“I don’t want to have to think while I’m reading”

[FrancesScott]

I got a comment along these lines. I found it very depressing. I know most readers are in one hand mode, but isn’t the point of writing to make you think and feel?

 

[AwkwardMD]

It's helpful to imagine "The readers who comment," especially the anonymous ones, as being the loudest archetypes of specific subsets of readers. That person represents a non-zero percent of your readership, and the broadness of Lit as a platform means you will get a wide swath of readers. You can't control that. You can't control who clicks your story or the next one. You can't tell if there are readers who will bounce off your story but would have liked it if they'd stuck with it, and sometimes you can tell who stuck with it but should have bounced off.

Comments like these are some of the most depressing I get as well. Hopefully you're getting more that are thoughtful and respectful of what you're doing, enough to drown those out.

 

[nice90sguy]

You added the "feel". The comment was about "thinking". I get why. I don't like to think when I'm having sex. In fact it can really hamper the enjoyment.

 

[AwkwardMD]

You've got it in your signature that you're proud of writing brainy smut. Good for you. If I were you, I would consider deleting a comment like that. Some readers will open a story and skip straight to the comments to see what others have said, and I'd rather they decide for themselves if my work is too brainy for them rather than letting someone else's arbitrary expectations and subsequent disappointment dictate if they even give it a try.

 

[StillStunned]

People come here for all kinds of reasons. The most important one, I think, is escapism: to read a story and be lost in a sexy world that matches their kink. In other situations they might be willing to exercise their brain, but sometimes all you want is to have the entertainment presented to you for your enjoyment.

 

[NotWise]

We get a broad spectrum of readers, and they're all entitled to their opinion. Comments like that tell me I drew a reader from outside my target audience.

Lit gives us a lot of tools to narrow readers down to a target group. Sometimes I don't use those tools (category, title, short description, tags) as effectively as I could, but nothing weeds out indiscriminate readers.

 

[AwkwardMD]

We get a broad spectrum of readers, and they're all entitled to their opinion. Comments like that tell me I drew a reader from outside my target audience.

Lit gives us a lot of tools to narrow readers down to a target group. Sometimes I don't use those tools (category, title, short description, tags) as effectively as I could, but nothing weeds out indiscriminate readers.

this

 

[SimonDoom]

I agree with what AwkwardMD wrote, except the being depressed part. I think we have to remember that we're straddling two worlds here -- the literary world, and the quick orgasm world. Many, many readers come here the way they'd rent a porn video or go to a strip club or pull a sex toy out from the drawer in the nightstand next to the bed. That's what they want. Quick, sure satisfaction. And there's nothing wrong with that. I'm very aware based on comments I've received that readers come in all stripes, and my attitude is that the ones looking for the quick fix are as welcome as any others.

Also, just as important, I have LONG since abandoned any personal feeling that I am obligated to please everybody. That's a rabbit hole you don't want to go down.

Keep writing the stories you want to write, do your best, and you will gather the readers that you want, the ones who are looking for the kind of stuff you write.

 

[lovecraft68]

Brush it off and move on, its a random comment from someone expressing their opinion which doesn't speak for anyone else.

 

[FrancesScott]

You've got it in your signature that you're proud of writing brainy smut. Good for you. If I were you, I would consider deleting a comment like that. Some readers will open a story and skip straight to the comments to see what others have said, and I'd rather they decide for themselves if my work is too brainy for them rather than letting someone else's arbitrary expectations and subsequent disappointment dictate if they even give it a try.

Good advice I think.

 

[AwkwardMD]

Good advice I think.

Sometimes another reader from that same subset of your readership will give you one like this



and this? This feels amazing.

 

[THBGato]

“I don’t want to have to think while I’m reading”​

But what if what they mean is along the lines of: "I want the story to be so natural and immersive that I forget I'm reading. I want a story in which reading becomes an unconscious act, something I manage to do without thinking about it." That's what I experienced reading The Soldier's Widow.

Isn't that what we aim for as writers?

I agree that this is unlikely. Probably, as you assumed, they were just annoyed that you bothered them with serious, real-life issues when they were just reaching for the tissues.

But what if?

 

[yowser]

But what if what they mean is along the lines of: "I want the story to be so natural and immersive that I forget I'm reading. I want a story in which reading becomes an unconscious act, something I manage to do without thinking about it."

This is certainly a possible interpretation. My initial take on the comment was along the lines of why folks like to zone out on TV after a long day. They want entertainment and definitely don't want to see a show and go 'No, that person would never do that!' or note a scene of such implausible dimensions that it ruins the story. As a writer, I don't want any reader to 'think' about their feet as I lead them along, to stumble over grammatically uneven pavement, worry about tree roots. I am happy if they 'think' at a higher level (where is the path going? What's around the bend?) and I try to provoke thought. But I want no thought given to the infrastructure.

But the comment doesn't really tell us clearly enough about what the reader meant.

 

[FrancesScott]

That's what I experienced reading The Soldier's Widow.

That’s very kind of you to say. I’m proud of that story.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I don't think it's depressing at all. There are all kinds of readers out there. Some want quick gratification, some want an engaging story. You can never please both kinds of readers.

This just shows that you caught a reader who wanted simple smut, and even if that reader was annoyed at "having to think," you clearly managed to attract him with the sexual content. So, it's also a compliment of a sort. Your smut has juice.

I can fully imagine an author linking a comment along the lines of:

"The sex and the buildup were great, but I wish you had given more depth to the characters, some backstory, and some conflict."

Well, to be honest, I sometimes leave such comments...

And I can fully imagine the author creating a thread and making a frustrated post:

"Hey, Mr. brainiac commenter, I just wanted to write a juicy stroke story! You can stuff your depth where the sun doesn't shine!"

 

[FrancesScott]

Just a general note, I don’t think the comment was anything to do with being jarringly pulled out of the reading experience by some inconsistency or impossible event. I don’t write that way. It was most likely as some elements were left to reader interpretation, as often happens in literature. I guess that wasn’t what they were looking for. I had other requests saying, “You should have explained X,” when the whole point was not to. Life isn’t always explicable in every respect, I try to reflect that messiness.

 

[Bloodandglitter]

I agree with what AwkwardMD wrote, except the being depressed part. I think we have to remember that we're straddling two worlds here -- the literary world, and the quick orgasm world. Many, many readers come here the way they'd rent a porn video or go to a strip club or pull a sex toy out from the drawer in the nightstand next to the bed. That's what they want. Quick, sure satisfaction. And there's nothing wrong with that. I'm very aware based on comments I've received that readers come in all stripes, and my attitude is that the ones looking for the quick fix are as welcome as any others.

Also, just as important, I have LONG since abandoned any personal feeling that I am obligated to please everybody. That's a rabbit hole you don't want to go down.

Keep writing the stories you want to write, do your best, and you will gather the readers that you want, the ones who are looking for the kind of stuff you write.

Beautifully stated. Especially the last paragraph. My best friend always tells me that when I feel like my story doesn't get enough attention. Granted there's a ton of sex and sexual tension in my story, there's an actual story there too.

 

[AwkwardMD]

I can't speak for Frances, but what I find depressing about the original comment when I get them (and I do) is that (in news I'm sure will shock no one who's seen our review thread) I am always trying really hard to be very purposeful about my writing. I don't adhere to the idea that I can't control what people get out of my work because, for the most part, I can. I can be thorough, and I can be immersive, and I can curate a bespoke experience.

This is not to say that no one else is doing or saying anything with their work. I just mean that, for me, it's load-bearing element of my entire philosophy, and comments like that make me feel like the path I'm carving for myself has been a mistake this whole time.

When I get more positive comments, I can stop navel gazing.

 

[FrancesScott]

Just a general note, I don’t think the comment was anything to do with being jarringly pulled out of the reading experience by some inconsistency or impossible event. I don’t write that way. It was most likely as some elements were left to reader interpretation, as often happens in literature. I guess that wasn’t what they were looking for. I had other requests saying, “You should have explained X,” when the whole point was not to. Life isn’t always explicable in every respect, I try to reflect that messiness.

It’s like obligating Chris Nolan to explain whether or not the top stops spinning at the end of Inception. [not that I’m suggesting I’m anywhere near as talented]

 

[FrancesScott]

I am always trying really hard to be very purposeful about my writing. I don't adhere to the idea that I can't control what people get out of my work because, for the most part, I can.

I think this is why I felt it was discouraging as well.

 

[lovecraft68]

I get we all react differently to things here, but is this that big of a deal? I wouldn't consider this a nasty comment in comparison to what you can find here on a regular basis so the reaction, and the people saying to remove it, seems off.

Are some that thin skinned? You know what you wrote and if you're happy with it and most readers are as well, should it take up this much space?

Giving this random comment way too much power. Makes me wonder what would happen if you received something seriously nasty.

 

[AwkwardMD]

Are some that thin skinned? You know what you wrote and if you're happy with it and most readers are as well, should it take up this much space?

Some of us don't have the option of choosing where our skin is thin. Scar tissue is never as strong as tissue that's never been broken before.

 

[Cly_Anders]

I got a comment along these lines. I found it very depressing. I know most readers are in one hand mode, but isn’t the point of writing to make you think and feel?

I've had people write to me to tell me they score me a 1 because I use made up words for my elves, just a few, and I use them in context so even if you didn't read their meaning (which I put at the beginning of each elf story), you'd still understand the words by their context clues. My response was "don't ever visit a foreign nation. It might upset you that the native are speaking their own language." Really, comments like that prove those readers aren't worth your time, your thoughts, or your care. "I don't want to think while reading" is the smoothest brain response a human can give and really pushes home why AI is sometimes better company than many people. I have gotten plenty of "it sucks" in my life and those mean nothing to me. It's like someone saying they don't like my shoes. It's so nondescript and useless. It's only purpose is to be mean, that's it. It's not helpful, it's not even trying to be. Just shrug and move on. That comment is very telling of what kind of person that is: someone you wouldn't want to talk to, so why care what they say?

 

[ChuckWolf]

I had the kind of the reverse:

Thing was, I had tried to make a wildly improbable story seem more realistic by adding tiny background details/nuance.

The comment came off as a backhanded-compliment, even though I don't believe that was the intent.

Anyways, it made me laugh.

 

[lovecraft68]

Some of us don't have the option of choosing where our skin is thin. Scar tissue is never as strong as tissue that's never been broken before.

Good words for real life, but I don't see it the same here. If someone gushes over your story, is it really that good? It's that person's opinion, but one we prefer of course.

You post here publicly, you choose accept comments, then you need to be somewhat prepared to get some remarks you don't care for. Just like in real life, you expect to go through it with no one ever saying anything you don't agree with?

Perspective is a powerful tool and IMO if a comment like this can get someone that upset then maybe they need to shut off feedback or rethink being here. I don't see it as nasty at all just an opinion.

But it goes back to a snarky comment I made a long ass time ago that lit needs to have a feature "Please only accept comments filled with glowing praise"

You don't grow in any aspect of life without some adversity and the opinion of an anon consumer of free material isn't high up on that scale.

Try getting the feedback I got last week about hoping my wife dies of cancer and knowing that was someone from this forum either a poster or a frequent ghoster. Little nastier than "I don't want to think" but know what? Whatever, I obviously own time in that person's head for some reason so its on them. Sticks and stones.

Life sucks because people suck and people are part of everyday life with all that suck. Avoiding it isn't beneficial to developing as a person.