Are authors more demanding as readers?

[Chicklet]

Authors, when you read a story, do you think you are more demanding of the other author than a regular reader?

I remember being irritated at small mistakes before I started writing a whole bunch...now I'm a lot more forgiving. I know how much work goes in to even submitting something you've written, so I'm a lot easier on the other author.

So...tell...are you easy or difficult to please and why?

 

[Octavian]

I think the answer has to be yes.

Whether you are writer, painter, singer or whatever, having a degree of competence in a disclipine means you will inevitably be more critical in your appraisal of other people's efforts.

Octavian

 

[Chicklet]

more critical but are you more forgiving?

 

[Guest]

Hi Chicklet. You ask the most interesting questions for writers. I think I began writing because I loved reading so much (since childhood); the two go together. I think I'm demanding not so much because I'm a writer but because I'm well read. I'm a very demanding reader; read several books a week (all types and genres). I've read lots of great "literature" so anything I read goes under the big guns. Even when I watch TV I re-write lines as characters speak. Really.

BYW, I've only read your "Like a Virgin" and really liked it. I felt I was there with your couple and had many emotions while I read - besides lust . I felt angry at the boy for making such a big deal out of an ordinary lie and wanted to protect the girl, but then her reactions were so true I got off on what happened. I'd like to read more just about them. Hint, hint. Look forward to reading more of you.

Best, Perdita

 

[Alex756]

I am much more critical, but I am also much more likely to send a note. Especially if I find something I liked a bit that has a poor score, just a quick, this is what I liked, just to help encourage maybe.

I do expect good technical writing though, not in posts but in submitted works, I mean a spell checker is not too much to ask (and trust me I need on).

For a well thought out plot I am very forgiving, for no plot and no characterization .. well I'm unlikely to finish.


~alex756~
http://www.literotica.com/stories/memberpage.php?uid=177120

 

[English Lady]

I think i notice things more as a writer and i am also more inclined to send feeback now as i know what a buzz/lifeline it is for us authorly types

I definitely appreiciate the effort people put into writing,so i think maybe in that way i am more forgiving.

i think i am pretty easy to please all in all really

 

[Guest]

p.s.

I should have mentioned that though I'm very demanding when I read it's only with professional and/or paid writers whose work I pay for (or the library paid for). On Lit. my demand onlys only effect what I read and whether I finish it. I would never give negative criticism only and try to give constructive crit., or just encouragement sometimes. P.

 

[Octavian]

am I more forgiving?

Chicklet,
Having only written one serious story I don't think of myself as a writer and I certainly don't look at other stories with writer's critical eye. If a story is poorly written I will back click; I won't dwell on the reasons why it is so and consequently there is nothing to forgive.

The above answer was a general comment. I honestly believe a competent writer will find it harder to enjoy other people's stories simply because he/she will read them more objectively.

Octavian

 

[TheEarl]

I notice a hell of a lot more than I did when I was just a reader.

The Earl

 

[Svenskaflicka]

I'm an author, I'm a journalist, I'm an experienced reader... I'm extremely critical when I read. I get chills down my spine when I read something with a lot of spelling-, grammar, or figurative speech - mistakes. I wince when I read unrealistic scenes or weak plots.

I believe I'm much more demanding than those who just want to read the words cock-fuck-cunt, over and over again.

 

[Gabriel_Lee]

Interesting question.

I would say differently demanding. I think that we probably read for different reasons and so it is not so easy to compare the two. Personally, I don't think my attitude has changed so much - I started writing because I felt I could do better than most and I just had to try to see. No other reason.

Of course, I have my own idea of what may count as *better*

GL

 

[sirhugs]

I know I have raised my expectations, and am more selective as to which stories take me past paragraph two....

 

[Jack T. Ladd]

Critical? I don't like to judge really, a story simply has to engage my mind and hold my attention. If it does that, I can forgive a lot of mistakes. I am basically an illiterate writer, no education to speak of, so I often can make basic errors. The thing is to write, and enjoy what you do, then very often what comes out can be surprisingly good.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Oh yes. I suffer from a terrible competitive streak when it comes to writing, and the sad truth is that I turn to read anything here already prejudiced against it and eager to dislike it. And the more it's been recommended and praised, the more I pre-hate it and the more I have to be won over. I'm really terrible.

I suppose that explains a lot. I say I am not as hard on other people as I am on myself, but that's probably not true either. Basically I think I want all other writers to drop dead. <laughs> No. I do try to fight off this competitive thing, but I am terribly critical and I admit it.

I can't help but notice writers' craft and tricks as well. I can tell when a writer throws in a detail in order to supply backstory ("she rubbed the empty space on her finger where her wedding ring used to be..."). I can smell flashbacks coming. I know every hackneyed opening gambit, from the "It was a beautiful June day..." to the "what-the-hell-is-going-on-here?" bit where you're plopped down in the middle of some bewildering action. I can spot a hook, no matter how gracefully it's used; I see every bit of unnecessary filler a writer puts in to help pace a dialogue. I see all the nails in the boards and all the unfinished edges, while everyone else is admiring the house. I can't help it.

On the other hand, I do the same thing with any book or story I pick up to read, here or outside of Lit, and if it's a really good story, if it can win me over and make me read it instead of just seeing it, then all these things go unnoticed. There are authors who are so good that I still can't figure out how they've done what they've done. The workmanship is just invisible to me. These are the people I admire.

But yes, I'm a terribly harsh critic as a reader, and that's probably why I have so much trouble reading anything on this site. To continue the analogy, when you go to inspect a house and you see that the front door is crooked and then the doorknob comes off in your hand, you turn around and walk away, no matter how lovely the rest of the house may be.


---dr.M.

 

[Jack T. Ladd]

Suspension of reality is important, and if the writing artifacts get in the way, it makes that very tough. As does boredom and repetition. The first time I read an erotic story, it had me panting. Now, that feeling is difficult to recreat. Good writing draws you in, and holds you - to the exclusion of everything else. I do my best not to 'proof read' that gets in the way of a good read...

 

[redrider4u]

I agree with you, Svenska,

I'm an author, I'm a journalist, I'm an experienced reader... I'm extremely critical when I read. I get chills down my spine when I read something with a lot of spelling-, grammar, or figurative speech - mistakes. I wince when I read unrealistic scenes or weak plots.

I believe I'm much more demanding than those who just want to read the words cock-fuck-cunt, over and over again.

I mean, there are some feats which cannot be performed in the front seats of a corvette!!!!!!! Even after proofing, I still find flaws in what I have posted.....(not a great writer here, for sure) ...but I subconsciously look for problems........in other writings. There is a book........"Thesaurus".......to help....avoid repetitive verbage.

 

[Guest]

Thesaurus (not the extinct beast)

There is a book........"Thesaurus".......to help....avoid repetitive verbage.

Bless you, Red, for this. I'm sure many auteurs won't admit it. I use one but I credit myself for choosing the right word I don't know or wouldn't have thought to use myself.

 

[Vincent E]

There are stories that get posted on Literotica that run the spectrum from excellent to just plain awful, as we are all fully aware. When I wander into a story that has a great central theme, but that also has annoyances like many spelling mistakes, poor grammar, and my biggest peeve: bad structure of dialogue between characters I actually get offended.

I am somewhat obsessive about getting every 'i' dotted and every 't' crossed, so when I see what amounts to carelessness, especially from someone who wrote a great story to begin with, I become critical. I'll send some helpful feedback along the lines of waiting an extra day or two in order to properly run a spell and grammar check. A little extra time can't hurt a story if you restrict yourself to checking and fixing things like structure and spelling.

In fact, the whole reason I submitted my first story was after reading a few dogs and saying to myself, "Self, you can write better than this goober."

See, I even edited this reply.

 

[Chicklet]

Oh yes. I suffer from a terrible competitive streak when it comes to writing, and the sad truth is that I turn to read anything here already prejudiced against it and eager to dislike it. And the more it's been recommended and praised, the more I pre-hate it and the more I have to be won over. I'm really terrible.

<hiding my links from dr. m...>

 

[Sabledrake]

I've noticed that the more I write, the more I tend to read the work of others with a critical eye. In one way, it's nice to see that even the mega-sellers can goof up from time to time. In another, it's kind of distracting when all I want is to relax with a good story.

Sabledrake

 

[gauchecritic]

I'd say I'm really difficult to please but it's not because I'm a sometime author.

There are very few stories on Lit that will keep me reading after the first couple of paragraphs

When I first came to Lit I read any number of stories in the 'new' section but over time my taste has become very limited. Limited to categories I prefer and the mood I am in.

Back clicking has become something of a hobby for me on Lit. I just don't get hooked soon enough. Not because I write but because I read.

Gauche