Odd confessions.

To be honest, I'm not sure horror fiction is for you if you're not interested in the prospect of being scared in general, whether it be with something mundane or fatanstical.

Tragedy is a well-established form of storytelling. There are some points you can only really make if things don't turn out well. 1984 wouldn't have the same power if everything turned out ok in the end, that defeats the purpose of what the novel was trying to say.

Is it what everyone wants to read? Not necessarily, but no story is for everyone anyway.

But if I know the destination, why even bother with the journey?

Because the journey is fun and it makes you feel things. It makes you feel things because even if the experience is outlandish, the emotions feel grounded and human.The hook to those kinds of tales are the little interactions, worldbuilding, and ministories that take place within the same overarching plot. I honestly can't expound further than that.

Dystopian fiction doesn't automatically mean foregone conclusion. There are many many ways people can respond to the shit world they inhabit (I won't list specific examples because spoilers), and they can give you different kinds of emotional payoff. In some cases, protagonists somewhat successfully reject the society they find themselves in, in favor of something else. Other times, in attempting to fight so hard for what they believe in, it all kind of loops back, and they become what they hate. Sometimes, their rejection of their society's rules lands them in a shitter, which doesn't matter because even of they got it bad, they still "freed" themselves.There is a lot you can do with that kind of fiction because it is such a broad label.

Hey guys, I don't hate Windows Movie Maker and I think it is cool that I still use it.

I used it until it disappeared...

I used to play with 3D Movie Maker constantly. Used to substitute coffins for doors (because you couldn't make a door that would open), people just floated because it was faster than making them walk, explosions were this one yellow ball effect that would explode (And everything exploded in my movies, trust me.), the cat would always grow huge and stomp around...

Great fun.

No movie has ever made me feel things or think a lot. Nor any other work of media.

I don't mean to rag, but I think you mentioned this before.

All my life, whenever my family goes to the dentist, we go in a group, and the dentists call us into their offices one by one. When I was very young, I tried to be the last one to go in, because I hated the dentist and wanted to put it off as much as I could.

When I got a little older, I realized that I should volunteer to go in first so I could get it over with.

But not long after I started doing that, my brothers picked up on it, and now I never get to be the first one in and out at the dentists' office.

edited 18th May '17 6:34:15 PM by DrNoPuma

Irony at its best.

I don't get the point behind motivation and inspiration. Either you can do it, or you don't. Don't try bullshitting yourself into something you obviously can't do.

How does one fight things like procrastination without those?

Even when i was a kid, i was never afraid of dentists.

It helped that i had a pretty cool uncle who was a dentist.

There are things I know that I can't or shouldn't do. (Become an air traffic controller, because I'm too old; ride a unicycle, because I break bones easily; etc.) There are things I want to do, and I know I can do. (walk the dog, plant a vegetable garden, etc.)

But then there are things that either I know I can and should do and that I really don't want to do (go for a run on a cold day, clean the kitchen, etc.), and things that I want to do but am not sure I can (run a 5K or 10K, deadlift my body weight, etc.).

That's where inspiration like "You can do it!" and motivation like "You'll feel better when it's done" come in.

edited 19th May '17 8:51:36 AM by RaspyMink

and those things, I either can't do or can get by without doing

Recently, when writing the date, I've accidentally been putting 10 instead of 5 for the month. Maybe subconsciously, I really wish it was Halloween.

[citation needed]

Movies, books, TV shows, etc. almost never make me feel things. They're just actors or drawings or words. Why should I care when I already know exactly where everything is going? None of these characters have done anything I've ever done, nor had any emotions that I can even empathize with.

I am the opposite some shows have left quite an impression on me that it is very difficult to shake off.

...Sounds like you have a severe case of lack of suspense of disbelief.

I know, and that bugs me.

I'm not very comfortable talking religion.

It's just not something I talk about or think about often and, thus, I'm not usually prepared to argue about it.

If your circumstances are as you describe them, then it doesn't really sound like fiction of any kind is for you. The fact is, you have to be able to suspend disbelief, and you have to be able to invest emotionally to some extent in the characters involved, or you're simply not going to enjoy fiction. You have to be willing, and able, to meet the author halfway. Perhaps non fiction would appeal to you?

It's nothing against you, but if you can't achieve the mental state necessary to enjoy fiction, then you're plain not going to enjoy it.

The other thing is, I can't think of a character in fiction who's a.) had an experience I can relate to, or b.) had an experience I want to relate to.

I don't think you can chose what relates to you and what doesn't - if it resonates with you, no matter how much it sucks, you will relate to it.

Unrelated: Try the original Oldboy. You might get something out of it.

edited 22nd May '17 4:58:48 PM by Troper_Walrus

But how does something that you have no ties to move you? It's not echoing some sentiment you've felt, nor is it "hitting home" with its relatability.