Comments That Make Your Day

[StillStunned]

Four comments so far on my WIWAW: Nameless and Faceless, with interesting perspectives on the concept of allowing the reader to self-insert in stories.

@Publius68 wrote:

Excellent discussion of the faceless narrator. I use the same device, for the same reason: to make it easier for the reader to put him or herself in the narrator's shoes. I realized just last week that I don't even know the hair color of many of my MCs. I really like stories where I can paint along with the author. Thank you.
Whether your narrator is a strong character or a passive one, what matters to painting your picture of them is their actions, not characteristics. I think I heard somewhere that it is not the size of the dick, but what you do with it that matters...

@EmilyMiller added:

I have not been as conscious of this as you (you are much more self-aware about your writing than I am). But, thinking about it, I’m much more likely to have a male narrator be faceless than a female. Even in actual stories (e.g. there is no description of Jacob in his eponymous story). Some of my male narrators are indeed nameless, or have their name said once or twice by an FMC. However, most of my female narrators have inner thoughts about their appearance. They stand in front of mirrors critically assessing themselves. They worry how others perceive them and that other people are focusing on their flaws (real or imaginary). I don’t know that I do that intentionally. But I want my narrators to have a gender-specific POV. Maybe society makes us women just more aware of appearance. I’m not saying men don’t think that way, and don’t have insecurities, I’m sure they do. But I don’t have the lived experience of that. In fact - thinking about it - if exceptionally an MMC thinks about his appearance, it’s probably in a kinda female way - something readers have called me out on. Excellent and thought-provoking subject for a WIWAw.

Just now @yowser commented:

I am not a fan of the faceless, featureless void. I don't need physical details, but to work in a story (and maybe you do this well, I don't know) the narrator has to be a sentient human attached to an emotional scaffold structure, with a functional nerve-network that lets me, the reader, know we are grounded to the world. I don't need to know anything about the skin, or body, but if it all feels like a vacuum then I have no connection with the the narrator or the story. Give me an anchor or two somewhere, someplace to hang my emotional hat, and I am okay.

@Klitomatic opened the comments, but I'll put it last here to apply to the entire discussion:

Good Points

 

[THBGato]

Well, this is a comment and a half!

Thrilled somebody knew the reference and put so much thought into their response. This on The Parting Glass my Oggbashan Memorial entry.

 

[ICantLeafYou]

From a Redditor:

You do such a good job with your writing. And you are so open and honest with sharing intimate details

 

[ICantLeafYou]

Another via Reddit:

I could totally imagine every little detail. You describe things really well and I can feel the passion and the horniness drip through the text. Thanks for sharing all that

 

[Erozetta]

This comment was unexpected considering I half-assed the story. Still made me smile, though. Wish it weren't anonymous so I could thank them.

by Anonymous user on 5 hours ago

Really enjoyed this. It hit very close to home for me in a way, a glimpse at a road not travelled 20 years ago (and the end of that friendship, even though the road wasn't travelled).
You've conveyed beautifully some very complex and complicated feelings, and while your story scenario is different, it was similar enough to bring back feelings and thoughts long since buried. Which helped make this even more tense and took me on a journey that was very enjoyable. Thank you.

 

[AlexFourways]

I assumed it was female authors who got direct responses of a personal kind. So the following amused me.
Hello, I love your story. Forgive me
But Alex would you like to fuck me four
different ways. Thanks, (name redacted)

Not sure which story she had read!

 

[Kumquatqueen]

Posted chapter 4 of Bad Brat Girl yesterday. Some immediate low votes, which is annoying when at least I can do basic grammar and paragraphs and characters, because it results in low views. I was also unsure how well I'd managed some dialect/foreign language at the end and apologised if the Manglish (Malaysian English, but incomprehensible to English speakers) was a mess.

So this comment was much appreciated: "oh! So good. (I’m ex Malaysian too, although to Australia. Also very very rusty on the Manglish though )"

 

[StillStunned]

How many of you have been compared to Homer? Well?

This anonymous comment was just left on my WIWAW on nameless and faceless narrators:

Narrator was faceless (and blind) since Homer

Luckily my narrators aren't blind, although this does give me an idea for another E&V story...

 

[TheLobster]

This anonymous comment was just left on my WIWAW on nameless and faceless narrators:

"Narrator was faceless (and blind) since Homer"

Once again it is proven that The Simpsons are behind everything.

 

[StillStunned]

Once again it is proven that The Simpsons are behind everything.

I think they were referring to the other, lesser known Homer.

 

[Publius68]

From Anonymous, on my WIWAW article on Checkov's Babes.

I'm not sure I saw smut as literature until alistaire asked carrie out by mistake outside the high school. That was an all-time great series.

The comment is cool on its own, of course, but I was really stoked to get a comment from Anony on it, because it means someone besides other authors are reading the event!

 

[StillStunned]

From Anonymous, on my WIWAW article on Checkov's Babes.

The comment is cool on its own, of course, but I was really stoked to get a comment from Anony on it, because it means someone besides other authors are reading the event!

Great, isn't it? I was also thrilled to see that other writers besides the AH regulars are participating.

I've been keeping an eye on the forums to see whether there would be any complaints about all these WIWAWs flooding the New Stories list, but nothing so far.

 

[Rob_Royale]

I did a non-erotic story that people said brought a tear, but not a erotic story. This is petty cool.

Anonymous about 2 hours ago
I grew up building models into adult hood. I am still in tears now that I'm in my 60's and was pulled in by the familiarity. I never had the situation you did occur. The remembrance of being a teenager to a young man can be difficult and The story was mesmerizing. Thank you for sharing the personal and deeply intimate story. It is moving far beyond the sexual realm.

 

[oneagainst]

Got some great comments on Polly in LW, that dispel the myth of the readership in that category being a monolith of trolls. It does contain multitudes. Liked this one from Whackdoodle:

"She is detestable and, I’ll be honest, it’s refreshing.
Polly isn’t evil, she’s a sociopath and well crafted. She isn’t about hurting people because she cares, it’s about getting what she wants without the drama hurt feelings cause. It’s easier this way."

 

[onehitwanda]

228bit about 2 hours ago
Schizophrenia.

wut

 

[StillStunned]

wut

It's a self-defence mechanism to feel better about masturbation.

 

[StillStunned]

For my newest WIWAW (WIWAW: Too Cold Not to Fuck) I decided to present an analysis of the character of Sal, the "little sister" in the stories. They're all told in the first person, from the point of view of "big brother", and he's not the most observant of narrators. I thought it would be interesting to take a dive into her motivations.

But then I thought I'd try something different, and presented it as Sal speaking directly to reader. It suits her personality, and made it more interesting to write (and hopefully to read as well).

@ShelbyDawn57 seems to think so, at least:

Fun. I like hearing Sal explain herself.

Thanks!

 

[FreyaGersemi]

I've been writing a few "What I Wrote and Why" essays (thank you, @StillStunned for organizing this Author's Challenge!) and offering a glimpse into my messed up mind (some people call it "creative") and I got a private message from someone who characterized me as "the most fascinating woman in the world."

"I don't always write porn, but when I do, it's fascinating."

 

[StillStunned]

That's one reason why none of my WIWAWs are about my "writer's journey": I read other people's experiences, and I realise that mine is just so bland that no-one would be interested, let alone fascinated.

 

[FreyaGersemi]

That's one reason why none of my WIWAWs are about my "writer's journey": I read other people's experiences, and I realise that mine is just so bland that no-one would be interested, let alone fascinated.

But on the other hand, a train wreck is fascinating. People stop and gawk, but no one wants to be in one.

 

[StillStunned]

But on the other hand, a train wreck is fascinating. People stop and gawk, but no one wants to be in one.

Definitely. I prefer a quiet life over interesting times.

 

[StillStunned]

This was a particularly nice comment from @FreedomBase on WIWAW: Flesh for Fantasy:

You're an interesting writer. The plot twists and underlying currents are known to you; so you get a feeling and "make it happen." (On a side note, I do that when I'm working on a plumbing repair.) You make me smile, among other things. Thank you for writing ! ! !

Thanks, that's really great to hear!

 

[AlexFourways]

But on the other hand, a train wreck is fascinating. People stop and gawk, but no one wants to be in one.

But accident* investigation engineers find them facinating for the best of reasons.

*in British Highway Engineering there is no such thing as an accident (the Police started the name change), they are collisions as 'accident' implies no blame, where the thinking is there are causations and fault, from poor design, maintenance, training, health, weather or often a combination of them. Normally there is a primary causation factor, worn tyres, then rain, worn road, speed, driver experience, lack of safety fence**, obstical.

**not 'crash barrier' as they are not for crashing into, and now they are a VRS - Vehicle Restraint System, designed to restrain the vehicle to the carriageway. I have a different vocabulary for things to do with the Highway than Joe Public!

 

[StillStunned]

But accident* investigation engineers find them facinating for the best of reasons.

*in British Highway Engineering there is no such thing as an accident (the Police started the name change), they are collisions as 'accident' implies no blame, where the thinking is there are causations and fault, from poor design, maintenance, training, health, weather or often a combination of them. Normally there is a primary causation factor, worn tyres, then rain, worn road, speed, driver experience, lack of safety fence**, obstical.

**not 'crash barrier' as they are not for crashing into, and now they are a VRS - Vehicle Restraint System, designed to restrain the vehicle to the carriageway. I have a different vocabulary for things to do with the Highway than Joe Public!

There's power in words. They shape opinions, they frame arguments, they fuel sentiment. The right ones can save lives, the wrong ones can ruin them.

 

[joy_of_cooking]

There's power in words. They shape opinions, they frame arguments, they fuel sentiment. The right ones can save lives, the wrong ones can ruin them.

The parallelism here is a thing of beauty.