CloverReef

Me too! Though when I read romance oriented fics, I tend to get bored with long fics if they’re JUST romance (short fluffy fics are cool though). But a long fic, especially if it’s set in Potterverse or some similar fandom, really needs some sort of adventuresome plot to keep my attention all the way through. So all of my own fics tend to reflect that.
Well, when you put it that way (“...while you act super coy and/or helpless...”), yeah, that sounds really creepy…  
...and kind of makes me think of all the OoC!Draco/OoC!Hermione fics in which they actually fall for each other. Personally, I would rather read a fic which is closer to canon!Draco and canon!Hermione in which Draco becomes a rapist and Hermione still hates him, because that’s the only thing I can take half-way seriously as being a credible take-off from canon. Same goes for Snamione fics. I’d rather read evil!Snape, innocent!Hermione fics than one where they actually fall in love
But there’s a weird balance for me, I don’t like rape/noncon fics with brutalisation (bone-breaking, punching, knocking out teeth, blood etc), though some BDSM fics are fine for me otherwise (I like one of Wildkitsune’s in particular). 
And personally, I’m a huge fan of tentacle porn. I even managed to work in a (totally consensual) tentacle porn scene into Hermione’s Furry Little Problem. But ultimately, even though I enjoy some of the moderately darker stuff, and have written some pretty nasty stuff in notebooks, I figure there’s such an overabundance of Dark stuff online, that I’d rather post something positive that reflects my actual values rather than my weirder kinks. There’s still plenty of “excitement” for me in writing “first-times” and horny consenting teens discovering all of the fun things they can do together, especially in compromising moments where they might be caught in the act—mainly because there’s still a horny 11-13 year old lurking in my brain who just wants to be 13 and rediscover it all over again. 

That’s why I like AFF so much too. Like with all the fucked up things I’ve read here, I’ve never genuinely thought “this person has stray cat carcasses under their bed.” I like to think if I read something a real psychopath has written, I’d instinctively know (I’m probably wrong, but I trust my instincts anyway.) But the more twisted your writing, the more human and relatable you seem. The more disturbing your writing, the more I admire you. (I didn’t glance in @JayDee’s direction there, I swear.) 

Maybe I’m weird, but super vanilla stuff where there’s a lot of overt romance and serenading and “I love you so much let me toss flower petals all over your squishy bits while you act super coy and/or helpless” creeps me out way more than tentacle porn and zombie rape. 

It’s kind of funny because some of my partner’s previous coworkers were like “I bet [Keltiel] is super vanilla in bed.”. He came home and told me and we had a big laugh about it because we’ve roleplayed way worse things than I’ve written on here so far. But I feel like, for the most part, the people who write on AFF are just everyday people who, in reality, would never indulge in the things they write about. I think that's why I like AFF so much, it's a place where you can read or write about your wildest thoughts or fantasies without (much) judgement. Sure, there are probably a small few who are legitimately… “troubled” but that’s true of any population.

I looooooove Mpreg  Idk. I’m attempting my first one now, but I haven’t gotten him preggers yet! Awwwww, it’s so adorable!
OhhhhH! What’s a shifter? Are we talking wolves here?
I kinda expect more of us are kinker than we let on! What kinda ‘horrific’ content have you attempted? I suspect some of the people writing these off the wall, disturbing fics, are like closet maniacs  I’m crazy in my own way, but…. I’ve got no murder fantasies bouncing around in my noggin, it’s mostly soppy romance junk! Lol, yay! 

This is an interesting subject. I used to wonder sometimes about the people who write the horrific things I’ve read but then I wrote something that was probably equally horrific and figured someone was probably wondering the same thing about me. So in short, yes, I’ve written smut that doesn’t excite me in the least.
Oh and I’m writing a shifter MPreg because BW needs something new to read.

I tried adult roleplay once. Instructions unclear. Had a hell of a time getting the 20 sided dice out of my ass.

We’re not in denial about other archives existing. I started on the Pit myself but when I found AFF, I decided I’d found home. DG was awesome, the mods made me feel welcome, and before I knew it, I was volunteering.
AO3’s Terms of Service is deliberately obscure, because they moderate via committee. That translates into nothing much ever getting done, and they are fond of making decisions which directly contradict their own ToS. Point that out, and you might get warned for something. Anything. They’ll invent it on the spot. And then there’s the “choose your preferred format” download button, resulting in a good many works there winding up on Kindle for sale, and not by the original author. (And yes, they do sell fanfiction. They just don’t mention it’s fanfiction, and if it’s AU enough, no one notices. 50 Shades, anyone?)
Tumblr is not a fiction archive as much as it is a haven for malcontents and cyberbullies, and Wattpad gets hacked with dreary regularity. The Pit enforces their ToS with sporadic urgency and periodic purges, mostly when an advertiser gets a complaint about their ad appearing on a smutty site. Fiction Press is just the Pit for original work, and many of the fandom-based sites are gone because it’s not cheap to host an archive. Our small advertising revenue pays for our hosting costs, and every single member of staff is an unpaid volunteer. We do this for love of the words.
But we never ask our members to post here exclusively. We love that people share the words. We just ask that they don’t use stories in our archive as free advertising for other sites.

I know it involves me being perpetually in unimaginable pain, but I like it. Now they all have to star me. Y’all can thank DP for that! 

Now I want to see all the writers on this thread do a collection of MPREG shorts. 

What I think is really interesting about this topic, is the ‘real world’ application. I’m posting to 3 sites including this one, but the audience is SO DRAMATICALLY different on every one of them… Yeah, I know. Genius observation. Are you guys really against cross posting? I’m being really secretive about it and not mentioning it to readers, but I just thought I’d share with ya’ll, since I do feel slightly underappreciated as well over here. I was looking for my audience though and I think I have a better idea now that I was able to connect with some other readers offsite. 
Also, I didn’t know this site hosted mostly PORN… I go to asstr and BDSMlibrary for that junk!!! And I search for the specific kink, scroll through anything that looks like plot, get my rocks off and then I close EVERYTHING! So nobody will ever KNOW!!! Lol. Strangely enough, absolutely NONE of my true kinks have made it into my writing. IDK, honestly, I can’t write the stuff I kink on and I’m not not gonna try, because do porn authors have a following? Yes, I guess they do. Have I ever envied that? No. Have I ever wanted to write a story, only to find out people are doing Ctrl + F to find the parts they wanna jerk too? Naw.
I’m a queen of long story and plot, lots of fluff and cute, emotionally damaged boys finding comfort together… Did anyone say Yaoi? I don’t get off as intently to my plot and romance, as I do the crazy kinky PWP, but mine does include sex and the characters having sex feels like real people going through real issues. To me, that’s a lot more important to me than my 20 minutes on BDSMlibrary.

I’m not a writer, but I will tell you as a reader, that I’ve noticed that often the underappreciated stories are the superior works.  I don’t get that at all.  Meaning I don’t get WHY the better works aren’t as appreciated as they SHOULD be.

Someone has summoned me!
S fine I get that a lot

Yepper! I've been warned in the past. I used song lyrics and didn't give credit to bands. OOPS! I also got flagged for necro once and I had to go back through my own story to find the little mention I'd written and forgot about. I don't remember which mod I spoke to, but it might have been you! I was grumpy because my story got hidden. But which ever mod it was I spoke with, was so quick to respond, I later felt like an enormous asshole for even thinking about having an attitude everything was fixed so quickly, it was professional :-) I like emoticons too lol! Your cat thing is cute haha! 

No bots here! But I’ve been scarce this past week, and will be scarce next week. Most of the time, I’m around, and I make it a point to try and answer questions quickly. That’s really the part of moderating I consider most important, because we all miss something about every site, and it helps to have someone to ask.
As far as warnings, even the site’s owner was warned once. We’re impartial about the rules, and staff who write will get warned like any other member if we forget a tag, or miss a part on the disclaimer.
But yes, it’s HARD to get the proper context as far as tone when you’re posting and chatting. A lot of times, jokes get misinterpreted, and people wind up feeling bad because something read the wrong way. Sweetmamajama jokes with everyone, and some of the things she says might read to someone else as harsh, or rude, whereas anyone who’s taken the time to get to know her a bit knows it’s just teasing and done with no ill intent. (Sorry, sweetmamajama, for using you as the example, and I’m not poking, honest!) Me, I try to be mindful that I’m staff, and I re-read posts a LOT to make sure I don’t come off wrong. I overuse emoticons when necessary, too. 

There are no bots, I assure you we are all human. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, unless you are rude or assume the rules shouldn’t apply to you because you are some sort of special little person (see above), you’ll always receive a polite and usually quick response from the staff. I’d rather have you ask than have to go through the hassle of warning you which eats into my writing time.
Don’t feel like you need to tiptoe around, we’re really a friendly bunch here at AFF.

Hey @CL Mustafic You did in fact answer all my questions… I did think The Wall of Shame was going to be automatic. We’re all humans right  I was just imagining Bots deleting everything and I was gonna be gone or something and then you guys will look at me like a criminal. I always assume the worst… I’m going to go ahead and follow you…. I have lots of questions but the thing is I get it answered once and if I’m still confused, I just assume that means I’m dumb and I have to be punished by learning the hard way, like feed me to the wolfs, I wasn’t listening hard enough the first time  Thanks a lot… I do in fact appreciate it. Everything will be peachy keen!
 
 
Dude, I just got scared. I was like. Cait! You’ve been warned! The clock starts NOW! Figure it out, dummy! I totally understand about the social cues in text… That’s exactly what I’m talking about! Are other people on FB, is there a group or something? I’m talking to @Tcr daily, and @CloverReef and @sweetmamajama quite a bit as well. I just been really neat talking to writers… I avoid my ‘real life’ FB friends cuz I’m super tired of talking about their vacations and their new babies and shit. Lol. I just want to ask about stuff like this… I was gonna talk to cloverreef today in private, but you guys were like FRIENDS  and now I’m just gonna tell her about the awesome help I got, even though I freaked out like my usually crazy self  

Okay calm down. There are no rules against you posting your stories on every site you come across, the only thing we ask is that you don’t use your story here to drive people to your stories on other sites. Pretty simple. Just follow the rules and you’ll be fine. There’s even a handy forum here that answers many questions new users have: FAQs
As for no direct answers here…you are mistaken. I too have been on other sites and can tell you here at AFF if you ask a question you are guaranteed to get an answer. But, and this is a big one, if you ask a question in the middle of a thread on a completely different topic in the forum you’re bound to get a bunch of answers from other users which may or may not be correct. If you have a truly burning question and really need an answer, I suggest you either PM one of the moderators, (I’m one of them and I would have gladly answered your question if I had seen it but I do have a life and can’t patrol every thread in the forum looking for unanswered user questions.) or start a thread in the designated part of the forum. If you browse through you’ll see that most people waited less than 24 hours for answers to their questions.
As for plagiarism claims arising from cross posting, unless you’re guilty of it, you have no need to worry. Even when we get a report of such a thing happening, we don’t automatically put you in the hall of shame. We do our research and have to have evidence that a story has been poached to do that, which includes contacting the author of the story assumed stolen. As you said, you can prove you are you and that’s the only thing we ask.
You may not love everything about AFF but I can tell you this, the people here are more than happy to help and the archive is actively moderated and every user is treated fairly. If you need anything further on this feel free to send me a PM.
CL

You pointed out no clear and obvious problems with AFF. You had a tantrum. If you’d like your account removed, please let me know, and I’ll see that it’s taken care of for you by the admins.

I would like to point out that if AO3, tumblr, and the ever-present Pit would care to advertise with us, we’d be delighted to let you redirect to them to your little heart’s content. However, since they aren’t supporting us, we see absolutely no reason to offer them free advertising, especially when we have advertisers who do pay for banner ads here.
In keeping with our censorship-free policy, however, we won’t poke at your use of our forum to insult AFF.  I will, however, point you to our Terms of Service and the Content Guidelines incorporated therein.

Absolutely... I'm really picky about what I read. I tend to pick long stories that have damaged characters, I like to see rememption... So I'm not going to get what I'm looking for in PWP... 
I think I definitely have a good cast of damaged characters, I strive to get some strong sexual tension started, I can DO THAT. What I'm not sure I can do is live up to the expectations my UST put forth. 

I like getting credit for encouraging people. Blame counts as credit! 

As for the questions, I definitely always feel self-conscious about my writing, though not necessarily for the same reasons as the topic on the original post. Personally, I think the last time I actually felt like I was exposing myself, was the first time I ever wrote smut. People made fun of my story on the forum I posted it on (it was god awful, but thanks to their mocking I avoided posting smut for another year after that.) But other than that one time, I can’t say I’ve ever actually felt like I was exposing myself… But I have felt like I’ve been at the reader’s mercy. They sound like one in the same, but for some reason they’re entirely different issues in my head. Like, I’m afraid people won’t like what I wrote or they’ll ridicule it, but I’m never worried about what they’ll think the content says about me as a person?

I don’t feel like I’m giving too much. Sometimes I worry I’m not giving enough of myself. Those are usually the times I’ll delete the entirety of a chapter a dozen times and rewrite. That’s part of the reason I don’t post things often. Spend too much time agonizing over every little word, wondering how I can thrust more personality into it, and I never post until I’m sure. Sometimes I don’t even write until I’m sure. Definitely something I personally need to overcome. 
Not going to touch the changes topic. I think you already addressed it perfectly. 
Can lines be crossed? Fuck yes. Some lines need to be crossed. Some lines shouldn’t be crossed. My personal lines, content-wise, are with stories with minors. That’s something I won’t likely cross, but don’t fault others for crossing it. And there are lines I don’t think -anyone- should cross. Like using a story as a platform to advocate or support the oppression/abuse or the removal of basic human rights from individuals or whole groups of people. If your story makes a whole group of people in general feel attacked, or unsafe, or fearing for their lives, I’d definitely say that’s crossing a line that should not be crossed. 

I know this was directed at someone else, but I just want to put out there that there's totally a time and place for the stereotypical antagonist. Some writers avoid stereotypes as much as possible. And that's a pretty good rule to live by, especially if you're unsure of yourself. Or if you don't appreciate them to begin with. If you bristle at the snobby waiter trope at a high class restaurant no matter how well it's done, you should probably avoid it in your own writing.
However, If stereotypes and 2 dimensional characters are tools you want to learn how and when to use effectively, the learning process does tend to take the trial and error route. Personally, I avoid combining them and I avoid 2 dimensional chars more than I do stereotypes. If your main antagonist embodies a number of stereotypes but is multi faceted and you love him and what he brings to your story, that is a valid character. 
I might be repeating myself with all this, but I love stereotypes. They're so fun to play with.

I like getting credit for encouraging people. Blame counts as credit! 

As for the questions, I definitely always feel self-conscious about my writing, though not necessarily for the same reasons as the topic on the original post. Personally, I think the last time I actually felt like I was exposing myself, was the first time I ever wrote smut. People made fun of my story on the forum I posted it on (it was god awful, but thanks to their mocking I avoided posting smut for another year after that.) But other than that one time, I can’t say I’ve ever actually felt like I was exposing myself… But I have felt like I’ve been at the reader’s mercy. They sound like one in the same, but for some reason they’re entirely different issues in my head. Like, I’m afraid people won’t like what I wrote or they’ll ridicule it, but I’m never worried about what they’ll think the content says about me as a person?

I don’t feel like I’m giving too much. Sometimes I worry I’m not giving enough of myself. Those are usually the times I’ll delete the entirety of a chapter a dozen times and rewrite. That’s part of the reason I don’t post things often. Spend too much time agonizing over every little word, wondering how I can thrust more personality into it, and I never post until I’m sure. Sometimes I don’t even write until I’m sure. Definitely something I personally need to overcome. 
Not going to touch the changes topic. I think you already addressed it perfectly. 
Can lines be crossed? Fuck yes. Some lines need to be crossed. Some lines shouldn’t be crossed. My personal lines, content-wise, are with stories with minors. That’s something I won’t likely cross, but don’t fault others for crossing it. And there are lines I don’t think -anyone- should cross. Like using a story as a platform to advocate or support the oppression/abuse or the removal of basic human rights from individuals or whole groups of people. If your story makes a whole group of people in general feel attacked, or unsafe, or fearing for their lives, I’d definitely say that’s crossing a line that should not be crossed. 

“When you write, do you ever feel self conscious about it?
Do you feel like maybe you are giving away too much?
People go through all sorts of changes in their life. If you are the same person at 20,30 and 40, you are doing it wrong.
Do you feel like there are lines that shouldn't be crossed?
Can you go too far?
Maybe you should.”
 
Okay, wow. Absolutely interesting questions!
I think I’ll always feel self conscious about writing. I suppose it’s largely a product of my upbringing, where your success/worth was measured by your financial success, in which case, as a writer, I’m not even close to making the grade as an abysmal failure.  On the other hand, I don’t measure my success as a writer by that benchmark, because, realistically, we’re not all going to be Names Who Earn Millions. The vast majority of published writers aren’t getting rich beyond the dreams of avarice, and lots have day jobs. What matters more, for me, anyway, is that I get past the self conscious part and put my words out there, for people to read. So, yes, I feel self conscious, every damned time, but I do it anyway.
Now, do I give away too much? I don’t know. I’ve never looked at my writing as some sort of peek into my soul. Given some of what I’ve written, I actually hope it’s not the case, but then again, if any darkness comes out only in my writing, that might not be such a bad thing.
I am most assuredly not the same person I was at 20, or 30, or even 40. In my case, this is a good thing.
When it comes to writing, I’m not sure I can say there are lines that shouldn’t be crossed. I believe it is the role of art, including writing, to expose the truths about us, and I don’t think you do that by not crossing lines. It doesn’t mean we need to go out and imitate what we read, or write, for that matter, but if what we write opens someone’s eyes, it’s not a bad thing.
Can it go too far? Of course, if we decide to live some of the things we write. Absolutely. But as far as the writing of those line-crossing words goes, I think we should do it. It is imperative in some cases for us to do it, to expose the darkness and bring it into the open.