A Writer Said My Story Made Him Cringe. I Almost Died (Laughing)

Comments are the best way to get to know your audience.

Did I tell you your best writing polarizes?

Here’s a comment on my story that made me laugh my guts out.

OK, the commenter disagrees. But did I really go so far as to make him cringe? It’s not like I asked him to manually wash my dirty underwear.

His reaction was WAY off. The comment is 235 words long (he continues to bash me in the four paragraphs following WAY off). Sometimes, I wish people would call me a jerk and forget about my existence.

But… The comment was a gem. I couldn’t stop laughing. To make matters worse, I was in the middle of a workout and needed to do eight pull-ups. My hands wouldn’t hold me hanging.

I closed my eyes and tried to suppress my convulsions and horse-like laughter, in vain. Two other guys working out were watching me suspiciously.

I was good again a minute later. But that a minute was pure joy. Two reasons for that.

Number one, the commenter’s overblown reaction. Don’t take cold showers like me. Manage your workload more slowly. He sees those differently, I’m OK with that.

But “cringe” and “WAY off”? I love that! The strong words surpassed my expectations from the essay.

Did you notice he said my sentences feel way off? Feel is the keyword because one human being (me) made another (him) change his cortisol and adrenaline levels through words on a screen. I won’t hide I patted myself on the head.

It’s my goal to cause emotions to my readers. Hopefully, positive. But if I fail, feel free to call me names. I’ll take that as a compliment.

The worst reaction to your writing is indifference.

Number two comes from number one. It proves the story is polarizing. I wanted to ask the commenter

“Man, why do you feel so strongly about my statements? Read and forget.”

But it’s clear why. He needs to defend his diametrically opposite view on cold showers and workload. That’s what emotions do to you.

Your sensible side understands you should stay away from a debate and let everyone live their lives. Your emotional side wants to make a point, assert itself, and prove the others wrong.

I’m like this. Hit a nerve and you won’t get rid of me in the comment section. I know it’s wrong and try to be less judgmental but don’t always succeed.

As a writer, you want to post stuff that resonates with your audience. Comments like the one above tell you just that. What resonates. How to best interact with your readers. Take their comments seriously.

I’m happy the commenter bashed me. That 4-minute read has collected 163 comments so far.

Never be afraid to polarize.

Kudos to my buddy Aldric Chen. His headlines helped me come up with the headline for this story.

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