I'll apologize in advance for the following rant. I'm tired and cranky and stretched way too thin and I don't know what.
I appreciate all of my readers. I read their encouraging, supportive comments and each poster has their very own "voice" in my mind--even infrequent commenters, even one-time commenters. Everyone has been so wonderful and making them happy makes me happy.
That being said, I write for myself. I wouldn't have been going on with Sims stuff for so long if I didn't. That and I allow myself to post sloppy writing and lazy pictures, something I wouldn't do if I was just in it for the sake of somebody else.
But at the same time... well. I've had a few ominous thoughts and a recent chat with a good friend gave me the sense that the frustration--just as I suspected--isn't just mine. There seems to have been a "shift" in the Sims community some time ago, and ever since that shift, being a Sims 2 non-legacy writer using non-premades has been a thankless job. Not that anyone goes into something like this expecting boatloads of recognition, but you know what I mean. It's frustrating to see a plotless, POV-less challenge blog with oodles of comments when you know you'll be lucky to break five on any given story post--nothing against commentary legacies or those who enjoy them, but it does tend to rub the nerves. It's something that a lot of Sims 2 writers are feeling these days, I'm sure of it.
It seems that these days, the only stories in demand are commentary legacies, stories using the premades, and Sims 3 stories. Now, I have nothing against any of these, but nor do I have any desire to write them. I don't want to play out a legacy and have to pause all the time to take "amusing" pictures. I already put In Fair Veronaville on hiatus because I don't feel like the premades in it are mine, and this despite the fact that I'd already taken such liberties with the characters that I'm pretty sure I've permanently alienated the entire community of Maxis purists.
As for Sims 3... well, I don't even have the Sims 2 EPs installed yet. I am not done with Sims 2, and even if I was, I just don't think Sims 3 has the right look for my stories. I read a few Sims 3 stories and while the authors have managed to make their Sims look quite nice, I imagine it's much more of an effort than to make the Sims 3 Sim you have in mind than it is to make the Sims 2 Sim you have in mind. I know that several people are converting their Sims 2 stories to Sims 3, but to be honest... well, I've seen "conversions" and I just don't think the faces translate well between the two games. I have yet to find a pair of Sims 2/Sims 3 "counterparts" who look sufficiently alike to me. Not saying that the creators make bad-looking Sims, but I don't see how any of the readers are going to be able to shift their mental images that drastically (I mean, come on, there is a certain amount of filling in the blanks required between pictures); they're nice, but they're a far cry from doppelgangers.
Anyway. I'm not trying to complain about lack of comments or readers, and I'm sorry if this is coming off as such. I know I probably won't gain many more at this point in the game and that's okay with me. I love the readers I have now and like I said... my longest-running Sims story has been going on since October 2008 and it wouldn't being continuing today if I didn't enjoy it.
But despite the admittedly lackluster pictures and sub-par writing... well, it can be an effort. Maintaining extras can be a pain in the ass, especially when you don't know if anyone even uses them. I have tons of reference notes that will probably never work their way into the stories and I don't know if anyone would even read them if I posted them elsewhere. And then of course there are the occasional snags with various hosts that are always frustrating and end up taking more of a toll on me than they should because it is not in my nature to relax. I love writing these stories, but I will admit that sometimes--not gonna lie here--I wonder if it's worth the hassle of putting them up for public consumption and if they'd be better off just sitting in my folders for nothing more than the sake of my own enjoyment, or maybe as limited releases to current readers who request a password.
But I do believe that stories are meant to be shared, so I will keep on sharing them. I'm just... I don't know. I'm sick of telling myself not to get my hopes up when I check for any sign of activity on my pages. I'm sick of feeling like I have to leave author notes on all of my posts just to avoid seeing "0 comments" forever, which is especially ridiculous considering that I won't comment on someone else's post if I genuinely feel like I have nothing to say. So, in short, I am human and I am not immune to feeling under-appreciated. Being human also makes me a whiny bitch who will post shit like this for no apparent reason. Not that it changes much. Things will go on like they always have. Just felt like ranting because I am pent up and in desperate need of a release.
I wish I had something positive to offer. I don't. I think sims writing is at an end unless it's fanfic.
ReplyDeleteI hate, HATE the bullshit about writing for yourself. Nobody does that. The only people who say that are people who are swimming in readers. Who creates in a vacuum? Why would you? If you write and nobody reads it, why would you keep writing? It is the most condescending, inane fucking stupid thing anyone could say. Yes honey, nobody says a thing but you just keep on writing. Why?
Get out of it, Van. It's a confidence killer.
Actually, I've been feeling much the same lately, and wondered if it was just me or if there was something wrong with my writing or my story. Maybe people are sick of it by now. I think I only have one person who visits and spends time there now, but never comments.
ReplyDelete*shrug* I honestly thought about stopping. I have slowed down. It is a lot of work. Not as much as some TS2 players with their perfect posing, but still it's time from my night which I spend crafting sets and sims, and then time from my morning when I look over the writing and edit things as needed.
It isn't always a TS2/TS3, pre-made sims/new characters thing, though I agree that commentary style legacies are in ridiculously high demand. Personally, I can't stand reading about pre-mades in general.
Beth: Sorry, I probably could have phrased that more appropriately. What I meant by "writing for myself"--and what I assume most people mean by it as well--is writing primarily for the enjoyment aspect. Writing is enough of an effort that most people wouldn't do it if they didn't enjoy it, but you're right, writing is meant to be read and it's frustrating when people don't read it, even if it wasn't your main goal.
ReplyDeleteAs for why I keep it up... I don't know. I do enjoy it. I don't really have any non-writing hobbies that are being pushed out of the way. Not really sure what I'd be doing if I wasn't writing, to be honest. That and in spite of everything, I find it bizarrely therapeutic.
Thanks for your opinion, and for your honesty. I think I needed that. Sorry if anything I wrote rubbed you the wrong way.
Lunar: Yeah, I would imagine quite a few people are feeling the same way right now :(
I'm still reading your story! Haven't been commenting on many blogs lately, though, since most of my reading time falls between work and sleep and that's not a great place to be commenting from... but my work schedule is easing up and come September it'll just be school again, so I'm planning on getting back in the swing of things in that regard ASAP.
I've thought about stopping some of the non-Naroni stories. I might end up pulling the plug on IFV, and I don't know if anyone will miss it (it never really caught on--too radical for the Maxis purists, too Maxis-y for anyone else). The others... I don't know. Now that they've been put up on for all to see, I don't think I can take them down and rewrite for a different audience, but I do still think that there are stories there, so I don't really know what else I can do with them other than stopping outright.
I can appreciate the pre-mades if the writer is doing something original with them. I don't want to read about the same old Womanizer Don and Dina the Gold-Digger or whatnot. As for the commentary legacies, I do have trouble understanding the appeal, or at least why someone would prefer to read a legacy over an actual story.
Huh. I'd been noticing a drop off in readership on my blog, too. (At least in terms of page views -- I seem to be getting a good amount of comments.) Here I thought that people were just getting sick of the endless filler & talking heads posts. Then again, that's still a possibility ...
ReplyDeleteI can at least speak to the attraction of commentary legacies. For the most part, they're funny. They're light and fluffy. They don't require a lot of commitment of brainpower or time or energy. Some of the commentary has to do with the stupid things Sims do -- "WHY ARE YOU GIVING BIRTH IN THE BATHROOM?" "You're dying of STARVATION?? I told you to eat two Sim hours ago!" "What do you MEAN you missed the carpool?" etc. Anyone who's played the Sims for more than a minute has seen these sorts of things and can relate. Besides, some legacies can grow into stories, or at least include story-like bits. So you can get the best of both worlds.
Besides, when I first started reading Sims 2 stories on the Exchange (yes, yes, Exchange, I know), there tended to be long waits between updates. It's easier to bear a one month or more wait if it's just a silly legacy vs. an intense story.
But yeah, I do understand your frustration and have been feeling a bit of it myself. I don't know what, if anything, people can do to get more traffic and more readers to non-legacy, non-Sims 3, non-premade stories, however. *shrugs* I guess we all just keep writing for the love of it, and appreciate the readers we have?
The community seems to have been changing. I don't have the greatest insight since I came in fairly late and I was never really involved in the larger spheres, but there just seem to be very few Sims 2 non-premade stories that are getting much attention these days. It certainly has nothing to do with the quality of your story. Albion is pure gold.
ReplyDeleteAs for the legacies, fair enough. I imagine a person would sort of have to be in the mood, though. And I think after a while--if everyone seemed to comment on the same things--wouldn't it just be like "Yeah, Sims give birth in the bathroom, we get it"? There is always the possibility of a legacy becoming a story, though, which is great.
But yeah, that's pretty much all any of us can, do I think. Write for the fun of it, smile when we hear from the readers we already have. If new ones come along, great, if not... ehhh, they don't know what they're missing :P
Sorry, Van! I'm not meaning to make you feel guilty for not commenting. I think its summer and people are busy, so readership all around has slowed. The internet is super quiet right now.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to vent though. I think it is needed once in a while.
I don't see why anyone would call "writing for yourself" bullshit. That's exactly what I'm doing with my story and I ain't exactly swimming with readers myself.
ReplyDeleteI don't like most commentary legacies. Now granted, some are pretty funny. But I read most of these legacies and I've lost the will to live by the time I get to gen 2. Ugh.
I can't see you getting 0 comments on a post anytime soon. You have quite a lot of readers across all your stories, not just Naroni. (Although admittedly that's where most are found.)
I know I'm another one who's not a big commenter but that's usually because I read on google reader. I only comment if I visit your blog and happen across a new post before Reader does. Which is actually quite often.
Just don't get yourself too down about it. Keep on telling your stories. We ain't going away any time soon.
Lunar: No worries. You're right about everyone being busy these days, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteYeah, better to let everything out eventually. I think I just got to a point when I needed to get all of that out, like people always do. I have been feeling a lot better since writing this post--a catharsis of sorts.
Joseph: Writers write because that's what writers do. Sometimes the readers come later. As long as you're enjoying yourself, keep doing what you're doing :)
I haven't read many commentary legacies, but they do tend to get repetitive. Ten generations is a lot of bathroom births :S
I think I have a few 0s on Orbis Umbra :P I do think I fell into sort of a "world-builder wants to show off" trap with that story and that maybe turned people off. I still really enjoy writing it though, and it will get back to classic Aurora and Scorpio pretty soon.
I'm trying to work on my commenting. I always struggle if I'm late to a post and a bunch of people have left insightful comments and I'm just all "Uh... I liked it?" :P
Thanks everyone.
I read this earlier and wanted to think about it a bit before commenting. As someone who doesn't now and never has had a large following of any kind I do understand feeling discouraged when you put in so much effort and get virtually no comments back. It can make you feel like there is no meaning in it outside of the enjoyment you get in brinnging something you wrote to life. But, at least in my case, that enjoyment counts for something. I've stepped away from this for a few months now (more out of RL issues, than because I wanted to) and it has given me some perspective on exactly why I do this. I love it and for me that love is enough to continue even if I have a total of 4 comments, of which two are my own. I'm glad you shared this with us, clearly it is something a lot of us are feeling and I am glad to know I'm not crazy and that I'm not the only who has noticed the changes and trends with in the sims writing community. I guess at the end of the day we all have to decide to continue or not for our own reasons. I know I have yet to comment on your work (which I do and am still reading) but it is wonderful and I hope you continue to create it.
ReplyDeleteI think you've summed it up perfectly there. It's fun and the primary motivation should be the enjoyment aspect. Lack of comments and therefore an apparent lack of readers is discouraging, but in the end it boils down to whether or not you, the writer, like what you're doing. And who knows, maybe fewer comments mean that each one feels just that much more special? But like Beth implied, creation is meant to be viewed and a lack of feedback does get frustrating.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm glad you like my work, and I really have no plans to stop any time soon--I might take a break at some point, but I'm not finished yet, just needed to get a few things off my chest. I really enjoy your story as well. I miss your story, but real life issues are more important and I'm glad to hear that you'll continue when you can :)
I really believe that writing is genetic. Somehow it's in your blood and your bone and you can't stop. If you try to shut it down, you'll still write bright words on the dark wall of your mind. The story writes itself. So of course you write for yourself.
ReplyDeleteBut it's art. There is no way you can do it and not want to know how other people see what you've done.
Yeah, I think any art is like that. If it's in you, you have to get it out.
ReplyDeleteAs for the consumption of it... well, I think it's kind of like any small, one-man business. It's like the general store in some town in the middle of nowhere. The guy who runs it always greets everyone with a smile, knows everyone's name, and you can tell that he loves what he's doing. And then the big name chain sets up a store nearby and everyone goes there. The general store guy? He still loves what he does and he keeps on doing it, but it gets disheartening when people walk by and don't even look through the window on their way to the big grocery store.
Okay, maybe that's a stupid metaphor. I hope that kind of made sense, though.