One month to NaNoWriMo, and I have had a brilliant idea. October first marks the end of this year's national Banned Books Week, a time to think about all the books that have been denounced due to theme or content or because they upset one group or another. The local library and bookstores always set up a big display of the titles. "READ A BANNED BOOK TODAY" they say.
Guys, this is a total win.
Having trouble thinking up ideas for your book this year? Totally aim to get on the banned list. With a little work on your part, you can be sure that somebody, somewhere, will be upset enough to make a big public stink about it. Maybe, if you're lucky, they'll even hold a bonfire. Bonfires make great TV.
Struggling with being literary? Having trouble being refined and classy? Pfft. Write something titillating or shocking or just plain depraved and wait for fame to come knocking.
7 comments:
Smart idea. Scandals are best publicity, aren't they?
Yes... as I sat at the circulation desk, all week, explaining what Banned Book Week was all about, it had occurred to me that there could be an extra-points challenge proposed:
Don't just write a 50,000-word novel in November, but write something worthy of being banned, next year!
Dude mike I like it.
Getting harder every year, though, isn't it? People aren't as easily offended. Or, maybe they're just offended by completely different things.
It seems bannings often come out of nowhere and usually have some WTF element to them. I think racism would be a surer bet than sex these days.
Reminds me of my hero Vonnegut's rants about books being banned for a while. But especially of receiving a first edition of Rushdie's The Satanic Verses and reading it at EXACTLY the same time there were protests around the UK, including book burning and a fatwah!
Duffy's right. Sex and violence and blasphemy just don't rock people's socks like they used to.
On the other hand, some books are so terrible, they should stay banned. I'm looking your way, everything by James Joyce ever.
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