International Friend: “Ummm… why is he in italics in a lot of your writing?”
Me: “Because I’m too lazy to keep using quotation marks. It’s more of a feeling of him, not a literal conversation that is happening, like right now.”
International Friend: “Oh? I’ve NEVER read anything LIKE THIS… I was worried… that you were like, schizophrenic or something?!?!?!!?!?”
(Both laughing)
Me: “Oh my god. I’m a writer. I’m not the editor — of this piece, if and when it is intended for publishing. I’m not the publisher. I’m not even the lawyer, which, generally I do feel confident enough for a personal blog that I won’t cross those boundaries. But it’s just a personal blog. I’m writing it in my own way. Sometimes I’m too lazy to format everything. That’s for the editor and proof readers to worry about when it is a contractual project for publishing. I just write. I get these thoughts out.”
International Friend: “Okay, but you’re not like — literally hearing his voice in your head?”
Me: (Laughing) “No!”
International Friend: “Also, like… I know you haven’t named him. But… it feels like you have. Is it just us? We know him as well? It feels like you’ve named him even though you haven’t.”
Me: “Those are just Easter eggs. Like Taylor Swift. It’s an Easter egg. You can’t really connect any dots in a court of law — if that was ever under threat. Which I highly, highly doubt. I can’t even think of any possible instances right now. The whole blog is fiction.”
International Friend: “The whole blog is fiction!?”
Me: “Well — if it gets picked up by a publisher, it is fiction. It will be published under the genre of fiction. There is absolutely not enough here related to a non-fiction genre. It’s expressionist. It’s poetic. It’s fiction.”
International Friend: “But what if like… his toxic fans stumble upon the blog?”
Me: “I don’t think they could make that cognitive connection. It doesn’t make any sense. The narratives are not there in their understanding of HIS characters. Those projections. It doesn’t make sense. And if it did? Wouldn’t that be an acknowledgement? That I am, in fact, his girlfriend? Emotionally?”
International Friend: “Huh. I didn’t think of it that way… but I’m scared for you. I’m worried. Oh my gosh, sometimes your writing is giving me a heart attack.”
Me: (Laughing) “Australia has freedom of EXPRESSION. It’s not like America, which has freedom of speech. Taiwan too. But I’m writing this blog from Australia. The media laws of AUSTRALIA apply to THIS. BLOG.”
International Friend: “Really?!”
Me: “Do people… not know… media law?”
International Friend: “No, of course not! This isn’t my industry!”
Me: “Yeah. Well, I could be wrong. But in my personal understanding. That’s the media law in Australia. Whatever you publish on the internet, if you’re an Australian citizen, writing it from Australia, the media laws here, apply to whatever you publish.”
International Friend: “Australia has freedom of expression? Not freedom of speech?”
Me: “Exactly. So I’m not gonna spell it out.”
Virgo Sun Pisces Moon 