend in question had been reading some of their work in public recently, and largely because of the type of work they write, Tatters came (I can see you at the back, Jones Minor. Stop Sniggering, and see me after!) up. So I sent them a sample. In fact, I sent them BANK ON IT. So they read it - and clearly got a little hung uip on how to reply. So I asked them what the deal was, because if it was 'er - it's crap', that was fine :-).
Apparently it wasn't. I mean, they liked it - but that wasn't the thing. The thing was, they said, it wasn't Erotica.
Now whether something is, or indeed isn't, Porn or Erotica to a particular reader isn't an issue for me. But I wondered what they meant, so I asked them. And, summarising, here's what they said:
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1: Porn = Erotica = Porn.
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2: If it has a story, it isn't Porn or Erotica, because Porn/ Erotica doesn't have a story. It's just about the sex.
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3: That it was funny (hey - they're a friend of mine. So you already know they're crazy (blush)). And Porn/ Erotica can't be funny, because funny is a mood-breaker from the whole 'Big O' thing.
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4: That i should stick to my 'other hat' writing, because I didn't 'get' what Porn/ Erotica was about :-).
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OK - first, please, please let me reiterate the caveat above. This post isn't about Tatters, or what he writes, whether he's good/ bad or indifferent, or whether he really should shut the heck up and stick with his 'other hat' :-). Every reader, every writer is entitled to their opinion, and all opinions are fine by me :-)).
But I'd be interested in any views on what my friend offered. So, if I may, in your views, elders and wise:
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Q1: Does Porn = Erotica = Porn, or is there a difference?
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Q2: Does 'having a story' mean it ain't either of the above?
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Q3: Does 'being funny' invalidate either of the above?
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Q4: If there is a difference (for you) between Porn and Erotica, what is, again for you as an individual, that difference?
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Yes, clearly I have my own opinions. But like I said - this isn't about me, or about Tatters, or about the drivel he writes (blush). It's about you. Yes, you, there at the back. So if anyone's still awake - over to y'all :-).