What do you hate in a story?

[NOIRTRASH]

People forgive anything but honesty.

Actually, I can relate to this in a big way. I grew up unflinchingly honest, which in other words, I either admired your work and I could be profuse about it, or I was apathetic, or I didn't like it and I could also be explicit about the why. My unflinching honesty was in everything. It surprised me when my friend said I was very critical. Understanding how people tick has mellowed me out though. And when people say they want your honest opinion, the truth is they do, but if it hurts them, then that's not something that can be undone easily. In any case, honesty is still a big thing for me, but I find there's a lot of value to tact.

I agree totally. Tact is the salve to reduce the sting. Gestalt Therapy was the methodology my clinical professors taught us, and in those days Fritz Perls seemed like a callous asshole tho he seems rather muted today. But in the 60s and 70s he was 'brutal' with the honesty. Today he's ignored because back then he called a spade a spade. As he said, ITS OKAY TO WANT TO BE NAPOLEON, BUT ITS PSYCHOTIC TO SAY 'I'M NAPOLEON.' Bruce Jenner would shit if Perls were his therapist. Us old Perls acolytes can never see Jenner as a woman.

 

[Jose_Rick]

The hall of fame is full of chaptered series, and is no use to someone who doesn't have the time to read through all the 20 fucking chapters.

I couldn't agree more. I'd love to have the ability to filter out all the multiple-chapter stories, or at least put some kind of limit on the number chapters when using the search tool. Without it, I've found the best way to find good stories is to favorite the authors I like and work through their collections.

 

[Handley_Page]

Over the last few months, we've seen advice & descriptions which, for some obscure reason, have been ignored by the would-be author.
To my mind, first among these egregious errors is "sizing":

"I could see she had 38DD tits" [or similar].
Unless the person is a time-served clothing genius, nobody can accurately guess the dimensions of a woman's rack.
The same goes for a ten inch dong as thick as a can of coke.

 

[sr71plt]

Over the last few months, we've seen advice & descriptions which, for some obscure reason, have been ignored by the would-be author.
To my mind, first among these egregious errors is "sizing":

"I could see she had 38DD tits" [or similar].
Unless the person is a time-served clothing genius, nobody can accurately guess the dimensions of a woman's rack.
The same goes for a ten inch dong as thick as a can of coke.

You vigilantes continue to just not "get it" about sizing and to stick your noses into the business of those who do. There are some people whose turn on button requires more than "big." They require a number. It doesn't mean that they have much of a notion what exactly that measurement looks like or means. It's just more of a turn on for them to have that given rather than "big." I'm not defending them because I use measurements--other than through the mouth of a character who I think is the type to need them to visualize in arousal I don't use measurements. I'm defending them because they have a right to enjoy their fetishes without those who don't "get it" campaigning against them rather than just reading something else that serves their own personal needs.

 

[lovecraft68]

You vigilantes continue to just not "get it" about sizing and to stick your noses into the business of those who do. There are some people whose turn on button requires more than "big." They require a number. It doesn't mean that they have much of a notion what exactly that measurement looks like or means. It's just more of a turn on for them to have that given rather than "big." I'm not defending them because I use measurements--other than through the mouth of a character who I think is the type to need them to visualize in arousal I don't use measurements. I'm defending them because they have a right to enjoy their fetishes without those who don't "get it" campaigning against them rather than just reading something else that serves their own personal needs.

And again as you continue to misunderstand the entire spirit of this thread, no one is telling people not to do it, people here are saying what THEY don't like as readers and we have the right to like dislike whatever we want so in fact you're the vigilante trying to control what everyone says here.

Methinks you are a little to thin skinned about the opinions of others.

In MY opinion people who need the stats have little imagination and are better off watching porn than reading it.

"Holy shit, her tits are huge!" Okay, reader imagine what YOU think is huge and there they are. If they need it drawn out for them that's their limitation.

Again, in my opinion, which is worth no more or less than any other persons, but I am entitled to it.

 

[sr71plt]

And again as you continue to misunderstand the entire spirit of this thread, no one is telling people not to do it, people here are saying what THEY don't like as readers and we have the right to like dislike whatever we want so in fact you're the vigilante trying to control what everyone says here.

Methinks you are a little to thin skinned about the opinions of others.

In MY opinion people who need the stats have little imagination and are better off watching porn than reading it.

"Holy shit, her tits are huge!" Okay, reader imagine what YOU think is huge and there they are. If they need it drawn out for them that's their limitation.

Again, in my opinion, which is worth no more or less than any other persons, but I am entitled to it.

And we all know how you love to cram your personal prejudices down people's throats here.

And who do you think you're fooling that people aren't telling others how to write when they post to a thread like this?

 

[Handley_Page]

You vigilantes continue to just not "get it" about sizing and to stick your noses into the business of those who do. There are some people whose turn on button requires more than "big." They require a number. It doesn't mean that they have much of a notion what exactly that measurement looks like or means. It's just more of a turn on for them to have that given rather than "big." I'm not defending them because I use measurements--other than through the mouth of a character who I think is the type to need them to visualize in arousal I don't use measurements. I'm defending them because they have a right to enjoy their fetishes without those who don't "get it" campaigning against them rather than just reading something else that serves their own personal needs.

Pilot,
I'd not considered that there might be readers for whom the indicated sizes are of import.
Thank you for reminding me.
I still think it's a turn-off, but if that's what floats their boat. . . .

 

[legerdemer]

Just curious - has anyone had a comment asking for measurements, or expressing disappointment that they're not specified in a story? In my case the answer is no.

Of course those could be comments from the vast silent majority.

 

[Hypoxia]

I'd not considered that there might be readers for whom the indicated sizes are of import. <snip> I still think it's a turn-off, but if that's what floats their boat. . . .

Care for a bit of depression? Check out some top stories in various categories. Note all the rot: incoherent grammar, flimsy / ridiculous storylines, impossibly- and explicitly-sized anatomical specimens, etc. Weep that readers love this stuff or at least don't mind. Yes, many unpleasant boats are floated. Oy.

 

[Jose_Rick]

Over the last few months, we've seen advice & descriptions which, for some obscure reason, have been ignored by the would-be author.
To my mind, first among these egregious errors is "sizing":

"I could see she had 38DD tits" [or similar].
Unless the person is a time-served clothing genius, nobody can accurately guess the dimensions of a woman's rack.
The same goes for a ten inch dong as thick as a can of coke.

I'm ambivalent about sizes, at least for boobs. I'd rather just hear that they're large, or small, or high and firm, or buxom, or whatever. With that my imagination can fill a size and shape that trips my trigger. On the other hand, I don't necessarily object to reading a size.

What I do object to is exactly what you said: "I could see she had 38DD tits."

In real life, nobody "sees" that. Integrate it into the story somehow. Find a bra in a laundry hamper or something and read the size. I could dream up ten ways to find a bra size that wouldn't throw me out of the story the way someone being able to discern bra sizes from 20 feet away at first glance does. People that fit bras for a fucking living can't do that without measuring, and even then they still get it wrong a lot.

As for those ten inch, Coke can cocks, that triggers a quick click on the back button for me. Eight inches is believable for someone who needs a big cock in the story line and it's at the top of the bell curve for humans. Ten inch penises are vanishingly rare, and nobody has a Coke can girth. Put that shit in non-human if you want someone banging a Coke can.

 

[CyranoJ]

Well, of course porn and erotica are improbably full of spectacularly-endowed ever-ready males and equally unlikely females; it's fantasy. I don't have a problem with erotic stories being populated with men and women who are off the statistical mean or even have prodigious porn-star genitalia. (I don't actually think I've ever come across this "Coke can" convention people keep mentioning, though... and I'm fine with that.)

 

[sr71plt]

I'm ambivalent about sizes, at least for boobs. I'd rather just hear that they're large, or small, or high and firm, or buxom, or whatever. With that my imagination can fill a size and shape that trips my trigger. On the other hand, I don't necessarily object to reading a size.

What I do object to is exactly what you said: "I could see she had 38DD tits."

In real life, nobody "sees" that. Integrate it into the story somehow. Find a bra in a laundry hamper or something and read the size. I could dream up ten ways to find a bra size that wouldn't throw me out of the story the way someone being able to discern bra sizes from 20 feet away at first glance does. People that fit bras for a fucking living can't do that without measuring, and even then they still get it wrong a lot.

As for those ten inch, Coke can cocks, that triggers a quick click on the back button for me. Eight inches is believable for someone who needs a big cock in the story line and it's at the top of the bell curve for humans. Ten inch penises are vanishingly rare, and nobody has a Coke can girth. Put that shit in non-human if you want someone banging a Coke can.

And I list you among the trapped literal minded and anal retentive who both can't "get" that they don't really know what 38DD means either other than that's their turn on equivalent to your bland "big" and that you have to impose yourself on them. I don't see anyone who likes to write or read 38DD starting threads about it or being a vigilante on threads about it. They tend to just mind their own business and continue to read and write in terms of images that arouse them. And we just keep on having it included in stories here--because there are readers and writers who get off on it no matter what your preferences are.

 

[SecondCircle]

Sizes are fine, I don't typically prefer them listed. I've done so myself occasionally. I've read stories that handled it well.

I've stated it somewhere before, but I'll give it voice again. I don't think many people have a problem with the actual numbers themselves, but rather the way they are used. For instance if a woman in a story says, "it felt like he had a ten inch cock," or a guy says, "her bewbs had to be at least 34DD" I see that this is acceptable. We humans do tend to think like this from time to time afterall, regardless of if we are tailors or lingerie store owners ourselves. Even beyond that, sometimes this kind of imagery gives a "snap to" depiction of a character that's easily conveyed by numbers. Readers often may not mind this at all.

I think what hangs many people up about numbers is when they are used as a lazy way to write. (Yes, lazy writing is fine too, no one's condemning it on a free amateur reading site). But too often do I see police report style descriptions of characters that aren't creative or remotely imaginative. That is too say... it's fucking boring. Great. She was 5'9", 100 pounds, 36DD, Blonde, skinny, yadda yadda yadda. It's fine for readers to like this kind of description, but it's also fine for me to have the opinion that it sucks. There's no flair to it, no soul, it sounds robotic, monotonous, and breezes across a character's traits like they are of the slightest relevance, as though they are a boxer being weighed for a fight.

In, my, opinion... this slaughters the very idea of captivating and compelling storytelling. The idea of immersive experience is to feel like you're there in another world. A list of stats won't transport me into a sexy story. It'll more or less describe a Real Doll for me. And again... 90% percent of the readers can be fine with stat lists or lack of immersion, especially if they just want to get down to it.

But if the question is *specifically* "what do you not like, SecondCircle", then fuck listing sizes. To me... I find it bland and uninteresting.

 

[NoJo]

This is snipped out my story 'Woman's Vanitie', which I submitted here ten years ago:

Mia had an exquisite figure. If I start giving you measurements, I'll get flak from the Authors' Hangout Gestapo, so let's just say that the distance from her elbow to the tip of her fingers was exactly one cubit, and leave the rest to your filthy imaginations.

 

[coochiebarber]

Rape in any form and too much pain during sexual intercourse is big turn off.

 

[JaxRhapsody]

The topic has me thinking of levels of 'hate' I listed above what will lead to an automatic click off the story.

But there's things like the 36dd breasts and "12" long and thick as a coke can' coke. That's an eye roll, a little hiccup, but if the premise and other writing seems interesting I'll keep going.

Another eye roll, but not necessarily a reason to give up is the ridiculous sex slang like "One eyed snake" or her "steamy love tunnel" I like to stick to basic terms.

I get tired of trying to find alternate ways of saying dick and pussy, with an attept at more substance. Then again saying dick, and pussy gets old too, I try to base what a character would call it based on personality, or something.

 

[sr71plt]

I get tired of trying to find alternate ways of saying dick and pussy, with an attept at more substance. Then again saying dick, and pussy gets old too, I try to base what a character would call it based on personality, or something.

Which sometimes is "dick" and/or "pussy." I rarely write a character that would use "pussy," and I don't use it in author narrative, but I just went back through an e-book manuscript changing "cock" to "dick" in a character's dialogue because it hit me that he wouldn't use "cock" but would use "dick" and "prick." (He also uses a measurement, but he's gay, and, in fact, in certain gay lifestyles they do, in fact, use a measurement a lot.)

 

[Areala-chan]

Is there some reason why we can't bring back 'schlong'? Or does everybody else start giggling like I do when I run across that word in a story?

 

[sr71plt]

Is there some reason why we can't bring back 'schlong'? Or does everybody else start giggling like I do when I run across that word in a story?

What does "we" have to do with it? If you have a context in which you think it fits, feel free to use it.

 

[CyranoJ]

If I start giving you measurements, I'll get flak from the Authors' Hangout Gestapo, so let's just say that the distance from her elbow to the tip of her fingers was exactly one cubit, and leave the rest to your filthy imaginations.

That made me laugh.

 

[loquere]

Happy New Year to you too.



This.

And stories that have legal age characters with underage features (big male, tiny petite females etcetera). It's a cheap way to bypass the rules, but here it is. Worse are Non-Con/Reluctance stories that have such characters being "used" for pleasure. Reminds me of rapey pedo stories.

This is a personal preference but it's sickening nonetheless.

"Beep beep motherfuckers," Lmao. Your signature is awesome.

 

[JaxRhapsody]

Sizes are fine, I don't typically prefer them listed. I've done so myself occasionally. I've read stories that handled it well.

I've stated it somewhere before, but I'll give it voice again. I don't think many people have a problem with the actual numbers themselves, but rather the way they are used. For instance if a woman in a story says, "it felt like he had a ten inch cock," or a guy says, "her bewbs had to be at least 34DD" I see that this is acceptable. We humans do tend to think like this from time to time afterall, regardless of if we are tailors or lingerie store owners ourselves. Even beyond that, sometimes this kind of imagery gives a "snap to" depiction of a character that's easily conveyed by numbers. Readers often may not mind this at all.

I think what hangs many people up about numbers is when they are used as a lazy way to write. (Yes, lazy writing is fine too, no one's condemning it on a free amateur reading site). But too often do I see police report style descriptions of characters that aren't creative or remotely imaginative. That is too say... it's fucking boring. Great. She was 5'9", 100 pounds, 36DD, Blonde, skinny, yadda yadda yadda. It's fine for readers to like this kind of description, but it's also fine for me to have the opinion that it sucks. There's no flair to it, no soul, it sounds robotic, monotonous, and breezes across a character's traits like they are of the slightest relevance, as though they are a boxer being weighed for a fight.

In, my, opinion... this slaughters the very idea of captivating and compelling storytelling. The idea of immersive experience is to feel like you're there in another world. A list of stats won't transport me into a sexy story. It'll more or less describe a Real Doll for me. And again... 90% percent of the readers can be fine with stat lists or lack of immersion, especially if they just want to get down to it.

But if the question is *specifically* "what do you not like, SecondCircle", then fuck listing sizes. To me... I find it bland and uninteresting.

Sounds like noir detective who had a long case involving undercover work at not just Victorias Secret, but Torrid, once worked as one of those state fair guys who guesses age, and wieght, to figure out how the Vacoma Rainbow got sabotaged.

So far, I've never been a fan of period stories- especially before the advent of the automobile, I don't care if the bed pan is hot enough to give the woman the vapors, causing her to pull out her hand-cranked " stress reliever," from the chifarobe. Almost turned me off from Harry Potter, because of their use of the old ways, in the wizard world, until I found out his aunt and uncle owned a early 00s Citroen, or something like that. It just eases the mind, that's all.

There's always grammar, but I can often read past it. Though I like things to seem plausable, like the 27 yewr old virgin, whom jumps in to a gang bang, let's hope alcohol is her weakness, or she was hypnotized, or some sort of sleeper agent. Leyline Project code: It was you who broke my mason plate(10 internets if you know what that's from), and bam sexy sleeper agent awoken.

 

[JayLikestoRead]

re: head hopping, regarless of how it's done.

As near as I can tell it's confusing to the reader. For your reader's sake it might be better to keep the voice consistent.

I've been guilty of head-hopping, but rarely within a single chapter. What usually happens is that I write a story with no plans for a sequel, but when the idea for the sequel happens, I find that it's more interesting from a different character's POV. Even then, I'll stick to that POV for the duration of that chapter.

Incidentally, I've found through experimentation that readers of hetero stories would rather the story be from the woman's POV than the man's.

 

[lovecraft68]

I've been guilty of head-hopping, but rarely within a single chapter. What usually happens is that I write a story with no plans for a sequel, but when the idea for the sequel happens, I find that it's more interesting from a different character's POV. Even then, I'll stick to that POV for the duration of that chapter.

Incidentally, I've found through experimentation that readers of hetero stories would rather the story be from the woman's POV than the man's.

But for a lot of guys its only if they think its a woman writing it.If they find out its a guy's writing they got off to their homophobia kicks in and they feel dirty

There was a long thread about that somewhere, Story discussion circle maybe? I can't recall.

Maybe if Pilot pops back in here he'll remember, I know he posted in it quite a bit.

 

[Jose_Rick]

And I list you among the trapped literal minded and anal retentive who both can't "get" that they don't really know what 38DD means either other than that's their turn on equivalent to your bland "big" and that you have to impose yourself on them. I don't see anyone who likes to write or read 38DD starting threads about it or being a vigilante on threads about it. They tend to just mind their own business and continue to read and write in terms of images that arouse them. And we just keep on having it included in stories here--because there are readers and writers who get off on it no matter what your preferences are.

I'm not imposing myself on anyone, but merely stating an opinion on what I prefer. I believe that's the purpose of these boards. The OP did ask what people don't like in a story. Let's check again, shall we.

Oh yes, there it is at the top of the page: What do you hate in a story?

That was the thread title. I stated my opinion on the matter. Perhaps I'm confused and didn't realize that the purpose of the boards was merely to provide a forum for raving crackpots.