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This was my reply to a comment made about my recent posting to Cynthia and the High School Years - Part 1
Charlene,
Thank you for your kind comments. I think many, if not most authors on this site are reaching out for some form of confirmation: acceptance of our inner feelings about our gender or sexual preference, acceptance of our right to express what we feel about many things, and some degree of confirmation that the reader understood what we were writing about and that we did it well or not. Votes are nice, and I get a warm feeling that some of the earlier books in this series are still garnering positive feedback in the form of a vote.
I wish more would put in words why they didn't feel my stories were worth giving a thumbs up to. It's especially depressing when I feel that I've really done something nice and I get the feeling that no one gives a s**t. Was there too much sex, not enough sex. Were the characters not developed well enough. Did I insult or pander to certain preferences. Was the writing just bad.
I want to be a better writer. I want to entertain. I never wrote a thing until I was well into my 60's. Holly Hart has been a tremendous help for me. I needed her help so much for improving my sentence structure, and getting my ideas across. I am well into my seventh decade, and many of the pleasures of life are no longer available to me. Writing these stories has been a wonderful experience, and I would love to continue to write. Sometimes, I just wish I knew if it was really worth it.
Portia
Comments
This is True Irony
A blog about comments without any comments.
Go figure.
Nancy Cole
P.S. I do agree, comments really do count.
"You may be what you resolve to be."
T.J. Jackson
Nada Comments
It does make one wonder doesn't it.
Portia
Portia
A Comment in the midst of Commentary about
...a dearth of comments. This is from your latest.
There were times that Cindy felt Donna’s lovemaking was almost frantic. It was as if she was trying to cram in as much as possible. Cindy wished Donna would take her time and draw things out. Still, sex, even when it is not the best, could be pretty damn good.
Writing like this makes me want to read more... it says so much with so little!
Now, my reply about comments or lack there of. The above is an example of how I like to comment. I try to pull out something and display it as a way of showing the author and reader just what makes the work special or effective or compelling. The fact that Portia loves cats had nothing to do with this comment...really.
Love, Andrea Lena
I agree with Nancy.
A comment about comments with no comments... That could give you a headache if you worry with it too long, the first line I've just written I mean.
Comments do go a long way towards helping a writer both improve their craft and learn what they've done either right or wrong with a particular story. I for one, have to admire you for taking up such a demanding task at the age you did, and for staying with it and improving what you do. Which you have been doing, by the way.
Another thing to condider here is that writing becomes addictive after a while. We do it to blow off steam, get something across to others, and mostly because we love doing it. So, I'll say that you continuing can only be a good thing, for what that's worth.
Maggie
Thanks
I guess I'm not very good at scolding, and maybe that's what I'm doing. It's funny, I was sailing along in Part 2 with about 14,000 words completed, when my muse decided to go on vacation. She was there last night. This morning her place at my side at the computer is empty. I'll go back and do some proofing. Maybe my train will get back on track.
Portia
Portia
Comment Whore!
That's me! I do so understand that awful feeling of a deafening silence when you have posted and........
NOTHING
Keep on writing, Portia,
Joanne
You know I love your stories
Portia, and yours too Honeybunny. Two excellent & vastly underappreciated authors...
Maybe you're ahead of your time, only to be revered as geniuses after it's too late to do you any good? Ooooh that's depressing!
Or I suspect it's just that there's some element in what you like to write about that either doesn't grab the readership here
or they like it but are afraid to admit it. While both of your writings have the big-hearted emotionally rich quality
that readers here love, I think Joanne's stories might contain too much down and nasty, unapolagetic, straightforwrd
humpage for the more prim sexual mores of BCTS.
And with the Cynthia stories, I think it could have something to do with the Spells R Us Wizard.
The golden age of SRU is past. It's my impression that the wizard has largely fallen out of favor with the tg fiction public.
He has a reputation as an irresponsible violator of people's free will, a bit of a sadist, randomly dishing out bimbofication
to those who might have some flaws but don't deserve identity death. I can't say this rep is entirely undeserved;
but it largely depends on earlier incarnations of SRU, us latter day Spells R Us authors have mostly made him
an almost saintly figure, a real friend of the transgendered and the righteous bane of evildoers etc...
But his reputaion hasn't caught up with this...
I know my SRU stories don't get the hits or comments of some of my other stories. But I do love this character,
so I've taken to SNEAKING him into stories. My THIS QUINTESSENCE OF DUST, THE SECRET LIFE OF MISTY WALTERS
and THE HUNG WOMAN OF OZ all contain ambush appearances by his Wisdom. Bathrobe ninja- HAI!
And there is nothing wrong with having a fringe following, that makes up in loyalty and fanaticism what they lack in numbers.
Many of my favorite rock bands fall into this category, doing amazing brilliant stuff that's just not for everybody...
But I do hope those who read & enjoy your Cynthia stories will start commenting on them, Portia.
It must be a bit discouraging to see us same two clowns commenting on every chapter.
~~honk! honk! Hugs, laika
"Government will only recognize 2 genders, male + female,
as assigned at birth-" (In his own words:)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1lugbpMKDU
The Much Maligned Wizard
You have made some very valid points. I've often wondered if some of the tales about The Wizard just represent somewhat twisted wishful thinking on the part of the author. I'm sure that there are many urban myths in The Wizard's universe, just as there are in ours. My research has revealed some very interesting things about The Wizard; however, it's going to take a while before they are revealed. For instance, I've discovered some things about The Wizard's lineage. What about other Wizards, wizards who are doing different things in different ways. Not all might be tied to magic shops that flit here and there in the universe. We shall see. Portia
Portia
Validation
We are all amateur writers here, who write for the sheer love of writing. ("Amateur" is from the Latin for love.) No one is getting paid, so we have no agents, editors or publishers pushing us to create something popular. So set the bar low; tell yourself "If 1 total stranger off the internet likes my story, I will be happy." And that way, if three people tell you they like it, it's amazing! Some of my stories have a very narrow audience, but I knew that before I posted them, and I'm satisfied getting only a couple of comments. If writing is starting to feel like it isn't worth it to you, stop. Yours is the only opinion that matters.
Personally, I haven't read any of your Cynthia stories, because it just seems like a gigantic monster epic of multiple volumes with multiple chapters. I can't figure out where to start, and your title pages don't have any descriptions to tell me what the stories are about.