I want to be a good writer

[CoffeeWithMonkeys]

So since I have 70 some free days, my job told me I could probably come back after 90 days so I'm hoping I can, but right now I have some spare time and I want to try to become a good writer if that's possible.

Are good writers born? If you suck starting out, can you get better? Is there anything I can do, read, listen to, study...to become a good writer?

 

[Jada59]

So since I have 70 some free days, my job told me I could probably come back after 90 days so I'm hoping I can, but right now I have some spare time and I want to try to become a good writer if that's possible.

Are good writers born? If you suck starting out, can you get better? Is there anything I can do, read, listen to, study...to become a good writer?

I think you have to be born with it.

 

[CoffeeWithMonkeys]

I think you have to be born with it.

So I'm doomed.

I always tell my kids I'm a jack of all trades but a master of nothing! sigh...I guess it is true.

 

[CoffeeWithMonkeys]

What's your definition of being a good writer? Is it someone who sells millions of books, or someone who uses all the techniques in a proper way? What are you aiming for; the large mass of readers (incest?), or readers that adore you? You can't please them all.

I think it all starts with confidence in yourself. An arrogance to believe you are good the way you are, and that others have to accept that.

Readers that adore me. Readers that wait anxiously for my next chapter/story/book. People remember a certain scene or character years later and think, man I want to read that again!

And I want to be a writer that other writers recommend. So maybe someone who is deemed a good writer by other writers.

If all it takes is confidence in myself, I'll never be a good writer!

 

[ChloeTzang]

Readers that adore me. Readers that wait anxiously for my next chapter/story/book. People remember a certain scene or character years later and think, man I want to read that again!

And I want to be a writer that other writers recommend. So maybe someone who is deemed a good writer by other writers.

If all it takes is confidence in myself, I'll never be a good writer!

More like hard work and study. Look at best selling authors and read them. Learn the techniques they use to write and plot. Characterization. Dialog. Grammar. There’s a myriad of little things but above all you can have all the writing techniques but it has to have a good story that appeals to your readers. And it’s quite okay to steal plots. I’m reading a lot of books by Nicholas Sparks right now. He’s sold millions. My recommendation is, if you want that, take something that’s been really successful, steal the plot and use that to write your own story but study the techniques, the style, the wording, the characterization. Good writers aren’t born. They work at it. I can’t remember who it was but some successful author said you had to write a million words before you’d be any good. His view, it it’s something to keep in mind.

 

[CoffeeWithMonkeys]

Do you beta-read other people's work? Perhaps you can find confidence in being critical to other people's work, noticing the flaws in their stories? Almost no-one is perfect, and there's easy prey on the Editor's forum (Don't go for the big names; go for the desperate ones who indicate they've been rejected by Laurel, time and time again) It works for me (somewhat, sometimes, ...)

Do you enjoy re-reading your own stories? To be honest, I don't expect to ever earn my money with writing these kind of stories, so it's my personal joy I value the most. Of course, I really appreciate every positive comment I see, but it would be meaningless if I didn't value my work myself.

I think your series was quite ambitious. It is difficult to keep the tension high for such a long time, because it was slow and simmering. For what it's worth, I did look forward to new chapters, but at some point, it lost some of its suspense to me. I was curious about the way it continued, I felt invested, but after a while the story was not 'totally exciting and surprising'; it felt like a warm bath. At some point, people get out of bath and do something different. Try writing short(er) stories. Try different things and see what works and what doesn't. Try writing by a different name. Try to enjoy what you do. If it feels like a job, you're probably doing something wrong.

I do enjoy re-reading stuff I've written especially if it's something from years ago, 10+, and I've forgotten certain things. It's like something beautiful I've discovered. Of course I cringe a bit at my writing and re-write as I re-read.

In my series I was torn between time skipping over trivial but important to me things, or writing about how trivial things would have to happen in a post apocalyptic setting. I think me including trivial things is due to me having aspergers.These things are important to me, but I can see where they aren't important to most people. And in the end I decided to just stop writing it because I couldn't figure out what was important to the story and what was important to me. To me having Aspergers I need to know what I can substitute for eggs when I make cookies and there may not be eggs available, but I can see where most of the world doesn't need or want to know, especially at an erotica website.

I have tried reading other people's stuff but I find it difficult to be critical. Like How can I judge their writing when I think my own writing is shit. Who am I to judge?

I do enjoy writing but I guess we all crave feedback so I want to post it somewhere.

 

[SimonDoom]

I think writing is just like anything else that people do. Some people have more innate talent at it than others do, but everyone can become better by working at it. There are plenty of writers out there who have adoring readers and fans but do not, to my eye, appear to have an obvious gift for the art. If you enjoy it, don't for a moment stop because you don't think you have talent.

If I were you, I would give up the task of being a "good" writer, as though it's an either-or thing ("I'm good, or I'm bad"). Focus on doing it because you enjoy it and focus on improving whatever skills you have.

The first thing you have to do is write. You have no stories on your submissions list. You have to change that. Just write, and then publish. That's what all the rest of us do. You'll never get anywhere if you keep telling yourself you need to meet some elusive mythical standard before publishing.

Get input from people on your stories.

Have reference sources handy, like a dictionary, a thesaurus, and the Chicago Manual of Style or another style guide. USE THEM.

Read stories by others, and read them carefully. Find authors you like, read their stuff, study their stuff very carefully, and keep asking yourself what makes their stories good. Good writers usually are good readers.

If you're interested in getting many readers at Literotica, then figure out what kinds of erotic stories you want to write, and then find similar stories that have many readers, and figure out what about them attracts readers.

But, mainly, just write. Write and publish. Write and then become good, not the other way around.

 

[CoffeeWithMonkeys]

I think writing is just like anything else that people do. Some people have more innate talent at it than others do, but everyone can become better by working at it. There are plenty of writers out there who have adoring readers and fans but do not, to my eye, appear to have an obvious gift for the art. If you enjoy it, don't for a moment stop because you don't think you have talent.

If I were you, I would give up the task of being a "good" writer, as though it's an either-or thing ("I'm good, or I'm bad"). Focus on doing it because you enjoy it and focus on improving whatever skills you have.

The first thing you have to do is write. You have no stories on your submissions list. You have to change that. Just write, and then publish. That's what all the rest of us do. You'll never get anywhere if you keep telling yourself you need to meet some elusive mythical standard before publishing.

Get input from people on your stories.

Have reference sources handy, like a dictionary, a thesaurus, and the Chicago Manual of Style or another style guide. USE THEM.

Read stories by others, and read them carefully. Find authors you like, read their stuff, study their stuff very carefully, and keep asking yourself what makes their stories good. Good writers usually are good readers.

If you're interested in getting many readers at Literotica, then figure out what kinds of erotic stories you want to write, and then find similar stories that have many readers, and figure out what about them attracts readers.

But, mainly, just write. Write and publish. Write and then become good, not the other way around.

I write, or I used to write and submit stuff here, but I felt like everything I wrote was really not worth reading so I asked to have everything removed.
But I write. I have so much stuff at Blogger, Grammarly, Libre, google docs, Wattpad, and I even downloaded something on my phone to write and save when I don't have phone service or wifi. I have written so much, but is any of it worth keeping? I guess that's the question.

I feel like to have a lot of readers here you have to write incest which is one thing I will never do. I can write anything but incest.

I tried the write and then become good and I feel like that didn't work.

I do write though, lately thousands of words a day!

Maybe I should take a class on grammar. I feel like I don't remember when to use a semicolon or how to format dialog. Maybe something like that would give me some confidence.

 

[SimonDoom]

Maybe I should take a class on grammar. I feel like I don't remember when to use a semicolon or how to format dialog. Maybe something like that would give me some confidence.

A few thoughts:

1. Keep your stuff posted up. Don't worry about whether it's "good." Nobody can give you advice if you don't have samples of your stuff posted.

2. There's no prize, and nobody gets paid. If you are writing so much, then presumably you enjoy it, and that's reason enough to keep writing.

3. If you are concerned about your mastery of the mechanics of writing, like dialogue and semicolons, then my advice is to find samples of good writing and see how it's done, and then COPY IT. I don't mean word for word. I mean write your own stuff, but closely following the format of someone else who you are confident knows what they are doing. A good writer is a good reader. Close reading of good writing is a good way to become a better writer. To master dialogue all you have to master is about ten rules. Follow them scrupulously and you'll be fine. There are how to guides on this site about this. Read them and follow them.


Also, it's NOT true that only incest writers get many readers. That's not true at all, and if you study the toplists you can see that. Tefler has thousands of followers, and he writes sci fi. Loving Wives is a very popular category. You can find authors with many, many followers whose work covers the gamut of categories.

 

[Vix_Giovanni]

Readers that adore me. Readers that wait anxiously for my next chapter/story/book. People remember a certain scene or character years later and think, man I want to read that again!

And I want to be a writer that other writers recommend. So maybe someone who is deemed a good writer by other writers.

If all it takes is confidence in myself, I'll never be a good writer!

I wonder whether that’s a practical barometer for success on a site like this.

Most readers here are anonymous; they trend towards not wanting to interact. Anecdotally, when I first found Literotica, I was an anonymous (and underage) reader. Over the years, I’ve loved and been inspired by jfinn and PiperBelle in particular; I knew their characters in and out and memorized scenes and waited breathlessly for PiperBelle to post new stories/chapters and read/reread jfinn’s The Human Condition over more than a decade! But as a reader, I had absolutely zero interest in or intention to contact either of them. I’d assume many people who read their stories felt similarly. It’s only now that I’m an author on the site that I wish I’d contacted them.

And, most readers are coming for masturbatory reasons anyways, both physically and mentally, and not because they adore/invest themselves in a particular writer. There was an anonymous comment left on the 750-Word project advertisement page last year that read (para.), “I come here to jack off. If I want literature, I’ll go to Barnes & Nobles.” I think that was invaluable feedback, and important to keep that reader’s perspective in mind, especially for those of us with lofty ambitions that we’re writing literature with some erotica. For us, it does well to remember that readers looking for compelling stories and slow burn sex are a small minority.

Most writers on the forum affirmatively (and often, seemingly, proudly) state that they don’t read stories on this site. If your hope is to be a writer that other site authors read and recommend, I think you may be setting yourself up for disappointment because that doesn’t seem to be the way things work around here. I read the stories by most authors on the AH—I read your zombie apocalypse series, thought it was good and left you positive feedback but never had any response or interaction from you. Unfortunately, I know of only a handful of other authors that, like me, read other AH writers unsolicited and merely to be supportive. So I think this is another example of being in the minority.

Confidence is hard to maintain, but I hope that it helps to know that you’re not alone . Many, if not most, of us are all struggling with the same. I think that Chloe’s advice is spot on that you have to just keep writing; confidence like writing is a skill that’s developed by exercising it. And I think that Simon’s advice is heartening; writing isn’t about being “good” or “bad”.

 

[tomlitilia]

3. If you are concerned about your mastery of the mechanics of writing, like dialogue and semicolons, then my advice is to find samples of good writing and see how it's done, and then COPY IT. I don't mean word for word. I mean write your own stuff, but closely following the format of someone else who you are confident knows what they are doing. A good writer is a good reader. Close reading of good writing is a good way to become a better writer. To master dialogue all you have to master is about ten rules. Follow them scrupulously and you'll be fine. There are how to guides on this site about this. Read them and follow them.

I think this is great advice also beyond the mechanics of writing. Reading other writers' stories, pinpointing what makes them work, and working the same concept into your own story is an efficient way to improve. It works from small details to the entire arc. And it works from the negative side too. I often read things that I dislike and then try to avoid the same mistakes myself.

 

[CoffeeWithMonkeys]

I wonder whether that’s a practical barometer for success on a site like this.

Most readers here are anonymous; they trend towards not wanting to interact. Anecdotally, when I first found Literotica, I was an anonymous (and underage) reader. Over the years, I’ve loved and been inspired by jfinn and PiperBelle in particular; I knew their characters in and out and memorized scenes and waited breathlessly for PiperBelle to post new stories/chapters and read/reread jfinn’s The Human Condition over more than a decade! But as a reader, I had absolutely zero interest in or intention to contact either of them. I’d assume many people who read their stories felt similarly. It’s only now that I’m an author on the site that I wish I’d contacted them.

And, most readers are coming for masturbatory reasons anyways, both physically and mentally, and not because they adore/invest themselves in a particular writer. There was an anonymous comment left on the 750-Word project advertisement page last year that read (para.), “I come here to jack off. If I want literature, I’ll go to Barnes & Nobles.” I think that was invaluable feedback, and important to keep that reader’s perspective in mind, especially for those of us with lofty ambitions that we’re writing literature with some erotica. For us, it does well to remember that readers looking for compelling stories and slow burn sex are a small minority.

Most writers on the forum affirmatively (and often, seemingly, proudly) state that they don’t read stories on this site. If your hope is to be a writer that other site authors read and recommend, I think you may be setting yourself up for disappointment because that doesn’t seem to be the way things work around here. I read the stories by most authors on the AH—I read your zombie apocalypse series, thought it was good and left you positive feedback but never had any response or interaction from you. Unfortunately, I know of only a handful of other authors that, like me, read other AH writers unsolicited and merely to be supportive. So I think this is another example of being in the minority.

Confidence is hard to maintain, but I hope that it helps to know that you’re not alone . Many, if not most, of us are all struggling with the same. I think that Chloe’s advice is spot on that you have to just keep writing; confidence like writing is a skill that’s developed by exercising it. And I think that Simon’s advice is heartening; writing isn’t about being “good” or “bad”.

I never wrote a zombie apocalypse series.

I always tell my friends that I want to write hot dirty smut, but I always end up with romantic drivel, BUT if I felt like it was good romantic drivel I think I could be happy But not sure who I want approval from. I had some nice comments on my stuff here, but it never felt real. Does that make sense?

 

[Vix_Giovanni]

I never wrote a zombie apocalypse series.

I always tell my friends that I want to write hot dirty smut, but I always end up with romantic drivel, BUT if I felt like it was good romantic drivel I think I could be happy But not sure who I want approval from. I had some nice comments on my stuff here, but it never felt real. Does that make sense?

Sorry, I thought you were the author of “No Such Thing As Time” about a post-apocalyptic romance after an illness/pandemic that mainly took place on a farm. I read and left many positive comments on that writer’s series. My sincere apologies for confusing you with that author.

Yes, I definitely relate on feeling like comments and compliments on my writing aren’t “real” but I try to remember that’s just my insecurities about my own writing. For me personally, it’s part of the exercise in building confidence.

 

[CoffeeWithMonkeys]

I think this is great advice also beyond the mechanics of writing. Reading other writers' stories, pinpointing what makes them work, and working the same concept into your own story is an efficient way to improve. It works from small details to the entire arc. And it works from the negative side too. I often read things that I dislike and then try to avoid the same mistakes myself.

I've read stuff that I've seen other people on this forum talk about, and I didn't care for it. I thought some of it was ok. Some I couldn't get past the first chapter.

I have read a few stories here that I enjoyed, maybe it's time to find more. I guess it's time to read and take a break from writing.

Just recently I posted on reddit looking for books I read as a teen trying to track them down. Some books I remembered certain things from but couldn't remember the title and luckily redditors found them for me! I think I'll see about getting a couple of them and reread them to see how it is I've remembered stuff from 30-40 years ago.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I think writing is just like anything else that people do. Some people have more innate talent at it than others do, but everyone can become better by working at it. There are plenty of writers out there who have adoring readers and fans but do not, to my eye, appear to have an obvious gift for the art. If you enjoy it, don't for a moment stop because you don't think you have talent.

If I were you, I would give up the task of being a "good" writer, as though it's an either-or thing ("I'm good, or I'm bad"). Focus on doing it because you enjoy it and focus on improving whatever skills you have.

The first thing you have to do is write. You have no stories on your submissions list. You have to change that. Just write, and then publish. That's what all the rest of us do. You'll never get anywhere if you keep telling yourself you need to meet some elusive mythical standard before publishing.

Get input from people on your stories.

Have reference sources handy, like a dictionary, a thesaurus, and the Chicago Manual of Style or another style guide. USE THEM.

Read stories by others, and read them carefully. Find authors you like, read their stuff, study their stuff very carefully, and keep asking yourself what makes their stories good. Good writers usually are good readers.

If you're interested in getting many readers at Literotica, then figure out what kinds of erotic stories you want to write, and then find similar stories that have many readers, and figure out what about them attracts readers.

But, mainly, just write. Write and publish. Write and then become good, not the other way around.

This, precisely. Nobody became a concert pianist by watching others play.

Accept that you will suck at first. Hey, you fell down a lot learning to walk, right? It's normal.

Accept that everybody else fell down a lot while learning to walk, too. And if one could find early scribblings by John Steinbeck or Willie Shakespeare, I'd venture that they too sucked.

So have at it! Write. Write a lot. Accept that early mistakes are the road to improvement.

CwM - in your case, put 'em back out here for everyone to admire. And may I say it's really nice to see you back!

 

[Rustyoznail]

I’m a terrible artist. My mum is great. But I can design and draw some wicked engineering structures. Do I still try and draw? Yep.

I love playing the sax, but I have to have a sheet of music in front of me. I can’t ad lib. Still try. Gets some laughs.

I’ve written technical documents for years. Pretty good at it. Fiction? Never thought I’d do anything, but here I am.

The point I want to make is that you can’t be an expert at everything, but do what you like. What makes you happy. Even if you think it’s crap. And understand you can’t please everybody.

I’d love to see your stuff back up.

 

[Voboy]

I think you make yourself into a good writer by reading. Read a lot, early and often, and you'll absorb sentence structure, punctuation, and flow. I think it's best done when you're a little kid, though I don't suppose it's ever too late to start.

You're not really emulating or imitating your favorite authors. You're teaching yourself their language, so that once it's time to tell your own stories you'll have a similar vernacular. So I don't think good writers are born, I think they're made. But they're made early.

Good STORYTELLERS, though, might well be born rather than made. Telling stories requires empathy and curiosity and imagination, and I'm not sure you can teach that.

 

[SimonDoom]

I've read stuff that I've seen other people on this forum talk about, and I didn't care for it. I thought some of it was ok. Some I couldn't get past the first chapter.

I have read a few stories here that I enjoyed, maybe it's time to find more. I guess it's time to read and take a break from writing.

.

I don't think you need to take a break, but if after all the time you've been on this site you have only read "a few stories here" that you enjoyed, I'd suggest that's part of the problem. You can't get better by sitting on your hands in your room and worrying about your writing. You have to engage. I don't understand how a person can become a good writer without reading a lot. That makes no sense to me. FIND WRITING THAT YOU LIKE. READ IT. LEARN FROM IT. It doesn't have to consist only of stories here at Literotica, although if you want to publish here and "succeed" here I strongly recommend finding Literotica authors whose stories you like and trying to figure out what they are doing that's working.

Pinpoint the categories that you enjoy. You don't like incest, so you can cross that off. Find the categories you DO enjoy.

Peruse toplists and contest winner lists. Find stories you like, and find authors you like.

Once you've found some authors you like, look at their favorites lists. They will lead you to more authors you probably will like.

Ask other people for suggestions about stories to read.

You have 70 days, so prepare a plan that consists of identifying stories you like and then learning from those stories how to improve your own writing. Read a little and write a little every single one of those 70 days. If there are certain aspects of your writing you feel need special attention, then give yourself tasks and exercises to work on them. For instance, write a few pages of dialogue just to work on it and get the mechanics down.

The key is to engage.

 

[HeyAll]

The best way to become a good writer is to read a book or erotica story that you love, and study what makes it so good. ie how the scenes are set up, dialogue structure, descriptions, etc...

 

[KeithD]

Read and observe while you do, and write, write, write. I would add study grammar enough so that working with that doesn't get in the way of creative imagination in devising and spinning plots and depicting characters and settings. But, write, write, write.

 

[SimonDoom]

If you are looking for a fairly simple grammar guide, I might recommend The Elements of Grammar by Margaret Shertzer. It's published by the publisher of The Elements of Style, and it presents the information in a reasonably brief and accessible style, the way The Elements of Style does.

Here are some links to articles about dialogue:

https://www.literotica.com/beta/s/dialogue-this

https://www.literotica.com/beta/s/how-to-make-characters-talk

 

[SamScribble]

Here's one piece of advice I offer to aspiring writers: read out loud. Read you own work out loud. Read others' work out loud.

Good writing invariably 'sounds' right. All the advice in the world about characters and conflicts and story arcs counts for little if the prose doesn't 'sound' right.

Good luck.

 

[eroticstoryspinner]

So since I have 70 some free days, my job told me I could probably come back after 90 days so I'm hoping I can, but right now I have some spare time and I want to try to become a good writer if that's possible.

Are good writers born? If you suck starting out, can you get better? Is there anything I can do, read, listen to, study...to become a good writer?

Anyone can be a better writer. You can even learn to be a storyteller. There has been some really wonderful advice. All i can add is get yourself out there. Repost your stories. Get some beta readers. I don't have a ton of time (my day job is managing a tech support team for a major ISP-my days are full ) but i would be glad to look at them. PM me. I am still learning how to polish my stories with the mechanics. Take a chance

 

[yukonnights]

I never wrote a zombie apocalypse series.

I always tell my friends that I want to write hot dirty smut, but I always end up with romantic drivel, BUT if I felt like it was good romantic drivel I think I could be happy But not sure who I want approval from. I had some nice comments on my stuff here, but it never felt real. Does that make sense?

CWM, I've worked with you on a story. I told you that I enjoyed your perspective — it gave me a peek into the mind of a young woman out on a date — and the night with the guy afterwards. And as I recall, the story turned out good.

You never shared you have Asperger's, and I saw you just the same as I do others I've worked with — just good decent folks.

What I see here now seems like an 'over analysis leads to paralysis' moment.

I've been told my stories are too sweet, too happy-ever-after. Perhaps they are? (and they probably are) But I write from what's inside of me. I saw that in your story too — you wrote a scene out of life that made sense to you. I think that's the key core element — to let your own feelings and emotions shine out in the characters you create.

I had no idea you pulled all of your stories. And for what it's worth, your obvious pain hurts me. Please don't feel you are alone. I think there are a number of folks on this thread who would gladly help you offsite if you reach out to them.

And don't overlook the fact that the entire world is a bit stressed at the moment. ~

 

[ElectricBlue]

I've been told my stories are too sweet, too happy-ever-after. Perhaps they are? (and they probably are) But I write from what's inside of me.

I'd like to think we all write from what's inside us. For some people, that's anger and hostility; for others it's angst and drama; and for others it's being kind and humane, and everything else there might be.

You're one of the kind hearts, Yukon, and there's a place for that in this world. And, I suspect, increasingly so.

You can join me:

Petition for a new tag
We need "wholesome" to be a tag, even if it'd only be for a couple of authors. This is the brilliance I've been searching for. Thank you.