How much do small details get to you?

[damppanties]

I'm sorry but I don't want to read about a character brushing their teeth before bed because it's "realistic," nor brushing their hair, nor putting the car in park before shutting off the engine before taking off their seatbelt before getting out of the car.... ugh. I'm just going to assume they did this shit because I have an understanding of how stuff works, and it's what I would do.

The condoms? Would you really want every character in every erotic story to pause to put on a condom before sex? Not only would this take me out of the moment and throw me back into the reality I'm trying to escape, but it's a bit redundant and unnecessary to be told of this stuff in a story.

See, this starts the whole issue of what details are considered necessary details and what aren't. Yes, you wouldn't like to read "putting the car in park before shutting off the engine before taking off their seatbelt before getting out of the car" but you also wouldn't like to read "she put her car into park and lay down on her bed." No, I don't want to know everything but there are some things you can't leave out. If there are (what I consider) crucial details missing, then I am going to be thrown out of the story.

For some readers, putting on a condom is a crucial detail. For some, it isn't.

And for another example, see below.

Something someone pointed out to me in one of my stories was when I had a woman take a cock that had been in her ass directly into her mouth was how unsanitary it was and unhealthy and you shouldn't do that.....

The next comment was along the lines of "Dude, its porn"

I think we can safely assume everyone knows that is not safe and most know that when they do that in x-rated movies they are editing out the wiping off and other mundane actions.

This to me is a necessary detail. Yes, I'd go... Ugh, she took it in her mouth directly after it was in her ass. I do not fill in the details in my mind and don't assume it was washed/wiped/whatever. And no, that is NOT a fantasy I want to be having or glossing over. Same with lube before it goes into the backdoor. No, I don't just assume.

 

[sr71plt]

This to me is a necessary detail. Yes, I'd go... Ugh, she took it in her mouth directly after it was in her ass. I do not fill in the details in my mind and don't assume it was washed/wiped/whatever. And no, that is NOT a fantasy I want to be having or glossing over. Same with lube before it goes into the backdoor. No, I don't just assume.

What turned you off was the word "directly." So the question is what really was written between the point of exit from the ass and the entrance in the mouth. If the "directly" isn't written or otherwise implied, it's not that different from what happens in porn films in this transition. There's a point that you have to tell the painfully literalist minded, "Oh, give me a break. Maybe you shouldn't be reading this stuff at all."

 

[TE999]

In a series I'm posting right now (Going Goth), I had two similar, but different names for some characters and was roundly criticized for it. Self-editing doesn't always work.

I now have a character chart.

I will say that too many mistakes in a story, sexual or otherwise, are like speed bumps; you hit one to many and you find another way to go.

 

[slyc_willie]

In a series I'm posting right now (Going Goth), I had two similar, but different names for some characters and was roundly criticized for it. Self-editing doesn't always work.

I now have a character chart.

I will say that too many mistakes in a story, sexual or otherwise, are like speed bumps; you hit one to many and you find another way to go.

I changed a character's name from one chapter to another, because I decided to make him recurring. The only problem was, his last name ended in the same "-er" sound as two other main characters. That just didn't sit right with me. I had a Victor and a Faster, and now I was going to add a Ritter. So I changed Ritter's name to Jonas, made a note about it in the next chapter, and haven't heard a peep of bad feedback about it.

I suppose, to be thorough, I should have re-submitted the original chapter in which he ahd appeared with the name correction, but . . . eh. The explanation seemed to suffice.

 

[JackLuis]

In my first submission I named a town Barney, but that was a typo and I never caught it. It was brought to my attention by a reader in later chapters when I used the name Burney, which what what I meant to type.

I never corrected it because I figured people would allow for it, as Josh was busy in Burney boffing bimbos.

 

[slyc_willie]

In my first submission I named a town Barney, but that was a typo and I never caught it. It was brought to my attention by a reader in later chapters when I used the name Burney, which what what I meant to type.

I never corrected it because I figured people would allow for it, as Josh was busy in Burney boffing bimbos.

Sometimes, small details are just that, and not worth mulling over. There is a site that has critiqued all of Stephen King's faux pas over the years, and at some point, he apparently became aware of it and made a comment on the order of, "I'm not going to argue that I've made mistakes in my writing. I'll just argue that anyone who thinks those mistakes are a big deal should really find something better to do with their time."

Bottom line: accept that you're going to fuck up as a writer now and then and that someone is going to call you out on it. Then smile and nod and pat the happy moron on the head.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Sometimes, small details are just that, and not worth mulling over. There is a site that has critiqued all of Stephen King's faux pas over the years, and at some point, he apparently became aware of it and made a comment on the order of, "I'm not going to argue that I've made mistakes in my writing. I'll just argue that anyone who thinks those mistakes are a big deal should really find something better to do with their time."

Bottom line: accept that you're going to fuck up as a writer now and then and that someone is going to call you out on it. Then smile and nod and pat the happy moron on the head.

King is right. Its not a big deal, its something to be mindful of next time. Obsession is good if youre building rockets or transplanting hearts.

 

[slyc_willie]

King is right. Its not a big deal, its something to be mindful of next time. Obsession is good if youre building rockets or transplanting hearts.

'Zackly. I don't consider myself to be perfect, and if anyone wants to nit-pick my writing, by all means, have at it. Spend your afternoon looking for my misspellings, grammatical errors, and overlooked transitions.

Me, I've got other shit to do.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

'Zackly. I don't consider myself to be perfect, and if anyone wants to nit-pick my writing, by all means, have at it. Spend your afternoon looking for my misspellings, grammatical errors, and overlooked transitions.

Me, I've got other shit to do.

Joseph M. Williams cautions writers that its easy to write perfect, boring prose. You can do everything right, and still have it come out wrong.

 

[SecondCircle]

I'm not suggesting that we should never have our characters never use lube or condoms or any sort of realistic detail involved in sex, but only to use these details where necessary. I admit that I cringe whenever I read about someone just shoves it in during anal without even the mention of lube. These thoughts do surface in the back of my mind. Nor am I suggesting that every crucial detail be assumed. However, when I read about someone having oral sex, I don't want to know if they brushed their teeth before or after, or if they washed their hands before sex. It's the unnecessary details I don't want to know. This may be a subjective thing, but still something to consider.

The anal to oral thing in LC's story is certainly subjective. It may gross you out and not bother others. After all, this is done in porn all the time, and people react differently to it.

It's just the second refrigerators that I'm worried about. Ask yourself "is this relevant even in the slightest?"

 

[lovecraft68]

What turned you off was the word "directly." So the question is what really was written between the point of exit from the ass and the entrance in the mouth. If the "directly" isn't written or otherwise implied, it's not that different from what happens in porn films in this transition. There's a point that you have to tell the painfully literalist minded, "Oh, give me a break. Maybe you shouldn't be reading this stuff at all."

My exact thoughts. But in spirit of the thread that could be a detail that gets to someone

 

[sr71plt]

'Zackly. I don't consider myself to be perfect, and if anyone wants to nit-pick my writing, by all means, have at it. Spend your afternoon looking for my misspellings, grammatical errors, and overlooked transitions.

Me, I've got other shit to do.

There's a difference where you have put it too. Some writers use a free-read site like Literotica to float early versions of something they are trying to polish or develop for the marketplace. Minor errors wouldn't bother them.

 

[slyc_willie]

There's a difference where you have put it too. Some writers use a free-read site like Literotica to float early versions of something they are trying to polish or develop for the marketplace. Minor errors wouldn't bother them.

That was my wife's opinion when she posted here. In some of her stories, she included an author's note at the beginning that informed the reader that what they were reading was essentially a rough draft. Not that she posted it right after writing, of course; but she gave it a couple of read-throughs, fixed the obvious errors, and up it went.

 

[carlieplum]

I must be the only person in the history of earth have a tongue up his ass.

I doubt it.

 

[carlieplum]

Details do get to me, but it's years of my job that made me that way. I'm like a trained seal.

When I write fiction, I research things that probably don't matter to readers, but it makes it more real in my mind. I doubt anyone is going to google the spring break dates for a university listed in a story, but for me it is important that the timeline be correct, or that the location be correctly described. Thankfully, you can look at houses in a given city, interior pictures of hotels, school calendars, etc. It's transparent to the reader, but it helps me write, so why not. If it isn't necessary for another writer, then they can skip it. We all have our own processes. Reportedly, Joseph Conrad's wife used to lock him in a room and force him to write several hours a day, with him banging on the door and begging to be let out at some points. (Mr. CarliePlum would get a baseball bat to the grape if he pulled that shit, but hey, I stand no chance of writing anything near the quality of Heart of Darkness, locked in a room or not.)

Slightly off topic, but anybody know how long the recovery would likely be for someone shot three times? Minor wounds in the arm and leg, through and throughs, and one abdominal wound that misses the heart and lungs. Needs surgery to remove, but no serious organ damage. Fast transport to a good ER. How much time in hospital? How much recovery at home?

 

[carlieplum]

I think some details can make the story pop more. There was a thread about this a while back. I like it when characters eat, take a shower that isn't a sex scene, brush their hair. Too much, it's tedious, but it can be done well.

There was an interracial series with a Samoan protagonist. The main female character worked in a bakery. The food they ate was described in a lot of detail, but it made sense given her character.

If a character is an artist or graphic designer, I would expect more description of what people wear, how things look, etc. It might not be important in another story, but it would fit there.

Finally, I find it odd that there are almost no kids in stories with married couples. Obviously, you aren't going to include them in parts of the story, but married people often have kids. Especially if they are people who have sex. No reason why they can't be present and accounted for. I can see why some people would disagree, but I think if you can still fit hot sex into your life with a few rug rats underfoot, that's a positive.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Details do get to me, but it's years of my job that made me that way. I'm like a trained seal.

When I write fiction, I research things that probably don't matter to readers, but it makes it more real in my mind. I doubt anyone is going to google the spring break dates for a university listed in a story, but for me it is important that the timeline be correct, or that the location be correctly described. Thankfully, you can look at houses in a given city, interior pictures of hotels, school calendars, etc.

Slightly off topic, but anybody know how long the recovery would likely be for someone shot three times. Minor wounds in the arm and leg, through and throughs, and one abdominal wound that misses the heart and lungs. Needs surgery to remove, but no serious organ damage. Fast transport to a good ER. How much time in hospital? How much recovery at home?

It depends. I'd say 3-4 weeks before he wants to fuck. But I'm trying to imagine a bullet missing the stomach, intestines if it misses the heart and lungs. Either are serious.

 

[carlieplum]

JBJ, I knew you would save me on the gunshot wound. I heart you.

I can have the bullet hit wherever I want, of course. Where do you suggest it hit for a long recovery but no lasting physical impairment? And it's a sheila who gets shot multiple times. The guy just gets grazed, lucky fuck.

 

[heather_baby]

Details do get to me, but it's years of my job that made me that way. I'm like a trained seal.

When I write fiction, I research things that probably don't matter to readers, but it makes it more real in my mind. I doubt anyone is going to google the spring break dates for a university listed in a story, but for me it is important that the timeline be correct, or that the location be correctly described. Thankfully, you can look at houses in a given city, interior pictures of hotels, school calendars, etc. It's transparent to the reader, but it helps me write, so why not. If it isn't necessary for another writer, then they can skip it. We all have our own processes. Reportedly, Joseph Conrad's wife used to lock him in a room and force him to write several hours a day, with him banging on the door and begging to be let out at some points. (Mr. CarliePlum would get a baseball bat to the grape if he pulled that shit, but hey, I stand no chance of writing anything near the quality of Heart of Darkness, locked in a room or not.)

Slightly off topic, but anybody know how long the recovery would likely be for someone shot three times? Minor wounds in the arm and leg, through and throughs, and one abdominal wound that misses the heart and lungs. Needs surgery to remove, but no serious organ damage. Fast transport to a good ER. How much time in hospital? How much recovery at home?

That is exactly how I work. And I honestly have no idea how other writers can just write without having those details, and the story still come together flawlessly. I like to have street names correct, buildings, and everything else, otherwise my whole piece would just fall apart.

 

[sr71plt]

There's a big difference in what you need to research to make a story coherent, consistent, and believable and what you actually have to write into the story.

 

[sensualwhispers]

small details

My main bug with stories on lit is the use of size, men describing womens breasts by cup size when in reality they wouldnt know these things, or mens cocks described in inches. Surely the english language is broad enough and colourful enough for writers to choose other ways of description. Blatant grammatical errors, poor use of the first person tense and the use of past and future tense all bug me.
My work is far from perfect. ive got one comment that suggests im a high school dropout because i spelt the word collage/college wrong, and they had to stop reading because of it. i double checked the entire story and out of 3000 words it was the only one spelt wrong.
Ive also found faults in other stories ive written and now i cant read them because of it and because they are on here i can not alter them. a bit of a ggrrrr moment with that...lol

 

[sr71plt]

My main bug with stories on lit is the use of size, men describing womens breasts by cup size when in reality they wouldnt know these things, or mens cocks described in inches. Surely the english language is broad enough and colourful enough for writers to choose other ways of description. Blatant grammatical errors, poor use of the first person tense and the use of past and future tense all bug me.
My work is far from perfect. ive got one comment that suggests im a high school dropout because i spelt the word collage/college wrong, and they had to stop reading because of it. i double checked the entire story and out of 3000 words it was the only one spelt wrong.
Ive also found faults in other stories ive written and now i cant read them because of it and because they are on here i can not alter them. a bit of a ggrrrr moment with that...lol

What Literotica is that it's broad enough in file space to let those who are aroused by writing and/or reading measurements and those who aren't to coexist without ragging on each other. The old adage of "if it's not what you like, don't read it" fits here, I think.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

JBJ, I knew you would save me on the gunshot wound. I heart you.

I can have the bullet hit wherever I want, of course. Where do you suggest it hit for a long recovery but no lasting physical impairment? And it's a sheila who gets shot multiple times. The guy just gets grazed, lucky fuck.

There are interesting head-wounds that aren't fatal or debilitating, but create cosmetic and dental problems that require many procedures and many months to repair.

I suggest a shot across the mouth that does dental damage plus the cosmetic damage to both cheeks.