How to Lose Friends and Alienate People (not the name of my second novella)

in Cross Culture2 years ago (edited)

They tell you to find a niche and stick with it. My "problem" is that I have 5 or 6 niches that fit me and when I combine 3 or 4 of them I feel excited and when I focus on one of them I feel bored.

Well that's just too bad for you. I like talking about language learning and cultural differences. I also like talking about Taoist philosophy, non-dualism and other woo woo, I like music and video games, I like writing fiction and blogging and trolling, and I do not want to manage 10 accounts.

They tell you to be consistent, but I got way too much going on to be consistent with everything, so too bad for me. I may not get the reach I could have if I focused entirely on one thing, but making my whole creative process fun for me is the reason why I do any of this. If I wanted money I would have tried to get a high-paying job and if I wanted fame I would have done pop cover songs upside down or something.

I was a little discouraged at the fact that my last post didn't receive any real comments, but then again, I wasn't expecting much...it's probably one of the hardest-to-relate-to posts I've ever written (and I've also been pretty inactive recently). I can think of a 3 or 4 people at Hive who I know can relate to it, that's about it.

I just hope it didn't scare anyone away because I like you and I would love it if you don't think I'm crazy :-P

But you know.... from the standardized, old school perspective, I AM crazy, so, yeah. It's really all up to you.

Anyway.

Today I worked on chapter of my 3rd novella, the second to last chapter in fact. Almost done. It is the most challenging chapter I've ever had to work on because it is so far outside of my own personal experience and outside of almost anyone I know's personal experience. It's also an incredibly dark and disturbing topic, being discussed through three very different characters who have three very different approaches to life. I have no idea how I myself would react to such a situation so it's hard to imagine how my characters would.

Still I felt this topic was necessary for the protagonists development and so I have to go through with it and write about this very unpleasant topic. The story demands it, and when the story demands it, you do what it says because it knows better than you do and better than I do!

The best I could do was research a bit on how people deal with certain kinds of trauma, corruption in particular organizations, and how those organizations are run.

To be honest, I'm wondering when I'm going to get some more feedback on my writing. There were 3 people who said they loved it and even gave me details about why they did, but they are probably the strangest people I know. 1 friend said he had no idea what was going on, but he's also a bit strange in a different way. I want to know what the less insane people I interact with think of my writing. I can't figure out why I don't get more feedback, but I know it's one of 4 possibilities:

1 The writing style is hard to follow

because it's written in the same style that I think in...HORIZONTALLY, many thoughts and observations weaving together constantly (this is why I chose to turn this one story into a novella series, I think it's very intense storytelling to read for prolonged periods).

2 They can't relate to the content

Same as my last post. Too dark? Too psychedelic? Too far from their lives? Outside of what they can accept?

3 No one actually read it

(cause who reads books in 2022?) other than 4-5 friends.

4 They don't want to tell me that they hate it

(it's ok, I won't be upset).

Well, either way, I'll keep writing and trying to improve my craft on my own terms, but I'd sure appreciate some kind of feedback to know how my writing hits (or fails to hit) people. And I'd also really love some 5-star reviews on Amazon, Kobo, Apple, Goodreads etc. etc. WINK WINK! ;-)

Confession of the Damaged 1.2 is already finished, I'm just waiting for a tiny detail on the artwork (displayed below). Confessions 1.3 is nearly complete as well but will probably be released about 4-6 months after 1.2 (so....summer).

For now you can find Confessions of the Damaged 1.1 at any of the sites listed at this URL, and 1.2 is coming in February, for certain.

I'm absolutely in love with it, but then again, I'm Wacky Doodle Dandy, as we've already established ;-)

Love you if you read this post, love you if you didn't.

Here's the artwork for Confessions 1.2, I think I probably shared it already:

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🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎🌎

My work:

📕 Confessions of the Damaged psychedelic spiritual fiction

🎸I + Everything - ambient folky music

🎬Self Help For Trolls - vlog

Confessions of the Damaged 1.1 - Out now!

Confessions_of_the_Damaged_1.1_cover_final.png

F4CD1B1ECCD442A1B52D9F956DCA8A5B.gif

Come join Hive Cross Culture and Join our discord

Please consider delegating to @crossculture or following our trail 🙂

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Love you too, buddy!

Keep doing you, meanwhile I'll keep doing me.

Funny that we posted an update on our book/ writing half an hour apart :<)

I'm not surprised. "We're always touching by underground wires" bweeeeeeeewwwww

true that

like true bros from other mos ;^)

We love you @selfhelp4trolls! Do you know how many people will root for you anytime?

I felt emotional reading this, can we talk again on voice sometime soon?

!PIZZA !LUV

Of course. Let's talk again soon. On camera or off.

Thank you so much for the emotional support. I wasn't too upset writing it but I used to get way more upset about this kind of thing. Nowadays at least I know a lot of wonderful people that I can connect with (😉) and so even if I wish it was easier to reach people, I know that I can make a positive impact on the world even if I don't reach a ton of people.

Yeah my novel has been out for around six years, seven years now? And it's been sitting at 13 reviews for years. I've done multiple free days and asked "please review" but I don't know if any of them are from doing that. I think a lot of people download it on a free day and then it sits on their Kindle unread. I mean, I've done that before - sometimes I buy a book but then don't read it until years later - so I can't blame them. But it does feel like I am shouting into the void. I make more of a point to review books I read on Amazon now that I know how important it is.

Right? I can't blame anyone cause I do the same thing! But I do try to give some reviews to people who I know put good stuff out into the world.

We are just so connected these days that it’s becoming harder to give lots of focus to any one thing or person. And everyone’s got something they want to share and only do many hours in the day.

What's your book called? Even if I don't read it I'd like to give it some stars 😉 and maybe I might get around to reading it!

We are just so connected these days that it’s becoming harder to give lots of focus to any one thing or person. And everyone’s got something they want to share and only do many hours in the day.

Right, and if you overshare, people who are following you don't want to see ten recommendations a day, so I generally try and save my "share to social media" type recommendations for the really good ones/ones that I think my friends would enjoy, too.

I have bookmarked your book! When I get an extra few dollars I'll have to buy it (and rate it, of course!).

Mine is here:
https://smile.amazon.com/Son-Sun-novel-Ulster-Cycle-ebook/dp/B015WVZHHC/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&q

Hello @selfhelp4trolls, I think it's great that you have different interests, this should expand your circle of friends, rather than make it narrower, of course, taking into consideration that not all friends are the same, because there are friends for different occasions, although the really true friends, those who deserve to be called FRIENDS, those are with us in any circumstance. The cover of your third novel is very nice. I hope you will be successful this time. Best regards.

To flow is the ultimate goal so it always feels like I should just share what comes out. I like and respect people with multiple interests and I can filter for the stuff I am interested in. I don't think it's a problem either, only for the algorithms and casual viewers. The ones who really like something don’t care

Thank you! ❤️

first... the name of your book is cool.. so I'll read it soon.
second... comments... well... I'm commenting with lots of full stops.
I don't know if there's anything such as The writing style is hard to follow or They can't relate to the content. My aunt is a writer and my language (Bangla) is somewhat complex and on top of that she uses the words that are too hard to understand and sentence that would be tossed over your head like a freaking soft ball.

Don't feel bad just yet. You don't know what will happen tomorrow.

I don't feel bad and thank you. I'm just expressing some desire. I desire more people to read and react (positively) to my writing. But I'm totally ok if they don't. I'm enjoying the process so I'll keep doing it! Let me know if you read it! 😆

I have Confessions of the Damaged 1.1 and I haven't gone far with it. The reason is it needs a lot of concentration for me to follow and I'm lazy. I know it's a great book and I felt the intensity from the beginning but my short attention span always deters me. Whenever I pick it up, I start again and that's because I don't want to miss any point. It's not a book I can read casually.

I have more books that I find complex but never get to read. One of such is The Interpreters by a Nigerian author, Wole Soyinka. When I eventually gave it my 100% attention and read it, it was fulfilling. His writing style is complex, yes, but he's a great writer. That's the vibe I got from your novel too.

I really hope I can dedicate time to read it beginning to end and give a proper feedback. I feel bad because you gifted it to me.

I totally understand. That's actually why I split the novel up, though even 40 pages requires way more time and concentration than most people can afford these days. So much demands our attention and so much deserves it!

I think if you rear each chapter as a separate story, it’ll be easier to get though, but no pressure, ya?

Whenever you get a chance! ❤️
I think you’ll enjoy it, you are exactly the kind of person I hope likes it 😆. Once again, no pressure!

I suspect most people are the same, too overhwlemed by stimuli and therefore “lazy”, and honestly I’m the same with everyone’s blog too.

PIZZA!

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very beautiful .
Hello sorry in advance but visit my post and give me an upvote. because I'm having a hard time finding money for college bills on February 15, 2022. I hope you are kind and want to donate a little upvote for me. have a nice day. thank you

I LOVE the painting you share here, @selfhelp4trolls - "artwork for Confessions 1.2" - really beautiful!