I'm so glad you understand, @strangegravy. Thank you! And I think I would have made the same decision as you have, to keep the story intact.

For the record, there is a market for this kind of writing. It sells. In fact in my professional writing group, one of our members writes great horror and is actively getting published. You are welcome to check it out, by the way. (Here's a link with info.)

When people have asked me why we "censor," I explain that is not what our rules are about. In the real world of story publishing — which we emulate to whatever degree we can — every publication has writing guidelines. This achieves multiple goals. The editors can quickly weed out anything that does not suit the vision and genre of their publication as they are reviewing story manuscripts. (Trust me; editors look for any and all reasons to reject stories to manage their volume!) Also, their readers know what to expect. Those who wish to read horror find publications that publish it. Same with sci-fi, and other genres. Additionally, no one who is averse to gore, blood, or violence for whatever reason (they ar too young, they've lived through trauma, they just can't stomach it, etc.) will accidentally start reading a story that will turn their stomach, trigger PTSD or give them nightmares.

We are actually far more open to the types of stories published in our community than most professional publications. We welcome any genre, and we welcome writers of all skill levels. We just have a threshold about violence to protect our readers who can't or don't want to read it. And it is also to protect us, the admins. Without these rules (and I can't emphasize this enough), there is literally an endless stream of blood, stories of women and children being brutalized, people being strangled, stabbed... on and on.

We are here to help people write stories, learn the craft of fiction writing, and continually improve their skills. Unfortunately, for those who really wish to write bloody stuff, it dosen't fit our vision or goals for the community. But as I've also said in my many conversations about this, we are just one tiny speck in the universe of publishing opportunities. We have no desire to limit anyone's creative expression. We just ask that people read and follow our writing guidelines when publishing in The Ink Well.

Thanks for having this conversation. I'm so glad you'll continue to publish your stories in The Ink Well! I think you are very talented.