Advice on writing

[YoungSwingCouple]

New to this. I have so many ideas and I've read so many stories. I want to bring my ideas to life here but I don't know where to start.

Can anyone help me with the basics. I have a huge imagination but struggle to get it down on paper. What I write doesn't match what I want it to be.
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[PeytonMirabelle]

Start with something like the ideas in this blog post. It's not a perfect prescription but it's a starting point:

https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2014/08/07/improve-writing-skills

One thing that stands out from that list to me is (I think is was #9) "Accept that your first draft will be crap." I'd go one further: accept that your first writings in general will be crap. For most people this is truth. Don't get frustrated. Just keep at it.

Develop a thick skin. If someone gives you harsh feedback, don't curl into a ball. Parse it out and see if there is anything there you can use to get better.

I think a lot of starting writers think writing fiction should be easy. I mean, everyone writes emails and the like all the time, so how hard can it be, right? I think getting good at writing is like getting good at golf: it looks easy but until you start doing it you don't realize the nuances take time to master.

So, practice. Practice. And practice some more.

Good luck!

 

[Hypoxia]

https://www.literotica.com/storyxs/writ_stor.shtml

Page down a little for many links to authors' resources and how-tos. Have fun!

 

[YoungSwingCouple]

Thankyou both

 

[mfan2112]

Some thing that I find helpful in the process of writing is to use the read aloud function of Word. Listening to my story read back to me, helps me find many silly mistakes. There are also some free online grammar editors available that also help with the mechanics. They are not perfect, but can help as first order pass.

Also, when I first started out, a friend pointed me to some essays that I found helpful when starting to write erotica.

https://bashfulscribewriting.wordpress.com/essays/

Good luck, we're pulling for you.

 

[SimonDoom]

My two or three cents:

1. For your first story, write something short. It took me years of thinking about it to finally publish a story at Literotica. I was working on a longer story, and then I suddenly decided to write something short so I could get it done for a contest deadline. I did the whole thing in 24 hours. Just do it.

2. I suggest reading a few of the "how-to" articles that have been published here about writing erotics stories.

3. When you write, pay attention to the following things: a) keep your point of view consistent, b) keep the tense consistent, c) learn and follow the basics of how to write and format dialogue.

 

[TxRad]

Above all, write the story you see in your mind but always remember your mind is far faster than your fingers, so break things up into sentences first and then paragraphs.

Also remember, unlike books, paragraphs on a screen need to be about half the size. Six or eight lines at the most. Also, one speaker per paragraph. New speaker, new paragraph.

 

[Blind_Justice]

My two or three cents:

1. For your first story, write something short. It took me years of thinking about it to finally publish a story at Literotica. I was working on a longer story, and then I suddenly decided to write something short so I could get it done for a contest deadline. I did the whole thing in 24 hours. Just do it.

2. I suggest reading a few of the "how-to" articles that have been published here about writing erotics stories.

3. When you write, pay attention to the following things: a) keep your point of view consistent, b) keep the tense consistent, c) learn and follow the basics of how to write and format dialogue.

I'd like to add #4: Leave your story overnight and come back the next day with a fresh set of eyes. I mean "fresh" as in "rested", not recently harvested. You'll be amazed how many typos and missed words you'll find.

Oh, and #5: Before publishing, do just one more edit pass. Look for at least the basics of punctuation, i.e. are all your quotation marks closed? Did you end your sentences with the appropriate marks? A clean and coherent story will be easier and more fun to read than a hastily ejaculated mess of word clusters. It's hard getting the sexies when you have to guess what the author wants to say.

Bonus: For that reason, get a proper word processor. Open/LibreOffice are free and run on basically anything built in the last fifteen years and they have basic spell checkers built in.

 

[SisterJezabel]

I'm not sure where I read it, or if it is just high school English lessons coming back, but I always think of a beginning, middle which leads to a climax and then an end. My ideas come to me in random ways, often life experiences or wondering about what ifs. Sometimes there are tropes I explore- pretend boyfriend, best friends ending up together, woman tempted to stray, will she/won't she.

One thing that has interested me is I don't write the type of story that gets me off personally. If I think of fantasies and where my mind wanders to when I'm masturbating or something then it's not to my own writing, that's for sure. I've contemplated writing some alternate stuff, maybe under another name, but I don't think I have the time at present to do anything like that justice.

 

[YoungSwingCouple]

Thankyou guys that all helps. Now let's see if I can put that all together in a coherent and sexy story

 

[LexxRuthless]

I recently helped a new writer get his first story ready for submission. He had reached out to me through my "contact" page, and I was happy to provide feedback and some of what I had learned as I submitted my first few stories. Perhaps you should reach out to an author or two who writes the kinds of stories you want to write? If they are still active on the site, they may share some tips for your writing, as well as some thoughts on your specific story ideas.

I was fortunate to have some more experienced authors (here on this forum, mostly) offer helpful advice as soon as I ran into problems. Don't worry about making your first story "perfect." As soon as you have something on the site, you'll start getting feedback right away. That can be more helpful for improving your writing going forward.

But I think the best advice is just do it. Start writing down your ideas and working them into stories. The more you do, the better it will get.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Wow, I did everything wrong with my first story... according to what has been posted here. It took me almost a year to finish it. It was actually a collection of different parts containing the same characters, etc. I also had a very nice member who took the chore of editing it for me.

Now, I usually, write a small synopsis about what the story is about. Then I think about it for awhile. I play what I want it to be in my head like a movie. Once I have it all doped out in my mind, I start writing. This doesn't mean that it won't change from what I have in my head. Usually, they don't. But, sometimes they do.

Good luck.

P.S. Also write/type down all your ideas so you don't forget.

 

[8letters]

Start your story with an interesting scene. A lot of new writers start their story with a data dump on the characters and their situation. Work that information in slowly during your first scene.

 

[JuanSeiszFitzHall]

Some thing that I find helpful in the process of writing is to use the read aloud function of Word. Listening to my story read back to me, helps me find many silly mistakes. There are also some free online grammar editors available that also help with the mechanics. They are not perfect, but can help as first order pass.

Also, when I first started out, a friend pointed me to some essays that I found helpful when starting to write erotica.

https://bashfulscribewriting.wordpress.com/essays/

Good luck, we're pulling for you.

Hearing a read-back can be helpful. So can speaking your writing out loud yourself. But if what you’ve written is really hot, you’ll want to make sure first that it can’t be overheard by anyone who isn’t aware of (and okay with) what you’re doing. If you live very close to parents with young kids, for instance, you might tick them off.

 

[SamScribble]

One of the things that often trips up new writers is style (or lack thereof). They have a plot. They may even have some interesting characters. But, more often that not, their actual writing is ‘clunky’. And clunky writing demands too much of the reader. Your aim should be to make your story as easy of possible for the reader to read.

One of the easiest ways to acquire a good easy-to-read – pleasure-to-read – style is to find a writer whose work you enjoy and basically copy their style. In time, you will develop your own style. But, in the meantime, you will have something reader-worthy on which to hang your story.

Good luck.

 

[mfan2112]

Hearing a read-back can be helpful. So can speaking your writing out loud yourself. But if what you’ve written is really hot, you’ll want to make sure first that it can’t be overheard by anyone who isn’t aware of (and okay with) what you’re doing. If you live very close to parents with young kids, for instance, you might tick them off.

Or if you ARE the parent of a young child, your spouse might get mad. Don't ask me how I know...

 

[writer4hire69]

There is a lot of phenomenal and wonderful advice in here already. Just write is always a good one because nothing improves your writing better than actually doing it and then doing it some more. Practice, practice, practice. Structure is a big one. Have an idea of what your story is about, not just the scenes but what is the core of it. This is a unique one for erotica because the core of a story here can be different from traditional tales.

Two things I would add:

1) Before anything else, imho, read. Not just the how-tos, but other stories. Read, read, read. It's a different type of reading though. You're not reading these to get off. Read to understand, to analyze. Find some of your favorite stories and favorite paragraphs and ask yourself, why do you like these? What made them so hot? What made a particular description sing? This is a hard skill to hone and develop because it's not just regular reading but I have found it invaluable.

2) Understand what turns you on and write about it. This is especially applicable when it comes to writing about specific kinks or fetishes. Understanding what's hot about it and why it turns you on can help in getting the feelings down. Because someone else is reading it and they enjoy the same kink and when they read what makes them hot expressed well, it gets them hot, too. You know what you like. You know why it turns you on. All you gotta do is express it.

 

[YoungSwingCouple]

You all have been more then helpful. I didn't expect all the feedback. I've been reading different stories from different categories not to get off but to learn and I'm finding that is helpful if sometimes a little distracting. Oops. Again thankyou.

 

[AllTheBetterNamesWereTaken]

I usually start with something that paints a picture in the readers imagination; probably something physical, but not the "he/she was hot", but instead "It was a warm summers day- muggy even, down at the edge of the lake"; a description of place, of a moment in time, a situation.

Build outwards. Build ambiance. Give an idea why THIS narrator is in the location they are in, and then bring in the love/lust interest.
You don't need tonnes- just like a paragraph or so to... enough to settle the reader into the narrators viewpoint.
And like... having a "location" that you keep sweeping back to, re-referencing throughout the piece, makes it more... physical.. more intimate.

At least... that's how its worked for me.
Really there is no "Correct" way to do it, and you're probably best experimenting with lots of different things.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I will try to offer something that no one else has mentioned:

Never post parts of a story until the entire thing is complete.

A lot of writers get anxious to start receiving feedback on their work so they submit each part or chapter as soon as it is done.

The problem with that approach is that it can 'handcuff' the writer and deprive them of the ability to make changes if their plot concept or characters take a turn later in the story.

Feel free to send parts of your story to editors and others for input or advice, but be patient with actually submitting your work.

 

[SamScribble]

I usually start with something that paints a picture in the readers imagination; probably something physical, but not the "he/she was hot", but instead "It was a warm summers day- muggy even, down at the edge of the lake"; a description of place, of a moment in time, a situation.

Unless you take Elmore Leonard's advice (and who wouldn't?): 'Never start a story with the weather.'

 

[mfan2112]

I will try to offer something that no one else has mentioned:

Never post parts of a story until the entire thing is complete.

A lot of writers get anxious to start receiving feedback on their work so they submit each part or chapter as soon as it is done.

The problem with that approach is that it can 'handcuff' the writer and deprive them of the ability to make changes if their plot concept or characters take a turn later in the story.

Feel free to send parts of your story to editors and others for input or advice, but be patient with actually submitting your work.

If you are writing a longer piece I totally agree with this. It is beneficial to the story at times to be be able to go to an earlier part and allude to something you realize needs to be in a later part.

You are also able to tell the reader that if they stick with your story, they will get to the end over time. I hate getting into a story and find out that it incomplete and the last part was written four years ago.

 

[Hypoxia]

Unless you take Elmore Leonard's advice (and who wouldn't?): 'Never start a story with the weather.'

So toss out all those "It was a dark and stormy night" intros. Exception: If I'm going to set a stroker in a storm cellar, I'd want to start with a tornado on the horizon. Begin with a hurricane tsunami to enliven things, too.

 

[BarracudaSwordfish]

Some thing that I find helpful in the process of writing is to use the read aloud function of Word. Listening to my story read back to me, helps me find many silly mistakes.

I've been using Word since Covid was a common cold and never even knew this existed. I played back my latest missive today and not only did it pick up a dozen silly errors, but even in the robotic tones it uses, it sounded bloody great.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Rustyoznail]

I've been using Word since Covid was a common cold and never even knew this existed. I played back my latest missive today and not only did it pick up a dozen silly errors, but even in the robotic tones it uses, it sounded bloody great.

Thanks for the tip!

Same here! Although the document I asked it to read had underscoreunderscoreunderscoreunderscoreunderscoreunderscoreunderscoreunderscoreunderscoreunderscoreunderscoreunderscoreunderscoreunderscoreunderscore...