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Dear storyteller, why do you write dark stories?
mercuryfoam
Posts: 1,156 Member
Warning: Insensitive speech in spoilers
Dear Person(s)-in-pain,
I've been reading in between the lines figuring out the true reason of your purposeful hunting down and leaving such dedicated comments on my story. I say dedicated because I haven't even posted a link on the forums, and yet you've found and commented on my latest chapter anyway. There are a number of reasons, I'm sure, but I've decided to reply to your more sensible one:
Why do you write dark stories? / Why do dark stories exist? 🙂
I can only speak for myself. The reason why I write dark stories is because they are reflective of my life and those I've met - what we've seen, experienced, dealt with, be crushed by or be overcome. Some people are fortunate enough to have had better, for others darkness prevails. To give you an idea, one of my relative's first job at 8 years old is picking up dead bodies and burying them. Another died from starvation (she was just a teenager).
When you strip B2W of it's magic and fantasy, it's simply a band of sims trying their best to live with the lousy hand they've been dealt with. The reality is 💩 happens to good people, and most times, no one is there to save them but themselves. You can read and experience first-hand the adversities my sims go through, or you can abandon the story.
Stories serve many purposes: to entertain, to inspire, to connect, to laugh or cry at but most importantly, to tell. Your hate speech tells me that this story hurts you. Do NOT read it. Stories are a reflection of humanity (dark or not), so they aren't going anywhere. My suggestion is to stop obsessing over stories you dislike and simply steer clear. The only person you are hurting is yourself. There are a great number of fantastic, happy, fun stories on the forums. I myself read a number of them. You should too. 😄
The purpose of this thread isn't to incite anything. I am a proponent of diplomatic discussion. Just as dark stories are a safe place to explore and discuss heavier themes through a symbolic, fictional lens, I think forum threads are a safe space to invoke further discussion and hopefully, spread awareness on the importance for stories that serve to tell than entertain.
I've also decided to speak out because I've come to realise that there are many others who are receiving hate for their writing and have been taking this abuse in silence. Everyone's experience, background and voice is unique and deserves to be heard. Don't let a random troll tell you how to write. They've never walked in your shoes. That's how special you and your stories are. Keep smiling and keep writing.
Dear Person(s)-in-pain,
I've been reading in between the lines figuring out the true reason of your purposeful hunting down and leaving such dedicated comments on my story. I say dedicated because I haven't even posted a link on the forums, and yet you've found and commented on my latest chapter anyway. There are a number of reasons, I'm sure, but I've decided to reply to your more sensible one:
Why do you write dark stories? / Why do dark stories exist? 🙂
I can only speak for myself. The reason why I write dark stories is because they are reflective of my life and those I've met - what we've seen, experienced, dealt with, be crushed by or be overcome. Some people are fortunate enough to have had better, for others darkness prevails. To give you an idea, one of my relative's first job at 8 years old is picking up dead bodies and burying them. Another died from starvation (she was just a teenager).
When you strip B2W of it's magic and fantasy, it's simply a band of sims trying their best to live with the lousy hand they've been dealt with. The reality is 💩 happens to good people, and most times, no one is there to save them but themselves. You can read and experience first-hand the adversities my sims go through, or you can abandon the story.
Stories serve many purposes: to entertain, to inspire, to connect, to laugh or cry at but most importantly, to tell. Your hate speech tells me that this story hurts you. Do NOT read it. Stories are a reflection of humanity (dark or not), so they aren't going anywhere. My suggestion is to stop obsessing over stories you dislike and simply steer clear. The only person you are hurting is yourself. There are a great number of fantastic, happy, fun stories on the forums. I myself read a number of them. You should too. 😄
The purpose of this thread isn't to incite anything. I am a proponent of diplomatic discussion. Just as dark stories are a safe place to explore and discuss heavier themes through a symbolic, fictional lens, I think forum threads are a safe space to invoke further discussion and hopefully, spread awareness on the importance for stories that serve to tell than entertain.
I've also decided to speak out because I've come to realise that there are many others who are receiving hate for their writing and have been taking this abuse in silence. Everyone's experience, background and voice is unique and deserves to be heard. Don't let a random troll tell you how to write. They've never walked in your shoes. That's how special you and your stories are. Keep smiling and keep writing.
10
Comments
I currently have put anything too dark to the side but I was known for years here for writing violent, edgy, sexual stories. It's unrealistic to be a writer (or anyone) and not have something dark in your life you have to process. Though I sometimes wonder if it's the healthiest way to do so, writing the worst case scenarios that could happen to me (death by problems I struggle with) for entertainment. Then I stop caring. There are a few comments that have gotten to me but I want to use them to try and be as sensitive as I can be about dark themes, even if it's stuff that's taken years off my life IRL.
outrun / blog / tunglr
As a writer and lover of books I only read and write stories with some elements of darkness.
As you have stated most people (including myself) have gone through dark times in their lives. What I write about is a reflection of that and my way of self expression. It's not to offend anyone and no one has to read it.
Many times I have come across books that disturbed me or made me uncomfortable for one reason or another. I didn't say omg you horrible horrible person how could you write this?!!!! I put the book down and started looking for a book I would prefer to read. Simple and easy.
I give feedback and critic stories often. But only on the quality of writing or general story. Never for their choice of what they choose to write about.
For shame.
And it's my personal preference that I enjoy reading about gentle girls who get saved by male heros. Like what's wrong with that?
The vibe I've always gone with for my current story is Grimm brother fairy tale-esque, so yes, it's not a particularly happy story. Why do I write a story that's not happy? Probably because we live in a world where not everything is happy.
I think a big part of the reason is to do with expectations. While happy stories are a great form of escapism, it's important to remember that they are escapism. If you use them to gauge expectations of your own life, you might wind up feeling like a failure, because you inevitably won't win in every scenario. So stories where the hero is flawless and always prevails do us a disservice if we take them as a formula for life.
I suppose that might be a part of the issue for your troll too - the expectation that a main character should always be flawless and aspirational. A protagonist doesn't need to be either of those things, and doesn't even need to be likeable. My characters live in magical/supernatural settings, but I try to keep their personalities and reactions realistic, for the most part. Which means they are all flawed in some way.
But you know, I explicitly say in my intro blurb on my home page that "no happy endings are guaranteed," and apparently people like your commenter still expect the story to be happy, haha. Case in point as to what I said about expectations above
Story Blog | Forum Discussion
sorry these people exist, sorry they went right to your blog to spread lame arguments.
@Babykittyjade i soo agree with you. very tired that nowadays to represent a strong woman she has to be a mary sue, otherwise it's sexist.
let me tell ya a secret, i also like when sometimes women are saved by strong men. that's cuz i love strong men irl and there's nothing wrong about it. but noo nowadays if a woman is saved by a man it's sexist. so if a man is saved by a woman it ain't sexist huh? bruh get your ideas right? setting the differences this way is part of the problem, it's indirectly implying women that don't follow a certain stereotype are indeed weaker. could write a whole rant about this topic but i'm too lazy lol
Haha, I have the exact opposite opinion, I do not like the stories where the damsels are always in distress.
This comes from my childhood, where such stories were the only one I had to read, strong, good and independent women didn't existed in the children books, where I was born. My most hated cartoon was Popeye the sailorman with his Olivia, I really hate these figures.
The only strong women in these story were always ugly and evil witches who died at the end. Main reason, I guess, was to keep woman under the dependence of men, the old way thinking. I always found these witches faszinating and I wanted to become one too. Well, to be fair, I have never fitted in the society anyways and I have found it unfair to threaten people different, however I think it's wonderful to have different alternatives stories for everyones taste nowadays.
Personally I believe writing can be therapeutic, a subset of creative arts therapies such as coloring, painting, dance therapy etc so yes! I truly believe that writing is a healthy avenue to explore and make sense of less spoken/understood experiences. It doesn't necessarily have to be something personal. We are only human to be affected by misfortune that happened to others - friends, family or the wider community.
Let me dig up a 'rant' of a fav tumblr writer of mine who wrote about the portrayal of women in stories. You'll like it. Here it is
I so agree with you and @Babykittyjade . The idea of feminism is to embrace all kinds of women, not pit one type of women against another. There is nothing wrong with femininity be it soft-spoken, boisterous or the different shades in between.
@Daravi Not a fan of oppressive, patriarchal structures either. I agree, there's a story for everyone
People become writers for very different reasons. Not everyone writes as a happy escape into a perfect world, or a heartwarming story with a good ending. Some people write to get through trauma. Others because they want to bring certain bad topics to attention that would otherwise be shunned. For a few people (like me), it’s a compulsion.
If darkness is not your thing, you don’t have to read it. There are dozens and dozens of legacies and challenges on the forums that are perfectly lovely and often hilarious. It is perfectly okay to have a preference for lighter stories, or happy endings. But it’s not okay to try to force that preference onto writers. And insulting their work or the writer themselves because what they make is different from the things that you like is just plain wrong.
I was gonna wade in here and explain my reasons for writing a dark story - but now I'm not sure my story is dark, reading that ya'll got mean trolls and mine are kind of cuddly.
In all seriousness (well, as serious as I go) - darkness lives in us all. Some of us read to escape it and some of us read to embrace it. The same can be said of writing. Whether it's therapy, confession, fantasy or compulsion, it scratches an itch. It frees something that we shouldn't contain, or it helps us chain something that we should.
Now excuse me, I've got a basement to fill with happy sims.
I never watch detective and horror movies that otherwise have a wide popular fan base. The film media's massive use of images and sound gives me no opportunity to shield myself and my sensitive emotional register.
Maybe that's exactly why I love the dark SimLit genre. Here I get an opportunity to mirror and relate to what is unbearable in life. In addition, I love the imagery and the creativity that is used to showcase these universes
To @SnuffyBucket I would say. Do not be offended. Several of your characters are vicious and foolish and I am your biggest fan
I write dark stories because I ENJOY it, and my work mostly deals with supernatural/fantasy content with mature themes and realistic overtones. Writing is also a therapeutic and creative outlet, and aren't dark stories a "safe" way to connect with the monster in all of us?
HEFFNER LEGACY│Simblr│Heffner Legacy Discussion │ Origin ID: Maladi
Ugh totally grinds my gears. I hate seeing writers roasted for nonsense 🙄 as I said nothing wrong with strong females if you enjoy reading about them but it's like just because something is trendy these days the opposite suddenly becomes criminal and no one is allowed to enjoy it.
I've even noticed the trend in almost every American movie. The (dumb clueless)bf or husband is killed off and the lady heroically saves the day. And I'm like why can't some of them atleast be equally strong partners that save the day together?
I love a strong man also lol 😉
while the world is still the way it is we gotta stay strong, also to keep loving strong men lol
Some people don't get that. Fiction is fiction. It's not real. It doesn't need to feel real, or always actions the way they would be carried out in reality. Bad things happen. Let's put our little mice into the maze and find out how the get out of it.
I hope that made sense.
And yes, the "strong female character" thing.. come on. Let people write a character however they want. (Also, if these trolls would've bothered to read the chapters before the current ones, they'd see that Red isn't as 'weak' as they perceive her to be.)
I've written a few darker stories as well, and just find them easier to relate to, especially now. Everyone, keep writing your dark, gloomy, wonderful tales - you've got way more fans than haters.
I have loved the stars too truly to be fearful of the night.
Ha'aheo, e hoʻomau i kō kāua aloha, kau a kau.
And you dig them traps to fall into, and sometimes they don't get out of it. This makes me worry, and care. What happens next?
Of course, they don't need to wallow in pain every chapter. That's not what I'm saying. But I like that they get affected by what happened.
This makes the sweet moments even sweeter
Lady Red casts a spell and marries Mr. Dark Handsome, turns him into a family guy and they live happily after with 2.5 children in the suburbs? Poor half-child lol.
That would be a very short story in my opinion.
This 'weak no-brain character' has strengths, but also weaknesses. That's why I keep wanting to read what happens to her. I also have other favs
I think the toxic comments weren't only because 'dark=bad', but because of a very one note ideal about how a woman should act.
A traumatic event should leave a crack in the mirror. Just another stone away from breaking!
I consider myself on the lighter end of the spectrum, the legacy style writing with a traditional family structure. But even then there are some bittersweet moments.
A death is sad, but can also come with a breath of relief their suffering is done, or with an evil grin if they were hated.
Pregnancy and birth can be a chance to explore depression, worry about if there is enough space and money for a new mouth to feed, or bring back old trauma.
Sometimes people don't react picture perfect!
This also leads me to wonder: What is strength/weakness?
Can traditional feminine qualities be strength? Waking up at 2 am to comfort crying child and then make them waffles for breakfast after 2-3 hours sleep? Is it weakness or strength?
Does it take strength to say: 'I've been hurt before. Will you be there for me?" I could go on, but I need to make some lunch now.
*Steps off soapbox*
@CherryBerryCloud
Thank you for your kind words and support. Sorry for being quiet, I’m terrible with compliments. My silence is pretty much my social awkwardness taking over. But I really appreciate your speaking out and sharing.
@PitlordMaggie
Thank you. You’re right that my sims are all flawed - Red, Blonde, Brunette, Stardust, or Black, neither of them are perfect. I'm happy that you see them at their worst (and best) and still root for them.
Light is untrue, legacy and family stories have sent my heartstrings on a wild dance, especially if the writer (or game autonomy) deem it so. They leave me in a blubbering mess. Yours included tyvm.
Not to belittle anyone else's preferences, but I personally don't get the appeal of "happy" stories. If there's no drama and no darkness, if everything is just perfect and nobody has any real problems, then... well, then you basically have The Sims 4. A fun game to play, but I don't see any creativity in recreating that in a story. It's the reason I stopped watching Good Witch, a show where nothing bad ever happens apart from some minimal conflict, and every character is nice. If you're a fan of that, I'm not judging, but I'm not, so I moved on, which is what I would recommend to anybody who doesn't like a particular story, instead of leaving unconstructive nasty comments.
I have a habit of enticing readers with fun and silliness and then hitting with the darkness hammer out of nowhere, and it's 100% on purpose. But you can usually tell by the blurbs of my stories that they're not exactly kid-friendly, and when writers even go as far as putting "no happy endings guaranteed" or similar content notes in theirs, then I have no compassion for people who still keep reading despite knowing that they're going to get offended.
Something wicked this way comes!
I don't use MCCC.
But why take it further than that? Why make it darker than it has to be? Because these characters, their world, the plotline, whatever, just seems like their plot wouldn't work with the whole 'happy ending' thing. I want my story to feel like it progresses in a natural way that allows the characters to be themselves, and to be human. If that means no happy ending, then so be it. Especially right now, dark stories and a corrupt world with no guarantee of eventual happiness are a lot more relatable than they should be. I could write about a world of fluffy clouds where everything goes right. Or I could write something people would actually want to read.
And the whole 'strong female character' thing... what? Different people have different strengths and weaknesses. So should different characters. And isn't the whole point of equality allowing everyone to be viewed as equal? So pushing for a strong female character is just as bad (or good) as pushing for a weak one. Let them be either, or even better, let the author decide. Let them make their characters the way they want, because in the end it's their story. And, often, a 'weaker' heroine can be a good thing for a darker story. Look at fairy tales; the evil queen wanting to eat snow white's heart is in part scary because we know that there's no way the princess can fight back. It adds tension and helps develop the plotline.
And hey. In the end, everyone's opinions are their own problems. Your opinion is valid. But the authors get the deciding votes because it's their story and they can write it the way they want to. Criticism and complaint is perfectly fine, but you have to be aware that just as you have your opinions, others have theirs.
Edited because I cannot spell and the censor bot got me a couple of times.
I'm sorry several people left you such rude comments. But Anita's comment is interesting to me, because there is a disturbing trend (even though it's not seen so much in post-2000 writing) where female characters are often either a) nothing more than vessels for male characters' development or b) abused ad nauseum because some people find salacious content titillating and edgy. The Bechdel test exists for a reason.
I don't have an issue with female characters being weak, but to the extent that she's just a flat stupid character - I do have an issue, because that's boring and not fun to read. Both male and female (and other) characters should have depth and behave in a way that makes sense for them. If a woman is like the princess from Mario where she is kidnapped a suspicious amount of times without anything changing, I start to ask some questions.
Sometimes, even though it's unfair, when you're living in a patriarchal society and you personally experience some patriarchal BS, reading the slightest thing can set you off and you can criticize someone unfairly.
Personally, my writing isn't that "dark." I think it's because I want a wider audience, but I never really set out to write something that isn't dark.