[Disclaimer: This was supposed to be one of the early chapters of Writer's Chatgroup, but for some reason I forgot to post it. It would be a shame If I don't share it with you guys so I decided to upload it.]
More often than not, the authors on the discord chatroom just talk about random things. These random ramblings sometimes veer on the wrong direction and chaos start to descend upon the server. The only saving grace is that the t̶r̶i̶g̶g̶e̶r̶ ̶h̶a̶p̶p̶y̶ mods are always there and shows no mercy when these things happen.
Unbeknownst to Elyon who was enjoying his stay in dreamland, his senior authors on the server stumbled on a topic that turned the carefree atmosphere to a serious one.
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Namake: I think people shouldn't be allowed to have more than a certain amount of money.
Mr.McGuffin: If a perfect Socialist society could happen then great idea. But they never work out.
Namake: Capitalism can f*ck' right off.
MinxMean: We, poor pleb don't understand such difficult part. Well I am.
Mr.McGuffin: Capitalism is amazing.
Namake: Capitalism is the antithesis of a healthy human condition.
GreasyBeer: also the money that sits in the bank means almost nothing to the society. It technically mean something, but it's not like it waste resources it's just numbers.
Mr.McGuffin: Depends on which side you are on. Are you a capitalist who makes their own wealth or are you unable to do so.
GreasyBeer: Let's not act like you can be a moral person and also that rich.
Namake: The problem is late-stage capitalism manufactures a system where most of the population is literally unable, no matter how hard they work, to climb.
GreaseyBeer: It's just not gonna happen.
Namake: That's not a meritocracy anymore.
Mr.McGuffin: Who said anything about morals hehe?
MinxMean: Rich peeps are getting richer while poor are getting poorer.
Namake: Exactly.
Moving Phoenix: I'm out of here. I only know about religion.
Mr.McGuffin: But, here in america our poor people are still rich compared with a lot of the world.
Moving Phoenix: Yup.
Namake: Not really, cause it's different.
Moving Phoenix: No one is poor here.
GreasyBeer: Well, not really.
Moving Phoenix: At least not truly poor.
Namake: Obviously it's better than like Syria, but there are certainly impoverished nations that have a much higher quality of life than those living in the dirty inner-city areas.
Mr.McGuffin: True that we can all afford a computer and some type of internet connectivity.
GreasyBeer: Actually there are lots of really poor people in America. You can say it for most of the EU.
Namake: Even in middle America you see the trailer parks and stuff.
GreasyBeer: But not the US.
Namake: Poverty's a huge issue.
Moving Phoenix: People take advantage of the government USA.
Mr.McGuffin: TRUE.
Moving Phoenix: Oh true.
Namake: I actually don't really consider the United States to be a first world nation anymore.
Moving Phoenix: True. We're in debt. Lol
Mr.McGuffin: But I can tell you from personal experience that a lot of the people living in run-down trailer parks deserve to be there.
Namake: Y'all in big trouble with the cheeto in office @Mr. McGuffin It's less that they deserve to be there, but that they were born there and were raised in that culture, with no education. They never had a chance to deserve better
Moving Phoenix: If we die it was fated.
GreasyBeer: Ah an age old argument. Is it the society that is responsible or the individual?
Mr.McGuffin: In the one's I've seen and worked at. It is a bunch of druggies and/or people who live off of government money and don't actually work.
Namake: It's a bit of both as many things are.
Mr.McGuffin: Yeah, both.
GreasyBeer: Well no one is imo. Cuz I don't believe in free will.
Namake: oof lol.
GreasyBeer: Makes things easier.
Mr.McGuffin: I personally believe that it is the individuals responsibility to make something of their lives.
Moving Phoenix: True. Me too.
Namake: It's an individual's responsibility to try, but some people just simply aren't born with that kind of motivation. It takes a LOT of motivation to pull yourself out of the vicious cycle.
GreasyBeer: Well you see, there can be no action without reaction.
Mr. McGuffin: No matter where they were born, granted it is a lot harder for some people but if they truly cared to change their conditions they could do it.
Namake: I don't think those people are any different from kids who were born into rich families.
Mr. McGuffin: Yeah it does.
GreasyBeer: It includes even your thoughts.
Namake: Who also have no motivation.
Moving Phoenix: People can always change and overcome their problems if the try. only if they try.
Namake: So why should society treat them different based on their birth?
If Elyon was here, he would had probably just watched his senior authors debate about this topic in order to better understand their views on society.
GreasyBeer: There can be no thoughts without input from outside your thoughts are just reactions.
Mr. McGuffin: I treat people based on work ethic and cleverness also if they are funny, but less so on that one hehe.
Namake: Idk.
Moving phoenix: Lol
MinxMean: How did we get to this?
Moving phoenix: People are free to live and rot in their own filth. They are free to grow and change out of those circumstances. If they have no motivation its because they never tried to change anything. They just watch others. They are part of the crowd. If they only see failure, they believe there is no hope so they give up. It is all their own fault and their own perception that ruins them.
GreasyBeer: The thing is there is nothing magical in people that generate thoughts and perception. They are that way cuz of things they can't control not that anyone can control anything.
If Elyon was here to see this discussion his brain would had already turned to mush. It's a good thing that he was not here when this discussion happened.
Cel_T: Wats happening? So serious.
Mr. McGuffin: Philosophy channel is what we need at this point.
GreasyBeer: This server used to be this way.
Moving phoenix: My stomach is a mess.
Cel_T: Oooh. Ok, back to my fantasy world.
Mr. McGuffin: Yes we were debating things. Hehe bye!
GreasyBeer: How is Asian seaweed salt different than just umm salt?
Cel_T06: Smells like seaweed?
GreasyBeer Doesn't really also why Asian… *thinking emoticon* I'm talking about this btw toothpaste.
*GreasyBeer showed a screenshot of a toothpaste*
Lordkingss: Wtf it's Asian cause it comes from Asia, but why you would have salt in your toothpaste that's another question.
GreasyBeer: I mean they don't specify where the other ingredients come from is there anything special I don't know about Asian seaweed? I still bought it though. *thinking emoticon* So seems like it works.
The discord chatroom is always like this. One second, the authors are talking about a serious issue and having a debate, then in the next they would be talking about BL, Smut…and even Asian toothpaste.
This is also the reason why new authors who join the discord chatroom for the first time gets overwhelmed, and some of them like Elyon had their expectations shattered.
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Author's Thoughts
If you're thinking that the Authors of the popular stories in Webnovels are refined, elegant, charismatic, and willing to teach the new authors on how to improve their stories then you will fall short of your expectations.
However, if you think of them as normal people that shift from aggressive to passive, top to bottom, serious to comical, tsun and dere dere, then those expectations will be met. About the teaching part, of course, you can also ask them for advice and how to improve your writing.
You just need to be ready because they can be very harsh at times when giving an honest opinion. I believe that as authors, we need to become strong enough to accept punches (criticisms) and be able to learn from them.
These early lessons are very important especially for new authors because this is a stage where they build up their confidence, and their writing skills as they write their stories. Sometimes, a simple bad comment or a harsh review is enough to bring these new authors to tears.
When that happens, log in to the writer's discord chatroom (for new authors and old ones alike) and look for Alison35. She's the "friendly sis" of the server and the one who will give you hugs and smileys to make you feel better.
If that's not enough, just wait for Cailin, the "Friendly Ghost", who gives warm ghost hugs to everyone.
Perhaps a few years from now, when you've become an accomplished author--when you've weathered the storm, and waved your final tears goodbye--you'll look back at these lonely, stressful, and bitter days with a gentle smile on your face.
Because you know that this time around, you are able to take punches because you are no longer made of glass.
This is too far away from me right now, but I hope when that day comes, I'll be able to raise my head with pride knowing that I started from scratch. I will bitterly remember my gruesome battle with grammar, tenses, the harsh criticisms from my senior authors, and the roasting of a few editors in the discord chat and say…
"Mmm, the cringe is real."