Thoughts on Using AI to Improve Erotic Writing

[Djmac1031]

Only question is how do I know whether I've failed?

Thats a question only you can answer. Not me. Not even your readers. Especially readers around here. Because everyone will have a different opinion about what was "wrong" with your writing.

And we all know the problem with opinions...

I was only looking at AI because I wasn't able to find the story I needed to study to pull off what I particularly wanted

So keep looking. But I promise you AI won't have that answer for you.

 

[ElectricBlue]

Better bluntness than nothing.

I've read quite a number of stories here, several I intend to study as I try to emulate them my way.

Only question is how do I know whether I've failed?

By submitting the story and seeing how readers react. That's the only way you can do it.

I've often said that readers will comment if you write really well or engage them; and they'll tell you if your writing really sucks. If you're in the middle of the bell curve, which most writers generally are, the scores will tell you something, but comments, not so much.

Do what the rest of us do, write something, submit it, and find out what readers think. There is no short cut.

 

[YmaOHyd]

Only question is how do I know whether I've failed?

Do you like it? Do you feel proud to have worked on it? Did you feel emotions from the process of creation? If any of those is yes, I don't think you've failed. If you complete something you don't like, don't feel proud of and didn't feel anything while creating, then that's probably a failure, and you should try again.

Even a story you don't like and don't think is good isn't necessarily a failure. The worst thing I've written here is a short story where I attempted to remove the narrator completely and write in, like, zero-eth person. I think it stinks. It fails at the level of invoking eroticism, which was what I wanted to make readers feel. As an exercise, though, it was difficult. I learned from the process.

 

[dirk2024]

Better bluntness than nothing.

I've read quite a number of stories here, several I intend to study as I try to emulate them my way.

Only question is how do I know whether I've failed?

Is it when I've a feeling I didn't pull off something well enough during the writing process or looking back at my work?

I was only looking at AI because I wasn't able to find the story I needed to study to pull off what I particularly wanted but strangely I was recently able to find a number which could point me in the right direction, some which were written by @ElectricBlue.

You will know when you've failed when you choose to not write the story that occupies space in your head.

Any thing else means you've written your story to the best of your ability and that, as most here will concur, is a success!

 

[Djmac1031]

Do you like it? Do you feel proud to have worked on it? Did you feel emotions from the process of creation? If any of those is yes, I don't think you've failed. If you complete something you don't like, don't feel proud of and didn't feel anything while creating, then that's probably a failure, and you should try again.

Even a story you don't like and don't think is good isn't necessarily a failure. The worst thing I've written here is a short story where I attempted to remove the narrator completely and write in, like, zero-eth person. I think it stinks. It fails at the level of invoking eroticism, which was what I wanted to make readers feel. As an exercise, though, it was difficult. I learned from the process.

THIS.

I kinda tried to say this earlier myself, but you said it much better.

 

[ColtonWrites]

I was the one who keyed in the prompt.

No. I wasn't correcting typos and inserting commas with the AI but I was sorting out the sentences and paragraphs AI generated and organizing them into something readable.

At best that makes you an editor, not an author.

Yes, there will be times when you will struggle. There will be times when your writing sucks. There will be times when you end up having to trash a ten thousand word story when you realize it just isn't working.

That's writing. Like any other skill, you have to practice if you want to be good.

You can't outsource that practice to someone else and expect to improve.

 

[StillStunned]

At best that makes you an editor, not an author.

Speaking as a professional editor who's had to edit more than their fair share of AI-generated slop: it makes you a frustrated, exhausted and angry editor who knows they could do a better job from scratch.

 

[FeldGasden]

Speaking as a professional editor who's had to edit more than their fair share of AI-generated slop: it makes you a frustrated, exhausted and angry editor who knows they could do a better job from scratch.

I'm interested in becoming a professional editor because it's said I've a few instincts in this area. How do you become one? Unless you're referring to being a Literotica editor.

 

[StillStunned]

Same as most other careers, I suspect: get your credentials and find someone who's willing to pay you.

 

[FeldGasden]

Okay, so what credentials did you get?

A degree in English?

 

[StillStunned]

An MA in English, plus extra training in copyediting/proofreading and in law and finance.

 

[Djmac1031]

Okay, so what credentials did you get?

A degree in English?

An MA in English, plus extra training in copyediting/proofreading and in law and finance.

And a lobotomy.

(kidding, @StillStunned you know I love ya my friend.)

 

[StillStunned]

And a lobotomy.

In the current climate you'd probably need a lobotomy to choose this career. If I had the skills for anything else - anything else that involves sitting at home on my arse all day - I'd seriously be considering a switch.

 

[Djmac1031]

In the current climate you'd probably need a lobotomy to choose this career. If I had the skills for anything else - anything else that involves sitting at home on my arse all day - I'd seriously be considering a switch.

I think you sell yourself short; editing is an important skill that's totally going by the wayside in today's clickbait society. Even the "legitimate" news sites are in sore need of some good editors.

With some changes in my job, I'm recently finding myself doing data entry (IE taking a list of stuff and typing items one by one into a tablet) for a couple hours when I get home.

The overtime pay has been nice but I was typing for three and a half hours last night AFTER a full day of work and by the end I sure FELT like I had a lobotomy...

 

[StillStunned]

I think you sell yourself short; editing is an important skill that's totally going by the wayside in today's clickbait society. Even the "legitimate" news sites are in sore need of some good editors.

There's more need than ever before for editors. Unfortunately we're not free, and we actually need time to do our job. "Free" and "quick" trumps "quality" for too many people and organisations.

 

[FeldGasden]

There's more need than ever before for editors. Unfortunately we're not free, and we actually need time to do our job. "Free" and "quick" trumps "quality" for too many people and organisations.

I'm interested in becoming an editor. It seems I might have the potential for it after helping out at my relative's firm.

I've a background in audit but unfortunately no English degree because I foolishly refused to study for my A Levels English exam.

Where can I get the same training for copyediting and proofreading, law and finance and how do you get your assignments? Fiverr?

I'm hoping to do content creation on the side for my opera hobby so I'm looking into careers that will allow me to do that. My content takes a lot of time to create because my opera hobby is unfortunately a very specialized one.

Can't be worse than what I had to endure when I was an auditor.

I think you sell yourself short; editing is an important skill that's totally going by the wayside in today's clickbait society. Even the "legitimate" news sites are in sore need of some good editors.

With some changes in my job, I'm recently finding myself doing data entry (IE taking a list of stuff and typing items one by one into a tablet) for a couple hours when I get home.

The overtime pay has been nice but I was typing for three and a half hours last night AFTER a full day of work and by the end I sure FELT like I had a lobotomy...

Frankly I wouldn't mind that, provided I get to listen to opera when I do it. I studied Wagner's killer opera Tristan und Isolde while checking documents for a few whole days.

Vouching was one of the parts of audit work I didn't mind so much because I could expand my repertoire under my boss' tab. My pay was barely acceptable then and my profession does not give OT pay.

There's more need than ever before for editors. Unfortunately we're not free, and we actually need time to do our job. "Free" and "quick" trumps "quality" for too many people and organisations.

It's because no one has to answer for anything if there's any screw-up and it's always easier to throw money when any screw-up is later discovered. It's not their money in the first place. Bottom line results are easier to achieve than top-line results.