All Comments on 'The 10 Commandments'

I think this was incredibly informative, and reading it made me think that I wrote it in my sleep *laugh* You have the same wit and humour as me, you just know more about the people on the site. Seeing as I just joined a few days ago, it was a great read, and look forward to reading more of your help files, and some of your stories as well :)

-Tolyk

It was Rumple Foreskin who suggested I read the How-To's. I actually feel as though I can go back and tackle my stories with a greater sense of confidence now. Great work.

If this were a mainstream movie, it would make more money than Titanic.

I'm not kidding. I laughed out loud several times *for a How To article.*

Everything rang true (although I understand grammar), especially the Volunteer Editor bit (I am one) and the whole, "your ego is your cushion" part.

I was just reading this on a lark, and I wasn't disappointed.

Wish I had read this when I was new to Lit! Super helpful and well written! Very deserving of the "E"!!

What a great intro into the world of writing erotic stories!! This is concise and clever; fantastically informative yet so easy to read (ahh the genius of making it look easy!) Thanks for a 'leg up' and boost in confidence to give it a go!

And that is your prohibition of referring to breasts by their bra size. As a former lingerie fitting consultant, I can say with the authority of years of experience and extensive training that it's a concise way to sum up breast size, but by no means should be over-used or considered sufficient description. You see, there is a good reason brassiers are sized by chest circumference and cup: It's an excellent starting point for getting one that fits. Then, try it on for size, make adjustments, and allow me, your friendly male consultant a squeeze, a nipple tweak, and a suck to ensure all is well. It's just plain professional!

Similarly, it's just fine for a good story description of the mammaries to start off with, say, a 34C, and then proceed with its peach-fuzz-like softness, pliable firmness, and nipples as red and succulent as ripe cherries. And, naturally, move on to allow me, your friendly male consultant a squeeze, a nipple tweak, and a suck to ensure all is well. It's just plain professional!

Thank you for this wonderful writing! Too bad I only have interest in Romance, Non consent and Novellas, which you don't seem to have interest in >_< From the way you write this article I know your other submissions would be great as well<3

by Sarah on Earth

I loved this nice piece of work. But I do object to point. Grammar does matter. I mean nothing fancy, but people should be able to follow some rules. Keeping the 's' in the third person, using the correct tense and basic things like that. It makes reading so much better if you don't stumble over little things like that all the time.

So operationalisable

That it's tempting

me to start writing!

Great job, Earl. Very funny, well thought-out, and right on the money. :)

Very useful, informative and educational. It's good for both experienced writers and those just learning the basics in my opinion, I'll definitely be recommending it to friends. Btw, was that a Red Dwarf reference I spied up there? I bet you sat at your computer wearing a red gingham dress while you wrote this didn't you?

But, if that wasn't what Mr Flibble was about, that last sentence is very embarrassing. . .

I really liked this "how to". Inteligent, funny and made me laugh.

Thumbs up to you

I'll say it again, "Thank you." I enjoyed your, "How to," article and will be referring back to it from time to time to remind myself to, "Stop worrying!"

I was directed to this article and found it very helpful.

Wow a two for one special, and in today's concerning economy! Thank you again for sharing!

I have to notice that you asked people not to overdo the descriptions. In most of the stories readers use the plot but substitute characters for their dream girls or guys, so accurate descriptions are a put off. Very detailed descriptions are in fact dull. I' ve already quit reading many stories because of that. This is erotica, it's for people to get off, not for intelectual thinking.

If the grammar is not too bad it's irrelevant, even because many persons (like myself) do not speak english as first language. Thanks.

Your tips have been very helpful - it also addressed some of the fears I have about writing and answered loads of questions.

Debbie

Thanks heaps for the advice in 'The 10 commandments' very helpful and to the point.

Preach!!! :-)

A wealth of info and helpful tips-thanks!

Oh, how ready I was to kick your ass when I saw "8) Don't worry about grammar."

Fortunately, you went on to suggest that a writer who doesn't understand grammar should find an editor. Bravo--as far as it goes. The trouble with the list of volunteer editors on Lit is that there is no screening, and no real qualifications are required. I had to chuckle when I browsed the list of volunteer editors and found some whose only qualification was "I got an A in high school English," or even better, "My teacher told me I wrote good."

I am a grammar nerd. I will not apologize for using the English language correctly and expecting others to do the same. It is psychicly painful for me to read grammatical errors. It takes me completely out of the story for that moment. No matter how good the story-telling is, I will NOT rate a story a 5 if there are more than one or two errors. The people who can't figure out which there/their/they're is which are bad enough, but the ones who piss me off the most are those who apparently don't even bother to read through their story before submitting. They are the ones who make the simply sloppy mistakes such as "...her flame-read hair," or "he ran her fingers through her hair," or who use "he" when they meant "her" or "and" when they meant "an." And don't even get me started on the subject of skipped words! ...more

(continued)

Thus far I have posted only two stories here. They might not be the best STORIES, but they ARE grammatically correct. On the other hand, I have READ a great many stories in the last few months. It has become a pleasant (usually) escape after a hard day of customer service.

The frustrating lesson I have learned through all this reading is that an author can earn high ratings on stories which are riddled with mistakes, because their readers are too illiterate to know or care. I offer as evidence the comments that readers leave on many stories, which run something like, "i luv ur story don't listen the people say their are mistake. there just jealous cuz u right good." :)

I have been writing (and diligently proofreading my own work) in a professional capacity (not fiction, but many types of business writing) for almost 40 years, and have caught countless errors while proofreading the work of others. A standing joke in one of my jobs was that if something went to press without my having proofread it, I would always find an error after the fact. So it infuriates me not only that people can't use correct grammar, but that no one seems to CARE!

(deep sigh)

Thank you for letting me rant. Perhaps it will enable me to read a few more stories without throwing my laptop out the window at the birdbath!

(After proofreading this once and clicking on "preview" I found one mistake. Then after I fixed that and proofread it for the third time, I decided to move some of the paragraphs around. I do practice what I preach.)

(After the fourth proofread, I changed a few more words around.)

All very good suggestions. I'd just like to add 1) don't write in the present tense (e.g. I am lying in my bed and you knock on the door... etc) and 2) proofread it after you're done. Thanks for a good article.

Thank You for the wonderful advice.

Thank you. Your advice was very helpful and entertaining.

So I was about ready to stop reading when I saw #8. I'm glad I kept reading though, because it does seem that many people don't even bother searching for an editor.

Hell, I've consistently gotten high grades in every English class I've ever taken, I know how to conjugate in two different languages in nearly every case (thank you, 6 years of Latin), I got a 2260 on my SATs, and I STILL will never publish anything without going to an editor first. Not because I don't trust myself, but because it's been proven that if you wrote it, you're less likely to catch an error in it, because you know exactly what you MEANT to write, even if it doesn't say that. Your mind fills in the error with the correct word or grammar, and you gloss over it. Someone else, however, will notice it because they can't read your mind, and thus have no idea whether what you wrote is supposed to be that word or isn't.

As an example, the different forms of 'to', 'too', and 'two'; 'your', 'yore', and 'you're'; 'their', 'there', and 'they're'.

I frequently mix up 'though' and 'thought' without meaning to, even though they're completely different words with no relation to each other whatsoever.

Always proofread your own work, and if you can get someone else to proofread it as well, all the better.

(Chances are good I have at least one error here, but I don't know for certain -- I wrote it.)

I've been writing erotic tales for my boyfriend for a while now, but now I want to start publishing here, and these tips have helped me so much. I'll have to hit the forums now and take a look. Thanks for the advice.

I have lurked around the site for some time enjoying the writing pieces made by lovely authors, and came here to see what exactly most of the authors should or do strive for, and it got me thinking. Why don't I try my hand at writing? I mean I haven't tried ever before but, it could be fun. Also I love your sense of humor :)

I have no idea why, but when I read this I came to the conclusion that you look and sound like "The Dude." "That rug really pulled the room together...fuckin' A" Ha!!!

I really like your style, and commandment number ten was both true and distinguished. I'm a brand new writer, and these posts by great/philanthropic writers are like gold to me. Thank you, Sir.

I am always looking for ways to get better, and your essay had just the right amount of humor to make the how-to fun to read.

One thing to add to the criticism commandment would be to take anonymous comments with a grain of salt; a very small one. Most of them are nothing but things like "you suck" and "oh yeah, you suck". The comments that truly make a difference are the ones from members that actually take the time to give you their impressions.

There is nothing like the rush that you get when you post a chapter and watch the number of reads start climbing. Thanks again for the help.

I'm a wannabe writer and this was very helpful

See title.

Funny. Thank you :)))

Very useful.

I have the habit of typing faster than my brain operates so I'm always having to go back and proof several times before I'm happy.

Dialog is one thing I worry about as I find it difficult to write in anything but my own voice.

Yeah I agree with the Description thing if I feel like I'm reading a Mini Profile than that's an Automatically Exit Point for me, In other words if I start to Read a Mini Profile even if it's for a Location that is Usually when I say "Later" and Hit the Back Arrow. But for me it's Best if you could Organically Incorporate your Locations or Characters Descriptions in to your story when Needed, Such as "When I walked in to that Nearly Full Bar almost all of the men in there where Steering at my Cleavage, which was created by my Large Breasts. But of course they where mostly Drunk as I could smell the heavy scent of Alcohol in the air....." And that is why in my writings I only Give you the Building and it's your job to fill that building in. And as for my work you'll never find it on hare, Long Story.