Writers explore the depths of humanity’s experience. At the same time, there are topics that we aren’t allowed to plumb. Let me back up a bit. When I started to teach myself about which literary magazines would accept what kinds of stories, I spent a lot of time reading the do’s and don’t’s of the editors. Some won’t allow men to write with a woman’s voice or vice versa. Others disallow sex scenes and some forbid topics without which Nabokov could never have written Lolita . Write short, still others say, anything over 1000 words is too long. Being a compliant sort, I tried for a while to avoid those things that would get me into trouble. When someone is established, however, I’ve noticed, they can break all the rules and get rich. So why are topics forbidden? I know editors. A good friend is one. And editors are people with tastes and prejudices just like the rest of us. The problem is, there are a limited number ...
Blog of a struggling writer.