Writer's Block + Depression?

[Dam_Fool]

So, I'll be honest. I was mostly writing to make exist what doesn't. Creative. Different. Unique things. Things for people who can't find what they like. And I also write erotica as a "sharpening tool" for actual writing. Same for art.

I left another site because I noticed a trend. No matter how well or beautifully or engaging someone wrote or painted anything, it would never get noticed or accepted or even get decent feedback or constructive criticism unless it fit a trend. And any ol' shit that fit the trend shot to the top. So, you learned it doesn't matter if you are Michelangelo or Martha's 4 year old son, if you paint or write the "trend" you succeed, get feedback, told it's good, end. It was depressing and disgusting.

So I came here hoping I'd find actually a bigger myriad of people for more friends, feedback, and to grow as an artist. Where my only path to feedback and development is not just doing a trend. But I sort of noticed a few things here too. I haven't been here long enough to definitely say so for sure, and I maybe am jumping the gun and prejudging. I love the older crowd, the wider groups. But I notice everything that's m/fffffffffffff, country boy, cowgirl, 'Merica base subject, and incest is the simple recipe to instant success. Anything else is crap.

I can't do weeaboo love cringe, and I just can't do country cowboy soldier stuff either. Not that I won't, and I'm not saying I dislike it. It's just...not in me. I can't do it. I fail if I try. I'm sorry if I offended anybody. I just hope I can find some friends or fellow authors to brainstorm with.

 

[Haulover]

You didn't say what you DO want to write about? I.e. genre, style, situations, etc..?

 

[sr71plt]

Oh I never beg anyone to write. We have far more writers milling around than are needed. If it's not a passion for you outside of getting more strokes than the next writer, I say try golf or water skiing out as passions. Look for something that is its own reward for you.

 

[ElectricBlue]

It's no different here. If you want volume in your readership, give the masses what they want. You've probably identified the mass audiences.

If you want discerning readers, write what you want to write, and they will find you. Don't expect the river to flood though, it's more a quiet stream.

 

[cfuhrer]

If you came here to get away from trends, why worry about what the trends here are?

If you're just writing to create what doesn't already exist, why worry about what already exists.

Do you and let the rest of us worry about us.


Oh, and I write that soldier, cowboy, country girl, farmer, rancher, bon fire, mud bogging "crap" as you call it - because that is my life and my experiences.

 

[UnderMyKilt]

If you came here to get away from trends, why worry about what the trends here are?

If you're just writing to create what doesn't already exist, why worry about what already exists.

Do you and let the rest of us worry about us.


Oh, and I write that soldier, cowboy, country girl, farmer, rancher, bon fire, mud bogging "crap" as you call it - because that is my life and my experiences.

Exactly. Why worry about changing other people? For readers this is an entirely subjective experience. I write about my life and experiences because that is what I know, what I'm trying to chronicle, and maybe a little of what I'm trying to preserve (for myself if for no one else).

I can't worry that someone else doesn't like it because the setting, situations and experiences are foreign to them.

 

[NotWise]

I can't do weeaboo love cringe, and I just can't do country cowboy soldier stuff either. I'm sorry if I offended anybody. I just hope I can find some friends or fellow authors to brainstorm with.

Enough of what you DON"T want to write. What DO you want to write?

 

[Dam_Fool]

If you came here to get away from trends, why worry about what the trends here are?

If you're just writing to create what doesn't already exist, why worry about what already exists.

Do you and let the rest of us worry about us.


Oh, and I write that soldier, cowboy, country girl, farmer, rancher, bon fire, mud bogging "crap" as you call it - because that is my life and my experiences.

I never said it was crap. Never said it was bad. I just noticed it's a trend at this site. Maybe it's your life, but it's not my life. And neither is vampires, aliens, space ships, post-apocalyptia, magic, cyborgs, orcs, dinosaurs, werewolves, WWII, 100 years ago, etc. So why only stop at your life? Why not expand on your life in art? Doing your life is good, yeah, but dont stop there. Thats like a tv watcher writing or painting about nothing but watching TV.

[NotWise = Enough of what you DON"T want to write. What DO you want to write?]

I've started on m/m gay romances, something out of the ordinary. The non-mundane. I'd also like to write parodies, history-based stories. And mostly, things with build up, story, development, and not a simple "He stuck it in, she came, he came. Yee haw." kind of stuff.

 

[JacksonLow]

............

 

[SamScribble]

It’s pretty easy to get sucked into the flat feeling that can come with having what you thought was pretty good work damned with faint praise – or worse. But if the majority of readers are coming here to read ‘m/fffffffffffff, country boy, cowgirl 'merica base subject, and incest’ that’s what they’re coming here to read.

There’s a restaurant not far from where I live that – apparently – does great things with kale and quinoa. I’m not a particular fan of either. If you asked me to rate the restaurant, I couldn’t even give it one star. The kale and quinoa restaurant does have its own dedicated following though.

Write what you want to write and, who knows, in time you could also build a bit of a dedicated following.

Good luck.

 

[NotWise]

I've started on m/m gay romances, something out of the ordinary. The non-mundane. I'd also like to write parodies, history-based stories. And mostly, things with build up, story, development, and not a simple "He stuck it in, she came, he came. Yee haw." kind of stuff.

There is an audience for those themes here and for the more developed stories. It might take a while to find them.

 

[Dam_Fool]

I don't read gay male because I'm not gay, but I gave 'The Champion & The Princes Ch. 00' a read to third break. It's not that good, I'll tell you why through your author contact page when I have more time to sit down.

Readers on Literotica are very forgiving on the technical side when it comes to rating authors. If they are entertained by story or sex, you will get a high score. There is nothing wrong with that, that's part of being a story teller, the end point for writing stories is to entertain in some fashion. Typically, only other writers review with a critical eye, but they are too busy writing and that's a good thing. If you are upset about your scores, there is a reason why your scores are low, the question is why and does it reflect your writing? Not everything everyone puts to paper is great. If you can't look at your own work objectively, then you're never going to improve. I have the feeling you're new to writing and if you aren't, you need to find someway to see the faults you have in your writing at the moment.

The story of yours I tried to read is Sci-Fi & Fantasy and there are many authors with a following in that category. They either write well or tell a story well, you did neither. I like your idea so far as I read to the third break; the execution was not there and right before the first break your writing gets confusing to the point I thought you left something out.

What you call a trend isn't a trend, it is a preference. Trends change, but Literotica's category viewerships stays constant.

You can't blame other people when you don't perform as expected.

That's all I ask. I want to improve as much as possible, with legit feedback. And thank you so much.

 

[SimonDoom]

Before people complain that their stuff isn't getting read or praised enough on this site, they need to put things in perspective. This is, if I'm not mistaken, the most popular erotic literature site in the world. It is, or was, in the top 500 most visited websites in the world. If it so happens that your story isn't getting as many readers or as much praise as some other stories, that doesn't mean it isn't getting read by a lot of people. It just means this is a really big site, and there are a lot of readers who aren't looking for whatever you are writing.

I wrote my first story, a short story of about 4000 words, and published it in December. It took me two days to write it. According to the stats, it's had 18,400 views. That may look small compared to the number of views for the all-time top stories or the top-rated stories in incest/taboo, but it probably is more viewers than all the people that have read all the things I've written in the rest of my life, combined. In terms of effort:result ratio, it's the most successful and most noticed thing I've ever written.

So, just because your story is getting beaten in views and ratings by stories about cowboys with harems and kinky adventures with their mothers, it doesn't mean you're doing badly. Chin up!

 

[ChloeTzang]

Like Simon says. Just go ahead and write what you want to write. Keep doing it and your audience will find you and your writing will improve. When I wrote my first story and submitted it on LIT, I was terrified about what sort of reception it would get. I just didn't see many stories about chinese girls where the chinese girl was the protagonist but I went ahead and put it in. Honest, I pushed that submit button and I was shaking. And then I was stunned by the views, the ratings and the feedback. Still am. So just do it. You'll get read here. You'll get feedback. You'll get better. Dont worry about what the readers want or about what's popular. Write what you want to say and have fun. And don't get depressed coz the audience here is surprisingly catholic in their tastes.

 

[NotWise]

And don't get depressed coz the audience here is surprisingly catholic in their tastes.

Can you explain what you mean by "catholic in their tastes?"

 

[ChloeTzang]

Can you explain what you mean by "catholic in their tastes?"

Catholic as in wide ranging and all encompassing. Eclectic might have been a better choice maybe.

 

[NotWise]

Catholic as in wide ranging and all encompassing. Eclectic might have been a better choice maybe.

Thanks. That use of the term had eluded me.

 

[SimonDoom]

Catholic as in wide ranging and all encompassing. Eclectic might have been a better choice maybe.

No no -- catholic definitely is the better word. In part because of the wonderful juxtaposition of "catholic" and "Literotica."

 

[NOIRTRASH]

LIT is Laurels coloring book.

Please use the right crayons and stay inside the lines.

 

[lovecraft68]

Catholic as in wide ranging and all encompassing. Eclectic might have been a better choice maybe.

I thought you meant hate spewing hypocritical and 'non practicing'

 

[sr71plt]

People in Protestant churches do a double take every time they see the Apostles' Creed pledging to the catholic (little c) church, but in that context, the definition is "universal" (the first dictionary definition of "catholic" with a lower-cased c). Of course, if they believed in a universal church to begin with, they wouldn't be Protestants nor Roman Catholics, for that matter. The Greek Orthodox were the last ones who had a universal Christian church going for them.

 

[hylas_]

It's true that certain kinds of stories have it significantly easier, in term of ratings and views. But as everybody is saying, I wouldn't worry too much about it. You can try the feedback forum, for more constructive feedback.

 

[ChloeTzang]

I thought you meant hate spewing hypocritical and 'non practicing'

Original defintion of the word as sr71 wrote. I used to read dictionaries for fun.

 

[NotWise]

Original defintion of the word as sr71 wrote. I used to read dictionaries for fun.

There's an evident problem with the similarity between catholic and Catholic.

 

[Hypoxia]

And don't get depressed coz the audience here is surprisingly catholic in their tastes.

No pederasty here, nope. Maybe a bit too much sacramental wine, sure, but that's non-denominational. And dressing up in funny robes and dresses -- well, Lutherans and Anglicans go there too sometimes. But we mostly stay away from altar boys, right?