Originally Posted by
catfightlover40
Dear Catharsis,
It would be unfair to quote your whole post for its wonderful content when my reply will be possibly shorter. Were we on Reddit, I'd just say "This, so much this" pointing upwards at your comment. Very, very often the pretense is being brought up that we exist in some kind of bubble totally independent of other factors in our lives that shape us, and we "just have fun". In stark contrast, the majority of stories is about how we shaped various fetishes through the decades, especially with a sieve of visual media (amateur or professional porn adjacent). Thus, stories abound of interracial fights and women whose character trait is to have no other character trait but to provoke the nearest women they can think of "moving in on their men". I had two such girlfriends in real life, and while the stories make it sexy... the girlfriend from White Chicks demanding to know the 2 minutes discrepancy? Not an exaggeration, women like her do exist, hence why morbid jealousy isn't fun. Yet, one could live with that.
What is harder for people to consume who don't make that much effort like you do is that if a writer isn't just technical, but also creative and constantly on the lookout to put a spin on it... Not just as an expression as an artist, but also because self-respecting writers wish to stand out from their peers. The violent and or sensual conflict is the second act, and '80s action movies have taught us that enslaving setup and resolution to the conflict does lead to a great bang, but we don't come back to it. To not going further than Stallone who's a way better screenwriter and director than actor, people quote Rocky more than they quote Rambo. Where the underdog story was as relevant as it is now, most of us could easily forget that there were an arms race, a war in Vietnam and a time when Afghanistan was a to be rescued scene development. We certainly can recount the various ways Rambo killed people, why gets however murky over time.
It's very hard to write memorable action/sex scenes. For the former even in productions like the MCU it's the stunt director/martial arts' choreographer who sees that before their eyes and put it on the storyboard. As for the latter, since we as a race do not have a single unifying theory on what is arousing, the worst a writer can do is to pen down what they like as if that were an authority. There are several aspects to free writing, to gauge an audience, to find a voice/agency, to broaden horizons, to test new ideas.
Yet most of all, it's also synonymous with autonomy. Exactly because we don't get paid for it, we're also not bound to emulate other writers, play second fiddle or abandon standards. I never published as a young person (though I tried) because my environment was and still is convinced, only true and tried methods shall find a voice, especially if you are someone's relative. Of course such a control must not be state owned and dictated, one's community can be similar. My impression is based on feedback that most of the time we seem to write for each other. I oppose anti intellectualism, mainly because there's no shame in working for what you have, just as well I'm not envious of well-built men as it's nobody's fault but my own that I don't hit the gym to be in the best form I can be.
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