The Question of Compromise

[sartorias]

Yesterday's discussion about synopses led to this exchange, which I thought might be useful for further exploration.

green_knight made a response to a line from fashionista_35's comment, I fall firmly in the shooting myself in the foot category in that I refuse to compromise.

by saying: It's a continuum. I've looked at some of the things I've written on this topic (

Comments

[corrinalaw]

:snerk: on the Kushiel reviews. My thought was somewhat of a variation. "What's risky about long descriptions of torture porn in which the character can heal themselves and the main torture sequence with the Big Bad fades to black?"

But I digress. I was asked to change the flavor of a fairly risky scene in a book that I have coming out with a small press. I had agreed with other suggestions made by the editor and decided to try something I thought might work. It did.

However, a short story for them had the same problematical issue and I couldn't alter it, it was too key to the story concept. I didn't change it, they didn't want it. Which was perfectly understandable to me.

I think I agree: If you try the suggested changes and feel at peace with them, then they probably work for the story.

[sartorias]

Yes--there are so many ways to tell a story. If one ingredient gets substituted, and the rest of the story is the story you wanted to tell, why not?

But when the story is about the thing in question . . . tough call.

[asakiyume]

But when the story is about the thing in question

--yeah, at that point, you can't really compromise. "Tell the story differently" versus "Tell a different story."

[sartorias]

That's a great way to put it--the first, many can live with. The second?

[asakiyume]

We have lots of stories in us, so in that sense, we can tell a different story, if we want. But if we have a story we're dying to tell, one that just must be told--**that's** when we can't tell a different story...

[sartorias]

Exactly.

Yes...

[zornhau]

I'm writing what I think of as Neo Pulp - if somebody with a contract to offer says, "You could make this or that more effective by doing X, Y and Z," I doff my cap and take the wise advice.

But if somebody says, "Can't you rewrite with less sex and violence...?" then I'm not sure I can. The characters and world are geared to a certain sort of high-octane adventure. I might as well go away and write a new novel of a different sort.