5 years ago

Dear storyteller, why do you write dark stories?

Warning: Insensitive speech in spoilers

https://i.ibb.co/V99GtJL/Hater-comments.jpg

Dear Person(s)-in-pain,

I've been reading in between the lines figuring out the true reason of your purposeful hunting down and leaving such dedicated comments on my story. I say dedicated because I haven't even posted a link on the forums, and yet you've found and commented on my latest chapter anyway. There are a number of reasons, I'm sure, but I've decided to reply to your more sensible one:

Why do you write dark stories? / Why do dark stories exist? 🙂

I can only speak for myself. The reason why I write dark stories is because they are reflective of my life and those I've met - what we've seen, experienced, dealt with, be crushed by or be overcome. Some people are fortunate enough to have had better, for others darkness prevails. To give you an idea, one of my relative's first job at 8 years old is picking up dead bodies and burying them. Another died from starvation (she was just a teenager).

When you strip B2W of it's magic and fantasy, it's simply a band of sims trying their best to live with the lousy hand they've been dealt with. The reality is 💩 happens to good people, and most times, no one is there to save them but themselves. You can read and experience first-hand the adversities my sims go through, or you can abandon the story.

Stories serve many purposes: to entertain, to inspire, to connect, to laugh or cry at but most importantly, to tell. Your hate speech tells me that this story hurts you. Do NOT read it. Stories are a reflection of humanity (dark or not), so they aren't going anywhere. My suggestion is to stop obsessing over stories you dislike and simply steer clear. The only person you are hurting is yourself. There are a great number of fantastic, happy, fun stories on the forums. I myself read a number of them. You should too. 😄

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The purpose of this thread isn't to incite anything. I am a proponent of diplomatic discussion. Just as dark stories are a safe place to explore and discuss heavier themes through a symbolic, fictional lens, I think forum threads are a safe space to invoke further discussion and hopefully, spread awareness on the importance for stories that serve to tell than entertain.

I've also decided to speak out because I've come to realise that there are many others who are receiving hate for their writing and have been taking this abuse in silence. Everyone's experience, background and voice is unique and deserves to be heard. Don't let a random troll tell you how to write. They've never walked in your shoes. That's how special you and your stories are. Keep smiling and keep writing. :)

stories

29 Replies

InfraGreen
5 years ago
Thank you for this! Commenters are entitled to their opinions but they can be wrong. :p (if any of you are reading this, I kid, you own your reaction to a story, that's all I really have to say)

I currently have put anything too dark to the side but I was known for years here for writing violent, edgy, sexual stories. It's unrealistic to be a writer (or anyone) and not have something dark in your life you have to process. Though I sometimes wonder if it's the healthiest way to do so, writing the worst case scenarios that could happen to me (death by problems I struggle with) for entertainment. Then I stop caring. There are a few comments that have gotten to me but I want to use them to try and be as sensitive as I can be about dark themes, even if it's stuff that's taken years off my life IRL.
Babykittyjade
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
Wow. Honestly I'm not surprised at the comments. My expectations of people have seriously declined over time.
As a writer and lover of books I only read and write stories with some elements of darkness.
As you have stated most people (including myself) have gone through dark times in their lives. What I write about is a reflection of that and my way of self expression. It's not to offend anyone and no one has to read it.

Many times I have come across books that disturbed me or made me uncomfortable for one reason or another. I didn't say omg you horrible horrible person how could you write this?!!!! I put the book down and started looking for a book I would prefer to read. Simple and easy.
I give feedback and critic stories often. But only on the quality of writing or general story. Never for their choice of what they choose to write about.
For shame.
Babykittyjade
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
One more thing. As a girl myself I cannot stand this strong female character thing that has infested every story ? *big eyeroll* and it's a big reason of why i stopped reading as much and write my own thing now. It's perfectly okay to have a "strong female" character and it's equally ok to have a passive, gentle soft one. God forbid if you write about the latter it's suddenly a crime. ? *bigger eyeroll*

And it's my personal preference that I enjoy reading about gentle girls who get saved by male heros. Like what's wrong with that?
ThePlumbobBlog
5 years ago
Hey Foamy :) Figured I should reply since your troll gave me a shout out, lol.

The vibe I've always gone with for my current story is Grimm brother fairy tale-esque, so yes, it's not a particularly happy story. Why do I write a story that's not happy? Probably because we live in a world where not everything is happy.

I think a big part of the reason is to do with expectations. While happy stories are a great form of escapism, it's important to remember that they are escapism. If you use them to gauge expectations of your own life, you might wind up feeling like a failure, because you inevitably won't win in every scenario. So stories where the hero is flawless and always prevails do us a disservice if we take them as a formula for life.

I suppose that might be a part of the issue for your troll too - the expectation that a main character should always be flawless and aspirational. A protagonist doesn't need to be either of those things, and doesn't even need to be likeable. My characters live in magical/supernatural settings, but I try to keep their personalities and reactions realistic, for the most part. Which means they are all flawed in some way.

But you know, I explicitly say in my intro blurb on my home page that "no happy endings are guaranteed," and apparently people like your commenter still expect the story to be happy, haha. Case in point as to what I said about expectations above :)
imahulazombie
5 years ago
oof. ppl like this is everywhere really but they're just a loud minority, don't give them what they want, which is attention.
sorry these people exist, sorry they went right to your blog to spread lame arguments.

@Babykittyjade i soo agree with you. very tired that nowadays to represent a strong woman she has to be a mary sue, otherwise it's sexist.
let me tell ya a secret, i also like when sometimes women are saved by strong men. that's cuz i love strong men irl and there's nothing wrong about it. but noo nowadays if a woman is saved by a man it's sexist. so if a man is saved by a woman it ain't sexist huh? bruh get your ideas right? setting the differences this way is part of the problem, it's indirectly implying women that don't follow a certain stereotype are indeed weaker. could write a whole rant about this topic but i'm too lazy lol
Daravi
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
It's sad to read, that some people leave such ugly comments about your stories. A happy life to write about ir is wonderful, but it doesn't develope the writing skill and it's getting boring over the time. So I join your effort to say to other to do not give up. :)

"Babykittyjade;c-17773662" wrote:
One more thing. As a girl myself I cannot stand this strong female character thing that has infested every story ? *big eyeroll* and it's a big reason of why i stopped reading as much and write my own thing now. It's perfectly okay to have a "strong female" character and it's equally ok to have a passive, gentle soft one. God forbid if you write about the latter it's suddenly a crime. ? *bigger eyeroll*

And it's my personal preference that I enjoy reading about gentle girls who get saved by male heros. Like what's wrong with that?

Haha, I have the exact opposite opinion, I do not like the stories where the damsels are always in distress. :D

This comes from my childhood, where such stories were the only one I had to read, strong, good and independent women didn't existed in the children books, where I was born. My most hated cartoon was Popeye the sailorman with his Olivia, I really hate these figures.

The only strong women in these story were always ugly and evil witches who died at the end. Main reason, I guess, was to keep woman under the dependence of men, the old way thinking. I always found these witches faszinating and I wanted to become one too. Well, to be fair, I have never fitted in the society anyways and I have found it unfair to threaten people different, however I think it's wonderful to have different alternatives stories for everyones taste nowadays. :)
loveceres
5 years ago
"InfraGreen;c-17773608" wrote:
Thank you for this! Commenters are entitled to their opinions but they can be wrong. :p (if any of you are reading this, I kid, you own your reaction to a story, that's all I really have to say)

I currently have put anything too dark to the side but I was known for years here for writing violent, edgy, sexual stories. It's unrealistic to be a writer (or anyone) and not have something dark in your life you have to process. Though I sometimes wonder if it's the healthiest way to do so, writing the worst case scenarios that could happen to me (death by problems I struggle with) for entertainment. Then I stop caring. There are a few comments that have gotten to me but I want to use them to try and be as sensitive as I can be about dark themes, even if it's stuff that's taken years off my life IRL.

Personally I believe writing can be therapeutic, a subset of creative arts therapies such as coloring, painting, dance therapy etc so yes! I truly believe that writing is a healthy avenue to explore and make sense of less spoken/understood experiences. It doesn't necessarily have to be something personal. We are only human to be affected by misfortune that happened to others - friends, family or the wider community.
loveceres
5 years ago
"bella_goth;c-17773707" wrote:
oof. ppl like this is everywhere really but they're just a loud minority, don't give them what they want, which is attention.
if a woman is saved by a man it's sexist. so if a man is saved by a woman it ain't sexist huh? bruh get your ideas right? setting the differences this way is part of the problem, it's indirectly implying women that don't follow a certain stereotype are indeed weaker. could write a whole rant about this topic but i'm too lazy lol

Let me dig up a 'rant' of a fav tumblr writer of mine who wrote about the portrayal of women in stories. You'll like it. Here it is :smiley:

I so agree with you and @Babykittyjade . The idea of feminism is to embrace all kinds of women, not pit one type of women against another. There is nothing wrong with femininity be it soft-spoken, boisterous or the different shades in between.

@Daravi Not a fan of oppressive, patriarchal structures either. I agree, there's a story for everyone :)
imahulazombie
5 years ago
thanks for the read, saved it on favs!
MikageYimiki
5 years ago
Late to the party, but I completely agree.
People become writers for very different reasons. Not everyone writes as a happy escape into a perfect world, or a heartwarming story with a good ending. Some people write to get through trauma. Others because they want to bring certain bad topics to attention that would otherwise be shunned. For a few people (like me), it’s a compulsion.

If darkness is not your thing, you don’t have to read it. There are dozens and dozens of legacies and challenges on the forums that are perfectly lovely and often hilarious. It is perfectly okay to have a preference for lighter stories, or happy endings. But it’s not okay to try to force that preference onto writers. And insulting their work or the writer themselves because what they make is different from the things that you like is just plain wrong.