When you go into that interrogation room, you should always have a good attorney at your side. It's often unwitting, self-damning testimony that traps the only partially innocent criminal in the hands of a Brenda wannabe.

There isn't a writer on BC who is good enough not to be easily criticized -- uhmmm -- there isn't a writer in existence in our current world our in a literary past who is "good enough" not to be criticized. I'm cynical enough to know I could gleefully edit Twain's work in such a way as to make it "so much better." Last night my eighteen-year old daughter, in a conversation with me, attacked Milton as the most sexist writer she's ever read. She said his writing is filled with description that does nothing but shout, "Look at me. Boy, can I write!" And, she's right. Milton loves adverbs abd adjectives and ignores his female characters even so far as to exclude them from dialogue in scenes where they should be active participants. And yet, how many of us could tie Milton's shoes?

The BC reader wants to be entertained -- and often to find escape. That is their right. The reader wants the story to flow without too much drag in the way of superfluous adverbs, adjectives, and trips down the oceanside highway to admire the ships on the horizon, in a story about anything but ships. The reader expects the spelling and construction to be such that they can read the story without being jarred out of their suspended disbelief, or being compelled to guess at the author's intent (too much).

The reader expects a hook that cannot be ignored to glide them into a trancelike enjoyment of the story. She wants a series of conflicts that move the story along with adequate tension to make her want to continue reading, and an ending that rises gracefully out of what has been revealed to her.

All of this the TG reader wants for free . . . from amatuer writers who might be writing simply because they need to exorcise a personal demon. Often the writer on BC couldn't care less about the reader. Writers struggle within their writing to find a self-identity to share with the redaer . . . an identity that has eluded them to that point and probably will also confound the reader. An inability to identify what irks you shouldn't and doesn't stop the TG author from trying. . .and often leaves the BC reader hanging and less than pleased with the story.

The majority of us have tragic tales to tell about the guilt and shame our TG lifestyle has included. Many of us are pained deeply by what can't possibly be, but must. We are tormented by who we are and struggle mightily within a society that for a large part demands that we must be who THEY want us to be. Whereas the average person might be able to tell that unseen critic on the other side of the one-way mirror to stuff their comments, whereas the average person might be able to note lack of support for their story from the only community they feel confortable in, we TG authors are NOT average. Most of us are hanging by gossamer threads, pinatas fashioned from fine porcelain, ready to be reduced to dust by a almost unfelt breeze.

My gentle Kristina -- before you go naked before the maddening crowd, a throng that is hardly bucolic, you must first stop and ask a trusted friend (maybe an editor) if you should perhaps stand with a little less frontal exposure and more of a profile to show off your elegant nose. On your way into that chamber of "whores" you should fortify your thoughts with the knowledge that absolutely dreadful stories are currently receiving a huge amount of votes, while interesting, provocative stories that deal with themes that have meaning to each of us, are going unlauded.

Or -- you can simply say "to hell with it" and refuse to play the inane game any longer. In that case, when you withdraw your stories and depart into the night be sure to follow Sephrena's mandates so that those votes and comments that brutally shoved you away can be preserved.. .because that makes so mush sense that it isn't even debatable.

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

I've never viewed my writing in the manner described here. Rather, I have always looked upon as my child. Like a child, I gave birth to my stories, nurturing it and caring for it until it's ready to face the world. And like a child, my stories grow and mature, starting with a tentative, almost helpless state, otherwise known as the beginning, and slowly growing into a fully formed, healthy child that can stand on its on. At some point, and it always happens somewhere between pages 50 and 100, the story takes off on its own hook, much like a teenage who has emerged out from under the watchful eye of its parent in an effort to take on the world. Eventually, when the end of the story is reached, it leaves me to face the world on its own. If it stands on its own two feet and accomplishes great things, I am proud. If someone attacks my baby, I am annoyed.

Having gone through the experience of raising three children, all of whom are out on their own now, this view of writing has, for me, a special meaning. In the end, each writer finds a way to relate to their works. Regardless of how they do, remember; no parent ever willingly admits in public that they have an ugly baby. Even the ugliest baby has a special place in its mother's heart.

So when you comment on a story you find to be ugly, please do try to temper your criticism. Remember, as far as the writer is concerned, it's not their words your attacking. It's their heart.

Nancy Cole