The Kindness Bench for SimLit Writers - For All Games!
What is a kindness bench?
Kindness benches are inspired by the Buddy Bench movement which is in practice in many schools. With Buddy Benches, children who need someone to play with or talk to at lunch sit on the bench, and then others come around to ask them to play and offer friendship.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QdFeQQHRSQ
With the Kindness Bench for Writers and Storytellers, we provide a thread where writers can go when they're feeling discouraged, frustrated, or in need of a shot of inspiration and encouragement.
With writer's block, game glitches, drops in readership, plot complications, and more, it's easy to become temporarily discouraged when writing. The Kindness Bench offers a way to get back on track so that you're writing again and inspired by the value of your stories.
We invite all Simming writers, bloggers, and storytellers to stop by when they can use some friendly encouragement, and when they've got some friendly encouragement to share with other writers and storytellers.
We welcome writers using any and all versions of Sims!
I love this thread. I'm enjoying reading what everyone is writing, and the support and inspiration here.
I read a lot of blogs on my phone, and it's endlessly frustrating that the Like button doesn't work for me on my phone. I try to always comment though, even if all I say is great post. I do that even more now that I'm writing my own story.
I'm going to make sure I'm doing what I can to let writers know someone is reading and enjoying their stories. I'm sure a lot of people feel similar to what's being expressed here.
@CathyTea *hugs, many hugs* Thank you, very much a lot.
I took that test you linked a couple pages ago, and it said that my purpose for being creative was to help and to create positive change and that sort of thing
So telling me "Just write for yourself and it shouldn't matter if anyone ever responds" isn't helpful, because I don't write for myself. I need to feel like what I write has some purpose and point outside of myself.
And the only skill I have 10 points in is writing, so that's the only thing I have to give. So it's important to me that it be a worthy present, that there is some point in giving it.
Actually my next highest skill would be photography, at maybe a 4 or 5, and then after that I'm lucky if I can scrounge up 2 points in any of the other skills, lol.
Is this the part you mean, about the darkness and its longing for the human?
I tell the hedges many things. I tell them about the human, about the walks we took together. I tell them about fishing the human out of the deep blue, and what that took from me. I tell them about the human’s one skin, and all the universes it holds inside itself.
I slip through the shadows of the hedgemouths, but they do not move. The maze does not answer.
I arrive at an end of the hedges. The leaves rustle as a breeze blows through.
I thought the human would be here, at the end. I thought that if I made it through the maze I would see the human again, but there’s only a tree and a rock and high stone walls.
I step out of the shadows and into the light, and the light burns and burns, and I scream for the human. I scream and scream and it burns and I run the burning into the tree, over and over, and finally the tree is burning too and it is screaming and I am screaming and we are at an edge, but this is not the end.
The breeze picks up embers from our burning. It carries them to the hedges. The teethleaves begin to blacken and curl in on themselves.
I scream, “Where is the human? Where is it?!”
The blackened hedgemouths open and close, open and close, but only smoke comes out.
The maze does not answer.
Probably not. You said begins. *searches through earlier chapters*
Anyway, what you said really does mean a lot. Thank you.
*squints at the excerpt*
I used too much alliteration in that line with all the sl and sh sounds, didn't I? Makes it too obvious. But I do need the repetition of the imagery of the hedgemouths, and how they have teethleaves that are quite sharp.
Edited it and took out one of the sl words, but left both the sh words. That'll work for now, I guess.
Nope, it didn't. Took out the second sh word too.
@ValoisFulcanelli I like that story. It's how like when I pick up the worms that I see that are still alive on the sidewalk and move them.
It gets to me sometimes though that you can't control how open someone else is to the beauty you create. Not as much as it used to, because I've learned a lot about humans and how their tastes and prejudices and attitudes are formed. Still though, it does kind of hurt knowing how many people will never even give my work a chance.
*squints some more at the excerpt*
Well, I guess it doesn't matter, because what I write is not beautiful or good.
"MedleyMisty;14917883" wrote: As a person who had a lot of comments back in the day, I can tell you what my experience of it was like.
It was extremely isolating. All that attention brought negative attention and gossip and envy and exclusion. And then even the people who didn't do the gossip thing still didn't really treat me like a real person. I guess that intimidation factor.
I would have loved honest sincere comments from someone who actually wanted to be friends and to really talk.
Which is why I much prefer my experience in the community now. I get very few comments these days, but they are all sincere and real and friendly and they make me feel valued and included. And if there are trolls still hanging around, I don't know about them.
I love your comments on Surreal Darkness, @AdamsEve1231.
First of all, thank you.
Secondly, the world has a lot of sucky people who don't know how to treat people like humans. I know you've talked about your experiences before and I thank you for being vulnerable. I also know you've grown from/learned from your experiences and this gives me hope and encouragement. I also just want to give you *hugs* and say I'm glad that things are better now for you.
Thirdly, I agree with you about the difference between tons of negative feedback and comments and a few honest, sincere comments from loyal and kind fans. I would much rather have the latter than the former. It's easier online to be hateful because it's harder to track, but those people are just trolls, and I wonder how many of them would be man or woman enough to criticize me to my face instead of typing spiteful rhetoric behind a computer screen... not that I want anyone to be speaking negatively in any circumstance. But just because it's easier online doesn't mean it doesn't have an emotional, and in some cases, physical impact on a person, especially the person on the receiving end of things. I don't want to diminish anyone's pain or hurtful experiences and words spoken via a screen or in person can be incredibly damaging. It is my hope that we would all continue to be better in our words and our actions toward one another and that people would speak up against the hate and take a stand against the sometimes dark-oblivion of the internet and make a positive change for the better, uniting against the haters.
Thank you for reminding us about the humanity behind the screen. I think you made a comment on this to a degree in a previous comment. Writers of SimLit put a great deal of effort, time, and energy into writing their stories and we, as readers, need to respect that time and show appreciation for the effort (which I try to do through leaving comments, but other people can show in different ways). Readers also need to remember there's a face behind the computer screen and we, writers, aren't machines cranking out story segments left and right and sometimes life outside the Sims intrudes. I think the biggest thing is to treat everyone with dignity and respect on or offline. There's a person behind each screenname and character and story and we need to remember they need love, attention, encouragement, understanding, respect, and support just like everyone else here.
On another site, I did and to a short extent, still do, have a bit of social anxiety. I joined this awesome thing, and there were several active members, kinda close knit. True, I'd messaged one or two people, but didn't quite find a place yet. One day, I finally ended up so lonely that I messaged somebody, and they became one of my best friends. That happened twice, and I can't imagine what would've happened if I hadn't met them.
I read several people's stories, but don't quite have anybody that I really talk to on here. I also get the nobody likes my stuff feeling, but I remind myself it takes time, but other times I just run out of inspiration.
Yeah, it's ok. It's really not been as bad on this site as the other one, and I guess it's because more people share my interests here lol (just a guess though)
@SeaDragonSong I get that feeling that nobody likes my work as well. It can be frustrating when you want to share something you're proud of yet no feedback. I love to create things and I'll still do what I love even if its for myself :) I'd like to check out your work if you have a link and want feedback. This goes for everyone else as well. Here is a link to my sims work if you're interested www.simcraft81.blogspot.com
"Simcraft81;14919302" wrote: @SeaDragonSong I get that feeling that nobody likes my work as well. It can be frustrating when you want to share something you're proud of yet no feedback. I love to create things and I'll still do what I love even if its for myself :) I'd like to check out your work if you have a link and want feedback. This goes for everyone else as well. Here is a link to my sims work if you're interested www.simcraft81.blogspot.com
Ok, my current story is linked in my signature. :) TY!
