Writing Stories

[colin (imported)]

Peter,

It depends upon the way that it is presented and the author to whom it is presented. When I first joined the Archive, Master Waddie was posting the first sections of 'The Ties That Bind'.

I had the temerity to write to him saying that I almost gave up on the story because of the poor formatting in the earliest sections, but that I had grown to love the characters. Master Waddie being the big Man that he is responded with a challenge to me, but took the time and trouble to investigate how his presentation could be improved.

Please don't think that I am claiming credit because I know that other people had emailed similar comments to him. My point is that he was wise enough to accept honest criticism (well laced with praise) and consider whether there was any validity in those points. Other writers have reacted very badly to comments, so there is no easy rule, but, I would say, that if the writer is proud of their efforts then they will respond to gentle criticism.

I would be proud to join the ranks of the authors here, but I frequently lose the thread when I am writing one of these posts and could never sustain an idea long enough to get a viable story from it, so all I can do is cheer from the sidelines.

For all authors and would-be authors, I have the greatest respect - at least you have tried.

LOL

[Paolo]

OK, I'm going to kill all of the proverbial birds with one stone here:

Reading down the list of 39 Good Grammar point might make for good grammar. So if you can explain what that all means then well done! Some of us aren’t English scholars. That doesn’t mean we are dumb or stupid.

And no one said that you were. That isnt' the point of this post.

To all the people who emailed or PM'd me about it, as well as the post on the board, what "all that means" is THIS - IT'S A JOKE. HUMOR. LAUGH at it. Each line contradicts itself. One line says "don't use contractions." The word "don't" is a contraction. See, it's funny?!

[Pueros]

Master Waddie apologises for missing out the 40th rule:-

40) Ignore all of the above.

PUEROS

[Paolo]

We could create a 'private' passworded forum for authors - who would have to request permission to join - where technical aspects of stories could be discussed and worked out, where parts of text could be posted for feedback, etc.

The Forum for Writers' Workshop has been created. You can join, IF you are a writer or just want to be, by sending Bboy or myself a Private Message - not an email! This forum is, as stated, a writers' workshop and a place to get feedback and to learn. It's not an open forum like the rest of the boards; it's more of a place focused simply on the issues of writing.

[Pueros]

As a writer, I welcome constructive criticism as it often helps me to improve.

I've received many pleasant personal e-mails from readers to which I've replied to all. I thank them for their kind & useful comments.

However, there have been two rather unconstructive recent critics, both choosing a single sentence to elicit their views, one on this board & one privately.

What use though, to an author, are single phrases such as "not a very good story" & "too long, get to the point" without elaboration as their meanings. How educative are such remarks for the creator of a story?

The latter was referring to 'The Lycian Prince', which is actually a relation of a true personal history, admitedly one spiced with literary licence. There is no point to the tale other than to relate the history, & the inherent eroticism & morals, to its end in a hopefully entertaining way, which I've chosen to do in lengthy format because I thought that it was worth it. Once started, I can't really change the pace &, in any case, it's maintaining a very loyal readership, for which many thanks. My desire to write one saga in this way was previously agreed with this board before I even sent chapter 1.

My concern is not for myself but, given the theme of this thread, about would-be writers who could be deterred by such remarks. The critics need to be asked to proffer more detailed and reasoned criticism so that creators of stories really know what they mean & can consider their views properly when next posting. Otherwise, one-liners could just deter authors, & the products of their experiences or imaginations, appearing here!

PUEROS

[androboy (imported)]

As a writer, I welcome constructive criticism as it often helps me to improve.

... snip ...

What use though, to an author, are single phrases such as "not a very good story" & "too long, get to the point" without elaboration as their meanings. How educative are such remarks for the creator of a story?

... snip ...

My concern is not for myself but, given the theme of this thread, about would-be writers who could be deterred by such remarks. The critics need to be asked to proffer more detailed and reasoned criticism so that creators of stories really know what they mean & can consider their views properly when next posting. Otherwise, one-liners could just deter authors, & the products of their experiences or imaginations, appearing here!

PUEROS

pueros makes some very good points -- constructive criticism is important to all writers, and welcomed by most of us. paolo -- to just single out one valuable asset to me -- has pointed out where i have used the same name for two different characters in "the tribes" by mistake on one occassion and on another, when i purposely used the same name because i knew what was going to happen a couple of installments later pointed out how the average reader would be confused. that necessitated some changes that only served to make the next installment that much better and opened a new storyline for me.

pueros is also right about the negative one-line criticisms -- things like that can deter writers, especially new writers, from trying their hand at another story. folks who don't like a story should feel free to post their legitimate criticisms, while remembering that writers are human and often feel protective about their works. writing is sometimes a long and arduous process -- sometimes i am lucky if i can get three pages done in a day and at other times i have been lucky enough to pound out ten or more.

for a criticism to do any good for the writer's future works, they need to explain why the critic has a problem with the story. it is not enough to tell a writer that "the story is too long." what made it seem too long -- did the writer get hung up on describing a setting without moving the story forward, or is it just too many pages? readers who post criticisms can help the writers by explaining why they had a problem with the story -- in a friendly way, if possible.

david