The · Efrafa · Warren

Also, soon I'm going to make a sale post with clothing and cosplay stuff because I'm broker than a toxic mortgage.

Secondly, I've been thinking about controversy these days. Or rather how much a writer can get away with in the grand scheme of things. One thing I value about writing is the creative freedom to say what you want to say (hence my love for blogs). But if you want to make a career of it, as I hope to do, where do you draw the line in censoring yourself?

I've never had a problem speaking my mind. Though I tend to phrase things in a diplomatic way, I've never been afraid to express an opinion or show others what I'm all about. I can be snarky, I swear, and the things I like to read and write sometimes don't mesh well with the mainstream. But right now as I think about the career path I want to go down, I'm not sure if that is the most profitable way to present myself. Part of me worries that telling it like it is (or how I see it) might turn off potential clients or readers. A very calculating worry, I know, but it is what it is. Admitting that in and of itself could potentially turn off people who might believe marketability shouldn't factor into a writing career at all. But I think not considering how others' reactions might impact your bottom line is naive. Having said that, I'm not entirely sure how much of myself I should suppress before I can say I've become a product and not a person. The idea of branding myself sets off a chorus of protests and red flags in my head that would have sent me into a tizzy back in college. Any hint of propaganda or self-promoting insincerity on the part of a politician would have brought out my (loud) inner skeptic; why should it be any different if I'm the one trying to hide a certain aspect of myself?

For instance, let's say I want to write in a fiction category that the literary world finds trashy. If I'm also trying to break into a more respected genre, am I supposed to create a whole new blog so that readers who consider themselves more sophisticated won't be turned off by my other writing? Do I have to go so far as to create a pen name for the one category and cut off all channels that might point back to my real name?

Or take swearing. Which I do. Often goddammit. If an article of mine is featured in an academic journal and I want to give my readers the ability to keep up with potentially new academic articles I'll write in the future, do I have to keep this blog a secret for fear that I'll come off as less serious?

I don't know. I'm not down with the whole self-censorship thing, but on the other hand, I want to be smart about my career.

What do you think? Do you have to create a dual persona online if you plan to write in drastically different genres? Should you get rid of your cute little icons with the word "fuck"? Do you link to gay-friendly writer sites because one of your characters is gay, or do you not because that might challenge someone's prejudice (loaded question, I know, but still)?

Where would you draw the line?

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OBAMANATION!! Which I think is great.

Also, the flist has been unusually srs bsns lately.

( SO I DECIDED TO CHEER U GUYZ UP )

Poll #1235984
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: None

How often do you go to shows to see bands?

What type of shows, if any, do you usually go to?

How much money do you spend on clothes in any given month?

Please check all of the stores you regularly buy clothes from

What are you primary methods of payment?

How interested are you in Japanese popular culture?

What's your inspiration for the type of clothes you buy?

I don't get the concept of "internet famous." Or at least, insofar as it applies to becoming famous for anything other than your creative work.

I don't mean to open a can of haterade or anything, I'm just remarking on it. I love seeing how different people live their ordinary lives. It's not so much the lifestyle of some of the scene queens that intrigues me--actually, that doesn't intrigue me in the slightest. Rather, my morbid fascination is reserved for the people who don't know them personally and yet obsess about these people's lives like they've been friends forever. It's like being obsessed with celebrities, only much, much stranger given that most scene queens are only known tangentially because of who they date.

It's so ... sad, in a way. Caught in a drift of meaninglessness.

There's a *lot* of biased interpretation under the cut.

( Spoilers for 402 and 403 )

( Spoilers for 403 )

OMFG EVERYONE MUST CHECK OUT THIS BRILLIANCE WHICH PRETTY MUCH SUMS UP MY BELIEFS ABOUT ITACHI'S CURRENT CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT!!!1!1! Spoiler warning up till chapter 402.

( Spoilers for 401 )