What are the most common criticisms of your writing?

[luvthedesserts]

Just curious what the most common complaints you’ve received and how you’ve adjusted or corrected your writing. Mine seem to be point of view issues and occasionally people have said the back and forth banter loses them.

My point of view issues may just be mixing the POV within the paragraphs. I’m not sure if it is me or the reader that is the issue. Since it’s been more than one, I guess I have to take the blame. I corrected it by totally going to a first person POV written in third person if that makes any sense. My main character sees, notices, and reacts without getting in the head of the other characters. It’s a bit limiting, but I haven’t gotten any complaints about POV once I did that.


In regards to losing the reader in who’s speaking, I tend to minimize the speech tags. I can’t stand them. If I see them over and over, it starts to grate on my nerves. I actually tossed a book when a super elite killer mused in the first paragraph. Who the hell muses? A personal thing, I know. But it’s only one of my minor issues. I have a laundry list on the refrigerator of other issues. It might explain why the laundry is piling up. I make sure to tag the speaker with an action if I’m introducing him/her. Then after three or four shifts in speech, I make the character scratch his balls or check out the hottie at the next table.

And of course if it’s a woman character, she has to psychoanalyze how he’s holding the glass of water and what that says about their relationship. Where they’re going and why it’s taking so long for him to propose. It’s been a week since the first date, but the waiter is cute. I wonder if the size of his hands are relative to his shlong or if that's just a myth. Damn, I need to pee. Why is he looking at his phone? Does he love me? I should have stayed home to grade papers. Damn those little shits. They just keep coming to class everyday.


Sorry, got lost on a stay tangent. I’m curious about your thoughts, your issues, and your solutions. Or go back to whatever you were doing. I’ll sit quietly in the corner and lurk. With the occasion stupid comment of course.

 

[JackLuis]

Spilling, (oh shit!)

 

[sr71plt]

Most common complaint I get is that I haven't gone far enough with the story for the reader. I take that as a compliment they don't realize they are giving.

 

[lovecraft68]

In general I've been fortunate, I haven't gotten blasted much-aside from the over the top stuff you can't take seriously- but the two common themes are

Grammar especially Lay/lie which I seem to have perpetual issues with(and I think spell check has steered me wrong occasionally) I also have no editor so as much as I try a couple of things like there/their slip through.

As for anything else a few have complained of length, (my average piece is around 5-6 lit pages) but most of those come from stroke fans, things like "We didn't need their life story, just get to the sex"

 

[mynameisben]

My number one complaint is that I don't write often enough.

My favorite complaint came via anonymous private message:

"Your story is as entertaining and predictable as gonorrhea on a five-dollar whore. The next time you have 10,000 words to share with the world, please extend the courtesy of alphabetizing them before you submit. It will save us all a lot of valuable time."

 

[HeyAll]

The most common criticism I've had are missing words. For some reason I do that a lot.

Occationally I would use the word word. ie quite instead of quiet. lay/lie ect...

I've gotten a lot better at editing, but it's a real pain in the ass having to comb through a bunch of words you've already written. Editing is easily my least favorite part of writing.

 

[mynameisben]

The most common criticism I've had are missing words. For some reason I do that a lot.

Occationally I would use the word word. ie quite instead of quiet. lay/lie ect...

I've gotten a lot better at editing, but it's a real pain in the ass having to comb through a bunch of words you've already written. Editing is easily my least favorite part of writing.

Perhaps your writing could benefit from the use of an editor other than yourself?

 

[soflabbwlvr]

My complaints haven't really coalesced around a single issue. About the only thing that has repeated (and that wasn't really that often) has to do with the endings to stories--either I left something to the imagination, or the story did not result in an HEA.

Oh, wait a second. In the Desperate Measures series there were some complaints about the wives using sex as a means to additional income. Funny, there were no complaints about men doing the same thing.

 

[Cruel2BKind]

Rape.

I've also been accused of predictability, that I have a 'formula'. I've been trying to switch that up lately, having smaller characters be the tops, trying to make happier stories.

I've been accused of having all of my straight characters be evil.

 

[soflabbwlvr]

My number one complaint is that I don't write often enough.

My favorite complaint came via anonymous private message:

"Your story is as entertaining and predictable as gonorrhea on a five-dollar whore. The next time you have 10,000 words to share with the world, please extend the courtesy of alphabetizing them before you submit. It will save us all a lot of valuable time."

I'm impressed. Your troll has a sense of humor. Mine tend to be just angry.

 

[Ironiclaconic]

As many times as I review my stories, a few typos or editing relics always slip through. Part of it is that each time I review I fiddle with the writing and create a couple more issues. There are always readers who are happy to catch these for me.

I used to get the occasional complaint that my attempts to flesh out story and character are getting in the way of their porn, but I think they have learned to avoid me.


The lie lay problem is just evil English grammar, which will vanish at some point in the future by one of the erroneous forms simply becoming accepted. Speakers don't stop to consult a conjugation table and that which is acceptable in spoken grammar eventually becomes acceptable written.

 

[luvthedesserts]

As many times as I review my stories, a few typos or editing relics always slip through. Part of it is that each time I review I fiddle with the writing and create a couple more issues. There are always readers who are happy to catch these for me.

I used to get the occasional complaint that my attempts to flesh out story and character are getting in the way of their porn, but I think they have learned to avoid me.


The lie lay problem is just evil English grammar, which will vanish at some point in the future by one of the erroneous forms simply becoming accepted. Speakers don't stop to consult a conjugation table and that which is acceptable in spoken grammar eventually becomes acceptable written.

I’m still clueless about how to use lie/lay/laid. I avoid it by just throwing them on the bed before banging them sideways. Or. Her delicate tresses fell upon the pillow like leaves from an aspen. (Okay, I threw up a little in my mouth.) I really hate purple prose. Even a mild shade of purple makes me gag.

Edited for a quick side note:

I did get a complaint today because I named a character Branna. They thought I meant Briana.

 

[sunandshadow]

I guess the main complaint I get is that I don't finish/update things. This deeper problems that cause this are a mix of me being bad at plotting and me lacking motivation.

 

[TxRad]

to/too

 

[TimothyM]

This is fun to read - interesting how writers get different criticisms - and especially to see those I agree with

Just be grateful that you have readers who care enough about your stories / writing to actually comment - even if they sometimes criticise or complain. Of course the criticism here is not always helpful or constructive, but some of it is. (Can also help other readers not waste their time with a story )

And almost anything is better than readers obviously disliking a story (as shown by scores) but not telling you why. Not that authors should necessarily change the way they write or the direction the story is going, but at least you know what pissed people off. Instead of leaving you to wonder what went wrong.

 

[Ironiclaconic]

I’m still clueless about how to use lie/lay/laid. I avoid it by just throwing them on the bed before banging them sideways. Or. Her delicate tresses fell upon the pillow like leaves from an aspen. (Okay, I threw up a little in my mouth.) I really hate purple prose. Even a mild shade of purple makes me gag.

Edited for a quick side note:

I did get a complaint today because I named a character Branna. They thought I meant Briana.

Today I lie (or she lies) on the bed. Yesterday, I lay (or she lay) on the bed. Once I had lain (or she had lain) on the bed, we mated like rabid weasels.

Today I lay her (or she lays me) on the bed. Yesterday, I laid her (she laid me) on the bed. Once I had laid her on the bed, we mated like rabid weasels.

I just caught that I had made this mistake in several stories, so its fresh in my memory.

 

[Ironiclaconic]

This is fun to read - interesting how writers get different criticisms - and especially to see those I agree with

Just be grateful that you have readers who care enough about your stories / writing to actually comment - even if they sometimes criticise or complain. Of course the criticism here is not always helpful or constructive, but some of it is. (Can also help other readers not waste their time with a story )

And almost anything is better than readers obviously disliking a story (as shown by scores) but not telling you why. Not that authors should necessarily change the way they write or the direction the story is going, but at least you know what pissed people off. Instead of leaving you to wonder what went wrong.

Yeah, I am unsure why my lowest rated story is my lowest rated story. No one said anything bad about it, but it only got 50 votes and barely got an H. The low number of votes to views indicates people didn't finish it, but that is a guess, and I don't know why. On re-reading it, my main character is an unlikeable manipulator and the plot has a lot of twists that might have confused people, but I could be wrong and could be that my usual readers didn't like the focus on rough sex rather than the seduction that is more common in my other stories. I hate guessing.

 

[luvthedesserts]

Today I lie (or she lies) on the bed. Yesterday, I lay (or she lay) on the bed. Once I had lain (or she had lain) on the bed, we mated like rabid weasels.

Today I lay her (or she lays me) on the bed. Yesterday, I laid her (she laid me) on the bed. Once I had laid her on the bed, we mated like rabid weasels.

I just caught that I had made this mistake in several stories, so its fresh in my memory.

And the weird thing is none of those sound right to me. They all seem clunky in a way. It just doesn’t work in my brain. Maybe the last brain cell just doesn’t like company anymore. Not to mention, Mr. Word and I sometimes don’t see eye to eye. There are days we don’t even speak.

 

[Safe_Bet]

I've been accused of having all of my straight characters be evil.

**Shrugs** All straight people ARE evil.


At least if you look at Pilot... he's str8, as hell...


Okay... better make that: All straight people are evil AND boring.

 

[lovecraft68]

**Shrugs** All straight people ARE evil.


At least if you look at Pilot... he's str8, as hell...


Okay... better make that: All straight people are evil AND boring.

And only truly boring people have to try to act cool and call others boring.

Welcome back Amy!

 

[lovecraft68]

Rape.

I've also been accused of predictability, that I have a 'formula'. I've been trying to switch that up lately, having smaller characters be the tops, trying to make happier stories.

I've been accused of having all of my straight characters be evil.

In my latest work which won't be published here and is easily my darkest work to date, pretty much every man in the book is shown as evil and gets it put to them.

Then again when the female leads are a witch with a penchant for BDSM and a former paid assassin and whom were both abused by men as children that would be expected.

 

[Safe_Bet]

And only truly boring people have to try to act cool and call others boring.

Welcome back Amy!

Okay. What's your excuse for being truly boring? (other than reading too many of your own stores???)

 

[kbate]

All straight people are evil AND boring.

When you're right, you're right.

 

[lovecraft68]

Okay. What's your excuse for being truly boring? (other than reading too many of your own stores???)

Oh, okay, let's see what's the next response, "I know you are, but what am I?"

I'm past the point of needing to prove I'm "exciting" to you or anyone else.

Part of that self assurance is not needing to call out anyone who doesn't do as I do boring.

And at least I write stories to read here. What's your purpose here other than to vent your endless angst at life?

Once again, welcome back Amy.

 

[sr71plt]

The lie lay problem is just evil English grammar, which will vanish at some point in the future by one of the erroneous forms simply becoming accepted. Speakers don't stop to consult a conjugation table and that which is acceptable in spoken grammar eventually becomes acceptable written.

Yep to that. I just try to avoid it when possible. And I'm continually taking a second look at past/passed too. (not to mention too/to/two)