Author:
This one is from me. I don't know if Angel is coming here to look, I've communicated with her by email and with Jill but who knows.
Angel has apparently deleted all of her stories except A Life Ever Changing which she says she regards as belonging to BigCloset. I thought all of the writers, editors, commenters and readers belonged to BC in exactly the same way that BC belongs to them. And in a much more important way than it belongs to me.
Most of this situation went down over the last two days while I was too busy to read all comments, like I normally do. I do reserve the right to edit or delete comments that I feel are detrimental to this site and this community. I should have been more watchful.
Jill, Angel, I'd like to say I'm sorry that I didn't step in earlier and try to play the cooler head. Heather, Gwen, Jan, Kristine, Penny and the rest of you--all of BigCloset and those who enjoy coming here--I'm sorry for not making a timely effort to stop this.
Please forgive me. And please forgive each other--any of you who feel you may have participated in this--and don't forget to forgive yourself. For those who were only watching, please forgive the players for the current drama. And again, please forgive me.
The measure of a true community is coming back together after something like this. Angel, you're welcome to come back and if you need help in restoring your stories, I'm sure it can be worked out. Please don't anyone else invoke the nuclear option, please don't anyone else leave without communicating with me first. Radioactive waste makes for very poor reading material, think about it and talk to me first, please.
This is all very sad.
Hugs,
Joyce
Comments
Huh?
Erin,
First, my name seems to keep comming up in this, by mistake and then evidently not by mistake, so I feel I must burn some bandwidth as I am not sure actually what happened or why. I will try to make myself clear. As far as I know my only "sin" was to differ with Angel regarding what constituted a "comment" upon someones writing. It was pretty cut and dry from my perspective at least.
As a preamble, Angel was among the first to comment on my first effort here, well I only post here, but regardless it was Angel at her best I will always be grateful for her encouragement than, and of course now. I did not think that her comments Re: Heathers efforts were her "at her best".
Basically, you comment on the writing, story line, clarifications, that would help you as a reader, constructive criticisms, as well as positive things too. Not on whether the author's perspective on emotions meets some sort of personal litmus test. It's pretty simple, I thought Angel was off base and said so. She seemed ok with that and even wrote me a cute little comment on my litle effort which I also didn't quite "get" but that is what makes this place fun.
I think Angel is mistaken to just take her "ball" and go home as it were, but if she thinks that is the best way then fine, I wish her well.
Erin, as for you sweetie, you make this place possible. You built the school,you don't need to patrol the playground too!
I really don't know what has happened but that is my role in it. If I am found guilty please don't make me dress up like a girl as punishment. I would just die of embarrassment! :)
Hugs folks,
Gwen
Gwen Lavyril
Gwen Lavyril
Don't worry
No one's blaming you, hon. Or, really, anyone else that I can see.
People who deal with strong emotions, such as writers, are sometimes overcome by these feelings and say and do things they may regret. That's pretty much true of all people, actually.
No one needs to be mad at anyone over communications that may have been intended to be defensive rather than offensive.
Remember, we're here to enjoy things we enjoy together and maybe celebrate our differences. We don't need to make too much of a little friction, now and then. That's going to happen when opinionated, highly verbal, people meet.
Hugs to all and right now, a special one for Gwen cause it's not her fault at all,
Joyce
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Closed
I had to be gone for a few hours and I closed BC down for that time to avoid any escalation. I'm back know and I want to repeat, this not a situation in which blame needs apportioning. I'm not mad at anyone and I hope that people can get past the feelings of the moment and keep our community together.
Hugs for all,
Joyce
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Erin
The last few days I've been editing Jenny Walker's new novel, which is absolutely amazing; amazing and quite long.
During that time Heather sent me her latest chapter to edit. I first sent a note back to Heather telling her I had a prior commitment to Jenny; I would get to Heather's when I could. I was doing a rough edit for Jenny as I was the first to see it. Our agreement is that I will get another shot at it in a few days.
Things went faster with Jenny's manuscript than I had imagined, so at the end of a long day of editing I found a few minutes to look over Heather's work. I suppose I should have waited until I was freah and done a better job.
Perhaps it's that guilt that made me be so stern with Angel.
It would appear that I hurt her feelings much more than she hurt mine. That was not my intent and I apologize.
Erin - in the past people have sent private messages to me when they see a problem with something in a story I've written. I always appreciate those helpful messages and use the instant correction avaible on your site to fix things -- everyone wins.
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Thanks, hon,
Like I said, communication among strongly opinionated, highly verbal people sometimes produces friction and heat. It doesn't have to mean a lot. Your apology is appreciated and I hope that all of us can simply go on with what we do here, make lots of good fiction. :)
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Words
As authors we use words to communicate things other people don't even consciously think about.
Words become the weapons we use to attack unjust social issues.
Even so we sometimes forget what powerful weapons words can be.
I threw a handful of words out today that caused much more hurt than was necessary or intended. WMD. Words of Meaningless Discomfort.
The U.S. legal system recognizes the importance of words. They will punish people for libel or slander. When a person libels another in regard to their profession the courts will deem that "libel per se." The claimant in those cases doesn't have to prove damages as they are assumed.
Words. Just words. No guns. No blood. Just hurt.
We are a community of people with frayed hearts. Most of us are miserable because of intolerance. Most of us have suffered because of words that have been thrown at us, or words that we are afraid will be thrown at us. Just words.
I apologize to this community for my words.
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Much ado
I'm a newbie here on BC, I was referred here by Angel. In fact, she is currently proofreading my first literary effort. When she took on the task, she assured me that BC is the place to post. So I was saddened that the word exchange escalated the way it did. The way I see it, there were no winners, but certainly a lot of losers. There's no point in directing blame, even those of us who said nothing and watched the exchange heat up share part of the blame for not stepping in and trying to calm things down. I feel bad for those directly injured by another's words,and for those of us who lose a chance to see more of a talanted writer's efforts. I hope everybody can step back from this, take a deep breath, and exhale, letting all the hurt and anger out at the same time. In the short time I've been here, I've developed a deep respect for all of you, and would wish nothing but the best for you.
God Bless You All,
Karen J. Taylor
"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin