What irks you in a story? - a list for writers on Lit.

[AWhoopsieDaisy]

Escapism is fun, no doubt. But why not give your couple a few relationship/reasons for being together wins along the way?

I was much more focused on giving the virgin character (Jun) that "Oh" moment where his leap of faith pays off and suddenly everything makes sense. He spent most of the story leading up to that feeling lost and convinced that something was wrong with him. After going so long confused and unsure that he's even capable of attraction, there's a sense of relief in finally feeling that spark he'd heard of. Knowing with confidence that "this is it" as he kisses his friend.

And honestly for people at that stage, just the simple act of discovery is a win all by itself.

I will never understand wanting long form written porn when society has weened you on raw, made to order, video.

Society didn't wean me on video porn. I grew up watching anime and cartoons full of multi season long "will they/won't they?" Relationships and forbidden loves.

The porn came much later and honestly video porn has never been my favorite as it tends to lack buildup and context and also nobody talks anymore. Which is I think why poorly dubbed hentai was more up my alley. There's always way more plot than anyone could ever ask for and hentai as a genre is aggressively chatty (If you have to hire voice actors anyway and they're not actually fucking in studio to be all that convincing when they ARENT talking, you might aswell make them talk about how hot they think everything is).

 

[AWhoopsieDaisy]

Given that you're what, 21, 22?

I turn 20 towards the end of February

 

[Rob_Royale]

Escapism is fun, no doubt. But why not give your couple a few relationship/reasons for being together wins along the way?

Exactly. That's why my May/Dec romances have a 24 -30 year old as the MC. A little life experience to back up the experienced and confident but still young lover, idea.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I turn 20 towards the end of February

You young uns, hanging about on smut sites, I don't know .

 

[Britva415]

Saying LOL out loud is nearly as silly as writing it in a story.

I think someone writing "LOL" in someone's quoted dialogue in a story is the less silly scenario, because it's, like, an honest mistake, man.

They just mis-spelled "ha ha."

 

[KeithD]

I think someone writing "LOL" in someone's quoted dialogue in a story is the less silly scenario, because it's, like, an honest mistake, man.

They just mis-spelled "ha ha."

Right. It helps to establish the character--either rightly or wrongly--but, if it goes with the character, it belongs in the character's dialogue.

 

[lovecraft68]

I laughed inside at that, Daisy. You've figured it out!

Given that you're what, 21, 22? I'd say that your writing is exactly what you'd expect it to be, with awkwardness and innocence, and if your jerk of a reader can't see that, that's their problem, not yours.

Keep writing for sensitive readers, don't worry about the tossers.

Stop being a dirty old man fawning over a young woman.

 

[Euphony]

Society didn't wean me on video porn. I grew up watching anime and cartoons full of multi season long "will they/won't they?" Relationships and forbidden loves.

The porn came much later and honestly video porn has never been my favorite as it tends to lack buildup and context and also nobody talks anymore. Which is I think why poorly dubbed hentai was more up my alley. There's always way more plot than anyone could ever ask for and hentai as a genre is aggressively chatty (If you have to hire voice actors anyway and they're not actually fucking in studio to be all that convincing when they ARENT talking, you might aswell make them talk about how hot they think everything is).

Was referencing the "aggrieved" readership who find fault in any narrative outside their exacting specifications.

If all someone wants is a plain jane hamburger to quash hunger pains and move on with their day, I'll never understand why they fight tooth, claw, and nail to get it from someone who's made clear they are a Sushi chef.

 

[Britva415]

Right. It helps to establish the character--either rightly or wrongly--but, if it goes with the character, it belongs in the character's dialogue.

Well, this is the other reason why it's an irk.

It's not believable that a character would say "LOL."

 

[ElectricBlue]

Well, this is the other reason why it's an irk.

It's not believable that a character would say "LOL."

You've not been around my daughter when she's recounting a tale of someone's stupidity. People say it more often than you'd think - like a meme, only human.

 

[KeithD]

Well, this is the other reason why it's an irk.

It's not believable that a character would say "LOL."

Why not? I've heard is said both as "lol" and "L. O. L." and I'm not much around anyone who would use it at all.

 

[Britva415]

Heh.

All right.

Let me put it another way.

It's not a character I want to read about.

 

[KeithD]

Heh.

All right.

Let me put it another way.

It's not a character I want to read about.

Well, then, that settles it. Britv415 is the only reader anyone is writing for. How great to get the word on who everyone writes for and what we're all supposed to write. Glad to have gotten the memo.

 

[Britva415]

Oh, get over yourself.

What irks you in a story?

Asked and answered.

Do I have to go back, find what irked Keith, and pull his tits over it?

 

[KeithD]

I rather think I'm not the one who needs to get over themselves on what others shouldn't write. I kept my irks to myself on this thread on what should be found in stories. It's true I revealed irks about readers telling writers what to write, of course. I'm of the mind-your-own-business school on what should be in a story here and just be happy what is posted is so broad that you should be able to get your itch scratched (and not worry about anyone else's itch--in either writing or reading).

 

[Britva415]

So why single me out? People have been writing about their irks in this thread for more than eleven years.

 

[KeithD]

So why single me out? People have been writing about their irks in this thread for more than eleven years.

Probably because you wouldn't let loose of being irked by use of "lol," even after more than one told you they'd heard it used in speaking. I think it's a very petty thing to be irked about in a story someone's gone to great lengths to write and post.

That becomes my greatest irk with story commenters--that they'll pick something that's petty minutia to be irked about to the extent of complaining about it in a story (and, by extension, here on the discussion board).

 

[nice90sguy]

I don't get irked, I just hit the back button. The speed I hit the back-button is as follows:

< 1 second:

---

Long paragraphs
Porn Names ("Cindi", "Brad" etc)
Stories the second person

< 10 seconds

---

Sex or "hot" descriptions of physical anatomy in the first 200 words
"1st person horny guy" stories

< 1 minute

---

Not my kink
No conflict

 

[onehitwanda]

https://gifdb.com/images/high/drunk-lady-drinking-alcohol-5xy5ztggrl6t61ry.gif

 

[Djmac1031]

Funny, I thought I replied to this thread already, but can't seem to find my comments. Maybe I'm thinking of a different thread.

Anyway, not much to add that hasn't been covered. But I do find it interesting to read in context of where I started, and where I'm currently at.

I've made plenty of these mistakes, probably still make several.

My biggest issue is still keeping proper tense. I'm sure I inadvertently switch between past and present tense more often than I realize while writing. I have learned to fix it when I find it, but I'm sure they still slip through.

I'm a pretty forgiving reader. I fully understand this is an amateur site. So I can let slide spelling, punctuation and grammar errors if it at least looks like the author tried their best. Mistakes slip through no matter how much you edit.

What I can't let slide is lazy writing. Author wants to characters to fuck, so they fuck. No development of character, no plot other than fucking.

If it reads like a porno set to words, I'm usually out pretty quick.

Terrible dialog kills it, too. I hate it in my porn, and I hate it in stories. Just stop.

 

[Rob_Royale]

I've done a bit of reading here since my first post in this thread so I'm going to add this.
What could be either laziness or over-enthusiasm when it comes to submitting work.
I see so many misspellings, run on sentences, and other issues that disrupt the flow of the story. It becomes clear that they just aren't spending the time to proof read. Even older versions of Word include a decent spell checker. Grammerly is free.