Advice for a Newb from a Newb

This isn't going to be revelatory or shocking.

Ask for help.

I did. To the point where I'm probably annoying people (sorry). Most people here are extremely kind and generous with their time and advice.

If my writing reaches the passable level, the folks from Literotica had a lot to do with that. I also reached out to some authors whose work I respected. They were also more than kind with their time.

Seriously, what's the worst that can happen? You ask for help, don't get it and you're in the same situation as before? Not so bad.

Bebop3 said:

This isn't going to be revelatory or shocking.

Ask for help.

I did. To the point where I'm probably annoying people (sorry). Most people here are extremely kind and generous with their time and advice.

If my writing reaches the passable level, the folks from Literotica had a lot to do with that. I also reached out to some authors whose work I respected. They were also more than kind with their time.

Seriously, what's the worst that can happen? You ask for help, don't get it and you're in the same situation as before? Not so bad.

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Excellent advice.

I had no idea how clueless I was in regard to punctuation and formatting when I submitted my first chapter. Does the period go before or after the quotation mark? Do you capitalize the first word in a separated quotation? What the hell are semi-colons for?

The submission was rejected. I reached out for help, received some very kind and helpful advice, and resubmitted. It is sitting at a 4.46 rating right now.

Overall, this is a very supportive community for a novice writer.

thanks for these tips, it's really very useful for me

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DonaldOaks said:

thanks for these tips, it's really very useful for me

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Good luck with your writing, Donald.

Ayup!

Ok, so you will get the occasional crusty old fart who will point out the "stickied" threads (at the top of the forums highlighted in blue with the word "sticky" out to the left). And, yeah, ok. Those threads do tend to have some pretty good info in them. But, they don't do you much good if you don't realize they are there! And I swear to God, it's just about requisite to be an "old hand" before spotting them.

But, for the most part, most posters don't mind recovering "old ground." Or at least shouldn't, since I know I've rediscovered some things I'd sort of glazed on while pointing something out to someone else. And even the ones who post links to threads where the problem has been discussed before are typically well meaning (just too old and arthritic to retype everything again).

And it's important to remember that everyone was a newbie at some point. (Well, except for maybe Ogg. Not sure, but I think he carved his first story in stone tablets. But, other than him. Love ya, Ogg-man!)

Any road, yeah. Don't hesitate to ask around. It's actually pretty amazing what this disparate motley crew of fools knows between them. And above all, "just write."

Bebop3 said:

This isn't going to be revelatory or shocking.

Ask for help.

Click to expand...

To that I would add - Ask for feedback.

Once your story is finished and published, find out what you can do better the next time. The Story Feedback forum is a great place to ask. That forum doesn't see as much activity as the AH, but the responses you get are (with a few exceptions) thoughtful and actionable advice on how to improve as a writer.