Tuesday 17 April 2012

A Voice That Cannot Be Broken


Sometimes as writers, our greatest fear is misinterpretation.

Eden Riley wrote this post about having her words manipulated by a magazine and it got me thinking again, as so many of her posts do these days.

Magazines, newspapers, television segments - they are all like a game of Chinese whispers, you tell your story through an interpreter whos job it is to make a socially acceptable and profitable story for their company, the end result is often far from the truth.

When someone else changes your words – usually to benefit themselves’ - it cuts like a knife. In mainstream media I have had my words twisted, added too and downright lied about and it feels like a massive betrayal of character even when the reader is none the wiser. I think that is why I have grown to love blogging.

The blog is a unique form of media, it’s real.

The blog is our chance to have a voice, an unedited story or opinion about what matters to us. Sure some people won’t like it, there are always going to be those that scrutinise your life, methods and motive but it really doesn’t matter – in the grand scheme of things people will always read what they relate to, empathise with or lets them escape their reality for a while, so tell your story.

I can’t speak for you- you own your words, not me. But I know that no matter how honest, and how emotionally I write I haven't given away everything, I am still a private person and nobody could ever really know what its’ like to walk in my shoes, as for every word I write there are 1000 tears, 1000 laughs and 1000 thoughts that I don’t ever mention.

The words I don’t write are not lies by omission, they are my story to tell -or not- in my own time.

Sometimes we have to be strong and remember why we started writing in the first place, remember the thoughts going through your mind the day you wrote that first awkward post and think about how much you have grown since then, how many friends you have met and how much perspective you have gained in new areas.

You represent your own blog as your place to speak and be heard, and that is a voice that cannot be broken. happy writing.

5 comments:

Twitchy said...

I also weighed in on this one. I like the fact that this whole episode has sparked more thought in its ripples. It's got us talking about the integrity of mainstream media, the machine of it (it was not the actions of one person that led to the resultant article, but tabloid style agendas, reporting and editing together).

The other thing it does is make blogging more attractive in this light. To say what we *choose* to say, in our words, leaving whatever we feel appropriate, in or out. Thank you.

Eden Riley said...

Beautiful. I love this. This week has sucked pretty badly, but it'll fade. Surely.

Thanks, Suzi. So much XXXX

♥.Trish.♥ Drumboys said...

I totally agree Suzi -

The words I don’t write are not lies by omission, they are my story to tell -or not- in my own time.

There are some things we cannot blog.

E. said...

Even before Sundays article I have been considering how much to reveal of myself on my blog.

Like you, I am a private person. Revealing some of the stuff that has shaped me into the person I am is scary. I like the idea that the bits I have left out so far are mine to tell or not tell as I see fit.

Leanne @ Deep Fried Fruit said...

Great post Suzi. I am living in a travelling holiday bubble and missed all the controversy. I am sad to hear that Eden has had a bad week. She's an exceptional lady and doesn't deserve to be cut down. I am off to invetigate.