Regarding TALL TALE

[Reeza]

Hey, guys. I appreciate all the love you’ve been giving me in your comments about my story, TALL TALE. I check the replies every day (My fan mail!) and it seriously encourages me to keep writing no matter how much I whine about the amount of time I’m putting into this. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t enjoy it. But I like it when you beg.

I especially like hearing specifics about why the storyline or characters are interesting, or which parts really popped your cork. (My acceptance speech: Special thanks to FuzzTBlackbird, dimarvalc, imfit, rairf, vlad, geo07, Lufone, . . . oh, I just know I’m forgetting somebody!)

I won’t pretend to be open to suggestions about where the story should go - I already know where it’s going and I have enough ideas to drive me crazy. It would be naughty to tease you by hinting at how many future scenarios are lined up in my head. (He whispers: a LOT!) My creative juices have been building up for years.

So, like a sensitive lover, I want you to moan when I’m doing something right. But like a classy whore, there are some things I just won’t do. I just want to make sure that I’m hitting the tender buttons I’m trying to push.

[meteorpm]

Originally Posted by Reeza

Hey, guys. I appreciate all the love you?ve been giving me in your comments about my story, TALL TALE. I check the replies every day (My fan mail!) and it seriously encourages me to keep writing no matter how much I whine about the amount of time I?m putting into this. I wouldn?t do it if I didn?t enjoy it. But I like it when you beg.

I especially like hearing specifics about why the storyline or characters are interesting, or which parts really popped your cork. (My acceptance speech: Special thanks to FuzzTBlackbird, dimarvalc, imfit, rairf, vlad, geo07, Lufone, . . . oh, I just know I?m forgetting somebody!)

I won?t pretend to be open to suggestions about where the story should go - I already know where it?s going and I have enough ideas to drive me crazy. It would be naughty to tease you by hinting at how many future scenarios are lined up in my head. (He whispers: a LOT!) My creative juices have been building up for years.

So, like a sensitive lover, I want you to moan when I?m doing something right. But like a classy whore, there are some things I just won?t do. I just want to make sure that I?m hitting the tender buttons I?m trying to push. So am I? Huh? Am I?

I love the way you keep the suspense going - how we are made to wonder what will happen next. Fantastic so far!!!

[giantw]

I suppose every author likes to receive feedback: the more the better. However, there is something annoying about an author who goes out of his way to beg for feedback. In this instance, the author has devoted an entire post in the story section to ask for more comments rather than continue his story.

I think you are missing the whole point of writing if you are doing it just to seek the approval of others. It is encouraging when others seek out and enjoy your work, but it should not be your primary motivation for writing. Your expression, your vision, your creativity: those should be the reasons you write. Otherwise you allow others to define your work. This seems to be the case when the author makes a shameless plea for additional fawning.

I for one have neglected to comment on the last few installments of your story. The parts have grown shorter and the action has barely left the bathroom where the story began. I have lost interest.

[msclrough]

Someone seems grouchy today.

I can think of lots of valid reasons for an author to want feedback, some might even be labeled pejorative; but you know what? I don't care. Maybe he's just trying to cut down on people telling what to do next in his story, maybe he gets off on people fawning over his story, maybe he's insecure. It doesn't matter. If you don't care for his story, then go elsewhere.

[Reeza]

Originally Posted by giantw

I think you are missing the whole point of writing if you are doing it just to seek the approval of others. It is encouraging when others seek out and enjoy your work, but it should not be your primary motivation for writing. Your expression, your vision, your creativity: those should be the reasons you write. Otherwise you allow others to define your work. This seems to be the case when the author is makes a shameless plea for additional fawning.

I for one have neglected to comment on the last few installments of your story. The parts have grown shorter and the action has barely left the bathroom where the story began. I have lost interest.

Well, it's also helpful to know why some people lose interest. So, thanks.

You may have missed one of the points of this post, which was to let it be known that I will not let others define my work. Comments along the line of, "Make him do this!" imply that I am a cheap whore who will do anything for someone's approval. I won't. I'm not that insecure.

I admit to being a whore in asking for a certain kind of feedback. I could keep enjoying all these fantasies in my head for another 15 years and never write them down. My only motivation for writing in this forum comes from knowing that others are seeking out and sharing my fantasies. I'm not trying to produce a great work of literature for posterity. Hearing which aspects of my story are most enjoyable for readers helps me refine my writing, but it will not define it. Even if only a handful of readers are still getting off on my fantasies, I will continue to post them.

To others reading this thread, please don't flame giantw. He makes a valid point.

[rairf]

I can appreciate both sides of the discussion. Yes, the story is taking some time to build- but longer posts would probably require more time in between, and small doses can be better than having to fight through pages of plot. (Sorry if I'm putting words in your mouth, Reeza). I do give credit to giantw for speaking his mind in a candid way- I'm always impressed when members can express themselves without becoming infantile in the process- you are both true gentlemen!

[giantw]

Mslrough,

I am responding to you to make an important distinction which I do not think should be overlooked. I believe it is a distinction you have blurred.

Many times I have defended authors on this website when their work has been attacked on substantive grounds. You would see this if you looked at any of my previous posts. I have been the first to trumpet the mantra of, "If you don't like a story, move on."

This post is totally different, as it is not a story at all, but rather a petition for additional feedback, with a strong preference for the fawning variety.

Can you see the difference? One is a story, one is not. This is no better than an advertisement, advertising Reeza's work. I don't think advertisements belong in the story section. I think they sound needy and debasing. I think Reeza, in particular, is above this. That is my point.

Because I feel strongly on this issue, if I find another author posting ads for attention, I will most likely post again in dissent. If you have a problem with my dissents, then go elsewhere.

[beachdude]

This story is hot and definitely pushes the buttons for many of my fantasies like muscle, strength, power, lifting smaller guys....you get the picture. Thanks! Can't wait for more.

[IndigoSensor]

I don't like to act pissy at all, and I try to keep neutral despite having very strong opinions. I don't intend to break this... Although, I am compelled to say something.

Asking for comments to your story is fine; most people do that at the beginning or end of their chapter. However, making an additional post like this, to ask for comments, then going on to say you like people to beg for more, is extremely distasteful. This is extraordinary egotistical. You don't ask for people to pet your ego, you just don't do it, on here, or anywhere for that matter. If someone does, you acknolage it in a humble fashion, if at all. The purpose of comments (the way I see it) are to be a barometer of how the story is going, where you got it right, where to make it better, where to pick up the pace, ect. Not to have ones ego inflated.

I have not read your story, so I don't have an opinion on it, but thats beside the point. Just be careful, you could cause a good number of people to become annoyed with you, despite the skill you might poses.

[Reeza]

I have had all day to think about this, and I have been persuaded that it was a mistake to post this request in the stories section. I originally intended to tack it onto the end of the next chapter, but I impulsively posted it as a separate thread. I will see if I can have a moderator move it or delete it.

Originally Posted by IndigoSensor

Asking for comments to your story is fine; most people do that at the beginning or end of their chapter. However, making an additional post like this, to ask for comments, then going on to say you like people to beg for more, is extremely distasteful. This is extraordinary egotistical. You don't ask for people to pet your ego, you just don't do it, on here, or anywhere for that matter. If someone does, you acknolage it in a humble fashion, if at all. The purpose of comments (the way I see it) are to be a barometer of how the story is going, where you got it right, where to make it better, where to pick up the pace, ect. Not to have ones ego inflated.

When I wrote this request, the tone of it was meant to be humorous. I don't know if that came across. I was portraying myself as a diva wallowing in the praise of my "fans." The line, "I like it when you beg," reflects the themes of domination and submission found in my story. Perhaps I should have used emoticons to indicate which lines were meant to be little jokes.

I completely agree with you, IndigoSensor, about the purpose of comments. That's why I am asking for a particular kind of feedback about where I got it right. Giantw gives me too much credit in saying that I am above being needy and debased. The themes in my story reveal that I am not above it. One of the characters craves praise and does everything he can to make others "pet his ego." The other character reluctantly acknowledges that he enjoys being demeaned and dominated. I hope you can see how this is reflected in my request for feedback. I feel comfortable revealing these parts of myself here.

Finally, I will try to be more open to whatever comments people choose to make, including negative remarks, but I was hoping to avoid the replies suggesting that the reader would like to be reading a story that is different from my story. One of the reasons I finally decided to write a story of my own is because I wanted to do it my way. The feedback I will continue to request, not demand, is the type that will keep me motivated to write down my fantasies and share them with those who are enjoying them.

I think every contributor on this forum should feel free to request whatever kind of feedback they want or need if it will keep the stories, morphs, and other good stuff flowing freely. If I like what I see and want more of it, I will give them the feedback they want. I believe we should pay for the privilege of reading and viewing these fantasies by giving the contributors whatever they want in return. I regret that I have not offered more feedback about things I enjoyed in the past.

Now, for those of you who aren't disgusted with me, I am actively working on the next part of TALL TALE.

[BGryphon18]

To be honest, I think this is a feeling that anyone who has ever "penned" a story here can relate to. If you spend the time and energy to create a work of fiction and the post it onto a public forum, you WANT feedback. You WANT to have others praise you and tell you what a great story it was. No matter how much you may be humble and gracefully accept the comments, there is a part of you that FEEDS on it. Otherwise, why would you place the story in the eyes of the public if not to want some kind of credit for your work?

I whole-heartedly agree with Reeza on the trend of people who say that they want to have the story go in one direction or another. To tell the author where the plot should go and how the characters should develop. Granted most of the time these are done as requests, but none the less, it is akin to having a backseat driver visit you from out of state and tell you directions in your own home town.

Should a separate thread been made to request comments/feedback? Maybe, maybe not. However there have been threads made in the past for stories (granted those made in the Continuous Stories section) to help keep the thread "clean" for others to post. I can see how it would be nice to have comments posted for the story on a whole in a new thread, rather than having to find each chapter and read them separately.

On the whole I can empathize with Reeza in regards to what he did, as most of the other authors on this site can. As a writer you crave the feedback. You want to know what people think in order to better hone and temper your craft. Should people start dictating the direction of stories to tailor THEIR fantasies, THEIR ideas, or THEIR morals? No, but that won't stop them from trying. Everyone here has a niche or two in this genre that they absolutely love, and ones they cannot stand. This is just as unique as the stories themselves. The goal here should be constructive criticism and to help each other become better.

Some of the more well known authors on this board have their own style of writing as well as style of story. To try and tell them how they should write would be an insult just as if they told you how to do something that you have practiced for years. I don't claim to be one of them, Lord knows I'm a long way from that, however I know enough to give them praise for what they've done well, criticism for what may have been lacking and inform them of how much I'm looking forward to their next work knowing that I may have helped them improve to write something even more spectacular next time.

As my final note (I know, I've been rambling), I just want to say to Reeza that you've done a spectacular job by simply writing and posting your story. Many people here aren't able to even say they've done that much. Next, I want to say that you've done a great job so far, and I'm looking forward to see where YOU take the story next. Lastly, keep an eye out for my comments in your stories. I'm similar in style to you in regards to wanting to have a lot of backstory/build up as I think that makes the story much more enjoyable on the whole.

And with that, this post will come to a close. Feel free to respond however you see fit.

[Mad Dog]

Getting back to the actual story, while I like the sexy stuff, I just hope the story doesn't spiral into another maudlin drama about being persecuted for being gay.

[Reeza]

Originally Posted by Mad Dog

Getting back to the actual story, while I like the sexy stuff, I just hope the story doesn't spiral into another maudlin drama about being persecuted for being gay.

No, that's not where it's going. But I can see where you would get that from. There will be no more maudlin historical details and lots more sexy stuff.