DarkCosmos
Sex Nerd
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2023
- Posts
- 46
I wanted to post this for any writers who might need to hear it. When I first started uploading my story Organism to Literotica I received some pretty heavy critiques. Now, I want to be clear, just about every legitimate critique I got was just that, legitimate. It wasn't people shitting on my work just for the sake of making me second guess myself. These were good, solid critiques. "You're sticking too close to the Alien storyline." "Your characters need work." "It takes too long to get to the smut." Things of that nature.
I'm no stranger to criticism of my writing. After doing fantasy works and posting fanfiction for almost seven years now, I like to think I've got a pretty thick skin when it comes to criticism. I've always believed that it's only through feedback and critiques that we hone our craft as writers. But with that said, I'm not too proud to admit that it still, on occasion, can get to me. Especially when it's the same critique over and over again, I just find myself thinking things like "Man, did I seriously flop on this idea that bad?"
Yesterday, I received a comment on the final chapter of my writing that was really touching.
I won't post the full thing because it's pretty long, but to summarize, this random anonymous left a paragraph-long comment on my work saying how much he enjoyed it and that I was the best writer he'd ever found on this site. At one point he even called me a genius. (Again, this was all his words, not mine.)
Now, the reason for me posting this is not to brag or be like "Ha ha, I told you so." or anything like that, I promise. I still fully acknowledge my weaknesses as a writer, especially when it comes to erotica, and will seek to improve upon them. I appreciate the harsh critiques as well as the praise. But I will say, it does feel exceptionally good to have that sort of validation. And even if Organism doesn't do as well as I had hoped, that one comment alone made writing the darn thing and posting it worth it, in my opinion.
The point I'm trying to make here is that your work can be less than perfect, but it will still be perfect to someone out there. We talk all the time about finding your audience, and I wholeheartedly believe in that philosophy. So if you're one of those writers out there who's struggling because the criticism is getting to you, just remember, one reader's garbage may be another reader's treasure. And even just inspiring one other person out there to try and improve their craft the way I seem to have done is a great win, in my opinion. Even if the writing itself seems less than phenomenal.
TLDR: don't quit just because the critics are harsh. There's someone out there who is going to absolutely love your work. And they deserve to read it.
I'm no stranger to criticism of my writing. After doing fantasy works and posting fanfiction for almost seven years now, I like to think I've got a pretty thick skin when it comes to criticism. I've always believed that it's only through feedback and critiques that we hone our craft as writers. But with that said, I'm not too proud to admit that it still, on occasion, can get to me. Especially when it's the same critique over and over again, I just find myself thinking things like "Man, did I seriously flop on this idea that bad?"
Yesterday, I received a comment on the final chapter of my writing that was really touching.
I won't post the full thing because it's pretty long, but to summarize, this random anonymous left a paragraph-long comment on my work saying how much he enjoyed it and that I was the best writer he'd ever found on this site. At one point he even called me a genius. (Again, this was all his words, not mine.)
Now, the reason for me posting this is not to brag or be like "Ha ha, I told you so." or anything like that, I promise. I still fully acknowledge my weaknesses as a writer, especially when it comes to erotica, and will seek to improve upon them. I appreciate the harsh critiques as well as the praise. But I will say, it does feel exceptionally good to have that sort of validation. And even if Organism doesn't do as well as I had hoped, that one comment alone made writing the darn thing and posting it worth it, in my opinion.
The point I'm trying to make here is that your work can be less than perfect, but it will still be perfect to someone out there. We talk all the time about finding your audience, and I wholeheartedly believe in that philosophy. So if you're one of those writers out there who's struggling because the criticism is getting to you, just remember, one reader's garbage may be another reader's treasure. And even just inspiring one other person out there to try and improve their craft the way I seem to have done is a great win, in my opinion. Even if the writing itself seems less than phenomenal.
TLDR: don't quit just because the critics are harsh. There's someone out there who is going to absolutely love your work. And they deserve to read it.
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