(no subject)
Oct. 18th, 2011 10:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dolariQuestion for people reading the Growing Up Trans stuff, particularly the last chapter.
This is kind of a rough draft...I'm writing while I have the muse and just getting as much on paper as I can before editing. This leads the a lot of repeated information and dropped threads, and things needing clarification.
The last chapter mentions a "protracted psychogenic fugue" and "becoming the girl in the mirror." It was something that happened after the suicide attempt that radically changed my viewpoint on life, akin to a religious person being born again.
Thing is, I don't like to talk about what that is. I can't not talk about it - the suicide and aftermath was life changing. Leaving it out is like making a great painting with the color blue.
But getting into any farther goes DANGEROUSLY into "woo woo" territory. Not UFO abduction Woo Woo but definately woo woo.
When I've told what I felt happened, its not been received well. And to be fair, even I think its out there. Either way, it strains credibility and could easily aggravate readers.
The closest thing I've found to what happened that seems to be well received was (well is) a psychogenic fugue. Problem is, if I go into any more detail than "I became the girl in the mirror" it veers way off and strains credibility.
What do you think the best choice is?
1) Don't mention the psychogenic fugue thing at all.
2) Leave it as "I became the girl in the mirror."
3) Mention becoming the girl AND the vague psychogenic fugue term.
4) Tell the whole story, reader and writer credibility be damned.
I feel a lot like Ellie Arroway in Contact, trying to explain her 8 hour trip when all the evidence says she never left.
This is kind of a rough draft...I'm writing while I have the muse and just getting as much on paper as I can before editing. This leads the a lot of repeated information and dropped threads, and things needing clarification.
The last chapter mentions a "protracted psychogenic fugue" and "becoming the girl in the mirror." It was something that happened after the suicide attempt that radically changed my viewpoint on life, akin to a religious person being born again.
Thing is, I don't like to talk about what that is. I can't not talk about it - the suicide and aftermath was life changing. Leaving it out is like making a great painting with the color blue.
But getting into any farther goes DANGEROUSLY into "woo woo" territory. Not UFO abduction Woo Woo but definately woo woo.
When I've told what I felt happened, its not been received well. And to be fair, even I think its out there. Either way, it strains credibility and could easily aggravate readers.
The closest thing I've found to what happened that seems to be well received was (well is) a psychogenic fugue. Problem is, if I go into any more detail than "I became the girl in the mirror" it veers way off and strains credibility.
What do you think the best choice is?
1) Don't mention the psychogenic fugue thing at all.
2) Leave it as "I became the girl in the mirror."
3) Mention becoming the girl AND the vague psychogenic fugue term.
4) Tell the whole story, reader and writer credibility be damned.
I feel a lot like Ellie Arroway in Contact, trying to explain her 8 hour trip when all the evidence says she never left.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-10-19 12:02 am (UTC)I have absolutely no problem accepting what you say happened. I don't find it impossible to believe, especially since you were able to find a researchable word for what you experience. That lends a ton of credibility.*
I've known you from afar for a bunch of years now, and I'm reasonably convinced that you are not a person who feeds readers a line of crap. Of course, I've had the luxury of time invested in talking with you, getting to know you, to reach that level of trust. New readers may/may not attain that level ... but then again ... we each have our perceptions, our feelings, and that's that. That's part of reading someone's story.
*As you may/may not know, I've experienced some extremely odd things ... and if you didn't know me, you'd think I was bat-guano NUTS. My credibility in describing such things would be helped if I had a label to refer to; and I'm genuinely glad that you've found a label for your experience, regardless of how perfectly or imperfectly it may fit. But you know I'm on the level in all things, just describing things from my perception - just as I know you're on the level, describing things from your perception. I wouldn't expect anything less than that level of honesty.
That said - nothing wrong with a post script. :)