Easily Squicked Readers

[JuanaSalsa]

This illustrates the dilemma. If you sit in the coffee shop at your favourite book store, and watch the punters reviewing the books they wish to sit and browse from the piles of best sellers and promos, and put them on the clock, most are returned to the pile within one minute. Some I would return after reading the back cover blurb. I do it. That has nothing to do with whether it's a good story or well written: it's everything to do with my taste in fiction. I don't hate any stories, I find that difficult to understand, but if I were to rate it I wouldn't do so on the basis that it was 'my thing', be that a taste in erotica, or anything else.

Using the book store analogy,, the mass downvoting of unliked topics isn't really the same as returning a book to the shelf where it belongs. It's more like if someone methodically takes all mystery novels and re-shelves them in "junk" section along with everything that's poorly edited or otherwise basically unreadable. It significantly increases the time and frustration to find a good mystery to read. Then as the "sales" drop for mystery writers, less mysteries are written.

Eventually, the readers and the writers are left wondering. If the book store wants to "sell" mysteries, why not deal with the issue of the rampant mis-shelvers. And if they don't want to sell mysteries, why not just say that.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I'm sorry he killed the guy. More concerned the justice system didn't find some mercy for him. If the other prisoner did rape her, he got more than he deserved, but not less than I would have wished on him had it been me he hurt.

I have to go on second-hand knowledge here. I do like Eric Swanson's honesty in his YouTube videos about his eleven years in prison starting at the age of seventeen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8cXzb2MAHI

From what I can gather, sex offenders (especially of children) are low down in prison hierarchies and are vulnerable to attack. Jeffrey Dahmer was knocked off by a fellow inmate. Charlie Manson (he was way beyond being a sex offender) was considered a prime target, but he was protected during his lifetime prison stay.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I recognize that calling attention to it isn't going to stop it. Just this morning, I got another comment of this sort to my latest story. This is what they said: "Sorry 1 Star. Not interested in WHORE stories."

It doesn't bother me personally, and I haven't deleted the comment.

Your hucow story is a good example of the weird double squick standard that goes on - the number of comments you've got along the lines of, "Ooo, you can't do that to Mom, that's not right," is notable. The lowish score is probably no surprise, either.

 

[gunhilltrain]

Millie, I think that writing as therapy is really important and a lot of people can benefit from reading it too. There's always a balance between fantasy and reality. I certainly write about things that I've experienced form other perspectives, and the comments are really helpful too.

In a story I just wrote (Dane in the Rain), the main character is a lot like me from twenty years ago and I was actually surprised how pissed off some of the male commenters were on my character's behalf. It was heart warming to see.

I think that there's a strong stigma against enjoying taboo fantasies for both men and women, and when you've been abused yourself it can make it feel even worse to still enjoy those themes in fiction. I find it helpful for my characters to experience all the emotions that go along with the scene, humiliation, guilt, desire, shame, all of it. I like it less when the characters actions are described without the emotional component. But, everyone is different.

I remember reading your story "cold encounter" when it was first published and I really liked it. It is well-written, viscerally descriptive, and emotionally all there. I hope that you don't let the negative comments stop you from writing what you want to write.

I think you've hit an important point here. It reminds me of what Nathanael West called "excited disgust." People can be both fascinated and repelled by the same things, and they may not want to admit it even to themselves.

 

[SimonDoom]

Your hucow story is a good example of the weird double squick standard that goes on - the number of comments you've got along the lines of, "Ooo, you can't do that to Mom, that's not right," is notable. The lowish score is probably no surprise, either.

Exactly. And I pretty much expected that. The mom-son readership is amazing. It's a big crowd, but it's full of people who think it's perfectly cool for Mom and Son to get it on, but get all bent out of shape if Mom has sexual needs beyond those of her son.

It doesn't bother me personally. It's a ridiculous story (though enormously fun to write) and I can't complain about whatever reception it's gotten. But I think it's worth pointing out the incongruity.

 

[Dakota_North]

I have noticed quite a few 'followers' who post negatively on all my 'Loving Wives' stories...if you don't like the idea of a woman fucking around, why are you reading stories in this category?

 

[gunhilltrain]

I have noticed quite a few 'followers' who post negatively on all my 'Loving Wives' stories...if you don't like the idea of a woman fucking around, why are you reading stories in this category?

Why even post there at all? Although you've been here a very long time and some of your Loving Wives stories have done quite well. Maybe LW was different in those days, I don't know.

Generally, the pattern there is that the scores are better than the comments. A lot of the commenters (not all of them are anonymous) just like to rant but never publish their own stuff. That's what I've seen in my two forays into the place, plus I look at the category from time to time. There is one guy who seems to comment on almost every story.

 

[Dakota_North]

Why even post there at all? Although you've been here a very long time and some of your Loving Wives stories have done quite well. Maybe LW was different in those days, I don't know.

Generally, the pattern there is that the scores are better than the comments. A lot of the commenters (not all of them are anonymous) just like to rant but never publish their own stuff. That's what I've seen in my two forays into the place, plus I look at the category from time to time. There is one guy who seems to comment on almost every story.

I used to post there because it was the category that fit! Mind you, 'back in the day' there might be the occasional 'I don't like women who fuck around' comment, but nothing like the dreck I've seen since I 'rediscovered' Lit, LOL.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I used to post there because it was the category that fit! Mind you, 'back in the day' there might be the occasional 'I don't like women who fuck around' comment, but nothing like the dreck I've seen since I 'rediscovered' Lit, LOL.

Yeah, my two stories seemed to fit too so I put them there and took my lumps, as I expected. The scores were a bit better than the comments I'd say. Even some of the comments were positive. I might even do it again someday.

I'm not surprised to hear that it has gotten worse over time. A Gresham's Law of comments?

 

[gordo12]

I think you've hit an important point here. It reminds me of what Nathanael West called "excited disgust." People can be both fascinated and repelled by the same things, and they may not want to admit it even to themselves.

I believe this is a tremendous factor in what goes on in Loving Wives.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I believe this is a tremendous factor in what goes on in Loving Wives.

I'm guessing that some of the guys there have indeed been cheated on. Others may be afraid to approach women because they believe most or all women are faithless. There is a lot of that idea going around the so-called "manosphere." There is a whole cottage industry of men who exploit those fears in extensive blogs, YouTube channels, books, and even symposia, I guess you'd call it. Some of them may be making more than a few bucks out of it.