Trolling Comments:  What They Look Like

The following are some of the trolling comments I have received on my posted stories on the XN website.  I share these with my readers and fellow writers so that you will get a better understanding of how the troll mind works and some of the spineless things they spew.

The following are comments taken from the novel The Red Fang:

“Dumb story. Shows poor writing skills as well as a troubled mind. Suggest you find medical help and a writing course….”

                **This being said about an author who has been writing for over 28 years and has been published through both mainstream publications as well as self-publication routes.  This is a classic example of a trolling comment that does not help a writer at all but instead shows a streak of jealousy.  “Poor writing skills” means absolutely nothing if you are not going to point out the poor writing skills in question.  Exactly WHAT makes it “poor writing” in this person’s opinion?  The rest of this is just utter nonsense.  Coming from a troll, telling an author he/she “has a troubled mind” is an oxymoron.  The story is about vampires and werewolves, something that has been written about for well over a hundred years now.  If I have a troubled mind, then so do all my favorite authors.  If we are all touched in the head for our creativity, then I don’t want to be normal!  I love the rebuttal by one of my readers:  “Someone reading a sex story on a porn site thinks a writer needs medical help….pot, meet kettle.”

“This crap puts me too much to mund of ***17 and the crap he writes. I really don’t like the style of writing, too weak and unsophificated. Perhaps you could get the great one, ***, to dispense some of her wisdom, she is the perfect writer, don’t you know. I did wank twice during the reading, however.”

                **Obviously I was the victim of a troll who is jealous of other writer’s abilities and has since had his work so poorly rated that he wants to get even with anyone and everyone whose stories are considered better than his by the majority of readers.  The two writers’ names that I blocked out are actually two of the better writers on that site.  One has since left us due to such trolling comments as this one.  It is easy to tell when you have been trolled by a jealous writer.  They often toss around other writers’ names who have given them pointers on what could make their story better.  Again, saying that the writing is “too weak” and “unsophisticated” means nothing.  Give examples of your complaints.  Otherwise, you are just tossing around fancy words hoping that others will think you are smarter than you actually are.

“Both stupid and silly. Not such a good story, if that’s what it’s supposed to be. Try to take some remedial english classes at the local junior high school, then see if you still want to pretend that you’re a writer, littlt Princess.”

                **Again, this is just someone who is out to blow smoke up your chimney.  There is nothing helpful about this comment at all, just someone out to infuriate the writer.  All this comment does is resort to name-calling and tossing around insults that have no merit to them what-so-ever.

The following comment I do not really consider to be a troll comment, however, I would like to use it as an example of a comment that you will want to take with a grain of salt:

“im sorry to be a buzz kill but if he can phase willingly hes no werewolf, hes a restricted shapeshifter. sorry but just pointin out a fact. love your storys though”

                **This would be one of those cases where the reader told you what they thought was wrong instead of just tossing around insults and telling you to go take a writing lesson.  This one, however, would be a perfect example of “file it in the ‘I don’t give a damn’ category” for some writers.  When it comes to fiction, there ARE not hard-set rules.  You can make up anything and call it anything without fear of messing up details.  It’s called “creativity.”   This goes back to putting your own twists on things and stretching your mind a bit.  After all, as I have said, if all stories were exactly the same, how boring would they be?

“That was b.s. It was stupid ad boring. Hopefully no one is stupid enough to buy your book.”

                **Do I even need to point out all the things that make this a trolling comment?

I have, of course, gotten hundreds of really nice comments from well-wishing readers and fans.  I have also gotten more than my fair share of well-meaning “critics” who thought they would help me out by pointing out my many uses of clichéd words and phrases, among other things.  Those would be comments that I file under the “I don’t give a damn” category as well.  As I have written in a previous article, clichés can work for you if you know how to use them correctly and wisely.  Or, to put it another way, “Show me a writer who has never used a cliché term or phrase in their writer and I will show you someone who has never written a single word.”