All Comments on 'Tips for Amateur Writers'

It's always good to read someone's new take on the art and craft of writing - you really have too many resources if you want to become a writer.

I found this one particularly useful as it tends to point up the errors I always seem to make - errors that have made me feel dissatisfied with my scribblings and unwilling to submit them.

Thank you for your time and trouble in bringing us this concise essay on the art - perhaps it isn't as arcane as some, I for instance, have always thought!

"I my experience as both an editor and a writer"

That's the first line, Sob... THE FIRST FREAKIN LINE! And what makes it worse, is that you state you're an editior! WTF? Can't be a very freakin good one, can ya! Jesus H Christ! That's like saying, "The fastest, and easiest way of seeing if a gun is loaded, is to look down the barrel and pull the trigger."

It is very clear that you are not a professional, not if you can typo the very first word.

Stories are just that, stories. The best ones to this reader are the ones that sound just like someone is sitting around telling it.

Normally every story posted on a website like this has some basis in truth, even if it is just someone's fantasy.

That is entertainment.

Great literature is something else entirely, sorry, I found this barely average.

do not get hung up on the typo's of this piece but rather look at the big picture. This provides good advice for any aspiring writer.

Excellent advice despite the "I".

I don't write or edit for Literotica, but I do for my bread and butter.

Your point to use only words you are comfortable with in conversation is a good one. I just ran across a fine tale here done by a writer with lots of other posts. But she kept confusing "cognoscente" with "cognizant." Yikes!

Your advice could be a boon to a lot of editors here, as well. A mistake I caught in an edited piece posted today or yesterday confused "honing in" on something with "homing in" on it. Rookie mistake---no editor should have let it through.

My rule, which continues to serve me well, is always, and EVERY TIME, to take a moment and look it up. In these days of simply clicking and searching, it's made too easy to pass up.

Thanks for bringing attention to these basic ideas. Author's readers will love you for them.

and yes, it wasn't a plus to screw up on the first line, but then if it were perfect, someone would have complained about something else.

I appreciate the tips as I have written several as yet to be fully completed stories, that each time I open one up, I seem to catch an error that I missed when I last re-read through it, or I find that I need to add or remove a word(s) someplace.

I find it very common to find those who post as "Anonymous" to complain about an Authors writing, don't you?

They just do.

The rest teach.

But you missed a few tips.

For example, avoid the standard Lit crap about body measurements, 44DD tits and 10'' cocks. Always 'rock-hard'. Jesus, has any woman ever had a rock in her? Umm, no, don't answer that.

If anyone wants stories which are more than sexual cliches, try mine.

There is almost never a need for the phrase "in order to", nor is it usually grammatically correct.

"In order to write a proper story ..." versus "To write a proper story ..."

On effort. However, reading good tips doesn't mean you are talented enought to apply them.

This is good writing advice for rookies. The character thing could actually help some people (like me, who are terrible at everything related to characters in our writing).

You did, however, forget a few things. For example, cliches. In every single story, the woman will have breasts so large that they need bras custom-made, 20 inch waists, and enormous butts. Men always have 7-12 inch penises, never mind that a vagina isn't 7-12 inches long. I don't often read gay porn, but lesbian porn and many other categories could use specific help. Again, great article, just a few things were missed.

I have a story in my head I'd like to attempt to write, but don't know where to start (obviously, I should probably just start and see how it goes). This helps a bit. Thanks. It got me thinking about things I haven't considered.

Love the template! Copied and pasted, thanks!

Thanks your help