Story writing

[Greatwanni]

Sorry if this doesn't belong in this forum. Wasn't sure where else to post. I'm working on writing my first story but it seems to be a slow read. Any suggestions as to how to speed up the story telling? I want to keep readers from becoming too bored and not finish the whole thing. Thanks for any and all suggestions!

 

[SimonDoom]

You're going to have to say more to get useful feedback.

What's slow about it? Why do you think it's slow? Is there too much narrative? Too much dialogue? Does the story veer off into sideplots?

Before you write anymore, ask yourself what is the most important thing you want to say in this story. Then just focus on that and eliminate everything else and see what you end up with.

You might be selling yourself short. Literotica readers tolerate fairly long stories.

 

[LexxRuthless]

Also important to keep in mind--Literotica pages may be longer than you think. My first story took a while to write, and it was over ten pages on Microsoft Word. That was less than a page and a half on Lit.

While I was writing, I thought I was making it too long. Once I saw it on the site, I realized the opposite was true.

 

[Athalia]

I'd recommend some rather savaging editing. Try to shorten the story by at least a third, by cutting anything that doesn't contribute directly to the plot or the character. Once you do that, see if the story scans any better.

If, on the other hand, you find that everything seems to be pulling its weight, look for other things that might slow the read down. One of the worst offenders is long paragraphs that display a "wall of text" instead of a series of small packages of text, of two or three sentences each. It amazes me how much breaking large paragraphs into small ones impacts the readability.

 

[SamScribble]

Asked how he managed to write stories that rattled along at pace, the late Elmore Leonard said that he simply left out the bits that he felt readers would skip over. There is worse advice.

I do not want readers skipping a single word that I have bothered to write, and so I tend to follow the Elmore Leonard method. However, there are 1,001 different kinds of readers here at Lit – including some for whom quantity is the all-important dimension.

I suggest that you just write as much or as little as you would want to read.

Good luck.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

All good advice.

One good option is to find a beta reader, somebody who you can rely on for honest feedback. Ultimately however, writing is like sex; you can read about it, talk about it and contemplate it endlessly, but the only way to get good at it is to shed your inhibitions and have at it.

When all else fails, you can always follow the Alice Method:

“Begin at the beginning," the King said, very gravely, "and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland​

Good luck! Do be sure to let us know when it’s posted.

 

[Javahead]

Don’t be afraid to edit like hell - if it doesn’t work for the story you’re telling, be prepared to rip out paragraphs and even pages of text. (This one I’m still working on - it’s possible to fall in love with beautifully written words without regard to their utility.)

On the other hand, if you’ve reached the point that you’re just making minor changes while the story as a whole remains the same, just stop. It’s as good as you’re currently able to make it, so either post it or put it aside and go work on something else for a while.

 

[LoquiSordidaAdMe]

Sorry if this doesn't belong in this forum. Wasn't sure where else to post.

You are absolutely in the right place, Greatwanni. I've gotten more advice and support from the folks in the AH than I ever thought possible when I wrote my first story. Welcome!

Also important to keep in mind--Literotica pages may be longer than you think.

To quantify Lexx's earlier point, one Lit page is about 3,750 words. What's the word count in your story, Greatwanni? That's how we usually talk about story length around here, and if you share that with us, you might get more tailored advice.

 

[Maeven_quinn]

Sorry if this doesn't belong in this forum. Wasn't sure where else to post. I'm working on writing my first story but it seems to be a slow read. Any suggestions as to how to speed up the story telling? I want to keep readers from becoming too bored and not finish the whole thing. Thanks for any and all suggestions!

There's a lot of things that could make a slow read... Someone has already said to cut out what doesn't directly contribute to the plot or the character. There's other things that might make a slow read thought too.

Best thing to do is to share an excerpt with some readers. We'll let you know.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Any suggestions as to how to speed up the story telling? I want to keep readers from becoming too bored and not finish the whole thing. Thanks for any and all suggestions!

Speed it up too much and it's over too fast.

What is it at the moment with all these folk wanting smut to be over in two minutes? Buy a four-stroke mower, it does the same lawn, but is far more reliable and lasts longer .

 

[HeyAll]

Always keep this in mind: Never be boring.

Think of yourself in the readers' shoes. If you think it'll be boring, condense it or take it out.

 

[yukonnights]

Sorry if this doesn't belong in this forum. Wasn't sure where else to post. I'm working on writing my first story but it seems to be a slow read. Any suggestions as to how to speed up the story telling? I want to keep readers from becoming too bored and not finish the whole thing. Thanks for any and all suggestions!

All generally good bits of experienced advice above. But, since we have nothing to look at...it's all shots in the dark and may or may not hit the target. Hopefully you have a word processor that can give you the word count...don't overlook that info about one Lit screen page being approximately 3750 words.

There's one thing that hasn't been mentioned; Oft times, after I've worked on a story for awhile...re-read it too many times...messed around fussing with it...yep, it gets to feel like a very slow story. About the only way to really get a fair idea of what you've written is to set it aside for a good while—a week or so—then read it with fresh eyes. It may not be as slow as it seems when you aren't tired of it.

Another thing to consider; The point of view the story is told in can make a big difference in how the 'pace' of the action reads. What point of view did you write yours in?

Don't panic...don't give up

 

[HectorBidon]

The speed of storytelling operates at two different levels. At the outermost level it refers to whether a story cuts right to the chase or whether it meanders along with copious background material, picturesque detail, elaborate subplots, tangents, digressions, and observations. As other commenters have said, all the latter, if done well, can certainly contribute to the enjoyment of a story. To quote Mae West, "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful." Story pacing at this level is a strategic decision by the author. Are you just shooting for "Wham, Bam, Thank You Ma'am," or have you got the authorial stamina to pull off "War and Peace with Mom on My Lap"?

But storytelling speed also applies at the more tactical, paragraph-to-paragraph, sentence-to-sentence level as well. A story's got to move along, to flow. At the very least it's got to hold the reader's attention and interest. At the very best it's got to sizzle. Maybe we can't all write sizzling prose, but we can at least do our best to avoid putting up boring prose.

One way to identify verbiage that is unnecessary, redundant, confusing, clunky, inept, or just plain boring is to read it out loud to yourself. (Or use a text-to-speech app, like the one in Google Translate.) When I find my own eyes glazing over over a paragraph I've written, I try to see if I can get the meaning (or feeling) across in a more streamlined, sizzlier fashion—perhaps with an apt metaphor or a subtle adverb rather than a full-blown explanation. Or I just leave it out altogether.

The point of a story is to tell a story. We all know a good story when we hear one. So if you can listen to your own story with the same ear with which you listen to other stories, you can at least identify the rough spots and get a sense of whether your edits are moving things in the right direction.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Always keep this in mind: Never be boring.

Think of yourself in the readers' shoes. If you think it'll be boring, condense it or take it out.

I’m reading Lee Child’s collection of Jack Reacher short stories. I’ve found myself glossing over some paragraphs because they were there just to pad things out. Even the biggest writers suffer from extra words...

Russ

 

[ThisNameIsntTakenYet]

As the others already have said, it's hard to give anything more than general advice that may or may not be useful at this point. Reading it ourselves or having OP describe why they feel it's slow in more detail is the only way to actually get tailored advice for this particular story (and confirmation on whether it's even too slow or not to begin with).

 

[Hypoxia]

Each reader has their own pace at any given moment. Some want many details; some don't, not right now, anyway. And I may want readers to skim past or slow down for certain passages, so I write accordingly.

I do try to cut *some* flab, but not too much, because many pr0n-reading pervos love to wetly wallow in words. They want sensory details at every half-inch of Sonny's cock sliding into Mom's anus. They might also like the backstory of how they got there. Be pungent.

Write your story. Wait two days, then read it. Does it excite you? If not, rewrite.

 

[Javahead]

Each reader has their own pace at any given moment.
Write your story. Wait two days, then read it. Does it excite you? If not, rewrite.

This is actually excellent advice, no matter what sort of writing you're doing. A couple of days perspective can help you detect a multitude of issues that you don't even see in the heat of the moment.

It can also help you realize that the couple of paragraphs that you were absolutely sure were horribly defective are actually fine. This last may be just my problem - at the end of a project, the urge to fiddle with meaningless changes is a terrible temptation.

Write it. Refine it. Then let it rest, and reread with fresher eyes.

 

[ThisNameIsntTakenYet]

It can also help you realize that the couple of paragraphs that you were absolutely sure were horribly defective are actually fine. This last may be just my problem - at the end of a project, the urge to fiddle with meaningless changes is a terrible temptation.

I suffer from the same problem, but during writing. Often I'll just be cringing as I'm typing, thinking it is absolute garbage. The temptation to go back and rewrite stuff is really strong then, but if I do it'll be really hard to stop and I will never make any actual progress on the story.

That's why recently I've started using a method I like to call the "run and don't look back" style of writing, where I just write a story (or chapter) from start to finish without reading back anything I've written unless I need to look something up for reference. Once I'm done I leave it for a few days indeed, and then read through it again and start the editing and polishing process. It's made me a lot more productive, and as you said: often I realize that the things I was tempted to scrap and rewrite actually weren't half bad and only needed some minor adjustments.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

There's one thing that hasn't been mentioned; Oft times, after I've worked on a story for awhile...re-read it too many times...messed around fussing with it...yep, it gets to feel like a very slow story. About the only way to really get a fair idea of what you've written is to set it aside for a good while—a week or so—then read it with fresh eyes. It may not be as slow as it seems when you aren't tired of it.

Excellent point!

 

[8letters]

Sorry if this doesn't belong in this forum. Wasn't sure where else to post. I'm working on writing my first story but it seems to be a slow read. Any suggestions as to how to speed up the story telling? I want to keep readers from becoming too bored and not finish the whole thing. Thanks for any and all suggestions!

It's tough to give advice without seeing the story, so I'll take a shot in the dark and guess that you have too much narrative summary at the beginning of the story. Start with an interesting scene with a lot of dialogue and feed in the back story a little at a time. A common beginner mistake is want to fully explain the background before starting the first scene.

 

[KeithD]

I’m reading Lee Child’s collection of Jack Reacher short stories. I’ve found myself glossing over some paragraphs because they were there just to pad things out. Even the biggest writers suffer from extra words...

Russ

I trust you then don't red Tom Clancy's later books either, then. Good choice.

 

[TheThird]

Remove passive verbiage. Cut down paragraph size into more manageable bites. Alternate dialogue with exposition. All chapters scenes end open, never provide a resolution (before the end of the story) unless it leads to something else.



These are all tricks suspense writers use to keep readers glued to their books.

 

[redzinger]

The question I try to always ask myself:

What does this add to the story?

If it doesn't develop the plot, characters, etc, it's extraneous & should be cut.

So many books, the author adds in extra, pointless scenes and loses the pacing. Keep it tight.

 

[Greatwanni]

It's tough to give advice without seeing the story, so I'll take a shot in the dark and guess that you have too much narrative summary at the beginning of the story. Start with an interesting scene with a lot of dialogue and feed in the back story a little at a time. A common beginner mistake is want to fully explain the background before starting the first scene.

This is exactly what my problem was. I just jumped right in with the backstory and didn't even think about an interesting beginning.

I reread it last night and made adjustments. I think I got a better start and a much better flow to the story now. Thank you all for your suggestions and ideas. They have all helped so much. Hopefully I will get this story finished and posted soon.

 

[Hypoxia]

The question I try to always ask myself:

What does this add to the story?

If it doesn't develop the plot, characters, etc, it's extraneous & should be cut.

So many books, the author adds in extra, pointless scenes and loses the pacing. Keep it tight.

That extra stuff might be called 'flavor'. And a pr0n tale might have no plot to develop, only a string of hot events, and players as disposable cartoons. Every story has its own pulse. Let's say a gal fucks her favorite classmates bye-bye on graduation night. She doesn't HAVE to, to support the rest of the story; but hey, this is pr0n, so of course she does, described in some detail to satisfy one-handed readers.

I add words to tell readers what I think they should know for the story to make sense. Trimming too many words leaves a skeleton.