How do you...

[HappilyM]

...go from yeah to OMG out of breath and nearly speechless, in respect to writing? I have been re-reading all of my stories and people think they are good, but I want to add a wow factor to them. I have gone to the bookstore and bought several erotic books that have been published and in all honesty I think a few of the stories fall short of the WOW factor, too.

I want to send a few stories off to a real editor, but I know they are lacking and I cannot figure out, what the what is? So here is my question what type of descriptions take a story from good to great?

This is not a plug to have you read my stories. I am just curious what it takes. Any help would be nice. Thanks.

 

[CopyCarver]

...go from yeah to OMG out of breath and nearly speechless, in respect to writing? I have been re-reading all of my stories and people think they are good, but I want to add a wow factor to them. I have gone to the bookstore and bought several erotic books that have been published and in all honesty I think a few of the stories fall short of the WOW factor, too.

I want to send a few stories off to a real editor, but I know they are lacking and I cannot figure out, what the what is? So here is my question what type of descriptions take a story from good to great?

This is not a plug to have you read my stories. I am just curious what it takes. Any help would be nice. Thanks.

How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice.

OK, that's a smartass answer, but it has a serious point: there's no magic ingredient and no simple 1-2-3 process that can elevate writing from adequate to extraordinary. Rules, guidelines, and formulas can be useful (except in instances where rules should be broken intelligently) but they won't produce "WOW factor" any more than paint-by-number sets will produce great art. WOW comes from a blend of passion, commitment, skill, and practice. Every writer and each individual story needs a different blend of semi-intangibles to achieve WOW. Sometimes it comes easily; sometimes it takes an intense struggle; and sometimes it just won't happen.

A good editor may or may not be able to help with any given story (and only if he or she is completely aware of what you're trying to accomplish) Certainly, you have nothing to lose by trying, since you're under no obligation to follow suggestions if you don't find them useful, and since Lady C won't let us beat you with a baseball bat if we find a glitch.

Don't hesitate to send stories to an editor simply because they're a bit problematic--if your stories were perfect, they wouldn't need additional attention either from you or an editor, and you wouldn't be wondering how to inject WOW factor.

 

[Kev H]

What you are basically asking is: "how do I go from a good writer to a masterful writer?" I'm not even sure those who have mastered the display of emotions in print can boil it down for you--much as emotions often defy analysis. Some points may include: pacing (you must learn to imitate that held breath right before the explosion, that gentle whisper across the neck moments before the touch, etc), the balance of perfect word choice, the empathetic handle on universal desires and powerful feelings. These are central to the ability to move people deeply, to shake them, emotionally (but nowhere near complete).

My suspicion is that if you are talented and highly analytical, you can figure out these techniques, both from dwelling on that worked for you and experimenting with an open, creative mind--I don't believe the camp that says you are either born with or without it--it's a complex discipline in which any apt student can learn. Evoke those powerful emotions at will and you have arrived at the top level of what our art and language have to offer.

Happy experimenting.

Kev

 

[Kev H]

Hey, CC, aren't you supposed to be slaving away at an edit of someone's "masterful" manuscript?

 

[CopyCarver]

Hey, CC, aren't you supposed to be slaving away at an edit of someone's "masterful" manuscript?

Busted again! It's coming--I just got hung up on the part where Abraham Lincoln tells us how he scored four times seven years ago

 

[LadyCibelle]

[.....]

A good editor may or may not be able to help with any given story (and only if he or she is completely aware of what you're trying to accomplish) Certainly, you have nothing to lose by trying, since you're under no obligation to follow suggestions if you don't find them useful, and since Lady C won't let us beat you with a baseball bat if we find a glitch.

[.....]

Of course not!! We want writers to come back, not run away scared!! Well, at least, not ALL writers.

 

[CopyCarver]

Of course not!! We want writers to come back, not run away scared!! Well, at least, not ALL writers.

So, high-sticking and board checking are verboten also?

 

[LadyCibelle]

So, high-sticking and board checking are verboten also?

Nahhh those two are fine.

 

[WhiteWave48]

Pacing

*****

 

[cloudy]

From good to masterful? I wish I knew too. Manipulating the pace is a great suggestion - maybe a few rhetorical techniques to speed things up then pull back afterwards.

Colleen Thomas told me once (dear god, I miss her ) that I pace my stories like a cat with a mouse, playing with the reader by revealing a little, and then making them wonder if I really revealed anything at all.

I believe the story she was talking about specifically was Possession. blatant plug, of course.

 

[WhiteWave48]

*****

 

[snooper]

... I have gone to the bookstore and bought several erotic books that have been published and in all honesty I think a few of the stories fall short ...

That's how I got started. I thought I could do better than the published writers and asked a publisher for my money back. He said, "Prove it." and the rest ...

... I want to send a few stories off to a real editor, but I know they are lacking and I cannot figure out, what the what is? ...

You can never see what your own writing lacks. It always takes someone else to point it out. There are two snags to this: 1) Finding the right reader; AND 2) Persuading yourself to believe them and do it.

.... but I want to add a wow factor to them. ...

Apologies in advance, but I just can't resist saying that Bill Gates would recommend using Vista to add the WOW.

 

[HappilyM]

That's how I got started. I thought I could do better than the published writers and asked a publisher for my money back. He said, "Prove it." and the rest ...

I just might try that.

You can never see what your own writing lacks. It always takes someone else to point it out. There are two snags to this: 1) Finding the right reader; AND 2) Persuading yourself to believe them and do it.

I am hoping I am on the right track. A very kind gentleman is possibly going to help me. I will tell you all how it works out.

Apologies in advance, but I just can't resist saying that Bill Gates would recommend using Vista to add the WOW.

I am waiting till all the bugs are worked out of it

Thanks again everyone for the advise.

 

[WhiteWave48]

*****

 

[snooper]

... A very kind gentleman is possibly going to help me ...

<big grin> Did your mother never warn you about "kind gentlemen" offering treats?

... please, a few more tips on how to do more for your own story before it goes off to be shredded by another pair of eyes. Not necessarily thinking basics here - rather, 'added value' ...

Sorry - I have no idea of any more useful abstract ideas. Also I never believe my editors' suggestions to improve my stories (as opposed to typo corrections); my ego is such that I always think I know better. That may be why my novels sell like cold cakes, and I'm not a household name, let alone a Rowling.

 

[HappilyM]

<big grin> Did your mother never warn you about "kind gentlemen" offering treats?

Yeah when I was younger, but as a teenager I never listened and well now that I am old enough, I am still too young to care. Let it be a bumpy ride

 

[M-Y-Erotica]

<big grin> Also I never believe my editors' suggestions to improve my stories (as opposed to typo corrections); my ego is such that I always think I know better. That may be why my novels sell like cold cakes, and I'm not a household name, let alone a Rowling.

I had a few thoughts.

First, yeah, knowing exactly when to take suggestions and when not to is one of the most difficult aspects of writing. One thing to look for is how to handle the problem the editor is mentioning, but perhaps not taking their solution. So, for instance, I had a couple wonderful editors tell me that I should have my male character in a male-female-female story get more detailed time on screen in the sex. I took their advice a little bit by moving a half page bit up to a page or so, but really I was not taking the advice. I thought I had a good reason for making this choice - the story was primarily about the two women and I didn't want to destroy the climax by having extended sex scenes after it that did nothing more to further the characters. Even if I was right about this, I should have found a way to handle the fundamental problem the editors were mentioning, i.e., that I was giving one of my main characters, one that many of my readers were identifying with, short shrift. In short, almost always look for ways to solve the problem that a good editor reveals to you, even if the way you solve it isn't the one they suggested.

Second, these are generic, but the primary ways I can think of to go from good to WOW are with caring and tension. By caring, I mean do everything you possibly can to make the reader care about the main character. This sort of caring can be anything from tremendous admiration to just desperately wanting them to get laid. It can be from some beautiful quality about them - their intelligence, their strength, their 14" manhood, etc. It can also be from outside the character. Put them in trouble. But even that only works if the reader gives a damn whether or not the person is in trouble.

The second is tension and goes in hand with the pacing ideas already mentioned. Every scene should have some sort of controlled use of tension. This can be large scale. For instance, rewrite scenes to increase and decrease the tension in relation to each other so that they continually build to the big climax. If your half way point is more exciting than the end, you have a problem (usually). It can also be very small scale. In a sex scene, the first kiss or the big orgasm should truly burst out so that the wonders of it take the reader away.

I know these are vague, but it's what I've got so far.

 

[WhiteWave48]

*****