Bard's Review Thread: My $0.02 on your stories

[Sammael Bard]

I was wondering where I stood on the list and here is what it looks like to me:
TxRad
Noble Truth
Howbizarre
redzinger
GayTripper
SEVERUSMAX
JustAnotherMarylander
Lyerin
8letters

You can remove Lyerin from the list, and Noble Truth too. I've read both of their stories and all that remains is to put up a coherent feedback for them. Apart from TxRad's 20 chapter story, the rest of the stories are short.

I'm currently reading TxRad's story, and don't have an idea when I'll be done. I won't take up any more requests and close this thread as soon as I complete the list.

A big thanks to all who're still hanging around and were extremely patient all this while

 

[AZMotherLover]

Thanks for the review, Bard.

I appreciate the time you spent read and reviewing, and I will keep your notes in mind for my next story.


Now if I could only get a review from JBJ... LOL

 

[TxRad]

You can remove Lyerin from the list, and Noble Truth too. I've read both of their stories and all that remains is to put up a coherent feedback for them. Apart from TxRad's 20 chapter story, the rest of the stories are short.

I'm currently reading TxRad's story, and don't have an idea when I'll be done. I won't take up any more requests and close this thread as soon as I complete the list.

A big thanks to all who're still hanging around and were extremely patient all this while

Sorry Bard, I didn't mean for you to get tangled up in my 20 chapters. When I posted for you to read it I thought you were looking for just something to read. I hope you realize that what you are reading is the unedited probably third draft of the first story i ever wrote.

 

[Sammael Bard]

Thanks for the review, Bard.

I appreciate the time you spent read and reviewing, and I will keep your notes in mind for my next story.


Now if I could only get a review from JBJ... LOL

Ha!

That ole dinosaur is very picky about what he reads, and his ancient tastes are different from most of the readers here. Anyway, if you want feedback from more users, I suggest that you open a separate thread asking for feedback on that story.

Good Luck!

Sorry Bard, I didn't mean for you to get tangled up in my 20 chapters. When I posted for you to read it I thought you were looking for just something to read. I hope you realize that what you are reading is the unedited probably third draft of the first story i ever wrote.

Tangled isn't the word I'd use while reading your story. I really enjoyed reading it, and I'm currently at chapter 4. It's just that I need a good amount of time to read something that big at one go (I hate leaving stories in between), and I'm not getting that time. Same for a novel and a few stories that are lying around.

However, I'd love to bump up a few short stories (about 2-3 Lit pages) before this one. They won't take much time.

I'll definitely put up a feedback for your story when I'm done.

 

[TxRad]

Ha!

That ole dinosaur is very picky about what he reads, and his ancient tastes are different from most of the readers here. Anyway, if you want feedback from more users, I suggest that you open a separate thread asking for feedback on that story.

Good Luck!



Tangled isn't the word I'd use while reading your story. I really enjoyed reading it, and I'm currently at chapter 4. It's just that I need a good amount of time to read something that big at one go (I hate leaving stories in between), and I'm not getting that time. Same for a novel and a few stories that are lying around.

However, I'd love to bump up a few short stories (about 2-3 Lit pages) before this one. They won't take much time.

I'll definitely put up a feedback for your story when I'm done.

No problem at all. Take whatever time you need. I'm in the middle of a complete edit, thanks to a great editor. I posted the original to Lit to see how the different chapters stacked up against each other. Now I know which three chapters need the most work.

 

[8letters]

However, I'd love to bump up a few short stories (about 2-3 Lit pages) before this one. They won't take much time.

My list with story lengths:
TxRad - 20 Chapters
Noble Truth - Read already
Howbizarre - First chapter is 3 pages, 2 chapters
redzinger - 2 pages
GayTripper - 4 chapters, 21 total pages
SEVERUSMAX - 2 pages
JustAnotherMarylander - First chapter is 2 pages, 12 chapters
Lyerin - Read already
8letters - 4 pages

 

[Sammael Bard]

My list with story lengths:
TxRad - 20 Chapters
Noble Truth - Read already
Howbizarre - First chapter is 3 pages, 2 chapters
redzinger - 2 pages
GayTripper - 4 chapters, 21 total pages
SEVERUSMAX - 2 pages
JustAnotherMarylander - First chapter is 2 pages, 12 chapters
Lyerin - Read already
8letters - 4 pages

Alright, alright! I was trying to motivate myself with small numbers.

 

[JustAnotherMarylander]

.....

 

[Sammael Bard]

My Review for Celestial Matters and Celestial Wars Series by Noble_Truth

Here's a link to the Author's Submission Page if anyone else is interested in giving the stories a read: http://www.literotica.com/stories/memberpage.php?uid=1516702&page=submissions

Here's what I think about your entire series:

First of all, I'm a big fan of stories with a theological twist. Any story with that ingredient will have me wide-eyed and drooling over like a 12 year old. And combine it with the fact that a Bad Guy is our pivotal protagonist, I was willing to dry hump your leg for an early release of the stories.

So let's get started.

I love the way you have rendered Devnik's perspective. Archaic and ominous. It perfectly suits the 1653 Paris environment that you have for your story. Your writing style is unique and great. Sample this piece:

"Maria..." I whispered, "You're a Half-Angel." She cringed away from me like I was a monster ... I smiled indulgently down at her. After all ... I am a monster.

The ancient poems/excerpts are great things to include, and I think you did a brilliant job in that department. It becomes a tad repetitive when you change POVs frequently, like you did in the first page of Celestial Matters (from Maria to Devnik). Thankfully, you didn’t keep it up.

The story from Maria’s POV is also well-written. Her thoughts were quite convincing as an 18 year old teenager – frustrated, emotional and everything that you can expect from her. A lot of authors tend to fuck it up, so I’ll have to give you credit for that. Good job! I like the way you describe her inner turmoil in Celestial Matters. And, I missed that thing in the Celestial Wars series.

Since I’ve read the whole story (twice), I think that there’s something amiss with Daniel Fleeting’s story. When I finished reading Celestial Matters, it was my personal opinion that his story had the greatest potential apart from Devnik and Maria’s. I’d say I was quite disappointed by his sad ending in Ch. 03 of Celestial Wars.

There are a few things in Celestial Matters that doesn’t get addressed in Celestial wars instalment. One such incident is that Demon that Daniel Fleeting faces amongst the robbers/bandits. He just disappeared and never returned.

Another slight disturbance, in an otherwise smooth ride, is Devnik’s Power. I thought you had already defined it with his battle with Cariel, but after that scene it just seems to grow, especially with the later battles. Maybe, it was a point that I missed somewhere in the story, but it definitely caught my eye.

For the Erotica part, I’d wager a guess that you’ve been slammed a bazillion times by your pet haters for writing rough sex. From our earlier conversations, I know it’s something you don’t focus your story upon, so I won’t criticise you for that. But still, a better erotica could’ve been in order.

Plot is guh-reat! I don’t think you need any sort of advice or help in that department. Thumbs up and 5 stars all the way to the end. I love reading a story that has great plot, with added sub-plots and back-stories of characters. Add the fact that it’s written in first person POV, I think it was a brilliant read.

The one and only thing that peeved me (slightly) was the various inconsistencies and sudden jerks across all the stories. Daniel’s story is one of them. Jon, the Butler’s story is another one. I don’t know why, but the last part of Celestial Wars feels rushed and unsatisfying to this truly great tale.

But other than a mere disappointment, those aren’t really hindrances in the grand scheme of things.

Your story has ticked almost all of the right boxes in my list. Great plot, awesome characters and a brilliant scheming with a promise of more, I think your story is amongst one of the best around here, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Anyhow, I’d advice you to do a re-edit as some tiny typos caught my eye while reading your story. Nothing major, as your editor seems to have done a brilliant job in that department. The story has been concluded with a hint for more, but I’d advice, as always, not to come under pressure from rabid fans.

Overall, there’s no major fallacy that I can point out with your story. If I were to do it, it’d be called ‘nit-picking’ and I don’t want to do that. I didn’t put up a review for Jonathan Creed because it hasn’t been finished, but I’d love to when it’s done.

I hope the review helped you in any way it could. Good luck for the King’s Creed series!

Best wishes and Merry Christmas!

Bard.

 

[Noble_Truth]

My my...

Thank you very much for your feedback and thank you for your well wishes for King's Creed chapter 2. It is coming along.

I'm trying to work on my naughty scenes. As you and many others have pointed out, I don't write very long sex scenes. I'm working on another story that will hopefully be sexy enough for people.

I'm glad that you like first person anti-hero's...they're my favorite as well.

You've made this site and the community much better with your presence Bard. I hope to see a story from you sometime soon. Then it will be our turn to review you. Muhahahaha

May your reading list never run dry,
NT

 

[Sammael Bard]

My my..

Thank you very much for your feedback and thank you for your well wishes for King's Creed chapter 2. It is coming along.

I'm trying to work on my naughty scenes. As you and many others have pointed out, I don't write very long sex scenes. I'm working on another story that will hopefully be sexy enough for people.

I'm glad that you like first person anti-hero's...they're my favorite as well.

You've made this site and the community much better with your presence Bard. I hope to see a story from you sometime soon. Then it will be our turn to review you. Muhahahaha

May your reading list never run dry,
NT

Thanks! I'll be looking forward to your views on my story.

Best of luck for your upcoming stories.

 

[Sammael Bard]

My Review for Krite's Earthly Fantasy Ch. 01 by Howbizarre

Here's the link to the story if anyone else is interested in giving it a read: http://www.literotica.com/s/krites-earthly-fantasy-ch-01. Here are my thoughts on your story:

I remember you posting a thread about the lack of response for your story, which in my opinion, was well-written. I took a read and can guess why is it so.

I think the problem primarily lies in the category you've posted it in. If I were you, I'd post the story in the Humour and Satire category. Yes, there is a huge element of Sci-Fi and Fantasy, but the overall theme and narrative suits the former category. Posting a story in an appropriate category is very essential, almost as important as the story itself, otherwise your story won't be received well by the audience.

Okay, categories aside, I find a major turn-off in the first page itself. I wonder how many people would like a floating five foot spherical fleshy pink blob for a protagonist. He's darn ugly by your own given description.

But it would've been a moot point if it were in the Humour and Satire category.

Another thing is the element of Non-consent sex, which almost borders on rape. I mean, dude, you need to post such a thing in Non-Consent. You warned people in the Author's Note itself, and that was enough to scare off a majority of the people, voters and commentors alike.

What did I like?

Your writing style. For the life of me, I can find no fault with it. It's great. Period. Nothing much I can add to this.

The Plot. It's decent. (Strike that. Make it better than decent.) The pace is smooth and continuous, unlike some that I get to read in that category, and the plot made me want to read more.

The story is worthy of a 4*, if not a 5*.

Not much I can get to say about this piece, but overall, it was a nice read.

Bard.

 

[Sammael Bard]

My Review for A Wheelie Good Time by redzinger

Here's the link to the story if anyone else is interested in giving it a read (BTW, you should read it): http://www.literotica.com/s/a-wheelie-good-time

First things first, I love your writing style - right from the beginning. It's professional and a slight sprinkle of humour thrown in between makes it an awesome read for me. I love it!

I love the tension, and that scene where she gets caught stuffing herself up (Actually, I laughed out loud enough to wake my roomie )

Any criticism from me would be its shortness. It's like a blink-and-it's-gone story. It read that fast. I don't know what else to comment upon as I haven't got enough of material given in the first place. I'd definitely love to read more of this.

A 5* read.

BTW, if you're worried about not-so-good ratings, don't worry. Short stories don't do well on most voter's list. If this story were at least 6 pages (at the same pace and eroticism), I'd wager a score of 4.70 and above for it.

Overall, a great read.

Bard.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

3 STARS

Larded with adverbs.

No clue what the story is about. That is, whats the story's point?

 

[redzinger]

Here's the link to the story if anyone else is interested in giving it a read (BTW, you should read it): http://www.literotica.com/s/a-wheelie-good-time

First things first, I love your writing style - right from the beginning. It's professional and a slight sprinkle of humour thrown in between makes it an awesome read for me. I love it!

I love the tension, and that scene where she gets caught stuffing herself up (Actually, I laughed out loud enough to wake my roomie )

Any criticism from me would be its shortness. It's like a blink-and-it's-gone story. It read that fast. I don't know what else to comment upon as I haven't got enough of material given in the first place. I'd definitely love to read more of this.

A 5* read.

BTW, if you're worried about not-so-good ratings, don't worry. Short stories don't do well on most voter's list. If this story were at least 6 pages (at the same pace and eroticism), I'd wager a score of 4.70 and above for it.

Overall, a great read.

Bard.

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it. I was giggling to myself when I wrote that scene.
Needless to say, friends who've also read it now refuse to even touch my pump...

Once I finish my current projects, I'd like to either extend this, or write some similar short stories and put together a compilation. I'm pretty certain I could find a market for it. Trouble is, the reality of cycling isn't that sexy and inspiration is hard to come by.

 

[Sammael Bard]

3 STARS

Larded with adverbs.

No clue what the story is about. That is, whats the story's point?

A short jerk-off story, with a dash of humour and flimsy plot. Common in Literotica. Great for a short read. Bad for those who are looking for something plot-heavy.

 

[Sammael Bard]

My Review for Sister Has a Plan by 8letters

Okay, just because I want to motivate myself, I'll take stories at random and review it. This time, I'm reviewing Sister Has a Plan by 8letters. Here's the link to the story if anyone else is interested in giving it a read: http://www.literotica.com/stories/showstory.php?url=sister-has-a-plan

The first thing I notice in your story, or any story for that matter, is the beginning. Yours was a bit...off mark. I get what you're wanting to mean, but I feel that it wasn't aptly written, and hence you lost the impact it was meant to have. An excerpt:

It was like that magic trick where the magician has the the girl walk through the door and closes it after her, and then when he re-opens it, there is a tiger instead of a girl. Except this time, instead of a girl having morphed into a tiger, my sister had gone from being a chunky wild child to a good-looking woman.

I would've tried something short, with fewer words, to retain the impact. Something that engages the reader instantly:

Have you ever seen the magic trick where a girl walks inside a door and when the magician opens it after sometime, there's a tiger instead? Except here, instead of a tiger, there stood a beautiful woman, a far cry from the chubby wild child I was familiar with from this morning.

Stop laughing! I know it's not the best, but try to understand what I'm trying to convey. Reduce the wordiness and write your story in fewer words. Leave out words that are understood and include words that aid in creating the visual scenery you're trying to create.

Also, you used the word "chunky" too much in the beginning, more than I would have preferred. It sounds harsh and jarring. Try a different word, like "chubby", like I did in the excerpt.

And dude! In Erotica, we readers prefer that you, the author, don’t describe something which is off-putting for us like you did here:

My sister wasn't model beautiful - her nose was a little too large and some of her teeth weren't straight, but her full lips curved easily into a dazzling smile.

Cut that “her nose was too large” and stuff. Just describe what’s so beautiful about her. Like this:

My sister wasn't exactly model beautiful, but she was very pretty. Her full lips curved easily into a dazzling smile.

Grazie?

Your story gets a bit tedious to read after the first few paragraphs. The wordiness that I’ve mentioned earlier hit my head big time. Look, I know you already gave a disclaimer in the beginning that it’s going to be a slow evolving one, but it doesn’t meant that it has to be boring. Cut the flab and make your story worth reading.

After the aforementioned shenanigans, I like the direction of the plot. The story is realistic enough to be believable. Not the typical brother-fucked-sister-and-everyone-is-happy that I usually get to read. I think you did a great job in the Plot department. Other than the wordiness, which slowed down the pace and my reading interest, I don’t think I can find any fault with your story.

Overall, I’d say it was a good read. Hope this review helped you in any way it could.

Regards,

Bard.

 

[Sammael Bard]

My Review for Cassie's Love by SEVERUSMAX

Here's the link to the story if anyone else is interested in giving it a read = http://www.literotica.com/s/cassies-love-1. Here's what I think about your story:

Okay, the first thing to tick me off is this sudden blurt by Cassie regarding her feelings for Hector at the very beginning. It's one hell of a confession, and I'm almost scared to read any further:

"Okay, Mom, here it is. I've fallen in love with Hector. I want to be his wife, to grow old with him, to make love to him, all of that stuff. I know that the laws have changed a bit to allow incest, but will you support us? Will Dad and the others accept it, really? We've hinted around at this and discussed it in the abstract, but this is now on the verge of happening soon. Is it really going to be okay with you guys, as much as it denies so much pleasure to the rest of the family? You see, I haven't changed my mind about fidelity. Nothing against you guys, but it's not for me, the sharing and such. I'm far too jealous for that," Cassie finally confessed to her mother, hoping that she would take it well.

Space it out. Insert some feelings. I'm almost suffocated after reading this huge speech. I'd try something like this:

"Okay, Mom, here it is. I've fallen in love with Hector." She confessed.

Vicki blinked. This news wasn't exactly something she hadn't known. Upon hearing no objection from her mother, Cassie decided to go ahead.

"I want to be his wife and grow old with him. I know that the laws have changed a bit to allow incest, but will you support us? Will Dad and the others accept it? Is it really going to be okay with you guys, as much as it denies so much pleasure to the rest of the family?" Cassie stopped, hoping that her mother would take it well.

One thing at a time, that's what I'm asking you to do. Don't lump all the details on the reader's head at one go. I usually hit the back button if a story fails to pique my interest, like yours did.

Also, the conversations in your story feels clunky and unnatural most of the times. It doesn't just fit in there. I think they should be restructured. Try imagining yourself in their shoes. That might help with it. This is an excerpt from your story:

"Anyway, where is Hector? I rarely lose track of where he is at any given moment, you know," Cassie changed the topic quickly; not wishing to think of her mother's many adventures. It wasn't that she was a prude; just that she wasn't into the family's lifestyle.

"Well, that is a shock from you guys! You're practically joined at the hip. I think that it's sweet, actually. You two make such a cute couple. He even took you to the prom, as I can recall. I bet that your secret was out at that point, at least for your high school class," Vicki teased her daughter a little.

"Oh, Mom, do you have to use the C word?" Cassie complained at her mother's description of Hector and her as "cute".

"What's wrong with being cute? I'm your mother. I tend to like seeing you kids get along so well. It's very charming in a way. We've not exactly been surprised at how close you guys really are. The signs were always there, dear. We just thought that it was your business and you'd tell us in your own time. It seems that we were right. Now you don't have to pretend at all.

The conversations go off-direction and you lose whatever gravity you had created with the first scene. Cut the shit. Maintain the story-line and try not to distract the already distracted readers. I think that you're trying to give the family history through this entire conversation, but it didn't work well for me.

Half of the things I read were a bit confusing. I didn't know where the story itself is going, which made this a tedious read. The other half of the time, I'm busy figuring out the new characters that pop in every two minutes, and try my best to remember their names.

I raised my hands and gave up after a while. I skimmed through the last few parts of the story, especially the giggling, high fives and stuff that was happening at the table. I'm not in the least interested by anything that's going on in the story now.

End of rambling. This story wasn't my cup of tea. This was a tedious read for me. No offence, but I have different tastes than yours. I'm sure you'll find readers that like your story, but I didn't like it at all. My words aren't the absolute truths of life, they're just my personal opinions.

I hope you understand that.

Bard.

 

[Sammael Bard]

My Review for Mike & Savy Ch. 01 by JustAnotherMarylander

Here's the link to the story if anyone else is interested in giving it a read: http://www.literotica.com/s/mike-and-savy-ch-01. So here's what I think about your story:

Your story reads weird in a few places. Grammar errors are minimal, but it's ocuring at every regular intervals, paving the way for a clunky read. Here's an excerpt:

I did date a girl pretty seriously during my senior year. Jamie was a cute girl, blonde and all-American. She was a year behind me in school, but that didn't much matter.

Which should have been something like:

It was during my senior year that I dated a girl seriously. Jamie was a cute girl, blonde and all-American. She was a year behind me in school, but that didn't matter much to me.

I didn't like that reminiscing about Savy every few paragraphs. An excerpt:

Savy and I would instant message almost every day, though. I'd ask her and she'd talk about some concert she'd given or class she'd aced, then she would ask me about college. She was incredibly insistent asking about the minutiae of classes and the details of what college life was like. It just seemed like she was already ready to leave high school and get to college.

I'll admit, it was kicking my ass a bit. High school was a breeze, but I'd never had to apply myself like this. The A's and B's of high school had turned into mostly C's in college. I felt like I was letting her down, even more than I felt like I was letting down mom. Mom had this way of always supporting me, even when I could tell she wanted more, but the thought of not living up to Savy's expectations was troubling.

By my sophomore year, I was doing better. My grades were up and I lived in a different dorm, for international students, so there was always lots of interesting stuff was always going on.

Savy was still my best friend, though. She was starting to think about what she wanted to study in college and, like me, she wanted nothing more than to work at NASA. She was more focused on biology, which I was perfectly fine with. The thought of the two of us possibly getting jobs at Goddard, which is just a few miles from the University of Maryland campus, was incredible.

This feels repetitive and a bit boring. Cut it down, and include such parts in rarity, so that at least the readers can appreciate his thoughts for Savy. IMO, it would be more compelling if it were done that way.

I think that you're rather interested in moving the plot ahead, rather than developing the story itself. It won't get much criticism from my part, but I feel that the story could've been fleshed out better than this.

No sex in the first part definitely means a lower rating from the readers. That's a sad truth, and there's nothing you can do about it.

For your first attempt, I should say this is was a decent read. I didn't feel bored out anywhere, like I usually do. But I think that there's always room for improvement.

Characters are decently etched. Nothing more that I can add to it. Plot is decent (from what I can gather from the first chapter). I won't make a noise regarding Erotica in your case, unless the story absolutely demands it.

All in all, I think you should sit down with an editor and do an entire revamp of the first chapter. If you can hook the readers with the first chapter itself, I think you can have a greater readership for the subsequent chapters. Speaking for myself, I was decently intrigued, but not so much that I'd hound you everywhere. No, no, it wasn't a criticism. I'm just the type of stories that I usually prefer to read.

A 3* for your writing, and a 4* for your first-time effort. Hope this review helped you in any way it could.

Regards,

Bard.

 

[8letters]

Thank you so much, Bard. I was expecting a review telling me what more I needed to add to my story and instead I got one telling me what I needed to remove. Very thought provoking.

Also, you used the word "chunky" too much in the beginning, more than I would have preferred. It sounds harsh and jarring. Try a different word, like "chubby", like I did in the excerpt.

This is probably just a personal thing, but I don't see much of a difference between "chunky" and "chubby". They both mean overweight. To me "chunky" means the person is carrying the extra weight all over their body whereas "chubby" means they are mainly carrying it on their gut, but I doubt there is a precise difference between the two.

And dude! In Erotica, we readers prefer that you, the author, don’t describe something which is off-putting for us...Cut that “her nose was too large” and stuff. Just describe what’s so beautiful about her.

Good point.

Your story gets a bit tedious to read after the first few paragraphs. The wordiness that I’ve mentioned earlier hit my head big time. Look, I know you already gave a disclaimer in the beginning that it’s going to be a slow evolving one, but it doesn’t meant that it has to be boring. Cut the flab and make your story worth reading.

This is the meat of your criticism. Are you saying that I need to read each paragraph and look for a few unneeded words here and there to kill?

Thanks again for the time.

 

[Sammael Bard]

Thank you so much, Bard. I was expecting a review telling me what more I needed to add to my story and instead I got one telling me what I needed to remove. Very thought provoking.

You're welcome! I write what crosses my mind while reading a story. However, I tell everyone to take everything with a grain of salt, because they're my own personal preferences. I know they don't suit everyone. Take in what you see is helpful and discard the rest if you want to.

I don't think you need to add something to a story to make it better. Sometimes, removal is a better option too, as in your case.

This is probably just a personal thing, but I don't see much of a difference between "chunky" and "chubby". They both mean overweight. To me "chunky" means the person is carrying the extra weight all over their body whereas "chubby" means they are mainly carrying it on their gut, but I doubt there is a precise difference between the two.

The difference, for me, lies in the way it sounds and its repetition, not its meaning. If I had to take an analogy, I'd ask you to pronounce "Cunt" and "Pussy" several times. The former word is a bit harsh on the ears and hence, something that I wouldn't use frequently in a story.

Given the option of a better-sounding word, I'd definitely use the better one. Overall, it's a personal preference and a minute thing. Ignore it if you want to.

This is the meat of your criticism. Are you saying that I need to read each paragraph and look for a few unneeded words here and there to kill?

Yes. Reduce the wordiness where it's necessary. But beware! Don't go for an overkill and nitpick every sentence, otherwise your story will end up looking very different from the original one, and not necessarily better.

Good Luck with your story.

 

[8letters]

Yes. Reduce the wordiness where it's necessary. But beware! Don't go for an overkill and nitpick every sentence, otherwise your story will end up looking very different from the original one, and not necessarily better.

I was reading Stephen King's "On Writing" last night and he strives for his final draft to have 10% less words than his first draft. I'll try doing the same.

 

[sr71plt]

I was reading Stephen King's "On Writing" last night and he strives for his final draft to have 10% less words than his first draft. I'll try doing the same.

My finals expand on the first draft. I don't get bogged down in detail the first time around.

 

[8letters]

My finals expand on the first draft. I don't get bogged down in detail the first time around.

Different techniques work for different writers. As wordiness seems to be my current issue, using his technique may be what I need.

King doesn't use an outline - he starts with interesting characters in an interesting situation and sees where the story takes him. I can't imagine writing that way as I have the whole plot worked out in my head before I write word one.

 

[sr71plt]

Different techniques work for different writers. As wordiness seems to be my current issue, using his technique may be what I need.

King doesn't use an outline - he starts with interesting characters in an interesting situation and sees where the story takes him. I can't imagine writing that way as I have the whole plot worked out in my head before I write word one.

In that way, I write like King does. On the other, I don't let myself get bogged down in getting the story written. It's in review where aspects of it get enhanced and also where I reform to meld with where the story went that I didn't anticipate it going. and in the review that could change again too.