All Comments on 'Exit Strategy'

I can understand the idea behind this story pretty well. I have what I am told is emotional detachment issues. I have never really understood the whole feeling of devastation that people feel during a break up. Don't get me wrong I do feel sad about things at times but I learned a long time ago that I can in no way control how someone else feels. I just don't feel the need to worry about things that I can't change. That being said I really enjoyed the story.

I think the basic problem with the story is that the author has read so many Loving Wives stories that he has internalized the phrase, “Honey, we need to talk.” He has now defined it to mean, “Honey, I’m going to go fuck another guy.” The author sees the phrase as code.

That’s not what it means anywhere but here. In the rest of the world, “Honey, we need to talk“ means exactly that. It means my wife has something she believes is important to tell hubby. LW has so many copycat stories that authors expect five stars for just getting all of the usual and expected events in order. And, as long as you ruin a woman’s life, you get a participation trophy.

The fact that the author short-circuited the entire process of finding out what she means is a big clue that this is just a rehash of already existing LW tropes.

Wow, seems like quite a few of the commenters live in a world of rainbows and unicorns.

He is one totally emotionally insulated man.

Cindy, despite herself, was lucky to get out; she's just too dumb to appreciate not living her life with a man that not only didn't love her. He's incapable of loving anyone.

The guy is a Vulcan!

I do enjoy this story. Every man who has been blindsided wishes they'd been in control of things like this. He's not taking her back.

Yes, a wall to protect your heart can appear in an instant. Once bitten twice shy. Love isn't some magical thing. It only happens when you allow it. Human intellect can override just about any emotion. This guy is not shallow, he's pragmatic.

Wow, your protagonist’s love is as deep as the sweat on his brow. So, why would any woman want to be with such a heartless, broken man?

The main character sounds like a sociopath. No deep emotions (other than Anger, and his big brother, Rage), no real concern for others. He could be president!

I will SPEAK, monologuing endlessly, while you, the STUPID woman I married, sit and mumble single words at odd intervals!

I am so much smarter than you are, you can’t come up with a single cogent thought to refute my magnificent intellect. I WIN in my story, and I won’t have to think about my own, ineffectual life.

Can a few of you chucklehead, would-be “authors” try some other plot devices other than “We need to talk. I am going to go fuck a bunch of other guys, and you’re going to put up with it.”?

If this has EVER happened in the history of humankind, it would be more rare than winning a billion dollars in some Super Lottery. Only the he-man woman-haters and other trolls love this endless repetition of exhausted and mined-out tropes.

You read a few of the nearly indistinguishable examples of the “wife who has spent the last ten to thirty years married to a guy, who is apparently a stranger to her” stories. You must have little experience with women, or you just haven’t paid any attention. Repeat, NO ONE DOES THIS! So you decide, “I’m gonna write a story, too! I guess I’ll write one exactly like all of these others, as they seem to be popular, and I’ve always wanted to be popular as well!”

Why not try writing about a real relationship? With real characters? Go on, try…

Enjoyable. And I DO love that he gave her a slim chance at reconciliation, even though there was no way he would do it, and he knew she couldnt bring herself to claim she made a boo boo.

Humor is good but one star off for him giving her a possibility of reconciliation

Author tried to be too clever and accomplished zero. Wish I could have rated it a zero.

Thankfully he quit after a few stories, all over-rated.

This guy has a great attitude. Accept the things that you cannot change, and then drive on.

This man has an excellent outlook on life. Accept the things you can’t change and drive on.

Refreshingly direct.

LWlurker

“My deep love instantly turned to indifference.” Whenever I read an author make statements like that, about how his love for this woman instantly vanishes, I realize that his love is as deep as a puddle. And then I realize that the author is just spewing words, and has no idea about how people really work.

Hilarious!

You have a wonderful way of turning afraid😊

For 1st effort this is really a great job please keep at it😉👍

Pathetic drivel. Blah-blah-blah "I am so smart" blah-blah-blah ... no story, no plot nothing.

I love tongue in cheek stories. Glad it didn't include two pages of sex!

Light hearted approach to a sad situation. 5*

Good

jtwheels

Reading again, still one of the best debut stories I've seen in LW.

Eh. It’s okay. No emotion at all detracts from the enjoyment. Also, he’s so meticulous, I’m wondering why he didn’t ask for her rings before she left.

I Wish I could have been that cool when My Ex Left Me Years ago.. In My Opinion He is One Smart guy ..

I'll give it a 4 star for plot, but a 1star for action, or lack thereof. Thanks

The story was clever enough for another chapter but this relationship was truly over. *****

to think you'd be so cool and detached if your relationship breaks down. But really if you were, then it just means you had never fully invested yourself into it anyway.

Real life doesn't work this way for the vast majority of people.

Keep the effort up

It was so badly written that now you have to explain it! lol

Too many hangers. Even though he thinks the ex will never admit she was wrong she already did to an extent. So now reader is left wondering if the ex had a change of heart, and if so, how did main character react? If not, then the ending could be considered concise, but too many possibilities for the reader even to begin to draw their own opinion as is.

Well,what happened to Cindy.Without this info the story as no ending.?

I don't buy the criticism that the dialogue was mechanical or flat. The central premise of the story was that our hero took it all in stride, was well aware of his wife's infidelity and was perfectly happy go see her go. wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of seeing him devastated, and anyway. he wasnt. Really bothered her too.

It did not need a rewrite. I'd rather you spend your time writing us a new one.

what a fucking whore, she can date and cheat on his husband for a wimp, but man can't. If I was his husband, I would make her life misserable. If they can't live together, they had chance to talk and resolve their problems. But instead cheating? I am not married yet. But before it I will discuss with her the consequences of chaeting and before chaeting she is free to go from my life and she will never have a dime from me.

wish I would have handled my divorce that way because it really would have pissed the bitch off. I rarely rate 5. This was close but I wanted to know more about the courtship and marriage. You do earn a 4.

"Some words from MollydaKat" on your page. Thank you. I favorited your page so I can read all your favorites since I feel the same way. LW should be two categories.

"Partying with Bob Kraft"? OK that was funny. You would think a billionaire could work out something discreet and private, would you not?

My only suggestion to the author is ban anon comments if possible. Three quarters of them are useless. Good exploration of an interesting original idea. Get angry and emotional and you make mistakes. Don't get mad, get even all that.

good.

It was just too dry and bloodless for me to really like it for that long. If it had been half that length, I think I'd have liked it.

Liked it. For a first story this was well written and entertaining. Hope to read more soon. Ninety six comments on first story, not a bad start. Thanks for the entertainment. (signed ML)

With plenty of space for imagination as to what was said on the other side of the telephone conversation. I was curious about why he was so sure that the thief would pull the trigger on the divorce in the first week I can see him dropping out of the competition as soon as he sees his expectatives in black and white.

I know it goes against the grain of this category , but sometimes you've had as much of them as they have of you !

Happens a lot. That Veneer of lust just fades right away after a few years of someone who is as narcissistic as this wife was written to be .

Seeing how she's not going to be able to rape him in the divorce , he should be out partying with Bob Kraft in Florida ! Lmao.

Good job WA .

Thanks.

that this is the first story you've ever written. But if you say so...

The telcon with his auntie/office mom really fleshed out (nudge nudge) the story. Nice touch. I look forward to the second story you ever write, and the second, and the third, und so wieter.

is his care for the Boy Scouts and their Motto,,,,Be Prepared and he was, TK U MLJ LV NV

I liked your protagonist: I know people like him, so his actions and reactions seem right to me. I enjoyed the contrast between him and his wife at the beginning: you establish her as a completely different personality right off the bat. The Office Mom all eager to set him up is a nice touch. As BlackRandl and HardDaysKnight pointed out, you could have included both sides of the phone conversation: I think you could have had some fun contrasting their styles, too.

If this had been me, I'd have put this aside for a few weeks, and come back and edited it. I think Cindy loses her distinctive speech pattern as their conversation progresses, and almost starts sounding like Protagonist (considered, pragmatic, less emotional).

Thank you for writing and posting, and I'll be looking for more from you!

GA

After this mumbo-jumbo:

"Do you know what the opposite emotion to love is? Most people think that love's opposite is hate, but it isn't. It's indifference."

It becomes clear the writer is amateur "psychologist" like so many mumbo-jumbo types on LW. Let me take just take one issue with this crap. First of all, the indifference is not an emotion. Second, one could easily say that indifference is also opposite to hatred. But it isn't emotion at all. The indifference is emotionally vacuous state, usually due to emotional exhaustion.

And make no mistake, if there are "opposites" in emotions then hatred and love are indeed the opposites. Assuming the emotions are dimensional. Got it?

I read this story, and I was sure I've read it before. Nobody else has mentioned feeling that they've read it before, so it must be a huge case of deja vu. But still, I feel like there's a 99.99% chance I've read this story before, from the opening, to the part about the Communications background, to the office manager list. Everything. But I searched, and couldn't find another version of this on here. So it must just be me.

Enjoyable story. Not perfect (what is?), but enjoyable.

Nice first effort. Good creativity. This piece was a welcome change from the normal LW stories that at times resemble trench warfare.

I agree with HDK, in the addition of the phone conversation at the end was not needed and, in my opinion, detracted from the story.

Overall, an enjoyable quick read. Looking forward to seeing more of your submissions.

Maybe it's a sign of how much of an ass I am, but I don't think I said anything so terrible, I think several other writers made similar points.

In any case, please feel free to skip my comments, I don't plan on changing any time soon.

Very bland, no emotion shown by either of the protagonists.

... he does seem shallow, and pretty early on. So hard to like the guy and get too sympathetic to his situation. So it’s like ‘Wow, smart guy. Really has a handle on his bitch. Too bad he’s kind of a dick. I guess they deserved each other.’

Else, pretty good writing. I had no trouble with the dialogue.

Thanks. 4-stars

Good job. Liked the story...good to have the bloke in control.

4*s

The conversation is broke., And the plot a mess. It looks like he's planning on dumping one slut for another and cheating on 3 women at the same time. What the f

...earlier anonymous was right on when they said it was like reading a phone book. Almost stopped halfway through the first page, but soldiered on. Like being in a room listening to a boring conversation droning on and on. Like watching grass grow or paint dry. Needed some kind of action, or non robotic emotion. 2 stars. Thanx!

Loklie

Wow a man prepared for the question we have to talk. Already set with his prenup and ready to replace this dumb female . We need more imput on the why she decided to cheat . What caused her to seak another. Just divorce her. To many good fish in the sea.

Stopped being concise. Giving her a chance to change her mind. Explaining your ending twist with a phone call. Making that call un-concise and a bit opaque.

It ended up needing the newb one to be a four.

But please keep going, it appears you got serious game!

Thanks for sharing a good one!

I have been reading on this site for more than 15 years. I always go straight to the comments before reading a story. Sbrooks is a good writer but he comes across as a pompous a$$ when I read his comments. Sir, just critique the story but don't be an ass.

indifference is the complete lack of love. zero attachment.

i'v gotten mad at cheaters, and i'v been indifferent towards others. and trust you me, indifference really hurts them. but i'm not gonna moral grand stand, if you get into an emotional rage in front of your spouse ..you'll probably feel catharsis. i'v taken my anger out on walls, and it's....wonderful. while therapy is nice, letting it all out on a wall with your hands and feet really gets out immediate toxic build-up.

but long term...indifference. fake it till you make it...i'd suggest. they won't get an ounce of satisfaction from you. they want to feel bad or good about their sins. don't feed that toxic fire. some cheaters WANT you to scream at them, punish them even. don't. just leave. unless you're a scummy person, you don't deserve it. and you'll SHOW them that YOU matter, and they DONT. they'll regret it prolly lol

Definitely a new take on it. I can see it going 3 ways. I can't wait for the result with a couple of twists to it too.

I read a lot here but seldom comment. Loving wives is a difficult category with only so many ways to handle the cheating wife scenario, and you have written a unique take on it. It's interesting and hope you continue.

MORE !

Terrific start to a story that could fall 10 different ways. It ain't over until it's over.

Not bad im impressed. quick concise and he wasnt a gutless asshat who let his wife fuck around. nice 5 stars

The phone convo at the end was hilarious. Good, solid job for your first, I look forward to more from you!

I enjoyed the new take on the "Honey...." kick and even enjoyed the one side conversation with "office mom". 5* and keep up the good work.

I agree that this is a great first story. I really like your protagonist and his reaction to the "talk". I hope you have a chapter two planned to continue the story. Really good work.

I really enjoyed this story and wish you well with future ones. I look forward to reading many more.

Especially for a first effort. I liked the plot and the dialogue with the soon-to-be ex-wife. The phone conversation was a little difficult but I got the gist of their conversation. Well played. Hope to see more from you. Thanks for the effort.

3* for well written good plot and good character development of the husband.

Wife, her friends and the other man are unknown.

Need some drama in next story. I like for the good guy or girl to win but your hero was so perfect and prepared that there was no drama or suspense. Didn’t care about any of the characters.

My first thought, no one is this civilized. Then I remembered the title and realized that I had been sucked in by a good story teller. You did a great job setting up your characters back story which backed up his thought processes. And by the way, he figured it out six months before hand. Again, great job and I look forward to reading more of your work.

As noted, since he's telling the story, and he knows what the person on the other end of the call is saying, there's no reason for us not to know.

I'll give you credit for trying a "cute" gimmick, but it was too forced and artificial.

I enjoyed your writing and your premise. Wish I’d done that when it happened to me.

Thank you. I enjoyed your writing. A different take since you took out the emotions, but it was nice to see that the cheating spouse was not going to get away with much.

As the Boy Scout's motto says, "Be Prepared."

Great 1st story. Keep them coming, please.

If this is your first story, congratulations. You did well. I enjoyed the dialogue and the plot. I didn't admire the one-sided phone conversation, but you seem to have real talent.

There are pitfalls on every hand, but you avoided them here. Read some stories by the OGs and you'll see what works. I wish you the best. You've got some good writers viewing you favorably.

Write another, please. I'll be looking for your name. Randi.

. . . would have been more emotional. The real Devil Anse would have put a musket ball in the guts of whomever was fucking his wife, then walked up, to make sure his victim knew who shot him and why, before cutting his throat, and he’d have done so the day he found out about the affair.

Of course, the real Devil Anse’s wife would never have cheated, because she would have known that would be a death sentence, for her as well as her lover, and no one who knew Anse would ever dream about fucking his wife.

Entertaining and flowing for the most part. But people do like endings written not guessed. Just sayin'

and a thought. The one thing about LW category is the drama. By making him flat emotionally you took all that drama away and the potential for a more intense story. Good try for a first though 4*

AND, not a little, HILARIOUS, I loved it. Thank You it was a truly a refreshing change to the overly emotional breakup scene, although reality could change that especially if the cheated-on husband hadn't developed the rather unique ' thick skin' a well deserved 5****

There are a lot of LW writers who handle the technical side of writing adeptly, but who rely on stock characters (especially the weak, unmasculine LW husband) and tired plot devices. They get higher scores than they deserve. This little story shows some creativity. The technical side of the writing needs to be improved, and the weird openness to reconciliation hurt your story by making your protagonist seem "flat" and a bit wimpy. Nevertheless, I gave you a 5, partly for writing something fresh and interesting, and partly to encourage you.

Nice first story. Keep up the good work.

I wasn't thrilled with the author commenting just before the phone conversation

Loved the story.....not the usual pain and emotions but an unusually calm and prepared strategy. However, while we're told about his endless possibilities afterwards, I sorely missed hearing what she would actually do.

She was totally unprepared for his calm response and immediately doubted the wisdom of her actions. He had sown the seeds of doubt. It was great to enjoy the new relationship with her boyfriend and she expected the usual acrimonious parting. Instead I think she was captivated by his unusual response. Normally one feels great to be leaving the old shit but instead she must have felt a new found respect. So she grasps the separation idea.

I think there are grounds for a continuation.

It’s seems writing is best when it’s a natural talent, like yours. I couldn’t write my way out of a paper bag. Enjoyed your story immensely, how about another?

I like the development of the protagonist. But that's because the character shares some life events and general outlook with me.

The story itself left a lot unanswered. But as a first effort, it was very good.

A good story today! For that you deserve a Thank You!

Liked it,enough said.

Not bad at all ... 4+

Both characters came across as unemotional and blocky. The wife and husband could have reversed roles and been the same person.

Surely you can't leave us hanging? You need to let us know what happens and how the wife gets burned by her new man. Coming back after a year with her tail between her legs and no money or place to live, she finds his new - much fitter - live in lover and is devastated by her stupid choices.

I lost track of which person was which due to a lack of "he said" and "she said" markers.

He sounded like he would wait around and take her back. Nice change up in the end.

In a fairly "just the facts, m'am" way.

Not clear to the casual observer is that his attitude is probably really, really difficult to live with, so some slack might be shown to Cindy.

Shrugs.... might have a story where the new guy is a predator, might have one where he is a victim of Cindy looking for a way out, could have one where this is just the way normal people get out of relationships that don't work for them.

What you don't have is a story that exercises the commentariat's feelings of being abused, dissed, and underappreciated. I suspect you won't get much slack for that.

An interesting first attempt - I would read more about the character, but I'm kinda weird about that kind of thing.

Good luck.

Green-something

I like original. 5*

Thank you for publishing it here.

A follow up would be great.

#ASPERGER'S SYNDROME

Its not the hot stuff. It was the way you worded it. Im like that guy you made up. do more Ill read and give ya some stars.

I rarely rate a first higher than a 3*. But you definitely deserve a 4*. I would love to see a follow up to these characters!

I love this story because the description of his early life adds understanding to how the farewell scene works out. The wrap-up phone conversation underscores his detached approach to his own life and is entirely in keeping with the rest of the narrative.

My question, though, is whether he is truly capable of love since he expects all things to end and has adopted a stoic approach to life.

I would have almost expected the departing wife to be emotional and say things like "I never felt connected to you," "you're aloof and you can't be intimate," and "I needed more (e.g., intimacy) than you could provide and I couldn't go on without that from someone." However, she seems almost as detached as he does (albeit in his telling of the story). Makes me wonder what kind of man she's leaving him to be with.

Difficult to believe this is your first story. Very cleanly written. Characters well defined and the story flowed well with no confusion. I look forward to your future submissions. Thanks for sharing. A Five from me.