Worst response your books have ever gotten?

[ThisAdamGuy]

What's the worst reaction you've ever gotten to one of your books?

For me, it was probably when I got kicked out of a fantasy writer's group for writing a book about skinwalkers fighting wendigos. Because not including cultures other than your own in your stories is racist, but the moment you do include them it's cultural appropriation. The best part is, the group member who was the most vocal about kicking me out was writing a gay romance about an angel and a demon. The irony was entirely lost on her.

 

[Empress_Omnii]

The irony was entirely lost on her.

I don't know... kinda sounds like she just wanted you gone

 

[ThisAdamGuy]

I don't know... kinda sounds like she just wanted you gone

The conversation basically went like this:
"It's offensive to use creatures that are part of another culture's beliefs in a make believe setting."
"You're writing about a gay romance between an angel and a demon."
"So?"
"Are you a Christian?"
"I don't believe in God."
"More people believe in God than believe in skinwalkers."
"Christianity is the white man's religion."

 

[Jerynboe]

The conversation basically went like this:
"It's offensive to use creatures that are part of another culture's beliefs in a make believe setting."
"You're writing about a gay romance between an angel and a demon."
"So?"
"Are you a Christian?"
"I don't believe in God."
"More people believe in God than believe in skinwalkers."
"Christianity is the white man's religion."

This is the problem with Punching Up as applied to groups as opposed to individuals. It very quickly goes from “I can be an asshole to rich people and celebrities” to “I can be an asshole to anyone I want if I can argue they share traits with someone powerful.”

That said, I hope the skinwalkers were at least assholes. The Navajo take that shit pretty seriously and Skinwalkers seem to be essentially their ultimate baddies. Not that they talk about it much; they are kinda taboo to discuss with outsiders. Tbh it’s more of a dick move to ask questions about them of a random Navajo person than it is to write about them in good faith.

 

[ThisAdamGuy]

That said, I hope the skinwalkers were at least assholes. The Navajo take that shit pretty seriously and Skinwalkers seem to be essentially their ultimate baddies.

I take the stance that you can't claim one group's mythology is off limits but it's open season on another's. If people are allowed to write stories like Good Omens, Marvel's Thor, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians despite not believing in the religions that spawned them, then the rules should be equally accepting of something like Skinwalkers.

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

What's the worst reaction you've ever gotten to one of your books?

For me, it was probably when I got kicked out of a fantasy writer's group for writing a book about skinwalkers fighting wendigos. Because not including cultures other than your own in your stories is racist, but the moment you do include them it's cultural appropriation. The best part is, the group member who was the most vocal about kicking me out was writing a gay romance about an angel and a demon. The irony was entirely lost on her.

View attachment 34509​

That sounds like a cool fic. Also, lol. That’s hella ironic. I just love the idea of skinwalkers. They catch the inspiration with the best of monsters, like oni, the hags and crones of faerie stories, and the many variations of ways in which cannibals become inhuman in mythology.

The best way to avoid hate is to create so complex and elaborate a world from the starting point (in this case, skinwalkers), creating such a vivid, engrossing depiction of skinwalkers, that they appreciate it for the brain-sparking joy it brings them to read. I believe in you!

The worst reactions to my stories? People are normally chill about my stuff. I expected to get some real high-quality hatin’ on my original fic but surprisingly nothing.
This is probably old-hat, but I’ve had my Worm fanfics be called misery porn multiple times. It seems to really aggravate them when I make the stories more grimdark than the original Worm.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

The conversation basically went like this:
"It's offensive to use creatures that are part of another culture's beliefs in a make believe setting."
"You're writing about a gay romance between an angel and a demon."
"So?"
"Are you a Christian?"
"I don't believe in God."
"More people believe in God than believe in skinwalkers."
"Christianity is the white man's religion."

Hypocrites aren't worth the convo, hence, I'm careful of joining "writing groups". Many of those are just "masked echo chambers" that limits one's creativity rather than improve them.

There are a few that actually helps, like the discord I'm currently in with other SHF peeps, but most are just filled with arrogant and self-righteous hypocrites.

 

[ThisAdamGuy]

I’ve had my Worm fanfics be called misery porn multiple times.

I've had my Amber Silverblood series be called misery porn...by me. That's why I had to drop it. So much non-stop negativity, and it only kept getting worse until it just wasn't any fun to write anymore, but by then I had dug the misery hole so deep there was literally no way to give poor Amber a happy ending without pulling it out of my ear.

 

[Deleted member 84247]

Oh, I've gotten a bunch. I got an entire essay on the first chapter of my book about using more descriptions. Some guy wrote me a one-star review in three chapters. Still haven't read the review though. I don't care about criticism, but I knew this review was going to be stupid based off their comments.

Personally, the thing that bothers me the most are dumb comments. Yes, I know my story doesn't have action in it Bob, there is no action tag. Or another guy who was majorly upset about an evil protagonist doing evil shit when the story was tagged evil protagonist.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

That said, this is my worst reply received, and funny, too. Goes to show how some idiot named Melvin Wong is so thirsty for some horny shit...

Also, Imma add my brother's experience with a "fantasy writers' group".

Bro wrote an anachronistic fantasy novel and submitted it to the group for some feedback. Got panned, mainly because members can't think of anachronism in fantasy.

This all the while they kept writing rape fantasies about furry and yandere stuff.

 

[JayMark]

Because not including cultures other than your own in your stories is racist, but the moment you do include them it's cultural appropriation.

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

I've had my Amber Silverblood series be called misery porn...by me. That's why I had to drop it. So much non-stop negativity, and it only kept getting worse until it just wasn't any fun to write anymore, but by then I had dug the misery hole so deep there was literally no way to give poor Amber a happy ending without pulling it out of my ear.

LOL! I can sympathize with writing oneself into a hole. I wrote too powerful of a secondary antagonist in my fic “Charisma” and killed the pet, which is true evil after making the MC go through the hell that they have gone through. It’s been on hiatus for 11 months.
I’m actually resurrecting the fic though. Received quite a warm welcome back. Planning on rewriting the later chapters and changing up a few small parts in the earlier chapters.

 

[fcures]

That said, this is my worst reply received, and funny, too. Goes to show how some idiot named Melvin Wong is so thirsty for some horny shit...

View attachment 34511

Also, Imma add my brother's experience with a "fantasy writers' group".

Bro wrote an anachronistic fantasy novel and submitted it to the group for some feedback. Got panned, mainly because members can't think of anachronism in fantasy.

This all the while they kept writing rape fantasies about furry and yandere stuff.

Nicest royal road reader

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

That said, this is my worst reply received, and funny, too. Goes to show how some idiot named Melvin Wong is so thirsty for some horny shit...

View attachment 34511

Also, Imma add my brother's experience with a "fantasy writers' group".

Bro wrote an anachronistic fantasy novel and submitted it to the group for some feedback. Got panned, mainly because members can't think of anachronism in fantasy.

This all the while they kept writing rape fantasies about furry and yandere stuff.

Wow. I have no words.

Nicest royal road reader

My Royal Road readers have always been angels. Granted, I never got big enough to be bitten for it.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

View attachment 34512

One time a student tried flagging me for "cultural appropriation" and I hit her back with "You are a Flip, and you speak and argue in English. Then you call out I'm appropriating cultures?"

Wow. I have no words.

My Royal Road readers have always been angels. Granted, I never got big enough to be bitten for it.

Well, I did tag my work as "isekai" and "harem", so I got the thirsty idiots feasting on my Shonen Nakama LN POS.

Such genres tend to attract idiots who can't understand what they read, and just wanna jack off to words.

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

Well, I did tag my work as "isekai" and "harem", so I got the thirsty idiots feasting on my Shonen Nakama LN POS

Thaaat explains it.

You should have done what I do: write an unholy amalgamation of eldritch horror drizzled in psychological musings, iced with madness frosting, filled with LSD, then grimderp it.

Whatever tags you add after that, be isekai or harem, they wouldn’t dare look at it.

Who wants a genuine eldritch horror smut scene, after all?

Only the morbidly curious, that’s who.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

Thaaat explains it.

You should have done what I do: write an unholy amalgamation of eldritch horror drizzled in psychological musings, iced with madness frosting, filled with LSD, then grimderp it.

Whatever tags you add after that, be isekai or harem, they wouldn’t dare look at it.

Who wants a genuine eldritch horror smut scene, after all?

Only the morbidly curious, that’s who.

Nah, I'm weak to dark and eldritch stuff. I just want to write something I enjoy while taking on a few challenges I set for myself.

Tbf, I wrote my isekai novel out of my frustration to the formulaic isekai + adventurers' guild + level system + slave harem + one dimensional characters trope. Serious readers find it good; Melvin Wong horndogs are offed by it, and tis a good sign. ?

 

[ThisAdamGuy]

grimderp

I like this word. I am culturally appropriating it.

 

[TheMonotonePuppet]

Nah, I'm weak to dark and eldritch stuff

…
I can’t resist…

Hans.Trondheim uses Psychic!
It’s ineffective!
TheMonotonePuppet uses Dark Pulse.
It is super effective!
Critical hit!

 

[Jerynboe]

I take the stance that you can't claim one group's mythology is off limits but it's open season on another's. If people are allowed to write stories like Good Omens, Marvel's Thor, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians despite not believing in the religions that spawned them, then the rules should be equally accepting of something like Skinwalkers.

I kinda take the stance that the more you show your work, the more you have earned the right to use the creature. Either by going hard and building your own version that is entirely unique like a certain puppet said, or integrating the IRL culture’s beliefs into it. This goes double if there is another entity from your own culture that would have worked roughly as well.

Jim Butcher in the Dresden Files, for example, does angels pretty much perfectly from the POV of me, a Christian. The main angel character we see is a behind the scenes chess master who seems to be completely, earnestly benevolent. He manipulates events books in advance to make sure that all things work together for good. Everything looks like a coincidence. He’s just straight up not allowed to interfere with free will or its fruits directly, and whenever he is given any leeway he makes the most of it. He FEELS like how angels are implicitly assumed to behave by most Christian’s I know. That makes it extra good and I feel very seen.

From what I’ve heard, his use of skinwalkers is also considered generally good because hot damn Shagnasty (Dresden’s nickname) is truly horrifying and very very evil. I imagine there are people who hate his inclusion as an antagonist, but I’ve never seen evidence of their existence and I’m 90% sure at least half of them are non-native busybodies if they do exist.

For contrast, JK Rowling’s canon for Skin walkers is that muggle medicine men spread malicious rumors about native wizards, painting them as horrible monsters that should be exiled at the least and preferably killed on sight. Thus declaring that the Wizarding World cultural and religious leaders were a bunch of charlatans with very few exceptions. Which… Yeesh. Unironically worse than just not explaining anything imo.

WITH THAT SAID, I’m not a web fiction cop and I don’t consider even lazy cultural appropriation to be a big deal. I just feel like it can be done better or worse.