Comments that leave you shaking your head

[Actingup]

I decided to kill that story. With some good advice from several folks, I realized I was doing exactly what the LW-haters do: continuing to engage in something I know I don't like. And then I wrote a story I would never want to read because of that. I was going in the wrong direction on this. So I withdrew it.

Thanks to all who made me see reason.

Good call. If I could presume to venture another opinion... you don't need to self-censor too much. Just channel the energy into writing a story that positively reflects how you would like LW to be. You will find that plenty of others feel the same way. Consensus is impossible amongst LW readers, but there are still powerful tidal forces to to lend support.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Good call. If I could presume to venture another opinion... you don't need to self-censor too much. Just channel the energy into writing a story that positively reflects how you would like LW to be. You will find that plenty of others feel the same way. Consensus is impossible amongst LW readers, but there are still powerful tidal forces to to lend support.

It’s not just LW. I’ve been writing what I would like T/CD to be since I started publishing here. Almost all of my stories have Harlequenesque happy endings. Then I accepted a challenge to write something a little different. Consequence to Recompense is melancholy at best. Down right depressing is probably more accurate. In context, it has a happy ending, but it is not what people expected. As such it’s my lowest rated story(not counting some 750 word entries).
The interesting thing is, almost all the comments compliment how well written it is.

This one from anonymous probably says it best:

+1 for "not my style"
"Very dark"
"Still well written"

I’ve thought about pulling it down, but I really think I wrote it very well, and that’s what matters.

I agree with @Actingup, “Just channel the energy into writing a story that positively reflects how you would like (pick a category) to be.


EDIT: It was verry difficult for me to write and I don't think I'll be going there again.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

I don't generally even consider commenters. Had a story get 6 or 8 zingers back to back. It also continues to get far more favorites.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Let us know how it goes?

Discussed it with the mods and it's back.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Like the other poster here, I was thankfully saved from it by the story in question having been removed.

And it's back, so you weren't saved after all.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

Discussed it with the mods and it's back.

And, as a bonus it was on the top of the new stories page again and I picked up a few thousand views, as well as some new votes and comments.

 

[jezzaz]

I definitely delete abusive or extremely negative comments that add nothing.

I never used to, but recently I sat and asked myself the question of why I’m enabling people who just want to be vile and nasty when I’m giving them something for free that takes me time and effort to make it?

If there is actual constructive criticism or an actual question there, I’ll leave it, but the ‘this is shit written by a cuck’ kind of comment - why would I want to subject myself to that?

Once commentators get the idea that you will police your comments threads some of it drops off, but there will always be those that insist on spreading their bile for the sake of it.

You have the tools to curtail some of that, and I am now fairly unflinching in using them.

One of my stories is heading into the 1000 comments territory, which is a bit outlandish, and it’s in LW too, so there’s that.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

If there is actual constructive criticism or an actual question there, I’ll leave it, but the ‘this is shit written by a cuck’ kind of comment - why would I want to subject myself to that?

I never delete anything, no matter how rude. I also never subject myself to that.

 

[ycym]

I never delete anything, no matter how rude. I also never subject myself to that.

Yes. I come to the same conclusion.

 

[sinfantasy]

I never delete anything, no matter how rude. I also never subject myself to that.

I agree. It feels like you are letting them win by telling them they are getting under your skin. Let them write whatever, if they are really out of line, other reader will defend you and refute.

 

[YDB95]

Here's an oldie but a goodie I'd forgotten until recently, on A Just Friends Holiday:

The plot is well established in the Literotica archive, but this wasn't bad at all. I did think our heroine was a little shallow, but the pair was well matched. I did have one nit to pick. This discussion of people who love Broadway musicals being thought of as gay is pure nonsense. It is true that I was brought up on this genre and love it all. I have a great coffee table book of all the musicals made into movies and I think it's great to sit down with it and sing some of the songs - the ones I can remember. There's also the series on TV called: "That's Entertainment" hosted by Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly which I have recorded on my DVR and really enjoy seeing the old dance combinations from those musical movies. Maybe it's because I'm well into my 9th decade and when I was a kid in the 40's this was well-appreciated music. Perhaps the author here is a youngster and thinks that people who love to hum along with Gordon MacRae, Howard Keel and the other great baritones of the day are gay. What mindless stupidity. I never had a moment of gayness in my life. April in Paris (Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron), Gigi (Maurice Chevalier and Louis Jordan) and so many others. And we shouldn't forget all the great Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. Gay - bullshit! 3* despite my annoyance over improperly maligning one of the greatest musical genres ever. Author probably loves rap. And deserves it!

Where to begin?!
1. The idea that people who love Broadway musicals are assumed to be gay is supposed to be pure nonsense. The whole point of the story is that the protagonist misjudges her friend based on that and other stereotypes.
2. I am indeed younger than the commenter, but I love musicals myself and I most certainly don't think men who do are gay (I'm not, after all).
3. Rap is just about the only genre of music I don't like at all.

 

[Erozetta]

The only comments I ever deleted were from the same person.

The first was glowing praise.

The second was them saying they meant to post the glowing praise on someone else's story.

I deleted both comments and do not remember who the user was, but I hope they repeated the first comment on the correct story after that.

 

[StillStunned]

The only comments I ever deleted were from the same person.

The first was glowing praise.

The second was them saying they meant to post the glowing praise on someone else's story.

I deleted both comments and do not remember who the user was, but I hope they repeated the first comment on the correct story after that.

That's hilarious! I can just imagine you reading the first comment, feeling that warm fuzzy happiness we all get when someone says how much they enjoyed our story, congratulating yourself on being such a great writer... And then reading the second comment.

 

[iwatchus]

The only comments I ever deleted were from the same person.

The first was glowing praise.

The second was them saying they meant to post the glowing praise on someone else's story.

I deleted both comments and do not remember who the user was, but I hope they repeated the first comment on the correct story after that.

Feels like the basic premise of Life of Brian.

 

[TheLobster]

That's hilarious! I can just imagine you reading the first comment, feeling that warm fuzzy happiness we all get when someone says how much they enjoyed our story, congratulating yourself on being such a great writer... And then reading the second comment.

I'm not sure I would've had it in me to delete both comments, to be honest. I'd probably only remove just one.

...Which is to say, the first one, obviously; because what's better way to exact revenge for toying with your feelings than to make the commenter look silly for "correcting" a mistake that doesn't exist (anymore)?

 

[TakeThyme]

I am new to Lit, and though I'd written before, I'd never shared with a wider audience. So getting that initial feedback of scores, watching them climb then plummet with a seemingly unjust feedback... how could somebody score 1 saying they "Hate It", that really seems strong, and in my mind far outweighing 10 scores of 5.. Battling my inner demons of why have I bothered to share, then I received two feedback from the same person on parts 1 & 2 of the story "Game On!".

The comments were really badly written, I couldn't 100% understand what they were trying to say, but they were telling me where I'd gone wrong and even gave me 5 examples of what characters should have said, then went on to say that there should have been more dialogue (repeated 3 times). None of which fitted in with the story or the characters in it, how they behaved or what I was trying to share. However getting negative feedback from somebody like that made me realise, I can't please everyone. In the real world some people look upon beauty as natural, whilst others go gaga for women with enhanced breasts, and each to their own, but it has made me feel better about getting poor scores!

 

[Voboy]

Just got one this morning on an older story that came close to winning Nude Day 2021: Naked Wednesday, a tale of two completely depraved high school seniors who tag-team various women on Wednesdays. It's got threesomes, cheating, drug use, the seduction of one of the boys' sisters (IIRC), and a culminating three-way fuckfest with a teacher. It's gloriously, deliciously depraved, a wildly inappropriate piece of writing.

The story has been fortunate enough to earn a 4.81 on 402 votes, and 64,865 people have read it and (presumably) enjoyed it. And yet Anonymous' comment just this morning?

"Too much swearing "

Uh, okay. I guess if that's what you find objectionable!

 

[Erozetta]

That's hilarious! I can just imagine you reading the first comment, feeling that warm fuzzy happiness we all get when someone says how much they enjoyed our story, congratulating yourself on being such a great writer... And then reading the second comment.

I read all comments with a bit of skepticism unless they point out flaws. (I'm working on it.) But it did amuse me quite a bit when the second comment came through. My self doubt was vindicated!

 

[Actingup]

After a hiatus of comments on 'Letting the Sunshine In', a 25K word story, I got this:

“The audience were watching,”
Audience is a singular term so the correct version would be, “The audience was watching.”
Alternatively, one could write “The people were watching” or “The members of the audience were watching” as in these cases they are plural nouns.

I was too quick to accept this - from reading up further, it turns out that my usage was correct for Australian/British English. I usually write in Australian English, but for this story I was trying to be ambiguous about where the protaganists were from. I won't make that mistake again - you let your guard down once, and the grammar police are sinking the boot in.

I still don't know whether they enjoyed the story.

 

[Djmac1031]

The audience were watching,”
Audience is a singular term so the correct version would be, “The audience was watching.”
Alternatively, one could write “The people were watching” or “The members of the audience were watching” as in these cases they are plural nouns.

its comments like that that make me wonder if the reader was actually following/ enjoying the story or just looking for flaws to jump on.

 

[Wouldlovetoo]

What's happening here, I thought this thread was about comments that " leave you shaking your head."

 

[Actingup]

its comments like that that make me wonder if the reader was actually following/ enjoying the story or just looking for flaws to jump on.

The sentence is in the third paragraph of the story, so my guess is that they took the fire exit out and wrote the comment! @Wouldlovetoo - that's why I was shaking my head

 

[Djmac1031]

Just came back for me.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

I'd rather they not comment than be dicks.

 

[sinfantasy]

Just received a some simple words of encouragement from dear anon on my submission The Double Life in Loving Wives

by Anonymous user on 2 hours ago

Boring cliche

For the perspective, its 47.4K long suspense thriller with 4.41 rating and 684 votes.