Not Very Bright Readers

Well, I have made millions as a professional writer and if this guy has also I'm Dr. Fucking Seuss!!

All characters have the same voice. There is no character development or depth. The characters not only have the same voice, they do not talk like people. There is no reality or believably in the conversations and since there is virtually no action and both stories are basically all dialogue made up of stiff and awkward writing... Yeah right!
 
I suppose there are a lot of ways to interpret "made millions as a professional writer" other than "as a fiction writer."

If you worked writing successful grant applications or responses to government RFPs that landed contracts, and did it for a couple of decades at a good professional salary, you might "make millions."
 
I suppose there are a lot of ways to interpret "made millions as a professional writer" other than "as a fiction writer."

If you worked writing successful grant applications or responses to government RFPs that landed contracts, and did it for a couple of decades at a good professional salary, you might "make millions."

The writing I saw here wasn't up to the standards of successful grants or RFPs. I've done those and they're not simple. I was thinking maybe assembly instructions for IKEA...
 
An obvious one, but people will still reply to it as proved by that grammar performance artist in the thread the mod closed.

Sometimes you just have to be able to sniff out the troll.

On the topic of trolls when he said he made millions my first thought was "Scouries is that you?"

The grammar performance artist is over in the Editor's forum asking for help with a "story" which is basically just a string of abuse. I was thinking of responding that if Shakespeare had abused Anne Hathaway, this would be what he might have written, except you are obviously much better...
 
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The writing I saw here wasn't up to the standards of successful grants or RFPs. I've done those and they're not simple. I was thinking maybe assembly instructions for IKEA...

To be fair, though, proposals consist of a lot of boilerplate language and box-checking and just about no character dialogue of any kind, whatsoever, whereas Rex's stories here contain nothing but dialogue. He may be gifted in areas that erotica does not call upon.

Aaron Sorkin might be a terrible proposal writer. :D
 
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To be fair, though, proposals consist of a lot of boilerplate language and box-checking and just about no character dialogue of any kind, whatsoever. Rex may be gifted in areas that erotica does not call upon. :D

Yes, though I feel that my years of wrting that sort of stuff, especially journal publications, did make me a better writer. You learn how to lay out a story such that the reader can follow it.

And if people think the commenters here are harsh, just try a peer review from some tenured Ivy League heavyweight, where your career is on the line, not just a low score on a free story site...Interestingly, on the site where most of my stories have been posted, almost all of the really good writers are current or retired academics. I don't know if that's the case here.
 
I remember receiving back a "no, but if you make the changes suggested we would be interested in considering this for publication."
Generally, I make the changes and resubmit.
This one particular time I took umbrage to the suggestions. They wanted me to practically gut my original story.
I sent the story back unchanged with a note - thanks for your suggestions, here is my resubmission.
They sent back a contract with a note, "much better."
Okey-dokey.
Another thing, I've retired from a looooooong successful writing career.
Millions?
Yeah, right.
 
WOW! And I felt kinda bad for posting the critique I left on Rex's story last night :rolleyes: Maybe I need to toughen up?
 
The grammar performance artist is over in the Editor's forum asking for help with a "story" which is basically just a string of abuse. I was thinking of responding that if Shakespeare had abused Anne Hathaway, this would be what he might have written, except you are obviously much better...

He reeks of the general board. Every once in awhile one of them creates an alt and comes over here to chain yank. They're easy to spot, they're all the same level of obvious.
 
Right, that's because they finally moves all the spew into the politics forum, and a lot of the trolls there got mad and stopped posting in the GB itself. But for years the GB was the loving wives of the boards.

The GB/PB are the Loving Wives of the forum boards? Yeah, I think you hit it right. Over the last 20 years I've spent a lot of time there. Here's a few facts and lessons for those who haven't gotten down there yet.

The GB and PB are essentially, unmoderated. No thread has ever been closed there that I know of. You can get banned, but only for a very few things: posting of personal information such as real names, addresses, emails and the like, a threat of physical violence, not following the few simple posting rules. Otherwise it's a free for all. There's a lot of "Fuck you!" Fuck you too!" type back and forth. Once in a while, there is a good discussion on politics, but a lot of times it devolves into the aforementioned school yard insult swapping. Normally, you have dyed in the wool right-wingers yelling at and getting yelled at by dyed in the wool left-wingers.

It's a shark pool. Full of sharks that revel in tearing an opponent apart for no other reason then doing so.

There are a few smart ones over there, from both sides of the invisible political dividing line. A (very) few are fair-minded and will debate a point with dignity and aplomb. However, most are totally bias, blindly wedded to what ever political view they hold.

So now I can hear the question coming: Why if it's like that do you frequent the place?

The answer for me is simple, you don't learn to fight a bull or get good at it by petting a calf. I've learned lots of things there.

One is that the ignore feature is your friend. In RL when I run into someone who can't or won't talk politely, who refuses to be logical and truthful while discussing an issue, who is continuously abrasive and rude, I walk away from them. The ignore feature here at Lit is my way of walking away from that type of person here.

When I am on the GB/PB I delight in posting in a manner unlike most that frequent the place. I try to do so as politely as I can and still get my point across, as logically as possible using citable facts to back the claims I make and refuting, with verifiable facts, false, manufactured "truths".

My time on the GB/PB has taught me many things. It sharpened my logic, writing skills and strengthened my resolve to do things in a logical, moral manner.

All that said since 2016 there are fewer and fewer real debates and more and more insult trading sessions. I need a break from it, or maybe I'm starting to grow out of my desire to try to make a logical point to those who can only see what they want to see.

Any way the GB/PB ain't for the faint of heart. It's akin to wading into a swamp full of alligators with a roast tied around your neck. If you decide to give it a try, put on your asbestos underwear and go that a way


Comshaw
 
Posting anything in LW can be hazardous. Romance can also be dangerous.

Sometimes our readers are not the sharpest knives in the drawer. I have had some bizarre comments. I think the best was when I had the MC hit a woman's cervix during sex (typically a not very pleasant experience and one that is possible for the average size male). One commenter told me I needed to learn my female anatomy that such a thing was impossible. I held my tongue and didn't suggest that it is only impossible for those with small penises.
 
I’ve written several stories and not put any up here yet. Several comments that are made above are exactly the reason why.

Writers understand not everyone’s going to like their style. We get it. But this is what I don’t get- you (the reader) are on a site with thousands of erotic stories with every possible scenario. Why are you complaining about categories/genres/etc? If my story in loving wives has some M/M interaction, who cares? Did I offend you because I crossed some imaginary taboo line? Here’s a thought-stop reading if you don’t like the story.

It just amazes me people get so indignant when something they don’t particularly like is in a story. You’re surfing literary porn and you all the sudden are offended? And then to get personal about it is a whole different thing. I’m sorry, I didn't mean to offend you with my personal kinks and fetishes. But then again, stop reading if you don't like a story-I have plenty of times.

Okay. Rant over.
 
It just amazes me people get so indignant when something they don’t particularly like is in a story. You’re surfing literary porn and you all the sudden are offended? And then to get personal about it is a whole different thing. I’m sorry, I didn't mean to offend you with my personal kinks and fetishes. But then again, stop reading if you don't like a story-I have plenty of times.

Okay. Rant over.

The best ones are "this story is immoral!"

It's literary porn people! What did you expect?
 
The best ones are "this story is immoral!"

It's literary porn people! What did you expect?

This type of objection never ceases to amuse and amaze me.

I had a reader of a mom-son incest story of mine get angry when in one scene mom touched her anus. Something to the effect of, "No self-respecting mom would do that!"
 
This type of objection never ceases to amuse and amaze me.

I had a reader of a mom-son incest story of mine get angry when in one scene mom touched her anus. Something to the effect of, "No self-respecting mom would do that!"

Someone commented on one of my stories to the effect of "Your characters aren't flappers, they're WHORES" [their emphasis, not mine].

Duh. The characters in question were prostitutes -- dead prostitutes.
 
Someone commented on one of my stories to the effect of "Your characters aren't flappers, they're WHORES" [their emphasis, not mine].

Duh. The characters in question were prostitutes -- dead prostitutes.

Just as a matter of interest, is there much demand for dead prostitutes? :)
 
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