I want to be a good writer

[litfan10]

This. I think this is also something that makes me so self-conscious about my writing and makes me second guess all things grammar.
I dropped out at 15. I have a 9th grade education. My now ex loved to throw it in my face that he was college educated.

I'm still reading everyone's replies. I do appreciate everyone that took time to reply

Grammar can be fixed. That is easy.
I started getting paid to write when I was in high school.

When I was briefly teaching middle school English I had a student who wrote beautiful poetry. She came back to see me when she was in high school as she had won a poetry contest, open to adults as well.

My point is college diploma be damned. Someone who lauds his/her diploma over someone else should be smacked with his/her rolled up diploma for being a pompous ass.

Sure, degrees open unique doors in life, but they are in no means an end all to be all, especially regarding writing.

If you have an urge to write and people are rapt by your words you are a writer. Embrace it, enjoy it and most importantly - write.

 

[GroverLang]

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?

The first prerequisite for being a fiction writer is to have an imagination. Without an imagination you can’t possibly come up with a story, good or bad. But then you have to convert those two things into something another person will enjoy reading.

Your question was: are good writers born? The answer is no. Writing is a skill not an innate ability. Many people are capable of writing fiction. The question is to what degree. Practice might not make perfect but, unless you are really bad, it will make you better.

As has been said you should read. Not just Literotica but mainstream writers. Read the first novel written by a successful author and then read their last. Try Dan Brown as an example then you’ll see what I mean. Another author you could try is Dick Francis. Read Dead Cert and then, forty books later, Under Orders. Either of these, and other authors, should inspire you.

There are good writers on Literotica who can also inspire you. The ones who write good stories, even though you might never be able to emulate them, and the many who write absolute shite. They are the ones who inspire you to do better than them.

Tales on Literotica can generally be put into two compartments. Stories aimed at people who want to read a story, with or without sex, and stories aimed at masturbators. You choose.

You will never become a better writer on Literotica from reading the comments left by your readers. Helpful comments are very rare. You could ask for opinions on story feedback as long as you’re prepared to accept both constructive and destructive opinions.

The most important question is why do you want to write? I don’t write many stories, sometimes months in between, but I’m happy with them all. I enjoy writing them, I enjoy reading them, and I hope others enjoy reading them as well.

 

[SimonDoom]

This. I think this is also something that makes me so self-conscious about my writing and makes me second guess all things grammar.
I dropped out at 15. I have a 9th grade education. My now ex loved to throw it in my face that he was college educated.

I'm still reading everyone's replies. I do appreciate everyone that took time to reply

I agree with others that grammar can, to a significant degree, be learned, and that the degree of grammar expertise you must acquire to be a successful Literotica author is not that high. You can improve dramatically by working at it, and by paying attention. A case in point is the nuts and bolts of writing dialogue. It's not that hard if you pay attention to how people do it and read a few "how to" articles. You only need to master about a dozen rules, if that. But you have to do the work needed to gain that expertise.

Storytelling is a tougher thing to learn, but others are absolutely correct that years of schooling have little if any connection to how good a storyteller you are. I disagree with Lovecraft, however, on one point. He doesn't recommend reading so-called "great books." Lovecraft obviously is a good and confident storyteller, so he doesn't need to do that. But some of us might not be so confident, and might find it useful to analyze how others do it so we can do it well ourselves. So, I think, depending on how confident you are in your storytelling ability, you may profit from reading stories you like carefully to figure out how good stories are put together. Ultimately, only you can figure out what works for you.

I encourage you to keep at it, regardless, and to keep publishing your stories here, because you seem to have enjoyed writing, and that's the most important thing. That's the cake. The rest is icing.

 

[sbrooks103]

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'm reminded of the joke/story about a famous musician who was asked "How do I get to Carnegie Hall," asking for directions. His reply was, "Practice."

Seriously, to a certain degree, you probably need a born talent, but if you read other writers, practice writing, get good writers to review your work and LISTEN to them, then post and read your comments. Some will be trolls, but most will sincerely want to help you improve.