Write a controversial opinion

[Erozetta]

Morning people are categorically the worst.

What if you're an "awake between 8pm and 1-2 pm the next day" person?

 

[ericalauren]

Math classes should not be required in order for a humanities major to graduate college. It is not fair for folks with dyscalculia.

 

[Comshaw]

I was always grateful that my grandpa loved it, because it gave me someone to give my black jelly beans to at Easter.

AH HA! Picking out the black ones were you? A Van Halen brown M&M person you are! Well maybe not quite the same. Brown M&M's don't make me gag.

In case I confused you:
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/brown-out/

Comshaw

 

[THBGato]

Math classes should not be required in order for a humanities major to graduate college. It is not fair for folks with dyscalculia.

This is something only US colleges (and countries that model their tertiary education on the US) require.

Though that may be why many British Universities insist Humanities PhD applicants do an MSc in what is essentiallly Statistics first; they know most won't have done any since they were 16.

 

[ericalauren]

Someone called me a “slut” the other day. They were mad at me for standing up for gay men. I absolutely loathe being called gendered slurs like that. Gendered slurs are a form of hate speech. (Outside of consensual sex scenes, of course.)

 

[Robin_Starveling]

Stories under 3k words aren't stories.

Stories over 30K aren’t stories either; they’re the most efficient way to waste a life.

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Writers who treat writing as fun make fine cartoonists.

Great stories aren’t made by content, but by how they’re told. If idiocy weren’t so epidemic, I’d be much less irritated by illustrious storytellers.

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

referencing underage sex in a story here shouldn't be immediately banned.
Its just kinda hokey that all of our characters didn't have sex or sexual desires until they were at least 18 lol.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

Stories over 30K aren’t stories either; they’re the most efficient way to waste a life.

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Writers who treat writing as fun make fine cartoonists.

Great stories aren’t made by content, but by how they’re told. If idiocy weren’t so epidemic, I’d be much less irritated by illustrious storytellers.

Novels are useless?

This is a story site, but some authors are here to write novels. I don't see anything wrong with it. I prefer such stories, in fact.

Also, I disagree about what makes a great story. It's the way it's told, sure, but also the bits of wisdom and insight from the story, the powers of imagination and the depth of characters that the author created.

One could write a masterful story about nothing and we would marvel at the author's skill, but it would always be a story about nothing.

 

[Robin_Starveling]

Novels are useless?

This is a story site, but some authors are here to write novels. I don't see anything wrong with it. I prefer such stories, in fact.

Smartass. There’s a reason terms like novella, novel, and book exist: to set them apart from ordinary stories. They usually consist of multiple interconnected narratives, whereas a single story is generally under 40K words.

I have no issue with novels. My real problem is with stories that triple or even quadruple in length because people rush forward wildly, never pausing to ask themselves, What the hell am I doing? What do I want here?

“Development,” slow burn, and background story are often just an excuse for endless rambling that contributes very little to a first-person narrative.

Also, I disagree about what makes a great story. It's the way it's told, sure, but also the bits of wisdom and insight from the story, the powers of imagination and the depth of characters that the author created.

One could write a masterful story about nothing and we would marvel at the author's skill, but it would always be a story about nothing.

Not only do you not disagree, you’ve actually strengthened my point.

 

[bobsyouruncle55]

Every "fictional" story includes some aspects that the author, consciously or otherwise, is asserting as truth.

Come on we all know 99.99999999999% of the story's on here fictional.

 

[StillStunned]

Come on we all know 99.99999999999% of the story's on here fictional.

The only true element in most stories is the size of the protagonist's cock.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

“Development,” slow burn, and background story are often just an excuse for endless rambling that contributes very little to a first-person narrative.

In certain, well, many cases, I believe I agree with you. There aren't many long stories where the bloatness is justified. It's filler content most of the time.

Curiously, I've found that in Literotica stories, dialogue is more often the source of such content. I've seen stories with thousands of words of pointless dialogue. The author would likely claim it was necessary for character development.

Such content bores the reader and kills one of the most important aspects of a story - pacing.

But once again, this is a place for amateur writers, so it's no wonder there are many such stories.

The sad part is that you'll often find the same with pro authors. Many are slaves to the number of words and the thickness of their novels. Then again, some do it consciously, for purely financial reasons.

 

[Robin_Starveling]

Such content bores the reader and kills one of the most important aspects of a story - pacing.

I don’t think it actually bores them. Otherwise, the score would’ve reflected that. Most of them, it seems, just want to kill time, and if flicking their eyes across the page numbs them pleasantly, they’ll gladly go along--provided a few satisfying moments are scattered along the way.

But once again, this is a place for amateur writers, so it's no wonder there are many such stories.

After decades of writing and dozens of submissions, one can no longer hide behind the immunity of being an “amateur.”

The sad part is that you'll often find the same with pro authors. Many are slaves to the number of words and the thickness of their novels. Then again, some do it consciously, for purely financial reasons.

Financial reasons make a fine excuse; here there are none.

 

[Statius]

The only true element in most stories is the size of the protagonist's cock.

 

[sirhugs]

I don't come to Lit for controversy.

Is that controversial enough?

 

[Omenainen]

I agree. To attest to that, I believe anyone who likes black licorice should be whipped with the stuff. Vile, nasty stuff it is!

Comshaw

I beg your pardon! As a resident Finn in these parts I’ll have to disown you.

What if you're an "awake between 8pm and 1-2 pm the next day" person?

It’s not the being awake early, it’s the waking up early that is sus. If you approach it from the night side it’s perfectly understandable.

 

[GuiltyCowboy]

Given the various US-centric posts above here's my controversial opinion: The USA is not the centre of the planet.

It’s not, I agree. But it does seem to be the center of auto-correct.

 

[GuiltyCowboy]

One controversial observation of erotica that appears on this website (not my opinion): erotica is fundamentally middle class - or, put more aggressively, you cannot be desperately poor and be sexy.

 

[AwkwardMD]

What if you're an "awake between 8pm and 1-2 pm the next day" person?

Best of all possible worlds

 

[StillStunned]

I beg your pardon! As a resident Finn in these parts I’ll have to disown you.

I like the all-black liquorice allsorts better that the stripey ones. And I've had liquorice-and-chocolate from Iceland that I liked.

One controversial observation of erotica that appears on this website (not my opinion): erotica is fundamentally middle class - or, put more aggressively, you cannot be desperately poor and be sexy.

But you can be desperately poor and spy on sexy people doing sexy things.

 

[Bramblethorn]

One controversial observation of erotica that appears on this website (not my opinion): erotica is fundamentally middle class - or, put more aggressively, you cannot be desperately poor and be sexy.

With a "desperately poor lady with a good heart meets a rich saviour" exception.

 

[iwatchus]

I like the all-black liquorice allsorts better that the stripey ones. And I've had liquorice-and-chocolate from Iceland that I liked.

I love those chocolate-licorice candies from iceland. As far as I can tell, they do not import them into the states

 

[Erozetta]

With a "desperately poor lady with a good heart meets a rich saviour" exception.

DreamCloud has a story called The Promise about a guy who kinda slips away from his life and ends up being found and cared for by a homeless man who shows him to a community kitchen. He starts helping there while still appearing/living as a homeless man following a big life shift at the start of the story. It's an interesting take on this as he ends up with the woman overseeing the kitchen and the attraction/relationship starts while he appears homeless.

It's really well done.

 

[GuiltyCowboy]

With a "desperately poor lady with a good heart meets a rich saviour" exception.

Exactly. It’s the wealth that enables the sexiness. No rich boy, no sex!

I’m trying to think of examples of people in poverty enjoying their sexuality (and not in a sad and desperate and animalistically lustful way)…

…one that I’ve always found incredibly hot is in In The Skin Of A Lion, a novel by Ondaatje about poor immigrants in the early days of Toronto: one windy night, a young nun accidentally falls off a bridge that’s under construction and is caught mid-air by a Macedonian labourer who’s working below the bridge; he dislocates his shoulder saving her; they go to a bar - it’s late, late at night - where she buys him a drink to dull the pain and removes her habit to form a sling for his arm; he can barely speak English, she’s always considered herself unlucky. These two people, poor for very different reasons, thrown together (literally) by fate, sharing only this one drink and her brush with death and a common desire to feel more alive…

Edit: Pasolini movies have plenty of joyful, non-commodified sex with poor people.

 

[iwatchus]

One controversial observation of erotica that appears on this website (not my opinion): erotica is fundamentally middle class - or, put more aggressively, you cannot be desperately poor and be sexy.

I'm certainly by and large guilty of this. Most of my characters are well to do and very talented in some way. I can think of only a handful of characters that were working class, only one of which was a main character.

But I want to give a shout out to @MelissaBaby for not following this. I will note Gold Dollar Girls as a good counter example from her, although there are others as well.