How Do You Rate Yourself?
- Thread starter NOIRTRASH
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lovecraft68
Bad Doggie
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Better than some, not as good as others.
voluptuary_manque
Literotica Guru
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Yeah, that's about right where I am, too.
GoldenMaia
Really Experienced
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I think I'm blush-worthy. Also laugh-worthy. I don't think they would be too impressed, I'm not writing literary masterwork.
Nathan_Brazil
Literotica Guru
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Funnier than Tolstoy...
Wordier than any mime.
Wordier than any mime.
H
HandsInTheDark
Guest
On the lit scale the pros would give me a 4. Because at lit, under 4 means absolutely awful, and I'm not that bad. 
GoldenCojones
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If Tolstoy is where the bar is set then I'm a fucking Jedi Master of porn stories. If Robert Jordan or Robert Heinlein is how you set the bar then I'm a vapid amateur.
I absolutely hate even trying to read Tolstoy or Shakespeare or Herman Melville or any of the "Greats" except Hemingway, who absolutely was a master story teller.
But all of that is just my opinion.
I absolutely hate even trying to read Tolstoy or Shakespeare or Herman Melville or any of the "Greats" except Hemingway, who absolutely was a master story teller.
But all of that is just my opinion.
Setanta84
Literotica Guru
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Given you like stories with sexual content and Hemingway, I'd recommend reading Richard Yates. He's widely considered a great and underappreciated literary artist whose two main influences are Hemingway and Fitzgerald.
Regarding me, I think I am very good--good enough to get fellowships and published in mainstream literary journals at any rate. But I think I'm really only beginning to explore my potential and am nowhere near the level of what I consider mastery in poetry or prose yet. (I'd put myself way above most people with a MFA, though, which just means I am enjoy basic competence--I really cannot believe how bad the writing is that some MFA graduates have shown me in the last year.)
GoldenCojones
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IMHO Yates wrote very much like Fitzgerald and was afflicted by that same grinding ponderous style that Hemingway transcended. However I may be being unfair since I only read about half of "Revolutionary Road" before giving up on it years ago.
SamScribble
Yeah, still just a guru
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As Spike Milligan said: ‘I thought I'd begin by reading a poem by Shakespeare. But then I thought: Why should I? He never reads any of mine.’ Boom! Boom!
If Shakespeare did read anything of mine, I like to think that he would give me points for craftsmanship. Originality? Maybe not. But then he nicked most – if not all – of his stories from elsewhere anyway.
If Shakespeare did read anything of mine, I like to think that he would give me points for craftsmanship. Originality? Maybe not. But then he nicked most – if not all – of his stories from elsewhere anyway.
FantasyXY
My Cromosome is XY
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The OP's question seems to be about how good of a "writer" one is. Does that include the ability to spin a good yarn? Or, are we talking about the ability to string words together in an interesting way. Maybe "writing" means both...
I have no problem coming up with stories and characters and situations and the total crap that makes up a good story. Where I run into issues is in actually writing what comes up in my wild ass imagination. My job, which also includes a lot of writing, is in a very technical field, which tends to make my writing a little more than rigid. I probably struggle a bit too much trying to make each word perfect, and edits tend to kill the mood.
So on a Lit scale I'd give myself a nice little average of 4 out of 5. My writing style might well be a 3 or less; but my story telling has got to be a 2-1/5.
2*5+1*5=11/5 -or- 11 out of 5. Yeah, I think I can spin a yarn.
I have no problem coming up with stories and characters and situations and the total crap that makes up a good story. Where I run into issues is in actually writing what comes up in my wild ass imagination. My job, which also includes a lot of writing, is in a very technical field, which tends to make my writing a little more than rigid. I probably struggle a bit too much trying to make each word perfect, and edits tend to kill the mood.
So on a Lit scale I'd give myself a nice little average of 4 out of 5. My writing style might well be a 3 or less; but my story telling has got to be a 2-1/5.
2*5+1*5=11/5 -or- 11 out of 5. Yeah, I think I can spin a yarn.
Zeb_Carter
.-- - ..-.
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I don't care. I write what I enjoy. I write what I would like to read. If you or others like it, good for you. But I don't really care. But you will have to pay to read what I write, not everything is free. 
NOIRTRASH
Literotica Guru
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Several years ago someone solicited lists of best-ever books and authprs from a long list of prominent writers.
Tolstoy ranked #1, Shakespeare was #2, James Joyce was #3.
ANNA KARENINA ranked first, WAR & PEACE ranked 3rd.
Here's the problem: I took an IQ test the other day. It was IQ derived from identifying the right pattern missing from 33 sequences of patterns. My tested aptitude for such work is 96th percentile. I recognize patterns better than 95% of all people. With the pattern IQ test I got 20 of the problems with no trouble, the patterns were obvious to me. After #25 I was clueless. I didn't submit the test for a score. My official IQ is 85, or the bottom of the average range. Tests don't really measure intelligence. What tests reveal are our limits. I wanted to see where I walked in to the wall.
Tolstoy and Shakespeare are outside the limits of most people. Few appreciate them because theyre unintelligible to most of us, tho sublime to a few. The War of 1812 is a template or allegory for what most of us experience getting from immaturity to maturity. Napoleon has the same process as Natasha and Pierre. WAR & PEACE is profound as an epic psychological expose of the human condition.
Shakespeare, on the other hand, worked with parts of the maturational process. ROMEO & JULIET is what you get when the village raises a child. All of Verona failed these kids. I suspect an other made the snowballs Will threw.
Tolstoy ranked #1, Shakespeare was #2, James Joyce was #3.
ANNA KARENINA ranked first, WAR & PEACE ranked 3rd.
Here's the problem: I took an IQ test the other day. It was IQ derived from identifying the right pattern missing from 33 sequences of patterns. My tested aptitude for such work is 96th percentile. I recognize patterns better than 95% of all people. With the pattern IQ test I got 20 of the problems with no trouble, the patterns were obvious to me. After #25 I was clueless. I didn't submit the test for a score. My official IQ is 85, or the bottom of the average range. Tests don't really measure intelligence. What tests reveal are our limits. I wanted to see where I walked in to the wall.
Tolstoy and Shakespeare are outside the limits of most people. Few appreciate them because theyre unintelligible to most of us, tho sublime to a few. The War of 1812 is a template or allegory for what most of us experience getting from immaturity to maturity. Napoleon has the same process as Natasha and Pierre. WAR & PEACE is profound as an epic psychological expose of the human condition.
Shakespeare, on the other hand, worked with parts of the maturational process. ROMEO & JULIET is what you get when the village raises a child. All of Verona failed these kids. I suspect an other made the snowballs Will threw.
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