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Latest Journal Entry

March 28, 2007

Spread the Word, Please

Dear So Called Queens of Quizilla, You know who you are. The fact that you actually know that I am talking specifically to you basically sums up everything I’m about to say. You are arrogant and egotistical girls who have let “power” and flattery go to your heads. I’d like to address several issues in this letter and, in case you don’t pick up on them, let’s outline what they shall be. You teen queens of Quizilla display awful authorship though your disturbing messages, your clichés plots, and your shocking display of narcissism. I have never been so disgusted by messages in literature since I read Jack, a pre-civil rights book that is viewed from the eyes of a racist ship dog. Your characters repeatedly fall in love with boys (men, guys, males) who verbally and or physically abuse them. Why on earth would you promote abuse? Abuse is not a form of love. It is a crime. Girls should not spend their lives in an abusive situation believing that one day- one day!- their abuser will see something in her eyes and make a 180. And, I don’t know about you, but I consider rape to be one of the most heinous crimes of humanity. Definitions of rape include: the unlawful compelling of a woman through physical force or duress to have sexual intercourse, an act of plunder, violent seizure, or abuse; despoliation; violation, The act of seizing and carrying off by force; abduction.. None of those seem very romantic to me. Or legal. Or, come to think of it, moral or ideal. The word rape comes from the Latin word rapeo which means “to grab”. I think your imagination can take it from there. Rape is not the only abuse you romanticize though (because that’s what you’re doing- you’re romanticizing, excusing, justifying horrible actions). You make verbal abuse a prelude to courtship as well. Bullying is a crime. Verbal bullying can be a crime as well. Maybe you have some cute boys making your life hell and your stories are your projections of your hopes and dreams that they really do like you! Well, if they are mocking and tormenting you- they don’t. Stop making cruelty to others seem okay and worthwhile. It’s not and it never will be. A little less dramatic, but still gross, problem is your hackneyed plots. Their structure, for the most part, follows the succeeding formula: - Girl Meets Boy - Boy Mocks Girl - Boy and Girl Insist They Can Never Love One Another - Girl Secretly Likes Boy - Girl and Boy Forced Into Situations (optional: by friends) That Make Them Become Closer - Girl and Boy Admit True Feelings and Go Out - Obstacles Arise: Other Girls and Boys, Family, Geography, Pregnancy, Death - Boy and Girl Come to A Conclusion You don’t have anything more meaningful to say? The senselessness of war? The traumatic experience of having a loved one receive a diagnosis of a terminal illness? The journey of a girl searching for the father that abandoned her? The breakdown of a high school student buckling under the pressure? It seems that the “golden Quizillan story” contains drugs, alcohol, abuse, pregnancy or death (or if you’re really lucky, all of the above- jackpot!). There are so many significant stories out there just waiting to be told. But instead, you all stick to the formulaic trash that has guaranteed you success. I think you all know the term for that. Finally, what may appall me most is the size of your egos. You all treat your fans like trash- simply deigning them with your overused phrases and sex scenes. You act so superior to those who have put you on the Most Popular and Highest Rated Lists. Yes, there is nothing so fulfilling as being rude to a thirteen year old girl who feels rejected by most of her peers already. You don’t seem to consider your words at all. Is this how I would like to be treated? What would I like to be told? If I was one of my readers, how would I feel? That’s just crazy talk! Common courtesy be damned! You do what you want! I apologize for the overall rant-iness of this letter. I apologize for any feelings I may have offended. I apologize for any illusions I may have shattered. Sadly, you can’t repair them as you would a window. Sometimes you need to offend and shatter. You need to speak up. I needed to speak up. Quizilla has become nothing more than the apotheosis of the worthless and now authors are buying into it. Authors are giving up their integrity so they may see their stories being placed on the Most Popular List. Authors are believing readers to be of a lower class than themselves. Readers are lapping it up. I am ashamed of Quizilla and ashamed by the behavior of those on Quizilla. An apotheosis of the worthless never ends well. We are no better than Paris Hilton and those who idolize her. We are hypocrites to the fullest extent of the world. So hold up the mirror to yourselves and take a look at reality- then decide if you can stomach the person you see in the reflection. Decide how much you’re willing to sacrifice for the worthless. Decide your morals and principals. Decide your integrity. And embrace it. P.S To all you hopeful writers (and even to some of the established "authors"!) please, please, PLEASE learn how to spell correctly! Honestly, it destroys your credibility so much when you spell silly things incorrectly. I've seen a few (and by a few I mean way too many) stories in which a word in the TITLE is spelled incorrectly. Using proper spelling also lessens confusion (the book was theres? oh! the book was theirs) especially when it seems you are simply making up words. Part of being a writer is using proper grammar, spelling, punctuation, the whole shebang. Before you break the rules, you have to master them.

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