All Comments on 'Style Explained'

As a published blog writer, I understand your motivation, at least a bit. Expecting readers to be more descriptive is pretty hopeless. That would make them writerse. Enjoy the more coherent ones that often include plot hints for you. (I often read the comments too.)

As for your level of detail, my preference would be towards yours, but "dialed back" a bit.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts as a writer here. I was hoping for a bit more explanation.

Thanks again, Jim.

Thank you for this hint.

We often read storys and think, that was wrong, this was to less sex, too much sex or we dont like the storyline.

But there is somebody that made Part of his/her life for giving us this story.

So there is no sence in beeing rude.

.. this was a fascinating and well-thought-out piece. It is never easy to hit the sweet spot wrt detail, and that is of course, the mark of the writer; the nature of that detail is also very important. Without wishing to turn into a 'do this -- don't do this' list, I often think that describing someone's height and weight is pretty irrelevant -- but then again, not in every case.

The write could be said to have a harder job than God Himself!

Thank you for your observations; I hope that it might make some people give a little more consideration to their comments; 'This is drivel' types of comments is of little use to the writer or anyone else. I know this is an adult site, but it used to be said, when I was young, that if you couldn't say anything nice about something it might be better not to say anything at all.

Again, my thanks -- and five stars.

:::::::"Authors don't get payed"

Paid is the word you are after and there is no such word as payed. I have no idea why this site's spell checking feature doesn't flag that.

:::::::"That doesn't mean that I write things that I think the reader will think sound good."

Seriously? Then why would you be checking in so often like you claim? To see how badly you pissed people off with your poor prose?

It may not be a fundamental goal of every writer to have their work adored but I would say it is pretty high up there.

:::::::"Whether you (the reader) enjoyed it or not, I know that I did"

Well that's kind of selfish is it not. Don't you think you have some responsibility to please the readers in some way when you post something?

I am not a hater but I had to give this submission a lowly grade of just two stars.

Why -- because it didn't please me. The only insight I gained is that you are a writer who really doesn't care what I (the reader) thought as long as you enjoyed filling up some pages with words.

No wonder you are not being payed.

TLD - An unpublished author here on Literotica.

Sometimes I get sheepish about leaving comments but this post inspires me to comment after everything I listen to or read!

I treat the ratings and comments like I do when I read reviews for a product on Amazon. Somewhere between the highest and lowest rating lies the truth. A few will rave about a product and some will declare it worthless. Some on here read stories in categories that they don't even like just so they can trash it. There are certain categories that I'm not interested in so I just don't read them. I will read a story and post and honest opinion...but it will only be "my" opinion based on my likes and dislikes.

I really wasn't expecting too many comments to this piece, but wanted to respond for a second. Yes, I have spelling issues (payed), so thanks for helping point that out. I do try, but can't catch them all. As for being selfish, well, I was trying to point out that while I want the reader to like it, I don't plan to please everyone. It's simply impossible to. Thank you again for reading my work. I have another Twins episode coming soon, so stay tuned!

RNebular

It's always a risk for an author to explain themselves. Someone is bound to get offended at some point of view taken or plot point explained (many seem to make a point in getting offended, it's what they frequent the site for). Kudos for being brave enough to put yourself out there.

I have no issues with authors that say that they write for themselves. It's a white lie, but a forgivable one (if you're truly writing for yourself, why would you put your work out there available for public consumption?). That being said, as a reader, I have every right to not like your story, even if it is well written. If you come up with something that has unlikable characters that do despicable things, I'm probably going to hate it regardless of the skill level of the author. I'm not required to enjoy it or give it a good score simply because it's well written. A lot of the authors on this site tend to forget that. They want to be judged on the 'quality' of their writing and not the content. That's just silly. There a lot of very technically skilled authors out there that can't sell their writing because people don't like their stories. If you don't want to pander to your audience just a little bit, don't expect to get a warm reception from your potential readership. Your work can be the darling of the critics, but if no one likes it/reads it, what have you really accomplished? The point of putting pen to paper (figuratively) is to share your stories with others.

I have no issues with writers that like to be descriptive in their prose. But if you do take that route, the prose needs to sing. If it sounds like you're reading an install manual for an air conditioner. I could care less what you're saying. You lost me in your wall of text that added nothing to the plot and was pedestrian in its descriptions.

I've read most of your stories. Some things I like and some things I don't, but I do see potential in your work and hope to see you continue to post and grow as a writer.

Indeed we do, Inescu. There's no altruism in writing stories. It's done for the self-entertainment of the author. Even an author who writes to provoke the reader into commenting is doing it for the fun of seeing what he/she can get back in comments.

Inescu, you say "I have no issues with authors that say that they write for themselves. It's a white lie, but a forgivable one (if you're truly writing for yourself, why would you put your work out there available for public consumption?)."

When I wrote my fist story here, I sort of believed what you said, and I wrote what I thought was the most erotic sex scene I could think of. But because it was an adulterous sex scene, the Moral Brigade came down on me like the proverbial ton of bricks. So since then I have engaged in the fun activity of disagreeing with them.

Even the commenters are commenting for their own entertainment, not for the enlightenment of others.

And to pick up Rnebular's comments on the scoring system, clearly the scores given by readers to LW stories are based on a different concept to those in most other categories. Once again it is because of the moral stance applied by some readers, a stance not taken by readers in other categories.

But once again, lamebrains who drop comments like "Fag Shit" and one-bomb a story are doing it for their own entertainment. They aren't trying to help the author improve.

And it's fun watching them.

Lue

Lue:

The issue with the LW category is that there are a least two main factions of readers that frequent the category (there are actually several more, but they are generally divided into two basic camps): those that are interested in the seeing the pain, angst, and consequences that are part of any tale of betrayal (which adultery surely is) and those that get off on the naughtiness, humiliation, etc., that fuels an affair/extra-marital encounter. They are diametrically opposed in their viewpoints and there is little room for understanding or common themes both groups can enjoy.

I guess I personally belong to what you would title the 'moral brigade' (although as an atheist, I find it amusing to be grouped with those flouting religious dogma). I'm monogamous by nature and choice and I find those that betray their partners by means of an illicit affair or secret extramarital liaisons reprehensible. It's also not in my mental makeup to be able to share. Watching my partner with someone else holds absolutely no appeal to me. That being said, I have no issues with any style of relationship, open or otherwise, another couple (or group of people) want to practice, as long as all parties are open and honest with one another and there is no form of coercion (this is the tricky part, there's almost always some form of coercion in relationships with one partner trying to influence the other into doing something they don't really want to do). If it works for you, kudos to you (even though I might find it personally abhorrent).

I've never seen open relationships last in the long run. The ones I've observed generally just fade away as the partners drift further and further apart from one another. And those were the few I've seen where both parties were originally enthusiastic to explore the lifestyle. In the cases where one party is coerced (because of financial or emotional concerns), they always implode, usually sooner rather than later. But then again, that's my own anecdotal experience. I'm not going to tote out a bunch of charts and numbers because, simply stated, people lie. They especially lie about their personal relationships. I doubt if there has been any study done that didn't have a hefty margin of error due to its participants lying to the people doing the data collection.

I've never seen an affair benefit a relationship except as an example, later on and only if the relationship survives, of what not to do. Today's marriages are based on the concept of romantic love. An affair is not just a betrayal of the individual, but a rejection of them as a partner/best friend/lover. That type of scenario tends to get people's dander up. I personally don't find stories where there are no consequences for bad behavior enjoyable. I find stories with willing cuckolds sickening (male or female). I search the tags and avoid those stories I know will piss me off. There is no point in wasting my time reading or commenting on them.

We all have our kinks. I'm intrigued by tales that delve into circumstances around betrayals. How people deal with the situations they find themselves in and the unexpected emotional storms they have to endure can be fascinating if well written. Whether the story leads to reconciliation or bitch/bastard burning is fine as long as the road that gets you there is interesting. It's amusing given that this is a site for erotica, but I normally skip the sex scenes unless they have dialog pertinent to the main plot line.

Sorry to have gone off on a tangent that has little to do with the story being discussed.

Like you, Inescu, I'm interested in the reasons why people do things. You say "I'm intrigued by tales that delve into circumstances around betrayals." But very few LW tales actually do that.

The interesting first question is what do we all define as a betrayal. Is it just a penis entering a vagina, or is it emotional rather than physical?

And there are very few LW stories that explore the reason why a wife may wander. Most just wake up one morning and decide to 'cheat'. Then the story focuses on the Revenge/Retribution or the Forgiveness/Reconciliation. There are very few stories that make an attempt to understand how and why a woman may do what the story has her doing.

That's why I read very few LW stories these days.

Lue

Luedon, Inescu, your running commentary is part of the reasons why I both love and hate posting content to the LW Genre. The critics there are definitely polarized to two main "camps" as has been stated already. I may have a few more that fit the loose definition of LW, but also have a lot more that will go elsewhere. I will say that submitting to LW is always a bit of a personal challenge to me, and I hear what you say when you stated that not many of us authors really explore the WHY. I have read a few very good stories that do, and admit that I have not done a stellar job on that department myself. I will remember that for the future.

Happy New Year!

Interesting hearing your thoughts. I am not a writer, yet, but my pet peeve is anonymous commenters... especially when they are negative comments. I figure that if they want to stay anon, then what they have to say should be anon as well. Thanks for your remarks.

In my humble opinion the two most important things in a good erotic story are: 1 plausibility - if a story is unlikely readers can't identify with the characters, which is what eroticism is all about, and 2 character viewpoint - some stories just don't work from the male point of view, or written first person but are red hot from a woman's viewpoint or third person. Experiment!

You're thoughts and insights mirror many of my own. Perhaps the most salient is that first and foremost, we write for ourselves. Sure, it's great if readers can relate and/or be entertained, but we writers come first. Like you, I find writing these erotic/romantic tales a great form of entertainment. We live vicariously through our characters, especially if the story is true or at least partially true.

Thanks for the comments. I agree, that if the characters seem too over-the-top, sometimes it can make it seem too fake. Personally, I know that when I wrote Castaway, the main character's wife was not given much thought. I look back at that story and wish I could redo that character. Some commentators accused me of giving her a lobotomy, and they were partially right. In hindsight, she did have an almost 180 degree shift from her loving personality that I tried to paint at the start. For all the readers out there that read that story, I agree, now. Recently there have been a few stories that I have reviewed that followed a similar pattern, and I now recognize it for what it is. I will strive to not let it happen again, at least not unintentionally (never know when a character might lose it, as part of the story).

Anyhow, time to get back to my next story. I have something for LW that I hope will be a good read, although I won't be breaking much new ground...maybe.

RNebular

When I read "Style Explained," I expected something regarding MLA, APA or how to write sentences (short/long/intermediate/compound/complex with certain punctuation to achieve varying effects) or something related to that. Structurally, most of your content revolves around details regarding scoring: views, stars and comments/input. I'd suggest your title should have been something like "Why Details Matter." Usually I'm not a stickler for titles but in this case it would have focused my expectation better. On the other hand, other posters didn't mention that.

That aside, you explained how those details affect you and how you evaluate them--then how you assimilate all that to some happy medium you can live with. I appreciate you sharing some of the extra insights posters that don't have a writer's control panel with all the stats don't necessarily see (and probably some could care less about considering). Perhaps someone recommending this as a 2016 "Best" entry in this genre will influence more potential readers to more carefully choose their comments and scores in the future.

APA, MLA, and the others are formats not styles. Just an FYI.

Firstly, thanks for submitting the essay, You covered many points extremely well. Some I agree with and others I don't,

Sometimes the comments I receive are huge pats on the back and, since I am as ego driven as many of we authors on the site are. Although I do write for myself, I am pretty certain I wouldn't continue doing it very long if there was no reward for me. I do enjoy the writing, the ability to express my creativeness, and the feedback. I have bailed out on my own stories even if well received by our readers if they fail to amuse me. When they approach the level of being work, I'm done.

I am fortunate that I seldom get criticized for my vocabulary or my grammar or my errors with both. Nor do I get castigated for my subject matter, my focus is on incest driven love stories as well as mind control. Two quite different types of story in my mind.

I don't mind negative comments for the most part. But, they do nothing for me if they are simply "this sucks" type. Give me something to work with, feedback that may induce me to make changes in the future or may make me actually consider those changes.

As the previously mentioned "fuctard" type, I find them to be very offensive. I well may be however since it is not likely the commentator actually knows me, I feel that personal attacks of this nature are simply uncalled for. They reflect more on the commentator than on me.

In the original essay, rnebular pointed out that he,by extension we are not Stephen King or James Patterson. Although the two are some of my favourite authors, I do not love everything they publish. One of Patterson's entire series has been boycotted by me after reading the first two works published in that particular series. King's Christine was not one of my favourites but his turn of phrase in some cases was wonderful. For those who remember, King's description of the salesman and the settees was absolutely one of my favourite paragraphs.

When I am underwhelmed by something either writes, I would not, could not imagine writing a criticism of their family heritage, cerebral abilities, or even their even writing such drivel. LOL. I am one of those people that once they start reading something, they are forced to finish it. I am always looking at the redeeming factors of the piece as exemplified by my Christine analogy.

Lastly, when I think of them and their writing abilities, I am forced to wonder how well they would perform in my preferred genre.

As a commentator recently said to me, "Nuff said!"

So, you're disappointed in score below 4? Don't be! In Australia at least, 80% is considered a Distinction. Its a good solid B or a GPA of 3.0 . Anything above 3.75 is a good score. 3/4 of the readers liked it. In LW thats pretty good.

I too think the number of views is probably the most important factor, but only if you are considering the last or latest episode in a multi-part story.

Prune the anonymous personal attacks in the comments, please. They are obviously just negative noise.

But, take to heart the improvements that are suggested, either as shortcomings or positive suggestions. (Assuming, of course, that you want to improve your writing).

One of the things that I rate highly is originality. Without it, the author must be truly a world class wordsmith to be able to capture the reader's interest and entertain. And, even then, it would be difficult to score a 5* rating, in my opinion.

Next would be character development - and true three-dimensional characters. Again, without real characters, the story is little more than a sequence of events that will not engage the reader.

I think there is an element of originality and character development in most of your stories, and that is why I return occasionally to see if there is anything new you have of offer. Sometimes though I find that neither is in evidence and have a lot of trouble trudging through to the end of those stories, because it really is a trudge.

Hope you keep up the good work, and I look forward to more originality and characters to identify with.