Okay. Another thing folks have to realize is that Tumblr is a personal blog site. Most people writing here are doing it as a hobby and I don’t think anyone is getting money for their Sim stories. So, that changes the dynamic in how people write and the level of care they use in their writing.
Personally, I would never write about an experience I’ve never gone through without thorough research. Any experienced writer knows a story will be so much more well-written when you take the time to research. I spent so much time researching Haven, and it has been the story where I got the most positive feedback. I never lived in a cult, but my research was so thorough, former cult members actually wrote me and praised my handling of the subject. Man, that was a great feeling.
BUT- some folks are not going to do that for a Sims story. They’re just not. They are going to write off the top of their heads. They are going to write inaccuracies, they are going to fill their stories with stereotypes, they are not going to be diverse with their characters, they may even perpetuate dangerous ideas. I’ve seen stories where stalking is portrayed as romance. Stories where victims fall in love with their rapists. Stories where teen pregnancy is portrayed as easy (I’ve been guilty of this), and couples live forever with their high school sweethearts. Stories that have zero diversity, stories that make no sense, stories that are offensive. Stories where zero research was done.
Guess what I do with those stories? If I like the writer, I will send them a message or an Ask OFF Anon because I’m mature and brave like that and point out the inconsistencies. If I don’t like the writer and I know they have a “nonchalant, I do what I want attitude” I will un-follow or even block them. It’s that simple.
Listen, on and off Simblr is a world filled with shitty, poorly written, awful stuff. We’ve all read bad books, seen bad movies, viewed poorly executed artwork. It’s life. I’ve had stage one cervical cancer and I’ve been in a horrific car accident and I was a victim of a hate crime. I WISH my experiences were always handled with care, but often they are not. I can take ownership, and choose to ignore the badly written work or I can express my displeasure politely ( DRAGGG THEMMM! is not polite and I’ve seen that written here) and hope for the best. Not everyone is going to be receptive to constructive criticism, and it hurts, but bullying them is not the way to go. To police creativity (unless it’s blatantly dangerous, like inciting hate or violence or suicide) is not acceptable, especially since people perceive life and hardship in so many different ways. For example, what makes one domestic violence victim uncomfortable could trigger no reaction at all in another, so how can we dictate how a story about domestic violence should be written, except to maybe suggest the writer conduct research, which again they do not HAVE to? I wish everyone would write in a balanced, well thought out way, but that’s not the world we live in. Try to open up a dialogue that is polite, respectful and honest even if inside you are seething. Writing rant posts and sending hate anons may feel good in the moment, but ultimately solve very little in the big picture, in my humble opinion.
Couldn’t have said it better!
I agree, but sometimes it’s hard do find something about a specific subject ( I have experienced it, that why one od my story is in hiatus ).
Lilysimsgames 