Is there any dedicated Editors out there?

[Dommoser]

I need a great editor. No bullshit! I have stories I am publishing and taking a beating on my sentance structure and other issues, but do not have any person willing to put the time into me. I cannot edit my own shit and need not to play around. A 3.5 rating is absolutely unacceptable! I need an absoltute ballistic ass to correct my idiotic inability to use and provide good proper English. Castrate me but I am not the type of character to be detailed oriented, but have a great immagination and can get it out of my head in one piece but not in the best format. Please read my shit! I am under Dommoser...Poems and stories.

DM

 

[snoopercharmbrights]

Is there any dedicated Editors out there?

I looked at your "Maid" story and I'm sorry, I'm not that dedicated.

 

[Dommoser]

OK, good hit but...

Then at least tell me something. How can I make it presentable; or is it just a bad story in general. I am not trying to make work for you. I am looking to solve the problem.

 

[_Lynn_]

I looked at your "Maid" story and I'm sorry, I'm not that dedicated.

I checked the "Judy" story. Ditto for me, sorry.

Though I did send a few quick thoughts through feedback on the first paragraph.

 

[Guest]

Then at least tell me something. How can I make it presentable; or is it just a bad story in general. I am not trying to make work for you. I am looking to solve the problem.

I read the first third of "The Extreme BDSM Experience" and skimmed the rest. I'll offer these thoughts. Remember, you asked for this.

--You meet the minimum requirements: you can tell a story, and while they need serious work, your grammar and punctuation aren't uniformly atrocious. This passage, however:

At first she was kind of disgusted at the simple approach but in the pit of her stomach due to having an irritable day she wrote back. "Why should I?"

...suggests that she is writing back in the pit of her stomach because she had an irritable day (which should probably be "irritating"). Don't make the reader guess what you mean unless you're writing a mystery or using foreshadowing.

--You have a tendency to misuse homonyms ("bear" feet), which a spell checker won't catch, and some useages are just flat wrong:

She could tell that he was feeding off of her fear although it was residing a little.

The word is "receding."

--In this paragraph, you move from Sara's point of view to the author's without a break:

She could feel his power radiating from him and knew he would better her and that point scared her. It was a bitter sweet conflict, the conflict of a role play that every woman hopes to experiences but is afraid when the condition presents itself. Maybe it is a secret rape that they like, or the boss bangs her on the desk, but in any fashion, the fear was there and the trust was not.

--You overwrite and most of it is exposition. A story is best told simply and straightforwardly by its characters and their actions, not by the author's voice. Case in point: your first line of actual dialogue (disregarding the e-mail exchange) occurs nearly 800 words into your story and consists of the words, "What Mistress?"

Until then, you've told the reader, not shown them.

Your story actually begins with the e-mail exchange; don't make the reader wade through acres of background to get into the action. Work it in later, a little at a time.

--Speaking of dialogue, if you put what one character says in quotes, the other character's response should also be in quotes. Also, even in BDSM scenarios, people don't speak so stiltedly; dialogue, even in a discipline situation, has to sound natural.

--Characters... You have absolutely no sympathetic characters in the story. Sara and Dark Soul are arrogant, cardboard characters. The story you're telling is an old one--dominant women secretly wish to be dominated. You have to give the reader someone to identify with and in whom to be interested. When Sara gets her comeuppance, my reaction is basically, "So what?" So she's a dominant woman--she's still a woman, and women (like men) have insecurities against which they struggle continually. Let the reader see them.

Final thought: If you have no patience for the mechanics of writing, you aren't writing, you're spewing. Readers will notice.

 

[Dommoser]

Your damb right I asked for it and you have finally given me some of what it is I am doing wrong. I am not offended and want to thank you for the time you have taken to beat me a little. I do not take that lightly. I have big shoulders and want to learn more than anyone. I can assure you that you have not wasted your time. You did not even beat me that bad! I expected much worse for someone who wasted their time on my shit.

DM

 

[AsylumSeeker]

Your damb right I asked for it and you have finally given me some of what it is I am doing wrong. I am not offended and want to thank you for the time you have taken to beat me a little. I do not take that lightly. I have big shoulders and want to learn more than anyone. I can assure you that you have not wasted your time. You did not even beat me that bad! I expected much worse for someone who wasted their time on my shit.

DM

Dude,

I respect the fact that you're trying to learn to express yourself. There's no shame in that, and I admire your shameless acceptance of your weaknesses.

There is no shame in wanting to learn, as you have so humbly demonstrated.

I edit for many, but I will try to work with you if you're of a mind to do so. PM me.

 

[AsylumSeeker]

A Little Ashamed

I can't explain the indifference.

I'm just a bit disappointed with my fellow editors to completely shut down a struggling writer. Am I alone in seeing this writer as sincere in his/her intentions and desire to learn?

You've all been so good, so helpful, but have you all tired of helping?

This isn't the community I joined and thought I was a part of.

 

[_Lynn_]

I checked the "Judy" story. Ditto for me, sorry.

Though I did send a few quick thoughts through feedback on the first paragraph.

I can't explain the indifference.

I'm just a bit disappointed with my fellow editors to completely shut down a struggling writer. Am I alone in seeing this writer as sincere in his/her intentions and desire to learn?

You've all been so good, so helpful, but have you all tired of helping?

This isn't the community I joined and thought I was a part of.

Take note that I said I sent some thoughts through feedback.

Tired of helping? Not hardly. But I already spend at least four days a week on editing for my regulars.

Is the writer sincere? I didn't deny that, though I never received a reply for the comments I sent.

 

[AsylumSeeker]

Take note that I said I sent some thoughts through feedback.

Tired of helping? Not hardly. But I already spend at least four days a week on editing for my regulars.

Is the writer sincere? I didn't deny that, though I never received a reply for the comments I sent.

Thanks, ML. Perhaps we can all learn from this exchange of ideas. I have such a strong "teaching" sense in me, which has borne me well in my professional life as an adult educator. Some arrive at work to "put in time" and draw a paycheck, but I'm so devoted to this cause that I get very passionate, maybe to a fault.

I wasn't pointing any fingers, just generally venting my frustrations.

I know you're not always thanked for your efforts, but I thank you on behalf of those who fail to. Not the same, I know, and I'll spank any writers I know who don't. Better yet, I'll hold their wrists and you can spank them, lol.


'

 

[_Lynn_]

Thanks, ML. Perhaps we can all learn from this exchange of ideas. I have such a strong "teaching" sense in me, which has borne me well in my professional life as an adult educator. Some arrive at work to "put in time" and draw a paycheck, but I'm so devoted to this cause that I get very passionate, maybe to a fault.

I wasn't pointing any fingers, just generally venting my frustrations.

I know you're not always thanked for your efforts, but I thank you on behalf of those who fail to. Not the same, I know, and I'll spank any writers I know who don't. Better yet, I'll hold their wrists and you can spank them, lol.


'

It isn't common knowledge who all I work with. That's a mutual agreement that I like. I don't help them just to see my name on their story, but my regulars do thank me -- all the time.

As for this writer, their stories need a lot of work. Errors screamed at me from the piece I glanced at. Is there a plot in there somewhere? Maybe, I didn't read that far. Flat out, I wouldn't know where to begin without 'rewriting' it myself. And I don't do that.

Oh yes, the spanking, either works for me.

 

[snoopercharmbrights]

It isn't common knowledge who all I work with. That's a mutual agreement that I like. I don't help them just to see my name on their story, but my regulars do thank me -- all the time. ...

Ditto for me.

As for this writer, their stories need a lot of work. Errors screamed at me from the piece I glanced at. Is there a plot in there somewhere? Maybe, I didn't read that far. Flat out, I wouldn't know where to begin without 'rewriting' it myself. And I don't do that. ...

Ditto for me. I see the editor's job as polishing stories, not recreating them.

The only advice I could give is to enrol in a basic English literacy course. As for the three posted stories, I have helped people who have been rejected for punctuation with far better punctuated stories than the one I looked at.

 

[Dommoser]

Let me say that the effort AsylumSeeker gave to me is much appreciated. MistressLynn, although I do disagree with you that the story you partially read needed to be rewritten, I appreciate any feedback no matter how good or bad it may be. I do understand the great help all of the editors provide to us writers; I in most cases could never say anything negative. “The Sinister Maid Affliction had tense issues and did not require a rewrite.

 

[Dommoser]

Snoopercharmbrights,
I am sorry to hear about your dedication level, but would have appreciated any offering other than that. Upon Editing, AsylumSeeker corrected tense issues. I do not want to sell short all of the editors hard work, but I feel this comment is purely a dig.

 

[_Lynn_]

Let me say that the effort AsylumSeeker gave to me is much appreciated. MistressLynn, although I do disagree with you that the story you partially read needed to be rewritten, I appreciate any feedback no matter how good or bad it may be. I do understand the great help all of the editors provide to us writers; I in most cases could never say anything negative. “The Sinister Maid Affliction had tense issues and did not require a rewrite.

Then how about if we agree to disagree and leave it at that.

We all have our own opinions.

 

[snoopercharmbrights]

Snoopercharmbrights,
I am sorry to hear about your dedication level, but would have appreciated any offering other than that. Upon Editing, AsylumSeeker corrected tense issues. I do not want to sell short all of the editors hard work, but I feel this comment is purely a dig.

That comment was not a dig at you, or at Lit's review process. It was an honest statement of the situation as I see it. Shall we leave it at that?

 

[Guest]

Your damb right I asked for it and you have finally given me some of what it is I am doing wrong. I am not offended and want to thank you for the time you have taken to beat me a little. I do not take that lightly. I have big shoulders and want to learn more than anyone. I can assure you that you have not wasted your time. You did not even beat me that bad! I expected much worse for someone who wasted their time on my shit.

DM

My apologies for not responding sooner; the ice storm had us without power for 4 days. Trust me, the romance of using my fireplace has worn off!

You're welcome for the feedback and I'm glad you didn't find it too painful.

I always keep in mind what my very first college creative writing prof put at the head of the course syllabus: "It is not possible to teach anyone to write with talent. It is possible to teach almost anyone to write with some skill."

Good luck with your writing.

 

[AsylumSeeker]

Let me say that the effort AsylumSeeker gave to me is much appreciated. MistressLynn, although I do disagree with you that the story you partially read needed to be rewritten, I appreciate any feedback no matter how good or bad it may be. I do understand the great help all of the editors provide to us writers; I in most cases could never say anything negative. “The Sinister Maid Affliction had tense issues and did not require a rewrite.

Every editor is different, we all have varying slants. Some are college-educated and have been taught to conform to certain "rules". Others, like me, just have a natural "instinct" and react to that while not knowing why (in other words, uneducated).

Hey, find an editor that fits the bill, that's what I suggest. I don't, and have never pretended to be, more than what I am, uneductad but with a caring heart.

 

[AsylumSeeker]

I'm Shocked!

Ditto for me.

Ditto for me. I see the editor's job as polishing stories, not recreating them.

The only advice I could give is to enrol in a basic English literacy course. As for the three posted stories, I have helped people who have been rejected for punctuation with far better punctuated stories than the one I looked at.

HELLO?

It took perhaps a half hour of my life to help this admittedly struggling writer to work out the wrinkles of this story you are so quick to dismiss! Hey, and guess what! This writer appreciates the help you all are so bitching about but not getting.

Shame on you editors! I'm busting my ass, devoting much time trying to make a difference, and this is the feedback I get.

It's no wonder the writers have lost faith in this site, why they complain.

 

[_Lynn_]

HELLO?

It took perhaps a half hour of my life to help this admittedly struggling writer to work out the wrinkles of this story you are so quick to dismiss! Hey, and guess what! This writer appreciates the help you all are so bitching about but not getting.

Shame on you editors! I'm busting my ass, devoting much time trying to make a difference, and this is the feedback I get.

It's no wonder the writers have lost faith in this site, why they complain.

............

 

[Guest]

As mentioned previously, we all have different slants on what we bring to the editing process and I suspect that includes levels of comfort with the degree of sophistication of the writing presented.

I'm comfortable with editing stories that have severe problems, although pretty damned selective about who I choose to actually work with due to my energy levels. I also choose not to respond to every request for story feedback and I'm fine with that; however, I do try to give reasoned, at least somewhat in-depth feedback when I do respond. That's not a dig at anyone else, just a statement of my position.

I have no criticism of editors who are not comfortable with, or interested in, teaching basic grammar, punctuation, character development, pacing, etc. I enjoy the mentoring process; not everyone does.

I don't flatter myself that I can make a poor writer into a great one; I do believe that my efforts, when I choose to provide them, can help a few poor writers become better writers.

 

[_Lynn_]

As mentioned previously, we all have different slants on what we bring to the editing process and I suspect that includes levels of comfort with the degree of sophistication of the writing presented.

I'm comfortable with editing stories that have severe problems, although pretty damned selective about who I choose to actually work with due to my energy levels. I also choose not to respond to every request for story feedback and I'm fine with that; however, I do try to give reasoned, at least somewhat in-depth feedback when I do respond. That's not a dig at anyone else, just a statement of my position.

I have no criticism of editors who are not comfortable with, or interested in, teaching basic grammar, punctuation, character development, pacing, etc. I enjoy the mentoring process; not everyone does.

I don't flatter myself that I can make a poor writer into a great one; I do believe that my efforts, when I choose to provide them, can help a few poor writers become better writers.

........

 

[AsylumSeeker]

Then you and I have very different views on editing.

I spend far more time than that on even the most polished pieces sent to me.

Are you pissing down my leg? Just wondering cuz it's awful warm!

Why are we even here on opposite sides?

Not worth it!

 

[_Lynn_]

Are you pissing down my leg? Just wondering cuz it's awful warm!

Why are we even here on opposite sides?

Not worth it!

HELLO?

It took perhaps a half hour of my life to help this admittedly struggling writer to work out the wrinkles of this story you are so quick to dismiss! Hey, and guess what! This writer appreciates the help you all are so bitching about but not getting.

Shame on you editors! I'm busting my ass, devoting much time trying to make a difference, and this is the feedback I get.

It's no wonder the writers have lost faith in this site, why they complain.

........

 

[AsylumSeeker]

Okay, so I'm the bad guy here.

That's okay, I can live with that.