Posting a story anxiety..

[EmeraldKitten]

Okay, not to toot my own horn, lol, but my stories are all doing pretty good. The majority have H's, and the few that do not, don't have enough reads. (That's their excuse, lol )
Anyway, when I left a while back and pulled my stories, all but one had an H, but I never reposted all of them. Some I decided I didn't like, some I cringed over the fact I'd written them at all, lol.
Now, I still have those. I also have about, oh, 30 stories. Some are two lines, others are 16 pages or more. Some are almost finished. Some are a story with no sex. Which just means they are works in progress.

My problem is, I don't have the time to write like I want to, and haven't been on a posting spree in a while. So I have stage fright. I'm afraid to post one because I'm afraid it really sucks, lol.
Does anyone else feel that way after a dry spell? Or am I just a freak?

I have one story in particular that I'm rather proud of. It was one that I started back last fall with a Halloween theme. I thought about submitting it in the contest, but I didn't finish it. I know I ran short on time to write, but I think I subconciously didn't finish it so I wouldn't have to submit it. Does that make sense? lol.

Okay, that's all. I figured I'd post a thread that was on subject for once.
Discuss amongst yourself, and shameless flattery is allowed. (just kidding. )

~Kitten

 

[only_more_so]

Okay, not to toot my own horn, lol, but my stories are all doing pretty good. The majority have H's, and the few that do not, don't have enough reads. (That's their excuse, lol )
Anyway, when I left a while back and pulled my stories, all but one had an H, but I never reposted all of them. Some I decided I didn't like, some I cringed over the fact I'd written them at all, lol.
Now, I still have those. I also have about, oh, 30 stories. Some are two lines, others are 16 pages or more. Some are almost finished. Some are a story with no sex. Which just means they are works in progress.

My problem is, I don't have the time to write like I want to, and haven't been on a posting spree in a while. So I have stage fright. I'm afraid to post one because I'm afraid it really sucks, lol.
Does anyone else feel that way after a dry spell? Or am I just a freak?

I have one story in particular that I'm rather proud of. It was one that I started back last fall with a Halloween theme. I thought about submitting it in the contest, but I didn't finish it. I know I ran short on time to write, but I think I subconciously didn't finish it so I wouldn't have to submit it. Does that make sense? lol.

Okay, that's all. I figured I'd post a thread that was on subject for once.
Discuss amongst yourself, and shameless flattery is allowed. (just kidding. )

~Kitten

Yeah, I get nervous every time. I have a series I'm writing that has always gotten really great scores and comments. But I still cringe after submitting each chapter. I have an editor and keep saying how much I'm afraid the newest chapter is terrible, and even after getting it back and hearing its good, I still wait a couple days to submit.

Actually, I feel the same way talking to women.

 

[theMaven]

Okay, not to toot my own horn, lol, but my stories are all doing pretty good. The majority have H's, and the few that do not, don't have enough reads. (That's their excuse, lol )
Anyway, when I left a while back and pulled my stories, all but one had an H, but I never reposted all of them. Some I decided I didn't like, some I cringed over the fact I'd written them at all, lol.
Now, I still have those. I also have about, oh, 30 stories. Some are two lines, others are 16 pages or more. Some are almost finished. Some are a story with no sex. Which just means they are works in progress.

My problem is, I don't have the time to write like I want to, and haven't been on a posting spree in a while. So I have stage fright. I'm afraid to post one because I'm afraid it really sucks, lol.
Does anyone else feel that way after a dry spell? Or am I just a freak?

I have one story in particular that I'm rather proud of. It was one that I started back last fall with a Halloween theme. I thought about submitting it in the contest, but I didn't finish it. I know I ran short on time to write, but I think I subconciously didn't finish it so I wouldn't have to submit it. Does that make sense? lol.

Okay, that's all. I figured I'd post a thread that was on subject for once.
Discuss amongst yourself, and shameless flattery is allowed. (just kidding. )

~Kitten

Sounds like fear of success to me . . .

My writing professors told me that the worse you think your story is the better it is in actuality. *shrugs* But what do they know? They're just published authors.

 

[TheHotJD]

I've been feeling a little off lately, too. I started a story intended for the Halloween contest but never finished it, and I've had a couple of other things lined up that I haven't finished either. And now, my internal censor, who doesn't usually bother me that much, has been sniping at me. My characters right now are all supposed to be finding love, and good ol' internal censor, reading over my shoulder with that pinched, prudish look on his face, is scoffing at me.

"Aww," I think to myself. "They love each other!"

"Oh, really, genius?" asks the censor. "Isn't this kind of like the blind man describing the elephant to a crowd of elephant experts?"

And then I go to take a swing at the censor, and no work gets done.

I have also noticed my subconscious quietly conspiring with that horrible jackass, my internal censor, to prevent me from getting stuff finished and on its way. I hope this is like a cold -- if I take care of myself, the symptoms will clear up, and I'll return to health!

 

[S-Des]

I don't get "Posting fright" anymore, but I used to (really bad). Several Lit authors (not AHers) had to hold my hand through a couple of story postings, when I was really afraid I was going to get creamed. Luckily, I've had quite good success with a segment of readers, so now I'm fairly confident that the stories will be well received (well, when I actually getting around to submitting one ). Of course it doesn't hurt that I have a brutal editor who's far meaner than any potential critic (OK, he's not quite that bad, but I have first drafts with his comments, and trust me...it would make an excellent thread! ).

Good luck when you do submit. I recommend finding a few readers who've been tough but fair on your stories in the past and approaching them about pre-reading. That should really help you catch some inconsistencies before you submit, and should help you get a good night's sleep while you wait.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

I see it like this: Even though Literotica is a porn site (yeah, it really is - look at the advertisers) there doesn't have to be sex in your stories. But to be sucessful, the stories have to be well written with good, solid characters and a well defined plots.

In my experience there are two kinds of readers on Lit. Wankers and Good People interested in reading decent literature. There are too many writers trying to satisfy both. A few can do that. I can't, so I don't even try.

I've read some of your stuff, EK. It's good. Don't be nervous. There are a lot of readers out in Lit-land who like them. Just do what the rest of us do - Post it, then piss and moan about the vote-scores and trolls.

JJ

 

[OzoneRed]

One of the great things about the internet is its relative anonymity. If you have any RL friends on Lit, they won't flame you. Even your Lit friends won't flame you. The only people who will flame you don't know who you really are, so you can ignore them.

The people who matter won't flame, and the people who flame don't matter.

Post 'em. The best way to improve your writing is to get your stuff out there, and hope for some good constructive criticism.

 

[EmeraldKitten]

Thanks for the comments guys. I appreciate them.

My best friend has read pretty much everything I've written, and she thinks I need to take writing classes and write a book, lol. She's a big supporter of mine. I'm glad she doesn't try and bring me down, even jokingly. So when I start getting scared I make her read something and she always likes me and pumps me up, lol.

Well, I better get to writing. I've got a million stories to finish, lol.


Thanks again!