Turn-off and Deal Breakers for Readers

For me, there are categories I just walk past and don't even open and others I actually search out. stories for example, of which there are thousands and that's perfectly fine, just not for me. I guess there is a reason there are thousands. People like to read them (and good for them).

Regardless of category, some stories start out great, have excellent character development, etc. Eventually the Author just doesn't know when to call it a day. So sex scene after sex scene becomes repeated over and over again with very few activities ever changing. What might have been a fabulous 4 chapter story, ends up being 8, almost as though the author decided ahead of the game how many words or pages they were going to write. I'd rather read a great story and be furious at the end there wasn't more to read, than have to shut down a story 3/4 though due to rehash.

Quote by utterchaos

... I've also checked TV listings, found out what was on the news that specific day, have a work schedule, release dates for music/albums and any major events/gigs.

I have spent hours reading the New York Times archives from 1926 for my smut. Would there really have been a jazz concert on the radio at 1:00 AM on a Monday night? Most of the details and events in my historical stories are based in reality, and it sometimes feels weird to fabricate something. For example, I needed a private tennis club on the Upper West Side somewhere between 86th and 116th Streets, and I eventually -- get this -- invented one that didn't actually exist.

My next story will be about a mini-blowbang inside the Green Monster during a famous Red Sox game in 1975, and you can rest assured that I am scouring the coffee table book Fenway Park for details. 😄

I know we are dealing with fiction most of the time, but, damn please keep it plausible. I can't think of any time I walked into a room in my 87 years, where the first time I meet a lady and she dropped her panties, laid on her back and spread her legs. Not even in a brothel, nor with a street walker, nor a costly escort, let alone a horny housewife.

Quote by DaddyWarBucks
please keep it plausible.

Amen to this. It's what I strive for in my writing most of the time, even the sci-fi ones.

Now let's talk about poetry. I'm immediately turned off of poems without punctuation. In my opinion, a poem calling itself a 'love poem' or an 'erotic poem' still has to convey some sort of logical, coherent story and follow most of the conventions of English. That is hardly possible without any punctuation. Secondly, anyone writing in one of the classical forms of poetry needs to look up what these forms actually are - a sonnet and a haiku for instance, are structured forms. Think of the lyrics of your favourite song and you are closer to writing what in my opinion is good poetry.

Quote by Piquet

Now let's talk about poetry. I'm immediately turned off of poems without punctuation. In my opinion, a poem calling itself a 'love poem' or an 'erotic poem' still has to convey some sort of logical, coherent story and follow most of the conventions of English. That is hardly possible without any punctuation. Secondly, anyone writing in one of the classical forms of poetry needs to look up what these forms actually are - a sonnet and a haiku for instance, are structured forms. Think of the lyrics of your favourite song and you are closer to writing what in my opinion is good poetry.

I agree and also have no clue where to find poetry punctuation rules. Do you? I usually try to find a poem in a similar structure to mine and then copy punctuation. Ha! It’s the best I can figure out. Poetry is a strange animal to me.

I don’t really understand the rules of free verse either.

Quote by KimmiBeGood

I agree and also have no clue where to find poetry punctuation rules. Do you?

I found this site a while ago, and offer it to other authors. The site itself is a little busy, but the advice seems sound.

https://grammarist.com/punctuation/how-to-punctuate-a-poem/

Quote by KimmiBeGood

I agree and also have no clue where to find poetry punctuation rules. Do you? I usually try to find a poem in a similar structure to mine and then copy punctuation. Ha! It’s the best I can figure out. Poetry is a strange animal to me.

I don’t really understand the rules of free verse either.

Good question Kimmi. The rules are the same as in prose. This still applies where you have a rhyme scheme; as in most songs where the lyrics rhyme. There has to be some sort of structure to ensure the lines make grammatical sense. Shakespeare mostly used free verse but made sure that each of his lines had an equal syllable count.

Thanks Piquet and Genny

Quote by DaddyWarBucks
I know we are dealing with fiction most of the time, but, damn please keep it plausible.

I guess my story of a cheerleader getting off to listening to a nerdy dungeon master vividly describe his years-long high fantasy campaign, is right out

Quote by Zhai

I guess my story of a cheerleader getting off to listening to a nerdy dungeon master vividly describe his years-long high fantasy campaign, is right out

Plausibility is highly overrated in my opinion. Write what you like.

Quote by Zhai

I guess my story of a cheerleader getting off to listening to a nerdy dungeon master vividly describe his years-long high fantasy campaign, is right out

Why would I want realism in my fantasy when I could have something like a nerdy exposition into kobolds leaving a woman a damp and panting mess?

I’m guilty of this one, but I’m out if a story’s narrator drives a point over and over and over, like telling me in every other paragraph that the character is torn between desire and guilt while cheating. Maybe tell me once then let actions and dialogue show me. Narrators explaining things to me is a big turn off.

Quote by RowanThorn

Why would I want realism in my fantasy when I could have something like a nerdy exposition into kobolds leaving a woman a damp and panting mess?

Can I add Kobolds to my turn-offs.

Edit and goblins... eww.

2nd edit I might be alright be lizardfolk depending on how lizard-y they are.

Quote by utterchaos

Can I add Kobolds to my turn-offs.

Edit and goblins... eww.

2nd edit I might be alright be lizardfolk depending on how lizard-y they are.

Sounds like you've been taken in by that Elf propaganda and are denying yourself exotic pleasures of the shorty hoards.

I’ve noticed I’m a more critical reader now that I write, too.

Quote by KimmiBeGood

... like telling me in every other paragraph ....

There's a couple of writers in my favorite genre that repeat the same exact phrases not only in the same story to ridiculous proportions, but in every story they write ... I mean the same phrase from story to story. I recently commented by PM to one of these writers that a particular phrase was repeated almost exactly nearly a dozen times in the same story. The writer didn't appreciate my comment saying that they'd written several hundred stories on this site and several hundred more on another, as well as being asked by other writers to provide editing services, that I should just keep my comments to myself. Apparently, they believe that the quantity of writing they do correspond to quality.

Ouch

Quote by 2bespanked

There's a couple of writers in my favorite genre that repeat the same exact phrases not only in the same story to ridiculous proportions, but in every story they write ... I mean the same phrase from story to story. I recently commented by PM to one of these writers that a particular phrase was repeated almost exactly nearly a dozen times in the same story. The writer didn't appreciate my comment saying that they'd written several hundred stories on this site and several hundred more on another, as well as being asked by other writers to provide editing services, that I should just keep my comments to myself. Apparently, they believe that the quantity of writing they do correspond to quality.

I have figured out we all love our own writing, else we wouldn’t write it. And none of us can be completely objective when analyzing what we write. To grow, a writer must be open to other’s critiques. And if one isn’t, the same prose is written again and again. And on here likes can be misleading as to the quality of a story. Many truly inspiring unique writings are overlooked by readers for various reasons in which RRs and EPs can help balance things out. You tried to help and it wasn’t acknowledged, so I wouldn’t waste my breath again. I’ve found very few who I think truly appreciate critiques, check their egos, and so I privately discuss or collab with those few.

I occasionally will drop a dozen descriptors of a dapper daddy dumping dick drainage on a dark-haired dame's delightful derriere or dragging his deflated, dribbling dong down her delicious double D's, and I keep waiting for someone to comment, "Dude. Don't."

Dude, don't.

Diligently do dastardly deeds if doing so does it. Don’t dare deviate from your devised decisions.

Quote by KimmiBeGood

I have figured out we all love our own writing, else we wouldn’t write it. And none of us can be completely objective when analyzing what we write. To grow, a writer must be open to other’s critiques. And if one isn’t, the same prose is written again and again. And on here likes can be misleading as to the quality of a story. Many truly inspiring unique writings are overlooked by readers for various reasons in which RRs and EPs can help balance things out. You tried to help and it wasn’t acknowledged, so I wouldn’t waste my breath again. I’ve found very few who I think truly appreciate critiques, check their egos, and so I privately discuss or collab with those few.

Excellent point Kimmi. There's only one thing that I value more than a comment on one of my stories, and that's a constructive criticism. Over the years I've made an effort to politely offer my opinion and, sometimes give a little advice to other writers to help them improve. This is especially true with new or first-timers. I've mostly done this privately and generally, my efforts have been well received.

Quote by Piquet

Excellent point Kimmi. There's only one thing that I value more than a comment on one of my stories, and that's a constructive criticism. Over the years I've made an effort to politely offer my opinion and, sometimes give a little advice to other writers to help them improve. This is especially true with new or first-timers. I've mostly done this privately and generally, my efforts have been well received.

I’m very open to critique, so please offer it in comments or PM anytime.

Quote by sprite

Keep me updated. This, i want to read. lol

Ok, story is up. https://www.lushstories.com/stories/humor/victorias-secret-revealed

anything that smacks of even a hint of racism, bigotry, or misogyny

Quote by EAM6690
It is one thing to bluntly state "You keep repeating these phrases" and quite another to constructively rewrite his paragraphs then send them as an example of how to use more variety.

You're probably right in general and I'll keep that in mind the next time I offer any form or critique, but I doubt it would have made any difference to this writer as he was so far convinced of his ability, a famous writer couldn't have swayed his opinion of himself. Besides, I'm not exaggerating that he repeated the same phrase a dozen times, and another a half dozen in the same story, so I should rewrite his whole story for him?

Quote by EAM6690

Sprite, I refer you to my YouTube video entitled "Socrates Died for your Sins".

I support your right to have that preference, as long as you make no attempt to censor anyone for any reason.

I powerfully suspect you ARE in favor of the of censorship, according to your politically biased agenda.

To have any personal freedom, you must grant freedom to ALL others, including those you disagree with.

So this is going completely off topic for the thread, but censorship is extremely important on a site like this. And freedom of speech allows a personal business (Lush) to decide what kind of product and clientele it's catering to. There are websites that wlll specialize in all the things lush will not allow. Racism, ped0 stuff, it's all out there if that's what you're in to. Demanding a business cater to all interests is going against their freedom of expression.

And frankly, if this site freely hosted those sort of stories, I think it would lose tons of its user base. Would gain some new poeple too. But is that what the people running the site want? But honestly, I think if you want to delve into the issue further, take it to the political forums (the think tank). Start a topic there, it's not on topic for this thread.

Quote by RowanThorn

So this is going completely off topic for the thread, but censorship is extremely important on a site like this. And freedom of speech allows a personal business (Lush) to decide what kind of product and clientele it's catering to. There are websites that wlll specialize in all the things lush will not allow. Racism, ped0 stuff, it's all out there if that's what you're in to. Demanding a business cater to all interests is going against their freedom of expression.

And frankly, if this site freely hosted those sort of stories, I think it would lose tons of its user base. Would gain some new poeple too. But is that what the people running the site want? But honestly, I think if you want to delve into the issue further, take it to the political forums (the think tank). Start a topic there, it's not on topic for this thread.

guess he wasn't interested in sticking around and and having a debate.

Quote by sprite

guess he wasn't interested in sticking around and and having a debate.

Having stumbled across what I assume is being referred to while mid-creativity, I'm delighted it has disappeared. Attention-seeking for the sake of it isn't something I can resist calling out for long, and it would probably have been me who would have ended up getting my wrist slapped for perhaps calling it something else.