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  • The Writer/Reader Guilt Complex

    Does this scenario sound familiar to you? You publish a story here on Vocal or some other web publishing platform. It might be a story you feel is really great, or one that is mediocre, or maybe even one you regret. Another writer you are familiar with from the site leaves a like and a comment on said story. The quality of the story and the content of the comment are not really factors in what happens next. You ask yourself when was the last time you read anything published by this other writer? You also consider, when was the last time you left a like or a comment on anything they had written that you read? If you are anything like me, (I can assure you, you are not, but we may share at least this in common) our answers to both questions will probably be a very low number or zero in some cases. A nagging guilt begins to build at not having read or commented on any of this writer's many works in a very long time, or maybe even ever. This very nice person, this aspiring writer just like yourself, took the time out of his or her busy schedule to read and comment on something you wrote, and you can't even be bothered to do the same for them? What kind of monster are you? And, so, appropriately ashamed you immediately seek out something/anything this person has published and leave a like and a comment to even the score. It doesn't matter if the piece you found was Hemingway reborn (highest possible literary quality) or Michael Chrichton reborn (lowest possible literary quality), you like it and you leave a comment detailing how great it was for whatever reasons you think will soothe your guilt ridden soul.

    By Everyday Junglist2 years ago in Writers