How Much Rope?

[NOIRTRASH]

I allow writers a paragraph or two, maybe a page, before I move on.

 

[IvyMarquis]

I'm more or less in the same vein, but it also depends on how hard I'm looking for the type of story I'm reading.

If I'm looking at a topic that's not very niched (There's a lot of it, or a genre I don't give a shit about), then I'm in the same boat in that I will give the story a paragraph or two. If it doesn't do anything to irritate me then I continue reading. If it's something I'm super in the mood for and/or there's not a lot of choices to pick from on the subject, then I am much, much more forgiving on what I will read.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

Stories are like women. I know what I like and want, and sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised with someone different. But I always know pretty quick.

 

[SamScribble]

Stories are like women. I know what I like and want, and sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised with someone different. But I always know pretty quick.

You're bragging, James. Although you are not wrong.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

With some stories it's about two sentences. With others I might read the whole thing realizing in the end I won't get the time I wasted back...ever.

I to have been surprised by some of them. Yet, not all that often.

 

[NotWise]

If I promised someone that I'd read something then I'll read it all, even if it hurts. I don't make promises about reading stories longer than three lit pages.

If I'm sampling or reading for entertainment then it's usually about two paragraphs. I read two stories by one a new author and that was unusual. It will be interesting to see what that author learns from their first two stories.

 

[FantasyXY]

For most Lit stories, I actually pick a random place in the middle of the story and read somewhere between two and four paragraphs, and/or some dialog. If the writing can grab me without even knowing the plot or characters, I start over from the top.

Over the years I have found that if an author is lost in their thought process in the middle of the story, then the overall story will be too much work to enjoy reading. The things that turn me away from a story are bad sentence and paragraph structure, and dialog for dialogs sake.

When I do this I realize that in reality I am being my own worst critic, as my own stories often lose structure as the tale goes on. I have however, fixed my dialog for dialogs sake problem... I think.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

To test my theory Last night I endured several pages of a 5 star story that went no where. It was like an episode of FRIENDS. Like 5 couples went to Las Vegas to get wild and crazy, and after 5 pages they hadn't pulled the sanitation strip off the toilet.

 

[Serafina1210]

Youse guys are so fuckin hard to please! Just stay away from my shit, okay?

 

[NOIRTRASH]

Youse guys are so fuckin hard to please! Just stay away from my shit, okay?

^^^^^^All her stories start with IN THE BEGINNING.

 

[Serafina1210]

^^^^^^All her stories start with IN THE BEGINNING.

Naw. Some of them start "once upon a time" and some "It was a dark and stormy night."

 

[Carnevil9]

If there is a typo in the blurb on the story index, I won't even open it. If they make it past that hurdle, I give it the standard two paragraphs to see if it is worth my time.

 

[rjordan]

A couple paragraphs or until the "Recitation of Vital Statistics". Tell me the woman in the story looks like Gillian Graham and I'm gone right then and there.

rj

 

[Serafina1210]

A reader of my last LW story stopped reading at the point where a lawyer whipped his dick out and demanded that my heroine suck it. He skipped to the end and left me a nasty comment. Eye roll--another man-hating bitch, probably a SJW. He should have stuck around for the escort service proprietor who hiked up her dress and demanded cunnilingus.

You never know what wonders might be lurking a paragraph or two on.

 

[Sailor_Witch]

Depending on my mood, I'll give a little more or less leeway to an author. Usually about half the fisrt page.

Of course I like medium to somewhat short stories so when I open a story, I immediately scroll to the bottom of the page and check the story's page count. If it's more than 7, I move on without reading.

Yeah, maybe I miss out on some good stories that way, but It prevents me from reading dozens of pages of material I don't like to get to the page and a half that I do like.

 

[Kantarii]

It's pretty safe to say that most people on this discussion board wouldn't have an interest in reading my stories. Everyone seems to be geared towards Loving Wives Kant

 

[Sailor_Witch]

Kantarii, I see that your stories are in three different genres.

Eh and Sci-Fi I would read, but your other category is outside of my interest. Perhaps a fantasy story about (I'm sure it has been done-probably several times over) a guy or girl who magickally switches gender for just long enough to feel what the other side feels....

You seem to have the idea that your writing is too far outside the interest of the people in this forum. Remember, please, that this forum does not include everybody. That is true of both authors and readers. There is plenty of market for your stories.

BTW, Thank You for writing and sharing them. I will ask you to think about the tarot card called The Moon. It signifies that things are not as they seem. I would say the same thing about your perceptions of the group in this forum.

Blessings,

Popeye

 

[NOIRTRASH]

It's pretty safe to say that most people on this discussion board wouldn't have an interest in reading my stories. Everyone seems to be geared towards Loving Wives Kant

Few read my stuff, and I rarely read any LIT stories. On my part I don't wanna flirt with temptation. But I don't write to please or impress other LIT writers, truth be told every LIT writer has her own fan base. When I wrote legal and psychological papers for real money, judges and lawyers liked my stuff social workers hated it.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

Lately I kill stories within a paragraph or so, and I don't care who the writer is.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

All TOLERANCE means is capacity to suffer.