Warning: Insensitive speech in spoilers Spoiler (Highlight to read)https://i.ibb.co/V99GtJL/Hater-comments.jpghttps://i.ibb.co/V99GtJL/Hater-comments.jpgDear 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. 😄--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------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. :)

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.

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.

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?

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 :)

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

Dear storyteller, why do you write dark stories?

29 Replies

loveceres
5 years ago
I love reading the responses in this thread. It is very eye-opening to see the many angles stories are perceived to be and what they mean or represent.

@CherryBerryCloud
Thank you for your kind words and support. Sorry for being quiet, I’m terrible with compliments. My silence is pretty much my social awkwardness taking over. But I really appreciate your speaking out and sharing. :smile:

@PitlordMaggie
Thank you. You’re right that my sims are all flawed - Red, Blonde, Brunette, Stardust, or Black, neither of them are perfect. I'm happy that you see them at their worst (and best) and still root for them. :)
Light is untrue, legacy and family stories have sent my heartstrings on a wild dance, especially if the writer (or game autonomy) deem it so. They leave me in a blubbering mess. Yours included tyvm.
Spoiler
And there you go again with your intuition and perception, dissecting everything down to their core and revealing the symbolism and themes beneath the layers. :wink:
GrumpyGlowfish
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
I don't write SimLit, but I make machinimas using sims, and write original novels. And if someone asks me why they're dark, the only response I can think of is a counter question: Why should they not be dark?

Not to belittle anyone else's preferences, but I personally don't get the appeal of "happy" stories. If there's no drama and no darkness, if everything is just perfect and nobody has any real problems, then... well, then you basically have The Sims 4. A fun game to play, but I don't see any creativity in recreating that in a story. It's the reason I stopped watching Good Witch, a show where nothing bad ever happens apart from some minimal conflict, and every character is nice. If you're a fan of that, I'm not judging, but I'm not, so I moved on, which is what I would recommend to anybody who doesn't like a particular story, instead of leaving unconstructive nasty comments.

I have a habit of enticing readers with fun and silliness and then hitting with the darkness hammer out of nowhere, and it's 100% on purpose. But you can usually tell by the blurbs of my stories that they're not exactly kid-friendly, and when writers even go as far as putting "no happy endings guaranteed" or similar content notes in theirs, then I have no compassion for people who still keep reading despite knowing that they're going to get offended.
squirreltail15
5 years ago
Well, I don't have any published SimLit, but I am writing a novel at the moment. And for me, I get these ideas for characters and a world and all of that. But for those characters to be convincing, they have to have flaws. For the world to have any touch of believability, it has to have conflict. No story works without an element of darkness. Even the most simple, fluffy stories have touches of worry or tension or fear. That's what makes a story interesting.

But why take it further than that? Why make it darker than it has to be? Because these characters, their world, the plotline, whatever, just seems like their plot wouldn't work with the whole 'happy ending' thing. I want my story to feel like it progresses in a natural way that allows the characters to be themselves, and to be human. If that means no happy ending, then so be it. Especially right now, dark stories and a corrupt world with no guarantee of eventual happiness are a lot more relatable than they should be. I could write about a world of fluffy clouds where everything goes right. Or I could write something people would actually want to read.

And the whole 'strong female character' thing... what? Different people have different strengths and weaknesses. So should different characters. And isn't the whole point of equality allowing everyone to be viewed as equal? So pushing for a strong female character is just as bad (or good) as pushing for a weak one. Let them be either, or even better, let the author decide. Let them make their characters the way they want, because in the end it's their story. And, often, a 'weaker' heroine can be a good thing for a darker story. Look at fairy tales; the evil queen wanting to eat snow white's heart is in part scary because we know that there's no way the princess can fight back. It adds tension and helps develop the plotline.

And hey. In the end, everyone's opinions are their own ~~problems~~. Your opinion is valid. But the authors get the deciding votes because it's their story and they can write it the way they want to. Criticism and complaint is perfectly fine, but you have to be aware that just as you have your opinions, others have theirs.

Edited because I cannot spell and the censor bot got me a couple of times.
akaniki
Rising Ace
5 years ago
I am not a writer but I am a reader, a reader of dark stories. I read them almost exclusively (one in particular who has already been pushed out of this site). I am in awe of people who have the ability to transform their experiences or fantasies into a work of art for the world to see. I do not possess this talent but, thanks to talented writers like most of you here, I am able to live them vicariously. I applaud you all.
HaneulFier
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
I haven't yet read your stories, but I will check them out because dark stories are interesting and often have depth that peaches-and-rainbows stories lack.

I'm sorry several people left you such rude comments. But Anita's comment is interesting to me, because there is a disturbing trend (even though it's not seen so much in post-2000 writing) where female characters are often either a) nothing more than vessels for male characters' development or b) abused ad nauseum because some people find salacious content titillating and edgy. The Bechdel test exists for a reason.

I don't have an issue with female characters being weak, but to the extent that she's just a flat stupid character - I do have an issue, because that's boring and not fun to read. Both male and female (and other) characters should have depth and behave in a way that makes sense for them. If a woman is like the princess from Mario where she is kidnapped a suspicious amount of times without anything changing, I start to ask some questions. :) To be clear, I'm definitely not saying that your writing is like that - I haven't read your writing yet, just that for many it's a valid criticism (and Anita may have been triggered).

Sometimes, even though it's unfair, when you're living in a patriarchal society and you personally experience some patriarchal BS, reading the slightest thing can set you off and you can criticize someone unfairly.

Personally, my writing isn't that "dark." I think it's because I want a wider audience, but I never really set out to write something that isn't dark.
loveceres
5 years ago
@haneul

I agree with you that misogyny can manifest in writing should the author be unaware of the trends you speak of. Women in media are often portrayed as accessories to further motive/development of protags, or used to solicit emotional responses from viewers/readers. And once they've fulfilled their roles, fade into the background. I'm aware of, and actively eradicate this practice from my story.

Sometimes, even though it's unfair, when you're living in a patriarchal society and you personally experience some patriarchal BS, reading the slightest thing can set you off and you can criticize someone unfairly.

The chapter on which the comments were written was when Red underwent severe and direct retraumatisation. I have no doubt that the post (and my entire story) can cause massive discomfort and potentially induce vicarious trauma in readers. Hence the dozens and dozens of trigger warnings so readers know where to skip or stop reading. Lashing out, or trying to exert influence over the author/character/story is simply a method of coping which allows a person to reclaim a sense of autonomy and control. I understand that and don't blame nor feel any ill-will towards her/him.

To be clear, I'm definitely not saying that your writing is like that - I haven't read your writing yet, just that for many it's a valid criticism

No worries. Considering I've written more than 80 chapters of Red, I am well aware that she isn't a Mario Princess. I've also gotten way more comments of Red being 'brave, courageous and has ovaries of steel' than her being a 'permanent damsel', so have concluded that the commenter is as you said, triggered, or simply took a snapshot of Red's weaker moments and defined her entire person based on that moment.
ArcherDK
5 years ago
Because it appeals to me. Because I want to. Because it is much more interesting. Because it provokes thought, analysis and emotion. Because they deserve and SHOULD exist. And because neither can nor want to write rainbows and sunshine. And most importantly - because I said so.

In the end, "Why" does not matter. What matters is doing it for right reasons and ignoring those who can't deal with it. Can you?
HaneulFier
Seasoned Ace
5 years ago
@mercuryfoam Thanks for such a thoughtful response. I'm sorry you got so many nasty comments and I'm definitely going to see how much of B2W I can read this week. It looks like there's a lot to enjoy.
Madamelee
Legend
5 years ago
@mercuryfoam you commented on one of my Gen 3 chapters one which you thought David Landgrabbie and Prince Harley (now emporer Harley) were introduced of my current attempt at the Swanson story

I don't really know why I write dark stories. Sometimes I think it's to deal with emotional scarring I had to deal with as 12 years old and into my teenage years. On the other hand, a story in which nothing but happy events happened would be a bit boring wouldn't you think? Also in some ways in my story, I hint (except in Gen 7 which I kind of spell out) mental health problems. I also talk about parts of history..as well. Actually, I'm working on such a chapter in this 4th attempt of my Swanson Legacy. But at the same time around the "history project", Both Elizabeth and Cora (my current twins) have to deal with bullying from the Dauphin and Dauphine's twin sister from the Berjsen family (a Gen 2-Gen 5 ongoing feud aka Capulet and the Montagues). As well as the drama between Elizabeth and Cora as well.

Some people might be a bit afraid about certain "language" which I use in my story (and no not Swear words but the other kind). Like I recently for a week got banned on a writer's forum for asking for ideas about X (read "Wyatt's history" chapter of my story and you can guess what they thought) and people on the forum thought I was "spewing hate". I ended up mostly making up what I wanted on my own from what I knew without help. I still want to know if that's chapter did what I wanted-ie shockingly. Since it's kind of really dark I think. But not as dark as what will happen in Gen 7. I don't even watch horror movies but I have used poses inspired by horror movies for my Swanson SimLit (look at the "Friends chapter" of Gen 3)

So don't let them get to you

Like Dumbledore from Harry Potter says - "It's our choices that make us who we are more than our ability" (More book then movie), and movie Dumbledore "Happiness can be found even in the darkness of times as long as one remembers to turn on the light"

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Dear storyteller, why do you write dark stories?

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