Need advice.

[Cartman94]

Hi everyone, I'm a fairly new writer (I have written a few stories, but in my eyes I'm still new) and I have two things I'd like some advice on if possible.

1. Do you have any tips on someone who's native language is not english (like me)?

Now, I'm pretty good at english. I was always the first in my class (no bragging), but that was mostly basic stuff. Whenever I read a story, there are words I don't really know or some things are described in way that I could never come up with and I think it's because of the fact that my first language isn't english but dutch. I know that I can post dutch stories, but I write mine in english because there is a larger audience and it also helps with learning new words, but it's not always easy. So I was wondering if you would have some tips for someone like me.


2. How to not write the same sex scenes over and over again.

Like I said, I have written a few stories so far and currently I'm working on a fifth chapter of one of my stories. But writing five chapters is hard, especially with sex scenes. I love the story, I enjoy writing it, but after five chapters and a lot of sex, writing a new sex scene can be difficult. I don't want to have the feeling I'm just writing the same thing over and over again so, again, I was wondering if you would have any advice on this.

Thanks.

(If this is posted in the wrong forums, I apologize.)

 

[geronimo_appleby]

as far as your usage of english goes, from what you've laid down above you don't seem to have too much difficulty. maybe write your story and get an editor to give it the once over?

as for the sex scenes, i'd suggest reading other people's work. i'm not suggesting plagiarism, just a study in style and content.

good luck.

btw, if you're ever in nijmegen for the 4 day marches, have a beer for me!

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I don't speak Dutch but follow it well enough to get the idea. Its a mix of German and English to my ears. I spent some time in Germany.

All you really need to know about English is this: Americans use the 50 most common words 50% of the time. The 3000 most common words take care of 98% of American speech and writing. The remainder are work related jargon. So you likely speak English better than most native speakers.

The difficulty with English are multiple meanings for words. So English is perfect for puns and sarcasm and parody. Example: I went to college to be a civil engineer, I failed all my engineering courses but did learn to be civil.

 

[Catchalot]

For me, sex doesn't go in a story unless my characters have to have it. I let them decide when and how, rather than me just trying to find spots to throw it in.

Sometimes I don't even describe the sex in detail, I just tell the readers it happened. For me, a story still needs to be able to stand on its own, even if you take the descriptive sex out of it. Meaning there has to be more to it than just the sex, otherwise you're just writing a stroke story.

If that's what you want to write, that's totally cool, just write shorter stories and post more of them

As for the language thing, I agree with geronimo appleby, try an editor, because you seem to do okay right now.

 

[Desiremakesmeweak]

1. Well, I suppose the greatest example of someone who was an outstanding writer in English but whose first language was not English, was Joseph Conrad - who I think, was Polish...?

Conrad was fairly pedantic in his grammar and that is not necessarily what you should force yourself to be - English is a living language and probably more so today than ever, in that it is adopting so many more ethnic idioms and 'borrow' words - from Korea, Japan, China, India, even Russia and frankly, all over the place including cyberspeak from cyberland, I guess!

The main things is tell the story, in such a way that your reader just wants to keep reading to see what happens next, and what happens to the people in the story.

2. Avoiding the same sex scene or the same sex style over and over is a question of you really caring about the characters you are placing in your stories - and, whether or not you care about people and accept them in all their diversity and individuality, AND RESPECT them... Because, once you consciously respect the small subtle nuances of difference that make each and every human being 'personal' and distinct from just the generic idea of 'human being,' you will start to perceive countless variations in what people are motivated by, and how they live out their lives. Human life is a limitless set of pathways and opportunities - and unpredictable, moreover. That unpredictability, makes the sex scenes subject to the consequences of such a condition (unpredictability).

All the best,

D.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

1. Well, I suppose the greatest example of someone who was an outstanding writer in English but whose first language was not English, was Joseph Conrad - who I think, was Polish...?

Conrad was fairly pedantic in his grammar and that is not necessarily what you should force yourself to be - English is a living language and probably more so today than ever, in that it is adopting so many more ethnic idioms and 'borrow' words - from Korea, Japan, China, India, even Russia and frankly, all over the place including cyberspeak from cyberland, I guess!

The main things is tell the story, in such a way that your reader just wants to keep reading to see what happens next, and what happens to the people in the story.

2. Avoiding the same sex scene or the same sex style over and over is a question of you really caring about the characters you are placing in your stories - and, whether or not you care about people and accept them in all their diversity and individuality, AND RESPECT them... Because, once you consciously respect the small subtle nuances of difference that make each and every human being 'personal' and distinct from just the generic idea of 'human being,' you will start to perceive countless variations in what people are motivated by, and how they live out their lives. Human life is a limitless set of pathways and opportunities - and unpredictable, moreover. That unpredictability, makes the sex scenes subject to the consequences of such a condition (unpredictability).

All the best,

D.

What she means is, JUST MAKE SHIT UP TO SUIT YOURSELF, AND FUCK UNDERSTANDING.

 

[soflabbwlvr]

2. How to not write the same sex scenes over and over again.

Like I said, I have written a few stories so far and currently I'm working on a fifth chapter of one of my stories. But writing five chapters is hard, especially with sex scenes. I love the story, I enjoy writing it, but after five chapters and a lot of sex, writing a new sex scene can be difficult. I don't want to have the feeling I'm just writing the same thing over and over again so, again, I was wondering if you would have any advice on this.

Thanks.

When creating your characters, take care to make them different. Give them different personalities, different back stories, different sexual histories, and different sexual preferences. Then really spend some time and think about what those specific characters would do in a particular situation.

When it comes to the same characters in the same story having sex multiple times, the first question you have to ask yourself is "why am I depicting the same two people having sex over and over?" There are two possible answers. One is that you are stuck in a rut. The second is because you are showing changes in their relationship over time through their sex. You change it up by varying the circumstances and the reasons for sex. A quickie in the back seat should be different than a romantic night spent in a hotel room. As the relationship grows, the sex becomes hotter. Or it becomes more experimental. How do the characters feel about that? Or it begins to get stale, and the characters find a way to recover the spark. Tell the story of the relationship with the sex. Just make sure you are telling a story that is about more than two people having sex.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Hi everyone, I'm a fairly new writer (I have written a few stories, but in my eyes I'm still new) and I have two things I'd like some advice on if possible.

1. Do you have any tips on someone who's native language is not english (like me)?

Now, I'm pretty good at english. I was always the first in my class (no bragging), but that was mostly basic stuff. Whenever I read a story, there are words I don't really know or some things are described in way that I could never come up with and I think it's because of the fact that my first language isn't english but dutch.

Don't worry about it too much. A good beta reader can help by catching occasional mistakes (and EVERYBODY benefits from a beta reader) but your English looks pretty good. Nobody's going to notice if there are a few words missing from your vocabulary, as long as you can think of something that does work.

2. How to not write the same sex scenes over and over again.

I ran into this one a bit - I wrote what ended up as a 14-part story, and I didn't want things to get repetitive.

Echoing what other posters have said here, especially soflabbwlvr: I think the important thing is the context of the sex. For me a sex act is a form of communication: when two people get together they are saying something. It can be "I've had a bad day and I need to unwind", or "I'm angry with your father and this is the only way I can get back at him", or "I love you but I'm scared that if I ask for what I want I'll frighten you away".

IME, if you keep that context in mind, it'll give its own flavour to the scene. Even if the physical acts involved are similar from one section to the next ("they go down on one another and then have PiV sex until they come") it's unlikely to feel repetitive.

OTOH, if there's no real development of the relationship between the characters, I find that it feel repetitive even if the physical acts change. ("Chapter 1, oral. Chapter 2, PiV. Chapter 3, anal. Chapter 4, like Chapter 1 but with her sister." etc etc)

Also, if you have an interesting story going, you don't always need a lot of sex to keep readers interested. I posted one chapter that had no sex at all, and readers were fine with that.

 

[GorgeousGeekGirl]

The way to avoid writing the same sex scene over and over is to think about the external influences that cause changes, just like in real life. The first time people have sex, it's lots of nervousness and adrenaline. It is quick and intense. There's shower sex, fun wet, clean. There's lazy Sunday afternoon while its raining, not hurried, just sweet and taking your time, then after falling asleep listening to your lovers heartbeat and raindrops. There's forbidden quickie sex where you move and remove only the clothes you really need to, keeping an eye out, and having to bite your lip when you cum so you don't cry out. There's pissed off, venting frustration sex, rough, forceful,then the amazing sense of relief and clear head once it's done.

Sexual variety is much more than changing up the order of how you stick penis into female orifice; it's mood, situation, and relationship.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I find that mood etc is irrelevant to sex scenes. Readers care about their mood NOT Barbie's mood.

Readers want a seduction mixed with risky business and a resolution that alters the playing field in some significant way.

 

[TxRad]

I find that mood etc is irrelevant to sex scenes. Readers care about their mood NOT Barbie's mood.

Readers want a seduction mixed with risky business and a resolution that alters the playing field in some significant way.

Mood in writing is even more important than it is in R/L.

 

[LadyVer]

You may be needlessly worrying about your English writing skills. One of the writers I edit for isn't a native English speaker and tended to worry about how this showed in his writing. As his writing is better than many stories I've seen on Lit, I told him not to worry about it. Every once in a while I see a word that isn't the best word choice and I'll tell him and suggest alternatives.

Although a Lit story doesn't have to have sex in it and a story can be good without it, as this is a porn site, it's disappointing when a story doesn't have a sex scene unless I'm reading a story in How To, Reviews & Essays, or Non-Erotic.

 

[StrangeLife]

When creating your characters, take care to make them different. Give them different personalities, different back stories, different sexual histories, and different sexual preferences. Then really spend some time and think about what those specific characters would do in a particular situation...

This is probably the best advice you can get. The best stories are always character driven.

 

[Cartman94]

Thank you all for your advice. It helped me a lot. I guess I'll just have to continue writing to improve