MESSAGE BOARD TOPIC #10

[Comicality]

I remember when I first found the Nifty Archive. It was years ago, but I remember it vividly. It was like a treasure chest filled with every answer to every question and every feeling that I had ever had. I can honestly say that I am a VERY different person today thank to finding that goldmine online. From my interaction with other people, from writing stories of my own, and from finding parts of myself in other people's stories.

 

It's an incredible thing to be so moved by someone else's words that it affects your real life in such a profound way. The question for this week is...

 

=Have you ever read a story online that has moved you to do things you wouldn't have normally done in your real life?=

 

Have you been so inspired that a story could cause you to talk to that cute boy at school or at work? Or maybe it got you out of a depression that you were going through at the time. Or maybe it helped you find the courage to 'out' yourself to a friend. I know that it was a few well told stories that caused me to start writing online in the first place (Thanks to Dean Lidster and Jaxsper Finn for that!) and over time I've read some others that have made it possible for me to grow and change in the best ways possible. So...as readers, as writers, have you been uplifted by the work of others to a point of postive change?

 

The board is open!

[BillM]

I remember two stories that were so good they really affected my real life,

 

Perry and Jesse by hoodster, this was the first gay fic I had ever read. I stumbled onto nifty by chance and it was at the top of the gay high school section. I was seventeen at the time and reading the story dragged me out of a depression that was caused by my sexuality and always feeling different to everybody else.

 

The second story I stumbled on that had a big effect on me was Gone from Daylight by Com. I instantly fell in love with the character Taryn and after reading all of the problems he went through I was able to stop feeling sorry for myself and accept what I was.

 

Thanks to both these stories I'm no longer depressed, and I have a great boyfriend who loves and respects me.

[stud24]

omg BM your experience with GFD is almost a mirror experience that I recieved from that story.

 

Alot of stories have influenced me in a few ways, both good and bad. The majority of these were, coincidentally, comsie's. I have read every single story comsie has put on his site, and A few of them really struck a cord.

 

GFD was the first gay story I ever read, and I think it really really helped me to stop feeling so alone, like I was the only person like me out there.

 

The second and third stories I ever read were Final Hour and My Only Escape, both my com. These 2 had so much emotion in them they got me to cry. Now you may ask, how does crying affect my actions? Well i had kinda bottled everything up.....and Until those stories I could never let anything out. Crying about those, i was also crying about my own personal experiences with suicide and such.

 

I hadn't been able to cry for years until i read those.....thanks sooooooo much com, you really and truly have helped alot of us.

 

-taylor

[Strangers]

I am deffinitly a more complete person and better for it since I first stumbled across nifty. I don't even remember how I found it but 10 min into the first story I ready I realized that it was a life changing event, and rarely look back.

 

I read a tremendous amount of material, such as Just Hit Send in 24 hours literaly from the beginng thrugh to the recently added chapter. The upside to this is I gain a lot from what the writer is giving, the downside is I couldn't tell you 1/8 the names of the storys I've read, let alone who wrote them. Well except for you Com, your so Profound and Prolific I almost wonder if I read a "Straight" story by you in a hard cover book if I wouldn't be able to tell you wrote it. hehh my first Comsie story was GFD, and afaik I've read everything you have up there. Most of it twice, wich is saying somthing because I rarley read anything more then once. I want you to know your aprechieated <sp> Com, but also realized I don't let others know how aprechieated they are. So again that is a change you have inspired. Well along with the striving to better myself, that somehow comes across in your work even though it is hardley ever said flat out.

[rainbow]

Hi Comicality

 

OMG, you so right there dude, the nifty archives are a gold mine. There was no piratical story that stood out for me. But a few did.

 

After living a straight life for 45 years and being divorced for 15yrs. I have changed my life around. I am at last living the life I was supposed to live I have come out my kids and they have except me has a gay guy, which so surprise no end. And now I live with Mike my boy friend.

 

But, because I read Nifty Stories, I begin to realised

It

[underthehoodster]

I don't remember if I first discovered it at Nifty or not, but reading New Kid In School inspired me to write and ultimately start posting Perry and Jesse. It has opened a whole world to me, and I am very grateful to Comicality for that.

 

underthehoodster

[Guest ffishfinger]

I stumbled into Comicality while recovering from a somewhat unfortunate broken neck thing a couple of months ago (I am better now, thank you) and my life has not been the same.

 

I see characters in his writings... and say to my friends, "I was reading a story last night and the people in it act the way I wish I were... OOOOps, maybe I saw something." And, this has been going on for several months now, and the growth in my personality has reflected it.

 

I have nothing but major thanks for the changes that have come about in me (and all of my friends have commented on these new behaviors....like, "What's that all about, You been reading again? You're different-Good.")

 

Yep. There have been changes!

 

Thanks,

 

Barry

 

(aka Ffishfinger)

[Comicality]

Before I start, I sincerely want to give my love and hugs to all of you guys for the kind words up above! ::Giggles:: I wasn't fishing for compliments, ya know! But they're MORE than well appreciated. Thanks!

 

Have I been affected by stories to the point where it spilled over into my own life? DEFINITELY! A lot, actually! The people who knew me when I started, can see how incredibly different I am now since I first started reading and writing these stories. Without them, I can honestly say that my life would not be as rich as it is right now. I NEVER would have come out to my best friend Mike, I NEVER would have come out to a few other friends of mine either, I NEVER would have flirted with cute boys at work, I NEVER would have written about my life, my love, my abuse, my suicidal thoughts, or my sexual attractions to teens! Basically, I never would have accepted myself the way I can now....had it not been for these stories.

 

I still remember stories by "Savoir Faire" on Nifty, Jaxsper Finn and Dean Lidster (Who are like HEROES to me), and many many more! Then once I started writing stories of my own, just being 'colleagues' and friends with some of the amazing authors online who were also writing these incredible stories was even MORE inspiring! Eggman, IOMfAtS, Ty (Stormfront), JT Lizard ("Strawberry Boy" and "Sky InHis Eyes"), DeweyWriter, DaBeagle, and too many others to name. Just comparing notes and being side by side with what they were doing inspired me to dig even deeper into myself. And it gave me purpose, you know? I grew because of the people reading and the people writing stuff of their own.

 

Nowadays, although I don't get much of a chance to read other people's stuff anymore (Not like I WANT to), I've found an amazing amount of enjoyment from the 'next' generation of people writing series online. "Carrots and Celery", "Just Hit Send", "Perry And Jesse", "Always Joey"....there's so much. Zustara Ourur, and MadBomber, and....just this wealth of talent coming from every corner of the net. If this is the new generation, than the people in the next generation that THEY are inspiring is going to be UNBEATABLE! That's so incredible to me.

 

Anyway, the stories have molded my life in many ways, and I can honestly say that I'm forever changed because of them. It changed my life for the better. Believe me.

[Agincourt]

=Have you ever read a story online that has moved you to do things you wouldn't have normally done in your real life?=

As long as we're resurrecting old threads I thought this would be a good one.

 

Nifty . . . I started reading it back when it was hosted on a server at Carnegie-Mellon University. A lot of the early stuff was pretty raunchy, but it was a real eye-opener to me to discover that people were actually writing about sex between boys, or students, or college guys, or men. it allowed me, ever so slowly, to begin to access feelings that I had bottled up inside me for way too long. It let me move toward acknowledging who I really was.

 

I can't point to any one story that was an "aha!" moment for me, although I suspect there have been some.

 

However, something else entirely unexpected has come from Nifty for me.

 

A while back, I started writing to various Nifty authors (they almost always publish e-mail contact info with the stories), because I realized how important it was to let them know that people were reading and appreciating their work. And, lo and behold, I have struck up great friendships with several of them. And I have discovered that many of them are just like me in so many unexpected ways! If anything has given me courage and conviction, it has been discussions with the Nifty authors. I have found that I can bare my soul to several of them, discuss my hopes, fears, and triumphs, and get really thoughtful responses. i think it has been a two-way street with many of them talking to me. It has been wonderful to come out to these guys, even though we've never met face to face. They have really supported me as I have gone out and started seeing guys and filled a gaping hole in my soul.

 

So my twist on this theme is: Write to the authors of gay internet stories, and get to know them as they get to know you. it is an incredible, unparalleled community.

 

A

[Nephylim]

That is such an awesome post. I would love to do that. And I have met some pretty incredible people here who I have grown to love as much as any friend I have ever had on the internet... and in some cases a lot more.

 

There are still more people that I would dearly love to get to know better but i have this stupid, irritating but deeply ingrained problem that people will probably be shocked by... I'm painfully shy, at least when it comes to approaching people. It's the same on the internet as in my outside life because... again believe it or not wha you see is exactly what you get... no games or faces.

 

As much as I am intrigued, fascinated and impressed by people I come across I can be friendly when they speak to me but as for opening a conversation or having any kind of 'relationship' like a proper friendship with them... it's beyond me. I suppose I'm scared that if I approach someone they will slam the door in my face or whatever. i guess it's the 'I'm not worthy' thing. It's been a hampering force all my life. And it really doesn't matter what anyone says... that's me period.

 

Back to the topic and the point I was trying to make. From my point of view you'd have to be really brave to do that. The more I respect a writer the more intimidating they become and the less chance there is of me ever getting to know them... and there must be hundreds of people out there just like me. What's the answer? I don't know.

[Agincourt]

Back to the topic and the point I was trying to make. From my point of view you'd have to be really brave to do that. The more I respect a writer the more intimidating they become and the less chance there is of me ever getting to know them... and there must be hundreds of people out there just like me. What's the answer? I don't know.

I can tell you, after contacting any number of internet authors, that every single one of them has been gracious, fun, and interesting. I think they all get a big charge out of hearing from people. So I wouldn't hesitate even for a moment to drop a note to anyone whose work you liked, even a little bit.

 

I have a nice lazy system I often use. I can read the stories on my Blackberry (same would work for an iPhone, I suspect). When I'm done, I can click on the e-mail link at the top of the story and it instantly opens a message window. I can then draft a quick note (putting the title of the story in the subject line) that says, "Great story. I really like the way Joey and Alan got back together at the end." Or whatever. It takes 30 seconds. I do feel it's a thoughtful form of "payment" to the many authors who post stories for free. And sometimes I'll have more detailed comments, or maybe tell a personal anecdote that the story reminded me of, or express my outrage at the fact that a parent in the story threw out their kid because they discovered he was gay.

 

Not every author has responded, but most do. Recently one of them wrote, "Hi -- Thanks for your email and your kind remarks about my story. Glad you liked it." Then he added: "I would like to know more about you if you are comfortable with that. How old are you? Where do you live? What do you do? What do you like to do.....and not like to do.....sexually and otherwise? Have you had any similar experiences that you are willing to share? I get some good ideas and inspiration for stories from readers." So I told him about myself, and then he told me about himself (turned out he was in a very similar situation to me), and things just went from there. He gave me some very helpful advice as I embarked on the dating scene with guys. Since he lives near Indianapolis and I'm in Los Angeles it's unlikely we'll ever meet. But I still value him as a friend and sympathetic ear.

 

I could tell you similar stories about another author who lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I have shared things with him that I have never told anyone else. I can't tell you how cathartic it is to talk about these things with someone, even if it's just by e-mail.

 

Now, obviously, there had to be some trust built up before we got into the "good stuff." But I have had tremendous experiences so far.

 

I know from things that he has written that Comsie hears from all kinds of people, and I'm sure he could tell many stories of his own.

 

The one thing I know when writing to an author of stories about people wrestling with issues around their sexuality is that I can probably talk to them about my own issues about wrestling with my sexuality. And it is relatively safe for the very reason that we don't really know one another -- it's kind of anonymous.

 

Therefore, I would encourage you to consider dropping even a one-sentence note of appreciation to authors whose work you like.

 

A

[Nephylim]

Good advice. Maybe I will give it a go. *gulp*

[Agincourt]

Good advice. Maybe I will give it a go. *gulp*

You could even say, "I'm really shy and it's only because an acquaintance encouraged me that I'm writing. But I'm glad I did."

 

A

[Agincourt]

I would encourage you to read this post, from the perspective of a Nifty author, to discover why they want to hear from you:

 

Click here

 

A