lol, it could even be something someone you know said. my editors commentary isn't in the comments directly XD
20 days later
This comment was tough, but it was good to know people were getting invested in the character:
Spoiler warning
"Oof...talk about a mental breakdown. Poor Alicia...she's been through hell and holds on to so much. She must know her mother's OD wasn't really her fault...
Right?"
21 days later
Spoiler warning:
A comment from CEWashbrun
The first kiss!!! Desperate and hungry...damn that had my eyes pop out.
I feel so bad for Kattar. His mom didn't want him to know his father, kept him sheltered like he was her own personal little project that couldn't go wrong, couldn't have the potential to be anything like his father. Maybe he was a jerk? Or maybe he wasn't and Mrs Moon is just too possessive of her own son to allow his father to ever...
GASP!
Does Kat's dad even know he exists?!?!?!?!?! 🤯
19 days later
Another comment from CEWashburn lol
"Cream cheese is LIFE!! I eat it on almost everything, sometimes on its own. It's a problem, really."
This makes sense in context
and this is the chapter it was commented under
this comment was from Hostilefren:
"I'm totally screaming if there's a snake in the bathroom. I'm probably also going to be running away for good measure XD"
Just people telling me stories that relate to the book from their own lives. I once wrote a scene where clearly the characters were in the Stonewall in NYC in the 1960's (a historic gay bar where riots caused the modern queer rights movement). The characters were introducing their new friend to the other drag queens there to initiate him into the circle of friends, and the friend was under age. An old gay commented on this, telling an engaging story of his own time at Stonewall during that time period. I read his story open mouthed. He said what was in the book was so accurate. It reminded him if old times and he was nostalgic. He was like, "ah, under age queens! There were always under age queens!" The character was based on homeless youths who did frequent the Stonewall due to its proximity to a park where they could relatively safely sleep at night. There were indeed many under age people in there. His story delighted me. Best comment I ever received in the 15 years that my work has been online. This was for my book Audrey Hepburn's Pearls, about drag queen and transgender culture in the 1960's and 1990's in NYC.
Some studies have shown that, on a global scale, grey eyes are actually the 2nd rarest eye color, green being the most rare.
19 days later
This one
nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah TROLL CAAAAAVE!!
Ugh, what is it with us writers and creating the sense of anticipation and impending doom? We are sick, sick individuals.
11 days later
This story uniquely has a "how the brain operates" flow of text which helps drive home how cerebral the mind functions under harsh conditions. Very interesting and the concept is terrifying. Well done! I look forward to reading more.
When I shared my novel to a friend, he referred me to a Jump+ manga called Empyreal Cabinet because the characters were "Gatekeepers". That was when I realized that the story I'm working on is, in a sense, an exorcism story, as it deals with otherworldly menace that's mostly supernatural and can possess people.
I don´t remember the exact words but the negative comments are always more
meaningful and interesting for me.
2 negative comments were like:
- the story is full of clichés and tropes (correct)
-the other comment was from a guy who was angry how predictable
he thought my story was (interesting)
19 days later
A collection of comments where people described just how much they hate one of the novel's antagonists:
Wow I do not like this new agent! So rude!
I'm not gonna lie, I think I'd like to throw a chair at this Ms. Howard too!
Emelia needs to get hit in the face with a tree. How does someone like that even become an agent for artists? She's so d*mn condescending and nasty...ugh I hate her so muuuuuch! 🤬🤬🤬
Alicia sounds a lot more confident in this chapter. I got me a good grin when she shook that nasty bixxh up by saying "no." Good for you, Lise. Well done. 
28 days later
The nice comments when a story comes to an end... They're not interesting, per say, but some of them really stick with me. Real proof people liked my work and thanks for it... It's sweet.
& Watching people dissect my story in real time is always a treat. Their thoughts and how they perceive things is always interesting to me. Any and all theories, truly. Here's some examples of someone who read a completed comic of mine but kept updating their thought process on how they read the robotic twins in the story;
.
.
When it comes to my written work I don't get internet comments so it's just what folks say at writing group. And their interesting comments were more the implications behind their words and not the words themselves. Asking me how to go abouts getting published, just assuming I had been from my writing. The implying I have a post-secondary background in English when all I got is a high school diploma. I suppose those are just interesting because I don't particularly think myself a good writer, but watching folks mental image of me shift and form from just some words on a page-- words not even about myself-- is interesting...
And when I brought in my short story "A Mother's Love" (it's in my short story collection on tapas. chapter 2 or 3 or something.) someone said "When you were explaining all this dread Marlo was feeling about going home I was ready for something scary-- but when it was just his mother I wanted to laugh. Moms are supposed to be safe. But then you read how she treated him..." He went on to praise how I picked a mother instead of a father and how it made him think and such. I grew up with a less than great mother and everyone could see and agreed as much, so I guess it never occurred to me that some people can't see moms as bad or cruel and that some stupid little mommy issue story I wrote could really change how someone views the world, even just a little-- just helps them be that little bit less judgmental was just... awe inspiring, I guess. In a way. I'm a nobody, and yet even then I can change how a person thinks and make them reflect on themselves.
But I'm starting to sound entirely too self important now. So. Hope these count.
I find the part you have about your short story interesting because a lot of my stories are the same way. It's rare you see mothers in fiction that aren't idealized, but in the end, they're just people. Sometimes they do good things, sometimes they do bad things, sometimes they aren't even trying to be good.
Having a character dislike their mother often makes people think that they (the children) are bad people, but that's simply not true. I think one of the things about fiction is that it gives people to see life from another perspective, when most people probably won't want to read an essay. The male and female lead from all three of my current novels have mommy issues or different reasons. Some of the mothers tried to be good and just really messed their children up, others were too selfish, or straight up cruel.
Some people might think stories like these are all just fiction, but they can also help people realize that children aren't inherently as safe as people like to assume and it's important to pay attention and not just dismiss these issues because a 'mother knows best.' Unfortunately, children don't have any way to protect themselves but making their voices heard and getting help, so it is essential that their suffering isn't dismissed as ungrateful or being 'too young to understand.'
Real. I honestly don't understand how some people get so stuck on the ideal mom being every mom. Though, I guess if I think really hard about it "mother knows best" really does appear in so many places even if it was never directed at me-- I was lucky in that regard. Honestly, that understanding and acceptance did me wonders. Back then and when I became an adult and could look back and actually grasp how bad it all was.
I honestly can't comprehend how folks can't imagine a mom being flawed like any person out there, but hey, good on them for having a mom so good they forget how to empathize with anyone but other moms I guess. In my mind, it really is just a question about empathy and being able to look past one's own life experience.
It's honestly really good to have different family dynamics in fiction, abusive, narcissistic, blame-shifting parents happen and should be discussed. So I applaud you for that, haha! I mean, there's a reason I gravitate towards fictional characters with mommy issues and I have no doubt that even if some folks who don't take anything away from those themes in your stories, others do feel heard and understood. Which is also super important.
Though, I also do also worry some folks just think "stories like these are all just fiction", but there isn't much to be done about that. The unfortunate thing about story telling is that a lot of people aren't media literate enough to see how a lot of messages can extend to real life or really read deeper into things. I, for example, write some stuff from abuser's POV and it's interesting watching the writing group react. Interesting and disheartening. The librarian and folks who write poetry and stories seem to grasp that even when the text is showing abuse in a good/neutral light it doesn't take much digging to see the rot under the justifications. Then those who write things like blog posts and things more "grounded" like that are typically left questioning where they're supposed to stand with the characters. Sometimes, people just don't "get it". But hey! Least ya tried!
Yeah, some people can't see beyond they're own experiences. It's one of my main goals with my writing to help people learn to be more empathetic and understand each other. I try to humanize all my (actually human) characters but still acknowledge that some people are doing wrong. It sometimes makes pretty tragic stories but I hope they'll help folks in the end.
11 days later
Someone commented that Texas's hair has an elegant Mulan/pharaoh Queen aesthetic. I can kind of see the Pharoah queen thing, but TBH, I have NEVER watched Mulan, so I don't get the reference. Can someone help me out here? I've only ever seen a few clips so idk if she wears a hairstyle similar to this at some point in the movie.
25 days later