Other Kind of a vent thread

[Eastbay]

Over the last year my writing went from decent to really strong. At the same time the support I get from other writers has dropped like two opposite trend lines. Seems to me that writers stop supporting when they're worse and it's making me trip because writing quality is subjective. Other people decide your quality so without feedback I'm in the dark.

I know that goes against what I said about my skill, but the rare compliments thrown my way have been absurdly positive. I find myself looking to these moments as lifelines when I write to remind myself that I'm good at this. People need to remember this isn't sports, you can't look at some point average and know you're good. Everyone needs feedback and I always boost the writers around me with genuine compliments but that's been taken for granted I guess.

Whatever, it eats me alive that content far worse than mine gets praised but I write and people dont speak. People will post sub-literate stuff and the OOC fawns but I post something well polished and crickets. I've come to rant because there's no way for me to broach the topic without coming across like an entitled whiney bitch and yeah, can't blame you if that's your opinion.

There's just no one I can talk to about it. This thread is unproductive but cathartic. Thanks for reading and if you have thoughts feel free to share.

 

[Franklin]

I guess I'm a little confused but I feel like this post is fueled with emotion so I could be miss reading it.
You say writing isn't like a sport? I beg to differ. It very much is a sport and if you want to improve yourself ; that means working hard at it. The brain is a muscle/organ just like every other part of the body. It needs to be stressed in order to improve literacy strength.

You say people drop when your literacy grows stronger? I feel its important to respect that sometimes people will enjoy writing with you and at other times drift a part. I find this rarely has to do with literacy level and more to do with life and attitudes. I'd reach out to those people and see if there is more to it. I really doubt it's the literacy level because more role players enjoy writing with others that write better than them so they learn. If you run into people who get jealous over your work then why role play with them? It's unsettling to mix jealousy into a story. People can sense it easily and its a character flaw that is a serious turn off.

HM, it seems to me that your struggling with feelings of jealousy. So I'm going to conclude with this. Unless you can really smoother that jealous face, your writing is not going to improve and no one will really genuinely care about your work. Writing isn't about being praised. It's the opposite. A true writer is well versed in rejection and rarely accepts praise. I mean, for myself, I love it when people compliment my work but I am always looking to improve myself.

Writing is also about entertaining people. Perhaps your posts are really well written but not entertaining enough for others.

Just my constructive criticism and opinion. I think everyone's felt like you are right now at some point.

 

[Tove]

You are looking at it wrong especially if you feel that compliments about your writing are lifelines you need to remind yourself you are good at it.

What is the point of that or to look at someone else's writing and say it is worse than yours so why is yours not getting praised? That is a terrible attitude to have.
It might also be part of the reason why the things you have outlined came about. You should want to encourage other writers genuinely and not look for something in return for it.