What's your worst fear about your writtings?

[OhMissScarlett]

You mean that's it? - If writing is my strength, and I'm not especially good at it, then I'm pretty useless. It's not like I can sing or paint or have any other talents...severe crisis of confidence follows...

Oh yeah, I wake up in the middle of the night with this one. Writing is all I've ever done. I just wouldn't know what to do if I wasn't writing. When the insecurity comes and I think I'm a terrible writer, I go into panic mode. Thankfully it doesn't last long, but every once in awhile I'm completely wigged out thinking I'm such this total hack.

Yeah, I'm not afraid of sharks in the bathtub, I'm just afraid of sucking at what I love the most.

 

[carsonshepherd]

Fears, fears, I have many.

The muse - my best stuff is written with someone specific in mind as an inspiration to write a story in the first place. Without a muse, I fear my writing is neither creative nor interesting, nor does it rise above the level of a computer manual or recipe.

Boredom - by the time I've written and edited, I am so bored with the story I can't imagine how anyone else would find anything of interest in it, so I often scrap it.

Talent - or lack thereof. Do I have any? I often think the only thing that separates me from people who aren't 'writers' is that I sit down to write.

Voice - I'm still struggling to find it and inject it into my stories. Without it, I end up with aforementioned computer manual.

You mean that's it? - If writing is my strength, and I'm not especially good at it, then I'm pretty useless. It's not like I can sing or paint or have any other talents...severe crisis of confidence follows...

More? Nah, I shan't bore you further!

Voice is tough! I struggle with it daily. I relearn it every day.

Talent - another tough one! Myself, I get frustrated because I know I've got ability and maybe some talent, but I wish - just once - I could hit that spark of genius. Some people just have divine inspiration! And they're usually the lazy people who don't have to work at being a thousand times better than me. (Insert crisis of confidence here.<---)

Boredom - yeah, anything longer than 4 chapters will get me bored. Once I put something on the back burner, it's done for.

Muse - you know I never thought about it, but I write better with a muse myself. My own life is certainly boring! Other peoples' problems are always more exciting than mine.

Then there's always confidence.... but that's enough...

 

[curious2c]

My worst fear about my writings?


That one day I write a story that everyone hates...without exception. That would do it for me. Big time.

 

[carsonshepherd]

Yeah, I'm not afraid of sharks in the bathtub, I'm just afraid of sucking at what I love the most.

I'm afraid that sucking IS what you love most....

 

[OhMissScarlett]

I'm afraid that sucking IS what you love most....

Have I called you a bitch lately? Bitch. Well, you are right, notice I'm not disputing that.



Sorry for the hijack, go on with your bad selves.

 

[carsonshepherd]

Have I called you a bitch lately? Bitch.

Thanks. I needed that...

 

[oggbashan]

My worst fear about my writings?


That one day I write a story that everyone hates...without exception. That would do it for me. Big time.

I have come close to that with two stories.

As long as you believe in yourself you can shrug the hatred off and go write another story.

Perhaps that hated story just HAD to be written. Once out - does it matter if no one else likes it? Even Homer is said to nod. Rudyard Kipling, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature, wrote some absolute rubbish as well as some of the most finely crafted short stories. He even wrote one about writing the perfect story.

If you think the story is valid, stand by your convictions and let the criticism pass by. If you think the story is rubbish then either don't post it (my hard drive is full of part completed stories like that) or post it and learn from it. The criticism might lead to a better story next time.

Og

 

[curious2c]

I have come close to that with two stories.

As long as you believe in yourself you can shrug the hatred off and go write another story.

Perhaps that hated story just HAD to be written. Once out - does it matter if no one else likes it? Even Homer is said to nod. Rudyard Kipling, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature, wrote some absolute rubbish as well as some of the most finely crafted short stories. He even wrote one about writing the perfect story.

If you think the story is valid, stand by your convictions and let the criticism pass by. If you think the story is rubbish then either don't post it (my hard drive is full of part completed stories like that) or post it and learn from it. The criticism might lead to a better story next time.

Og

I had one story so far where the first feedbacks...well...I did not like too much at all. I was able to shoulder that negativity...and even channel some of it to my humor...but there were a couple that were too much.

In the past, I had not worried about what others thought, then all of the sudden I realized that I just may have been a bit misleading to myself, as those comments really drove me down.

Valuable lesson learned.

You are right Ogg...one has to be pleased with what they have written, regardless.

 

[carsonshepherd]

Valuable lesson learned.

You are right Ogg...one has to be pleased with what they have written, regardless.

I've realized that worrying about whether my "audience" will like the story and "get it" leads me to be dishonest about the characters and their motivations, as well. I had to work with my mind to turn off that reaction... which is only ego really anyway...

 

[oggbashan]

...but there were a couple that were too much.

There are people like that who enjoy being destructive.

Fair criticism is very difficult to convey. Many authors have a deserved reputation for being overly sensitive. It is hard to recognise which criticism is valid, which is unfair but well-meant, which is because the reader has missed the point, and which is just malicious. There will always be a few of the latter. If you post stories on Literotica or anywhere else on the Net you are setting yourself up as a target for abuse (and praise, appreciation, and genuinely helpful people).

The hardest criticism to accept is not the vulgar abuse. It is the criticism that you know is justified because you have failed.

Og

 

[impressive]

It is hard to recognise which criticism is valid, which is unfair but well-meant, which is because the reader has missed the point, and which is just malicious.

I just seem to get both ends of the spectrum -- and seldom anything in between (i.e., real constructive criticism).

Now, I'll admit that the "Brilliant!" comments are wonderfully energizing ... and the "That's so fucking stupid!" comments are annoying. But when you get right down to it, which of the two is going to help you improve?

 

[moonlight elf]

Being a newbie, my greatest fear is writing something that will boor everyone to tears. I have always enjoyed writing but I guess i am just afraid to share, "I have no talent" a little voice seems to tell me.

 

[Slowlane]

zzzzzzzzz

 

[NoJo]

Panic. I fear panic. I fear I will post my first story, someone will diss it an I will panic. Other fears. Punctuation, vocabulary, inability to properly describe emotion. Direction - I try to write a long story and can't think of a thing to write, a short one and it drags on forever. PAANICCCC!! ! ! ! SSSSSets innnn a-a-a-and nothing gets finished. I aint' a
good spler to. And mi spl cker dont' alwys wrk somtims.

Nice post, I can feel the panic!

Slowlane, just write like you post. The mood will hopefully get through.


My biggest problem is overcomplication. Undersimplification. Whatever.

 

[moonlight elf]

Panic. I fear panic. I fear I will post my first story, someone will diss it an I will panic. Other fears. Punctuation, vocabulary, inability to properly describe emotion. Direction - I try to write a long story and can't think of a thing to write, a short one and it drags on forever. PAANICCCC!! ! ! ! SSSSSets innnn a-a-a-and nothing gets finished. I aint' a
good spler to. And mi spl cker dont' alwys wrk somtims.

know exactly what u mean!!

 

[MLyons]

Here's another more specific fear I have regarding the current story I'm working on.

I fear that my characters are smarter than I am. I fear that I won't be able to write the story I want to write because I'm not clever enough to bring the intelligence of my characters, and the complexity of their situation alive. I fear the story will turn into a silly facade of crazy sex without any depth.

Has anyone else gone through this?

 

[carsonshepherd]

Here's another more specific fear I have regarding the current story I'm working on.

I fear that my characters are smarter than I am. I fear that I won't be able to write the story I want to write because I'm not clever enough to bring the intelligence of my characters, and the complexity of their situation alive. I fear the story will turn into a silly facade of crazy sex without any depth.

Has anyone else gone through this?

Daily.

 

[Bridget69]

My flaws are using certain words repetitously and using commas compulsively.
And I suppose my biggest fear would be having readers who don't enjoy what I've written.

 

[Colleen Thomas]

I think it's silly, but I tend to write extremely petite femmes. My biggest fear has always been someone seeing those characters as children. It's irrational, my characters are obviously women, but it always comes back to me when I begin writing a scene.

-Colly

 

[nushu2]

Here's another more specific fear I have regarding the current story I'm working on.

I fear that my characters are smarter than I am. I fear that I won't be able to write the story I want to write because I'm not clever enough to bring the intelligence of my characters, and the complexity of their situation alive. I fear the story will turn into a silly facade of crazy sex without any depth.

Has anyone else gone through this?

Ya, sort of. My Halloween story started off with lots of tension but got silly once the tension had to be relieved. I didn''t mind that too much, for myself, but I didn't think the reader would appreciate the sudden shift. The solution came, too late, by asking a question to the forum.

I'm empathetic about the 'depth' issue. The main reason that I started to write, elsewhere, is that so many of the stories were just wank pieces. I still have to question every idea, from the start, with "what's the point?" My fear is that I'll submit to the lowest common denominator. It's not that I have anything against wank stories, it's just not why I write.

All I can suggest for your difficulty is patience.

 

[MLyons]

All I can suggest for your difficulty is patience. [/B]

Yes. I've encountered many difficulties with other stories, and as you suggest, patience and tenacity has been the most effective way of dealing with them. This one, it seems will be no different.

 

[SlickTony]

Another problem I run into is the dreaded "this is all rubbish" writer's block.

Don't you know, Lucifer, that a demon sits on the shoulder of every writer, whispering that the stuff he/she writes is dreck?

I don't fear editing stuff like punctuation and grammar--my stuff gets vetted pretty intensely before it ever goes out. I also tend to open up stories I've previously written to make sure that turns of phrase that I've come up haven't been used too repetitively before and are becoming personal cliches.

I do, however, worrry about committing howlers--my husband read my first story and pointed out that I'd alluded to the wrong parade (it was set in New Orleans, during Mardi Gras). Stuff like that.

And then, of course, getting panned. This occasionally happens to me. Nobody likes that.

 

[Slowlane]

Thanks for the encouraging words on my last post.
I find it hard to believe Colleen Thomas could have any insecurity with her skills. I think she's great. I highly recommend Cold Reception - never mind the sex the story is great.
My first story is nearing completion, I will be posting it in a week or two. This will lead to comments ( I hope ) I think most anyone on this thread would be nice to hear from - yes even the bad things, it's only by hearing the bad that we improve. OK practice helps.) It's the mean spirited I'm not sure about. Someone else mentioned this as well. One ass hole out of ten maybe but what if the first ten are ass holes?

 

[oggbashan]

...One ass hole out of ten maybe but what if the first ten are ass holes?

That probably means that you have either:

1. Put your story in the wrong category e.g. anything with incest MUST be in Incest/Taboo

2. Your story title and sub-title implies something you don't deliver e.g. Lisa's Horny Sisters but her sisters aren't really horny.

3. Although in the right category your story is off-beam for that category. When the Erotic Horror category was new and authors were feeling their way I wrote 2 stories for it. One was horrible without being erotic; the other was neither horror nor erotic. It was just weird. Both stories attracted low votes and rude feedback although some few liked them.

The way to be sure that you do not disappoint readers is to look at the top few stories in each possible category. That will give you an idea of what the expectations are. 'Loving Wives' are usually 'Cheating Wives' unless I wrote the story. My 'wife' was loving so I got panned again.

Look at the 'How To' section of stories. There is a lot of wisdom in that section.

Og

 

[Slowlane]

Thanks oggbashan That helped a lot. I think my real fear is starting. I have wanted to write for decades. Now I have the time to do and someplace to put it I'm scared. Plain and simple.
I wish I had paid more attention to those sissy courses in school. You know, the ones that had to do with English, speling, and vokabbbe - vocaa - more words, instead of
wood shop.