/lit/ - Literature

What was your work like? It wasn't anime romance in written form, was it?

>>16965346
Well, are you?
Also, friendly reminder women past 25 can find virgin boy cute especially if they're younger than them. It's very possible she was sending cues for you to start hitting on her by conspicuously overplaying your innocence.

>>16965360
It was a short 10 page story of a man and woman looking at each other on the bus

>>16965369
Sounds cute, maybe the woman is just rude

Is she a psych major? I had a psych major hit me with a question like that. No matter how you answer they get what they want.
The assignment is romance, not sexual experience, so she better be nice about it.

>>16965368
Your question shouldn’t matter, so I won’t answer that.

As for your reminder, her tone was extremely blunt and I don’t think she was flirting.

>>16965346
>>16965373
Or socially awkward and reads Tumblr/Reddit/Twitter too much. I agree though, >>16965369 is not realistic for strangers to the point of breaking immersion (unless it was high school or college with a former connection, and they're on a bus somewhere).
Her advice wasn't tactful, but still useful advice if harshly stated.

>>16965369
Share a paragraph!
we wont call you a virgin :)

I'm so lonely I'm almost 30 and nobody will ever love me

>>16965407
>and reads Tumblr/Reddit/Twitter too much.
How do you figure that?

>>16965447
I deleted it. After going over her critique in my head all day, I just deleted the thing.

>>16965346
That's rough friend, but don't get caught up onit, after this class, you'll likely never see her again, she'll just melt into the background noise.
Why don't you share it with us? The basic idea sounds interesting.

>>16965472
Peak virgin behavior

>>16965472
Go see a prostitute then rewrite it

>>16965472
you can certainly recover it and or have it in print. stop lying and share with us.
I am serious. These threads usually seem very helpful to anons that want to improve their writing.

>>16965492
Prostitution isn’t legal in my country. Sometimes I wish we were like Korea, where pornography is illegal, but prostitution is legal.

>>16965507
You are in Canada aren't you

>>16965546
Nope, Texas

>>16965464
Realistically, I wouldn't make the claim from the limited information I have.
But just for fun because this is /lit/, the writing style on Twitter and Reddit (Tumblr was a stretch, I don't browse it) goes for burns/dunks that are short and witty (e.g. "You're a virgin, aren't you?"). I also believe that internet culture and social media contribute to the whole virgin obsession, and it's annoying when it leaks into real life, especially unironically.
Most people who don't browse the internet don't think about it like that, and I also believe internet browsing contributes to insensitivity.

>>16965494
This. It's not a bad idea to start a fresh story eventually, but it's incredibly helpful to get critiques and dissect what worked and what didn't work. Otherwise, it's difficult to improve.

Also it's incredibly poor taste for her to be so insensitive to someone's writing. It's not constructive. Art should be supported. Don't feel bad anon, it was great that you made an earnest try. Do not give up writing.

>>16965551
lol you're a UT student aren't you. Used to live near the campus.

>>16965346
Report her for sexual harassment

>>16965346
>>16965369
Hey OP, don't feel bad about it. Even Joyce's early works were unremarkable. Just keep on writing and don't give up. Read some romance like Austen's novels and you'll learn to get better eventually.

This is very sad, a few things:
1. Your story sounds good, at least in concept. It's a good take on the assignment, something I (not a creative) would have thought of.
2. Don't delete your work. Even if people don't like it; you might. Think of it like this: Imagine you wrote something completely worthless (And believe me, I have written plenty of that!). You can look back on it in 5 years and think, "That was how I thought when I was younger," and that has value in itself.

>>16965561
To add because you feel down about it, Harper Lee's first draft, "Go Set a Watchman" was pretty bad, but still had good scenes and was excellent after editing. The critique shouldn't be taken as "you're bad at writing," but rather "this didn't work, let's see why."

>>16965566
You're ironic here, but sometimes a minority of women specifically do this. They criticize men in a harsh way; but if men respond in kind to women or get mad, then it's seen as harassment. It's like 'revenge' for women being typically prejudiced against.
Not all women are like this, but it absolutely has happened to me.

>>16965581
>Read some romance like Austen's novels and you'll learn to get better eventually.
Eh, I’d say that would make him a better Austen fanfic writer than a romance writer. Unfortunately, romance is kinda one of those things you need to personally experience in order to write about.

Same with War.

>>16965640
A lot of actual romance novelists are just glorified Austen fanfic authors anyway

>>16965593
Isn’t shaming or insulting someone in a sexual way (lack of sex) harassment? Even if it is just joking, by their own definition

>>16965472
this is the perfect place to express your romantic ideas. if you don't tell us we'll know you as an incel looking to smear women with a fake story, so fess up

>>16965472
Why can't you summarize it for us? What was the plot (other than people looking at each other). What were the two people's character traits? What was romantic about it? What were the emotions in the story? I get if you deleted it and therefore can't tell us everything, but could you at least tell us about some of it so we can help you write better in the future?

>>16965369
like this?

>>16965649
Pffft, modern romance writers WISH they could be connect to Austen in even such a shallow way.

>>16965346
>I’m a virgin but I can lose my virginity
>you will always be a talentless woman

>>16965651
It absolutely is harassment. But typically, because men are in a position of power over women as a group (according to social justice theory), women can't be sexist against men in the academic sense.
In practice, this means if you were to complain it's sexual harassment against you as a man, you'd probably get laughed at even if it's true.

It was a bit annoying for my own experience with that because I was stuck working with a person for a year. One-off isn't so habitual. In hindsight, I should've reported it to my manager tactfully, but it's moot because I left anyways.

>>16965675
Kek

>>16965640
Disagree on the war portion. Patrick O'Brian was never truly at sea, yet he wrote the incredible Master and Commander series about the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars.

I don't know about the romance segment. I think the best romances in fiction are aspirational and unrealistic. It's usually less interesting when it's detached, or if it's too attached and each person loses their sense of identity due to co-dependency.

>>16965459
why not, anon? Lack of effort? bad personality?

>>16965720
He's probably fat and racist.

>writing assignment to try out hand at romance
>story of a man and woman looking at each other on the bus
So, they weren't even talking to each other? Just staring? And there was some twinned internal monologue going on? And this constitutes "romance?" God damn, your virginity is incorrigible

>>16965735
On what grounds do you say this? What the fuck? The guy just said he thought nobody would love him, and you jumped to, "he's a bad person."

>>16965740
Me and my gf would stare at each other constantly before we started talking to each other. Granted, we were both virgins at that time

>>16965749
I'm not him, but you get used it if you're a virgin like me anon. If you don't have sex, there must be something wrong with you, so you carry that stigma.
Easy fix though. Just don't mention it, or claim to be inexperienced but not a virgin in real life.

>>16965749
probably just a troll baiting for replies

I don't get it, how are women able to see through men so easily in this regard?

>>16965776
Women can smell virginity on a man. It's a pathetic stench.

>>16965776
Everyone knows who fucks and who doesn't.

>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uMEE7eaaUA

>>16965735
Yes simp good. We must protect the precious pussy queens at all cost

>open up about insecurity of being unloved
>Lol you are a fat racist troll
Why do I keep pressing on

>>16965786
But how can one tell the difference in writing so easily

>>16965797
What did you expect from opening up to fucking 4chan?

>>16965798
The same way you can tell if a the guy writing the “How to drive stick” has ever actually driven a manual by the what he writes.

>>16965797
Why else would you be unloved?

>>16965816
If you read a guide on how to drive a manual car you can fairly accurately describe how to do it.

>>16965816
You move the stick to "Drive" and release the brake.

>>16965816
Yeah but OP's story is about romance, not the act of having sex itself

>>16965823
>>16965825
>t. Never driven stick

>>16965827
I've absolutely driven stick. But it was a strap-on, it may not truly count.

>>16965826
I wouldn’t doubt OP is an emotional virgin as well given that he let a woman’s opinion bother him so much he posted about it on the internet

>>16965834
To be honest, it's kind of based that one woman's off-hand remark launched a 50+ reply thread ostensibly about literature.

>>16965840
We’re all virgins here

>>16965840
It was probably a larp by a chick anyways. I mean look at the image.

>>16965346
don't feel bad just keep on working on your craft and writing.

>>16965848
Being spurned so many times is making me dislike women and I don't like feeling that way

>>16965848
Ops story almost definitely didn’t happen. People don’t talk in such a biting manner, especially people who are only acquaintances like classmates who have to see each other again. It’s a LARP by a virgin wanting a thread about virginity and having to make it lit related

>No, I'm not.
>Do you have aspergers?

>>16965858
That's also probably why he "deleted" the story. Nothing to share.

>>16965858
Writing Workshops (especially those with limited publishing opportunities at the final) can get vicious, man. Some of the harshest critics I have ever met I went to class with in 2007 at a Iowa State writing workshop.

>want to be a writer
>haven't yet experienced one of the most essential and significant human experiences, that almost all adults have experienced
This is like being a writer who has never eaten food, or breathed air. Go get laid dude.

>>16965858
Sometimes people really do say biting things, especially in college. Social awkwardness and too much internet use (it's a joke but not really).
I do treat OP's story as fictitious though, because it's an anonymous 4chan post with no excerpts or summary.

>>16965881
HOW

>>16965507
>pornography is illegal, but prostitution is legal.
That is incredibly based

>>16965881
Nah, go write today's Critique of Pure Reason instead.

>>16965889
A prostitute, assuming you don't get AIDS, herpes, or COVID, will show you how ridiculously overrated sex is.

>>16965901
Naw senpai, sex is pretty fucking great

>>16965871
just to be clear, Iowa State isn't the famous one, right?

>>16965901
>>16965903
So who is the virgin here?

>>16965916
Everyone here is a virgin

>>16965913
Nope you’re thinking of UI

>>16965889
Develop passions and a personality. Work out 3x per week. Whatever your sense of humor is, try to insert that into every conversation you have with a girl. Keep doing all of that and eventually it'll happen for you. (Unless you're hideous / a literal hunchback)

>>16965919
Nuh uh! im not

>>16965925
I'm reading all these books to try to develop one but I'm like 30 it feels too late

>>16965929
Neither am I, I fucked myself.

>>16965916
Real answer: sex ranges from worse than jerking off to good. As evidence, read deep into forums on male sex toys and fleshlights.
Men there compare the sensation of fleshlights to jerking off and real sex, on a scale up to 10.
Bad sex with a thick condom is awful. But true emotional sex with someone you love is a 10.
However, with a fleshlight, you can consistently hit an 8 or a 9 with just yourself and porn.

Or you can ascend and read books instead of jerk off.

>>16965930
That probably won't work. Some anon was talking about how literature is hermetic--a series of symbols, runes, and chants that only possess meaning within the realm they inhabit, the text. That's why it's a cliche that literature is an "escape." Eliot has a line about that. Things you read in books don't translate to your real world experience, unless you are having conversations about books. In order to develop a personality you really need to engage with culture on a broad level and talk to a lot of people. The next time you're becoming friends with a girl, ask her if she wants to do a personality quiz. Women love that shit. (but wait for the right time, obviously--don't do it too early or it'll come off as forced)

>>16965951
Sorry I got the terminology mistaken. Onahole, preferably of Japanese manufacture, not the American fleshlight.

>>16965953
I think I see what you mean (solely reading won't change your life), but I disagree. Literary characters can serve as aspirational figures, and also give you a core set of values to rest on in times of hardship.

Personality quiz is also a great idea. Just don't ask her to take a political compass test. I was accidentally too centrist the one time I tried it, causing irreparable damage to the relationship.

>>16965825
No you put it in neutral rev it to 8k and then put it into Drive

>>16965925
My sense of humor is too autistic and deadpan. I mean, I'm confident I can make it happen if I wanted to. But why do that when I can stay on /lit/?

>>16965884
Can personally confirm this
T. Socially awkward and browse the internet all day

>>16965407
>bad advice
Methinks her question was more of an observation than advice.

>>16965973
>why do that
Idk anon, I was responding to someone who asked how to get laid. sex isn't everything

>>16965472
Don't feel bad, anon. Nobody's universally liked, that was one person's opinion.

>>16965651
Only the OP can answer, but did it seem like she wanted to embarrass you? I had sex really late in life (21) and was quite sensitive about it back when I was still a virgin.

>>16965985
Yeah no I was doing a bit. I don't really mean it; I actually get along well with others, and see the value in real life relationships.
My real view is that you only have one life, the time will pass anyway, and love is an experience worth investing in before you die.
But it's too late, and this thread has been going on for too long. Good night friends.

>>16966032
Despite what /reddit/ and the media says, 21 isn't too young (early twenties). Most career-oriented guys are more successful in late twenties to early thirties anyways. It's the price of success and delayed gratification.

>>16965763
Are you a virgin against your choice, anon?

>>16966050
>Was career oriented
>Spun off into a spiral at 26
>Now 28 and a NEET and trying to recover but permanently (?) fucked by the pandemic and my programming skills have atrophied
I sacrificed everything for my career and got nothing in return

>>16966050
I only said late because all my friends started having sex in their late teens. I didn't even have a girlfriend until I was 21.

>>16966066
nice digits. this is exactly why i didn't choose STEM. too much to lose when your path of success is marked by salary milestones

>>16966053
Probably by choice, but it's hard to say. I would rather be having sex, but it's not a value of mine to chase it.
I'm physically fit, neat, dress fine, and persuasive. I'm kind of funny when it helps. I'm familiar with volcel/incel terminology, but I don't think about it too much or relate to it.

It used to bother me a lot when I was younger, but I started caring about other things to the point where sex became insignificant. I suppose it makes me voluntary, but then again, I've never seriously tested my ability to initiate sex.

>>16965346
Really sorry you're taking a writing workshop, man. Don't worry, you'll get laid once you get out of that shit.

>>16966093
Do you masturbate/have a sex drive?

Cute

>>16966066
That sucks anon. I hope things get better. The recession will come to an end, and there will be at least some employers who understand job loss due to COVID.

>>16966091
STEM's alright if it's just a means to pay for your passions. I wouldn't seriously make corporate success my source of meaning, it's far too easy to get manipulated that way.

>>16965472
HAVE SEX

>>16966105
Yes. Pretty healthy, once a day to two days.
It's more of a drive that I just get rid of, like hunger or thirst. Pretty quick; it's no longer all-consuming when I was younger.
I'm not that picky when it comes to porn. I make a point to never fantasize about women I know where it's never happen (co-workers, bosses, people I haven't seen in forever, long-time friends).
It's not a moral issue, just a practical one. I sidestep the disgusting feelings of loneliness of doing it, and also helps me keep seeing them as people.
Not sure what this makes me (volcel/incel/etc.), and frankly I don't identify with it. I'm just living my life.

>>16966133
I don't mean this as an affront or anything of the sort, but you sound like the protagonist of 40 yo virgin. He had stopped trying to have sex because it just never seemed to work out, so in that sense his celibacy was voluntary, but it also didn't mean he didn't want to have sex.
OP, you sound like a decent guy. I think you should just befriend women without thinking of sex as the end game and grow comfortable around them, and you will finally be able to do it.
How old are you again?

>>16966178
Correction, I just realised this reply was made to not-OP.

>>16966178
Thanks anon. I'm sure it'll happen; I'm in my mid-twenties in a STEM undergraduate program.
Most of my friends right now are women, though these relationships aren't particularly deep.
Maybe sex will happen; maybe it won't for a while. But if an opportunity arises, I think it would go well.
I appreciate your words anon; this reflection has been good for me. Good night, and hope you have a good life.

>>16965779
My behavior and demeanor did not change at all after having sex.

Take your Stacy fanfic to r9k faggot

>>16966133
I'm the guy who asked about your sex drive and I'm in a similar boat (but not fit which is a physical factor which has an effect on my hormone levels and self-esteem). Like you, I generally treat sexual urges as something mechanical to deal with but don't really have any loneliness issues right now. I have had one relationship (but it was online and not something "real"), and I think that definitely reduced my angst, but I can't shake a sort of nagging doubt that my apathy towards sex and relationships is a coping mechanism of some kind since I subconsciously don't really see myself as the kind of person who would have sex (overweight and I rarely connect with people). For a while I even had myself convinced that I wasn't really attracted to human women, but I got over that. I would consider myself happy where I am right now, though. I am also a STEM undergrad but a bit younger than you and with no IRL friendgroup.

>>16966294
What is the health condition you suffer from? Can it be cured/managed?

>>16965472
You're a virgin, aren't you?

>>16966300
Oh, I'm just overweight. No chronic health issues or anything, but being overweight can mess with the endocrine systems and I think my test levels were a little bit low when I was tested a few years back.

>>16965369
But that's the ending of Shame.

>>16965925
Doesn't work.

>>16966178
Tried to be friendly with girls, but they keep asking for favors and free stuff. I can't deal with that shit.

Should’ve replied to her with “yeah, do you want to change that?”

>>16965472
He who refuses to learn from mistakes is doomed to repeat them

>>16966310
Just asking, because being overweight can sometimes also be a result of hypothyroidism and other endocrine disorders.
You can do it, anon, lose that weight.

>>16966434
>favors and free stuff
Like what?

>>16966472
>You can do it, anon, lose that weight.
Thank you, but I feel that I've gotten too complacent in my habits regarding exercise and food (cooking is something I'm really passionate about and I tend to make big portions and overeat).

>>16965380
The first time you actually shared a coherent thought. Congrats, butts, you fucking halfwit

>>16965346
Ask her if she wants to help you with that

>>16966480
I'm responsible for warehousing at my workplace so I have access to a bunch of stuff. And since I'm young and good looking, chicks try to hit on me by asking for something small and then chatting. But every single one would ask for increasing quantities of stuff. I feel used even if they're doing it out of stupidity.

>>16965346
> Yes, indeed I am.
> What about you, are you a whore?

>>16965368
No. They only tolerate it because of the dwindling pool of men giving them attention.

The only women who place value on male virginity are invariably mentally ill and awful people, these are the types to abuse you for smalltalking with another woman one time.

Every other woman sees it as bad and suspicious, indicative of your inability to perform as a male. Completely undesirable and even disgusting. Some even see it as a big redflag and will pretty much not even speak to a man who is a virgin past 20.

None of this is based on anything but their virginity. I know because I lost mine at 22 but had plenty of opportunities long before that, I just didn't want to because there seemed to be little reason outside of social pressure at that age. It's different when you're an adult, you know what you want to do.

Literally never tell anyone you're a virgin except close male friends (i.e. the only understanding and empathic people in the world). Doesn't matter how attractive you are, women's minds are just memes and instinct so it will impact how she feels and sees you.

>>16965346
ahaha faggot

>>16965951
crude physical pleasure from sex isnt the goal, i'd say 50 to 90% of overall pleasure and appeal come from psychological factors
fetishes are a cheat code here, fulfilling them makes even physically dull sex intense as fuck

I was talking to this girl and she wasn't really replying to me. Then I realized that she was already dating someone and that's why she didn't care. I've heard she might not stay with that guy but I'm never going to message her again.

>>16966796
cringe

>>16965681
You're a virgin, aren't you?

>>16967097
> Cringes at truth
I shudder to think of the clouds you'll be shouting at when you're an old man.

>>16966246
To you it didn't, but trust me, it was obvious to all the women you interact with.

>>16967771
>to all the women you interact with.
So none?
That being said, maybe it doesn't count because I fucked a hooker.

>>16967780
Cashiers and waitresses exist

>>16967793
I almost never go out
Also my general social awkwardness doesn't seem to have improved

>>16965346
FUCK YOU

>>16965380
Hang yourself you retarded tranny

>>16965472
>he cares what women think
ngmi

>>16965675
10/10

>>16965346
I look forward to seeing this on greentext instagram pages

>>16965675

>>16965881
I'd assume most Virgin writers would probably write in a woman that is more of a prop to the story than a character with any sort of depth. and that everything plays out 100% right without any hitches for the man and the woman just falls madly in love with the guy for no reason.

>>16966310
>>16966494
Here's what you can try anon (t. mid-twenties virgin). No calorie counting necessary (calorie counting works, but this will result in a calorie deficit aka weight loss anyway):
>Read Michael Pollan's 20 rules
>"Eat food, not too much, mostly plans"
>Don't snack between your 2-3 meals a day (biggest one)
>Drink water and tea in the evening
>Consider drinking 1-2 cups of coffee every morning (appetite suppressant)
>Make physical fitness a core part of your identity and an area of responsibility
>Avoid anything oily, sugary
>Look at yourself in the mirror often (evidenced to help with weight loss)

I've lost about 20 pounds when I was younger. You can too.

Worst thread on /lit/

Best thread on /lit/

>>16965346
>Yes. Want to do it?

>>16965346
I'm writing a romance story too, it's about a Trump supporter who lost all of his saving's by gambling on the election. He defaults on his mortgage and becomes the sex slave of a radical feminist who forces him to transition to female and gets up to other kinky activities with her, until they eventually both feel true love for each other

>>16966871
>>16966923

Would you say it's a waste of time or no? I had it once when I was 18 and it made me realize it isn't worth all this fussing. Tbh I had it just so I could say I had it. Maybe the cunt was just bad cunt, who knows. I also had another gf before this who was really sexy, but she was a tease that just wanted to waste my time and fuck w me so I stopped investing it

Asking older anons here who are actually experienced... jumping through hoops for cunt sounds like a waste of time to me especially when all they talk about is ephemeral bullshit. Maybe I just value cunt less than the rest of you fucks? Who knows

>>16965346
Why would you be in a writing class, I've never seen the point.

>>16965472
At least do the work to make a compelling lie.

>>16965551
Prostitution is legal in your country, if not state. Not that you couldn't easily find illegal prostitution services.

>>16965346
women are retarded
and most men are retarded too
just try to improve by yourself; showing your work to other people and constantly being around other fuckers who have an idea about writing doesn't change shit about you writing
you'll end up trying to please this guy or that girl because you know the next time you show them your work irl they'll make fun of you if it doesn't comply with their expectations
this is the perfect way to become a mirror and nothing more, not even an original bad writer
compare you current work with your previous wort and other works of great writers

>>16965675
Not once have I ever seen the untampered original version of the top comic

>>16969024
>>16969199
>One shitposter always tells the truth. One shitposter always tells lies. Can you figure out which is which with a single question?

>>16965459
I love you anon, do you love yourself?

>>16972714

You love me in the same sense you love the cockroach hiding under your bed. You love it for staying out of sight and you would kill it if you saw it out in the light.

>>16970415
You're not someone who is going to make it as a writer, of course you don't see the point.

>>16966106
Elaborate

you literally need to have sex

I write romance to simulate having a girlfriend. The only person who has read my stuff is my therapist.

>>16965675
Kek

>>16973320
No one “needs” to have sex

>>16965369
i mean that's not a romance

>>16973647
Says who?

>>16965369
Cynical roastie that cant appreciate pure love

>>16973334
Whats it like having a therapist?

>>16975205
Hopeful

>>16965346
>You’re a virgin, aren’t you?

Has anyone here ever experienced genuine love?

What was it like?

>>16975446
Yes.

Terrifying.

>>16974349
You don’t even know what true love is

>>16975446
Yes. It didn't last long and afterwards I was stuck with a whiny woman I no longer cared for

>>16975650
For fear of losing it?

>>16975884
How long? Why did it start?

I'm trying to discern whether I've ever loved, sorry for the autism.