Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > The Ridge Creek School / Hidden Lake Academy

SUICIDE ATTEMPTS AT RIDGE CREEK SCHOOL

<< < (3/3)

defeder:

--- Quote from: "someonesomewhere" ---really...listen to pile...don't write it. It's a ridiculous plot line. writing a story like that will require a significant departure from reality, and that's not good for anyone. Not for the cause, not for parents, not for the teens that will read the book. For starters,
A. that plot line - "get sent to prison on purpose" - has been used and re-used over and over ad naseum. It's generic as all hell.
 B. no kid would ever get himself set away for that purpose, it's ridiculous beyond comprehension.
C. if it was possible to "get sent away and then collect evidence" we would be doing that already. What the hell do you think fornits has been doing for the last decade? eh? When you're in the program, you're in the program. your hands are tied. You're fucked until your parents wake up and decide otherwise. Even those of us that have mountains of evidence can't do much with it. What..is your protagonist going to walk in on the headmaster anally raping a 12 yr old? or dig up some papers where the owner outright confesses to tax fraud? and even he managed to do that, how will they get that evidence out? these schools are closed societies. What goes in and out is tightly controlled, and they all have an incredible amount of support from local governments so coverups are easy. Just look at how various organizations gave HLA the blind eye for years.

ANYWAY, the issues at hand are much more complex than the examples cited. If it was as simple as tax fraud or sexual assault, it would be easy to get these schools shut down. They wouldnt need some kid to send himself away. The problem with these schools is the "mind-fuck" they put you through and the long-term negative psychological effects of that. PTSD, among other things. It's something that is entirely up for debate, there is no consensus on what's "right" or "wrong" with these schools. The parents think they are doing right, the school thinks they are doing right, half the kids are brainwashed into thinking they are in the right place and going through something necessary.
 
You don't have any experience to write about that sort of thing and unless you go through it yourself, you can't possibly even begin to comprehend what it's like to have your parents outsource their work. It will end up being some bullshit like that movie "boot camp". It will just sensationalize the issue and make people more skeptical of the truth.

and seriously, what are you doing asking us for help? you want us to write the damn thing for you or something?

Don't write it. Don't embarass yourself and turn this very serious issue into another sensationalistic teen pulp novel. Let the people with credibility do it.
--- End quote ---

Well, I didn't expect that strong of a reaction. If I have offended you at all, I apologize, that was not my aim.

A. I am writing fiction, true reality is unobtainable, and boring. Every plot know to man has been done over and over again, there is no such thing as a new story, the trick is in the subtle details, the life you bring to the page. As such I was only seeking information to help generate that detail.

B. Again, this is fiction, characters often do unrealistic things or strong  reasons. I can't tell you whether or not my reason is strong enough to convey suspension of disbelief yet or not, I haven't written it, only worked it out some in my head.

C. Broken record here, but fiction only mirrors reality, it doesn't strive to duplicate it's entirety. There are things in fiction that can be bent, or manipulated. I wont go into plot specifics, because i get the feeling you aren't interested. It's true that I don't have firsthand experience, and that I can never reach the same level of comprehension you and others on this forum have, I only hoped to get a glimpse. Just enough to form a solid frame, a platform to start on.The only thing I will say is that it is targeted to one, specific, program. Not the entire industry. I was going to keep the scope small.

I didn't intend for my book to be a commentary about said programs either way, the thought had not occurred to me, and I admit that I didn't think about the consequences, it was simply the back drop for the novel. I came here because you all know more than me, and I thought it couldn't hurt to ask, the worst thing you could say was what you have, that it's not a good idea.

Lastly, I never asked you or anyone else to write the story for me, only to share any information you were willing to offer so that i could get a better, I repeat, better feel for the chosen subject. Like I said, I have no first hand experience, so I can't create all of the details on my own. Odds are most of the knowledge i was seeking would have never actually seen a page in the novel, but would give me a place to start.

In hindsight, I probably never should have asked. I should have expected more of a reaction from the forum members. I only write this so you can try to understand my intentions, since you seemed so fast to crucify my idea. Either way, thank you for your reply, and I am sorry if you took offense to my post, it was not my intention.

Pile of Dead Kids:
The thing is, we've had fictional characters on this board before, some better-written than others, some made up as responses to other fiction. And I'm not kidding when I'm telling you that the book you're planning to write should not be wrote.

If you don't intend for it to be realistic, give the kid either trained, high-lethality unarmed combat skills or just make him flat-out superhuman. Then have him use his abilities the moment he sees an atrocity. Submit the result to a publisher of extremely short, extremely violent stories.

defeder:
no pile i understand all to well that you mean what you say. I just wanted to try and make my points clear. You are very much entitled to your opinion, and i thank you for sharing it with me. Like i said before, i did not think for any length of time about the consequences of my idea, or the responses it would generate. It's not that i didn't intend for realism, i just meant that as a work of fiction, people understand certain details are bent to allow for the story to flow. I am seriously weighting the outcomes of writing the work, and not writing the work. But the point you make is very valid, and it is something i am considering seriously.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[*] Previous page