[ SECRET POST #2307 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2307 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 06 pages, 101 secrets from Secret Submission Post #330.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 1 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

07. http://24.media.tumblr.com/b8c754837391fa6583599fe06a3556fe/tumblr_mll5iodUBX1r4lenmo1_500.jpg

[dreemyweird]

Tbh, I must say that you have a point here. Whilst desirable in themselves, trigger warnings often give away an all-too-big part of the plot. If one has a murder mystery which in the end suddenly turns out to be a suicide case, one doesn't really want to put a suicide trigger warning on the story.

I mean, it is already a crime fic with a murder. If somebody is easily triggered, they probably should stay away from it.

Although, admittedly, in this context the whole "I write for myself" thing rubs me the wrong way. If you write for yourself, why the hell would you care if somebody dislikes you for not using trigger warnings?

[silverr]

Yeah, I like that A03 has "Choose not to use warnings" .. which is different than "No warning apply" and which most reasonable people will interpret as "there might be stuff in here that will distress some people but warning for it spoils the plot so READER BEWARE>"

P.S. and as for the wtrong rubbing: Agreed. There is a phrase for stuff you write for yourself, don't care to label, and don't want any feedback on.

Stuff you don't post.

[(Anonymous)]

If "blood and gore" or "eating disorders" is enough to spoil your whole story it's probably a pretty weak plot.

[starphotographs]

You could also argue that trigger warnings for those things would be redundant, because they're part of the broad strokes of the plot that would be outlined in the summary... Unless it's one of those really vague, terrible summaries that tells you nothing.

[(Anonymous)]

I'd just put a warning saying "dark fic. contains triggering material. read at own discretion"

anyone who whines after that was warned

+1

[(Anonymous)]

Although if you post your fics on LJ/Dreamwidth/etc. there are ways to "mask" your ratings and trigger warnings, so you have to highlight them to read them.

I think that's kind of a nice option, since it lets people avoid spoilers if they want to, while still keeping the relevant information accessible for people who would just rather know.

[(Anonymous)]

My opinion is that authors should either warn, or let their readers know that they don't warn. This is why I like AO3 so much: it gives you the option to say "I don't want to give warnings". Not everybody does and that's fine but I think one should let one's readers know in that case.

[dreemyweird]

Yeah, IA. This is a good option.

[(Anonymous)]

I like this. As someone with triggers, warnings are nice. If you decide you don't want to use them, then I'd appreciate being warned that you don't use trigger warnings, so proceed with caution.

I can get into a different frame of mind when I know there are not trigger warnings for certain, versus just outright avoiding something because it has my triggers. And some days, I can't get in that frame of mind to read surprise triggers, so knowing an author is refusing to use them means I could avoid. Either way, it's win-win. The author doesn't spoil their fic, and a person doesn't get triggered trying to read something recreationally.

[(Anonymous)]

That's what the CNTW ticky box is for on AO3. Outside of AO3 just say that there's triggering material in the fic, or that you don't warn for triggering material. It's not that hard and doesn't spoil anything, and people that do have triggers will be able to decide for themselves whether or not to read the fic.


Though I gotta say, I find your reasoning weak, OP. If you really were to just write for yourself you wouldn't post your fics online. There has to be a reason why you choose to post your fics, otherwise you would be fine with just writing them and keeping them to yourself. Warning (and saying that you don't use warnings is a kind of warning) is a common courtesy and really not that hard. I really don't get what the big deal is.

[intrigueing]

Er...I think some authors like to share their fics publicly because they know other people might appreciate the chance to read them, not because the authors themselves get anything out of sharing them. Especially in small fandoms.

[(Anonymous)]

If you write for yourself, then why are you posting it? Lack of warnings doesn't make a writer a horrible person, but it's more than just a courtesy. Almost everyone has things they'd rather not stumble into.

[bored_bitch]

I feel like a simple "read at your own risk" would suffice.
Although one should consider most if not all material to be that. Books certainly don't have trigger warnings.

[starphotographs]

Although one should consider most if not all material to be that. Books certainly don't have trigger warnings.

Exactly this. Admittedly, I've never quite understood this whole phenomenon. Where did it come from? What did everyone do before? D:

[dreemyweird]

This, so much. I just always wonder how people who need trigger warnings on everything read actual literature.

[les_lenne]

I'm with you on this, secret!OP.

Although triggers also work as advertisement. On the other hand, I don't want to read fic that's been tagged "trigger warning: trigger xyz."

[(Anonymous)]

"Choose Not to Use Archive Warnings."

"Contains material that may be triggering; I've chosen not to use warnings. Read at your own risk."

Easy peasy. Personally, I think you should warn, just to be a good person. But eh, it's your call.

[kallanda_lee]

I agree.

I mean, I'd totally put in warning for gore, violence, or non-con sex...but, there's things that can give away plot points (like character death, or being very specific about the type of violence etc). There's also things that are just very specific triggers, and I don't think it's reasonable to warn for everything that could possibly be problematic.

[making_excuses]

You can just say you don't warn though, and everyone is happy?

I don't have triggers so personally I don't exactly care if you warn me or not, but I do have things I would rather not want to read*, though they are easy enough to spot and I have this magical ability to stop reading or skip over parts of stories.

Random story time, when I first started reading fanfiction I always skipped the sex parts, because for some reason I couldn't get myself to read them... Probably have something to do with reading the Jean M. Auel books when I was 9 and I skipped the parts with sex?

*And I usually read the warnings that they give me, earlier today someone used the warning Irene as Moriarty which made me not read the story... Other than that I like warning, and on AO3 you can use them to find similar fics, which is neat.

I wish you'd phrased this differently

[(Anonymous)]

I mean, you say trigger warnings are a courtesy and that you don't use them. People who think courtesies are things that can (even should) be avoided are dicks, imo.

I do get your point, though, and I agree with everyone else. Just slap a "I don't use trigger warnings, so this may contain triggery content" on those fics and call it a day.

[(Anonymous)]

So, there's something I don't get. If you're so opposed to warning because of spoilers and whatnot, why are you okay with putting a rating on your fic? Doesn't that also let the reader know in advance what they're getting into, especially if you're setting up a major surprise tone shift when something terrible happens?

I'm not saying you shouldn't use ratings -- but I see them and warnings as kind of similar. If an M rating says, "For mature audiences only," then a rape trigger warning says, "For people who feel safe reading about rape only." The trigger warning tells you that there will be rape in the fic, and the M rating tells you that there will be content inappropriate for minors in the fic -- the only difference is in the specificity, and shouldn't it be up to the reader to decide how much information will cause them to be "spoiled"?

CNTW?

[nyxelestia]

"Choose Not To Warn"

"Dark fic with triggery material. Read at own risk."

I know some comms/fandoms might not be accepting of those, but just in case, have you tried them, OP?

[(Anonymous)]

I must say I do appreciate character death warning, because I'm attached to these characters and don't want to see them die in fanfiction I'm reading, but anything else can come under a blanket M rating or whatever.

[(Anonymous)]

One time I accidentally read child molestation fic of my OTP. The fandom was dwindling and the author was one of the few that wrote decent fic for that pairing anymore and I tracked her work.

The story was posted a bunch of places, had no warnings, and outwardly seemed like one of those "met as kids and grew up together and fell in love" fics, which I eat up like hot cakes. But no. Because when asked why she didn't warn for that the author said she wrote it for herself and wanted the audience to feel the feelings and shock and pain of the character.

That story triggered the hell out of me and dug up some serious shit with my own problematic childhood, I was pretty "whatever" about the whole triggering thing until I experienced it, and just thinking about it shakes me up.

Needless to say, the pairing and the fandom lost its luster for me after that.