Is Your Writing Vulgar?

[NOIRTRASH]

Who's your target audience?

 

[ElectricBlue]

Not vulgar, no. Sometimes elegant, sometimes simple, generally meandering and slow to the point. AwkwardMD said of one story - but nothing really happens. Which was entirely the point, nothing did really happen, but it didn't happen beautifully. Readers seemed to love it not happening.

So, my target audience? People who "get" my sensibility, can recognise a grace note when they see one, are patient and willing to go where I go, to go along for the ride. More women than men, I think, because I'm a man already, and women fascinate me more. Not strokers per se, I wouldn't have thought (but folk tell me their outcomes are... satisfactory).

Prolly not you, either, James - remember we had the "I ain't got no empathy" discussion a while back? Your study of human nature is possibly the opposite extreme to mine. Real people probably inhabit the space in between.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

Not vulgar, no. Sometimes elegant, sometimes simple, generally meandering and slow to the point. AwkwardMD said of one story - but nothing really happens. Which was entirely the point, nothing did really happen, but it didn't happen beautifully. Readers seemed to love it not happening.

So, my target audience? People who "get" my sensibility, can recognise a grace note when they see one, are patient and willing to go where I go, to go along for the ride. More women than men, I think, because I'm a man already, and women fascinate me more. Not strokers per se, I wouldn't have thought (but folk tell me their outcomes are... satisfactory).

Prolly not you, either, James - remember we had the "I ain't got no empathy" discussion a while back? Your study of human nature is possibly the opposite extreme to mine. Real people probably inhabit the space in between.

VULGAR means for common ordinary readers. Most people read at an 8th grade level. Most people use the 50 most common words for half their speech. My writing rarely fathoms Great Ideas. I play the cards God deals to mere mortals. You spend too much time with LOVECRAFT saving the planet.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=vulgar

VULGAR

 

[NOIRTRASH]

Soon we'll look at CONFOUND and PARADIGM SHIFT.

 

[LIVINRFANTASIES]

Denny

Who's your target audience?

Mere mortals, bored, in their prime, wanting to experiment with sex, yet afraid to just do something kinky.

VULGAR means for common ordinary readers. Most people read at an 8th grade level. Most people use the 50 most common words for half their speech. My writing rarely fathoms Great Ideas. I play the cards God deals to mere mortals. You spend too much time with LOVECRAFT saving the planet.

Yep that thar is us. Maybe 6th grade level where we are from. Back in Florida we'd been right up there with UF standards. We use only short easy to spell words. None of them thar two dollar words that confuse even the best Lit scholars.

I see you even used mere mortals as I scrolled farther down. Pray tell we don't think alike. My writing and the little my wife writes are not vulgar. Rather real life and pretty much the truth, which Lit members can't stand much of.
Sort of Loving Wives in a friendlier location.

I've been at this for only a short time and have admitted neither of us are writers altho we write. Somehow that makes us writers, in a vulgar sort of way. We're havin' fun and that's all that matters to us.

 

[sr71plt]

This is not commonly the contest in which we speak of "vulgar," and JBJ of course knows that and is just stirring the pot. There are clearly ways to present what he later says (tongue squarely in cheek) he means.

 

[PuckIt]

In all seriousness I try to be. Whether you chose "vulgar" in the sense of "common" or the more recent "trashy".

But, then my vile sense of humor gets the better of me and I can't resist trying to undercut myself with witticisms.

I can only ever get it about half right though.

 

[SimonDoom]

This is an interesting question. At first, I thought you meant vulgar in the sense of crude, lewd, or obscene, but I don't think that's exactly what you mean.

I'd say I try to write for a broad reading audience. Not high-brow, but not bottom-of-the-barrel low-brow, either. I have a pretty good idea of the stories I like to read on this site, and I try to write stories that I think keep up with them in tone, style, prose, character, etc.

I like to think that my target reader is someone who doesn't take these stories too seriously, and who appreciates elements of whimsy and irreverence. Also, I appreciate, and write for, readers who are open-minded, and fairly tolerant in their kinks and fetishes, and tolerant of, and interested in reading stories about, the kinks and fetishes of others.

I think there is a place for "vulgarity" in good writing, especially erotic writing, and I aim to include it in my stories.

 

[sr71plt]

This is an interesting question. At first, I thought you meant vulgar in the sense of crude, lewd, or obscene, but I don't think that's exactly what you mean.

As I noted, this was all a "gotcha" setup to do exactly what JBJ did--use a dictionary definition that isn't the norm (when a clearer set up of what supposedly was meant is available) and then to come back with a "I'm smarter than you are" "gotcha." It's just normal troll behavior.

 

[ChloeTzang]

VULGAR means for common ordinary readers. Most people read at an 8th grade level. Most people use the 50 most common words for half their speech. My writing rarely fathoms Great Ideas. I play the cards God deals to mere mortals. You spend too much time with LOVECRAFT saving the planet.

Nope. I don't write to the vulgar masses. I don't write intellectual literary bs either and I don't aspire to either. A large percentage of the vulgar masses do not read books. Or websites. I had a housemate at college, smart girl, studying finance and math stuff. Outside of textbooks all she read was Cosmo and Vogue. Scary how little she knew outside her little bubble. I doubt she'd ever read a book in her life. That's the vulgar masses and I'm not writing for them. I might write them as characters but they're not my target audience at all.

 

[NotWise]

So the thread title and the actual question asked in the OP are different.

Getting to the question, I like to think that I write my stories for a female audience. My success isn't so great, for a number of reasons.

I don't get much from the thought that a guy might be jerking off over my story. Honestly, guys jerk off over billboards and liquor adds. We're an easy bunch to please.

I like the idea that a woman might find my writing interesting or even exciting.

 

[sr71plt]

If someone posts a thread on this topic that isn't just playing us, sure, I'd be happy to discuss it.

I doubt that it's much of a secret that the general target for writing for the general public is 8th grade (or that what's 8th-grade level has been deteriorating for several years in the United States thanks to the dumbing down of the American public) or that the general target level in the Literotica story file is probably 6th grade while the expectation of a good many posting to the AH would like to pretend that it's first year college. I just write at the same level that I speak--and don't worry much what that is. I try to write like I'm telling the story to the reader.

 

[NotWise]

If someone posts a thread on this topic that isn't just playing us, sure, I'd be happy to discuss it.

I doubt that it's much of a secret that the general target for writing for the general public is 8th grade (or that what's 8th-grade level has been deteriorating for several years in the United States thanks to the dumbing down of the American public) or that the general target level in the Literotica story file is probably 6th grade while the expectation of a good many posting to the AH would like to pretend that it's first year college. I just write at the same level that I speak--and don't worry much what that is. I try to write like I'm telling the story to the reader.

It's a little weird, but when I view your post on the forum I get the first paragraph. It wasn't until the I quoted you to reply that I saw the second (longer) paragraph.

At any rate, just for you, I'll rephrase the original question because JBJ probably won't.

 

[SimonDoom]

As I noted, this was all a "gotcha" setup to do exactly what JBJ did--use a dictionary definition that isn't the norm (when a clearer set up of what supposedly was meant is available) and then to come back with a "I'm smarter than you are" "gotcha." It's just normal troll behavior.

I sort of knew that, but I was bored and decided to bite anyway.

 

[sr71plt]

I sort of knew that, but I was bored and decided to bite anyway.

I liked the idea of taking the non trolling part of the topic and just opening another thread and leave James to stew in his antisocial bile.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I liked the idea of taking the non trolling part of the topic and just opening another thread and leave James to stew in his antisocial bile.

You joined in and made a very informative comment, others joined in and also made good contributions, and AH had a pleasant little chat, all quite civilised.

And only then, a bunch of posts in, did somebody jump on a favourite hobby horse and say, this thread was started by James, therefore it must be trolling behaviour. So what if he mixed one heading with a different question? That doesn't mean it's a deliberate pot stir, that just means his meds are unbalanced.

Folk coming new to this forum might look at patterns of behaviour and draw different conclusions as to who the trolls are. Can't we just all be better than this? For the sake of being civil, at least. We all know everybody's feelings and games here, so why the need for constant reinforcement? We know already, we're all bloody adults and we can all make our own minds up. How about the self-appointed troll police give themselves and us all a break.

I notice in the last day or two that some Americans showed a healthy appreciation for very good Aus ABC journos (the G20-1 commentary that went viral). So this was kind of timely, today:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-...urts-people-but-they-simply-dont-care/8701424

Maybe we should all buy mirrors and take a bit of a look at ourselves. I know I have, and my "best not send that" override has been used a number of times. But you know what, as time goes by, the need to exercise it just gets less and less, and I'm getting to the point where "predictability bingo" is so boring it's like watching paint dry. But CERN could set their atomic clock by the same old same old folk dropping by. As I say, we know already; don't tell me again.

Seriously, if folk can't resist biting every time their notional troll pops up, just put the fuckers on "ignore", don't contribute to their threads, just don't engage! It's not rocket science, it's not even Psych 101, to be honest.

Also, selective "iggy" just makes your dash tidier. Fewer flashing lights and bright colours, far more restful on the eye.

Can we just try, even for an hour, even for a minute, even for a second (to quote the great Leonard Cohen). Even a microsecond would be admirable.

 

[sr71plt]

You joined in and made a very informative comment, others joined in and also made good contributions, and AH had a pleasant little chat, all quite civilised.

You've probably only posted this because you were the one JBJ did his "gotcha" (post #3) to--the same post that was the first backbiting (by JBJ--against you and LC) you talked about. I stand by what I noted JBJ was up to with this thread--and I called him on it in my first post. You can feed the troll and be his dupe if you want to, of course, but save me the lecture in civilized posting.

 

[ChloeTzang]

I doubt that it's much of a secret that the general target for writing for the general public is 8th grade (or that what's 8th-grade level has been deteriorating for several years in the United States thanks to the dumbing down of the American public) or that the general target level in the Literotica story file is probably 6th grade while the expectation of a good many posting to the AH would like to pretend that it's first year college. I just write at the same level that I speak--and don't worry much what that is. I try to write like I'm telling the story to the reader.

I had no idea but then I guess that's a good part of what AH is about. Learning and expansion of ones own little bubble. 8th grade was a surprise but when I went and did some reading, yes. But I do see a difference between the average out there in the world and readers on lit. To start with, readers on lit are literate and have a computer and have found literotica which kind of puts them a cut above the average. Now I write at my own level, I don't dumb things down and I love playing with words and when I write it's often with a thesaurus open so I can look up synonyms and antonyms. I've had the odd reader comment about my use of words.

I guess all of that is say I don't dumb things down in the slightest. I write as if readers were myself and I assume their inherent intelligence and ability to comprehend.

 

[ishtat]

As an erstwhile mathematician I remember that fractions are vulgar, whereas on Lit it's more commonly factions.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

Mere mortals, bored, in their prime, wanting to experiment with sex, yet afraid to just do something kinky.

Yep that thar is us. Maybe 6th grade level where we are from. Back in Florida we'd been right up there with UF standards. We use only short easy to spell words. None of them thar two dollar words that confuse even the best Lit scholars.

I see you even used mere mortals as I scrolled farther down. Pray tell we don't think alike. My writing and the little my wife writes are not vulgar. Rather real life and pretty much the truth, which Lit members can't stand much of.
Sort of Loving Wives in a friendlier location.

I've been at this for only a short time and have admitted neither of us are writers altho we write. Somehow that makes us writers, in a vulgar sort of way. We're havin' fun and that's all that matters to us.

I wasted all those years in college when I shoulda come here for my akoolin.

Since 1950 or so average reading levels have been at the 8th grade mark. Amerixans resist becoming PILOT or TEX.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

The difference tween me and YOU is I do my homework.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunning_fog_index

in a nutshell, Gunning studied reading levels and what writers do to fuck up their writing. Other experts confirmed Gunnings work.

Most of the replies above are foggy ways of saying I DONT KNOW, SO FUCK YOU TROLL!

There's a whole nuther writing world out there you assclowns don't suspect exists. CHLOE and PILOTare your king and queen.

 

[ChloeTzang]

Since 1950 or so average reading levels have been at the 8th grade mark. Amerixans resist becoming PILOT or TEX.

But that's an average and there's all sorts of variations. I think our readers here are way better than 8th graders. Based on the ones I chat with at least

 

[NOIRTRASH]

But that's an average and there's all sorts of variations. I think our readers here are way better than 8th graders. Based on the ones I chat with at least

Gunning's book I wont part with. In it he make's a solid case for WHAT IS rather than WHAT CAN BE. WHAT IS is a sobering reality.

One of my crusades I call the struggle with linguistic drift. Word definitions starts with one meaning and grows to encompass all meanings. I think the word starts with you and soon becomes PILOT and TEX in a horse suit.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

http://aht.seriouseats.com/images/2013/03/20130308-burger-horse-costume-post.jpg

PILOT words.