Quote by sprite


i'll work on it for you

All hail Sprite, Advocate of Equal Opportunities!

Quote by ralphbranca
It's just a ploy. So, when, later, we inevitably get caught doing something you had no knowledge of, we can essentially blame you for failing to ask about it.

Quote by Smoocher
Daisy ... When I wrote my bio page I ended with something very similar. It was done that way because (a) I was not sure what additional info would be appropriate, (b) I wanted to convey openness and a friendly / civil demeanor without getting too wordy. (c) realizing that there is a different dynamic between women and men, I didn't want to offend or seem overly aggressive etc.

Maybe I need to rewrite my page???

That's a great answer, thank you. And your page is as ace as you are (VERY!).

Quote by MrAvg
Not on my profile, but if I "know" somebody I will talk about deeper past experiences.
What I like to share is stories that in some cases have a personal connection.

Shyless is there anything you would not share to a known close friend?

Thank you for the reply.

Yes, quite a few things.

Quote by DanielleX


I love lupins, so not giving up... yet. Unless the Scouse snails are a bit more tenacious than regular ones!

It quoted the wrong bit, sorry. We got our nematodes online. We do have a couple of specialist garden centres here, but they don't stock them.

We also have lupins. Before treatment, Mother can be heard yelling, "DAWGONNIT, STUPID CRITTERS!". She doesn't use regular swearwords, but if I was a slug and heard her yelling like she does, I'd shrivel up and die instantly.

The easiest way to get them off the lupins (if you're being slug-friendly) is to go out just after dark and physically pick them off (I wear gloves if I do that, use a trowel to scrape them off and put them in a pot, which then gets emptied in the green bin). You have to search right under the leaves and in amongst all the surrounding plants. When we're not using nematodes (didn't manage it this summer), we do use pellets, sorry.

Quote by DanielleX
I've tried everything - coffee grinds, beer, grit, but nothing works. I can't put down glass cos of my pooch and don't want to use pellets. Any ideas?

Thanks

D x

We've used the nematodes. They are expensive, but they're easy to store (in the fridge in the container) until the next treatment, and easy to apply (with a watering can). They made a huge difference, and recommend it to our friends.

Edit: You can also go out in the evening after rain, or when you've watered, and collect them. I put them in the green bin, so they can nom away to their hearts' content until they go to the composting place. Death comes to us all, but at least they go happy.

Quote by PanJinlian


Thank you for your input and your understanding of my position. I guess I'm a bit stuck on the whole communication issue. Raising an objection to anything is rather tough in my position, at least in my home life. For a very long time He's made all of the decisions at home, from what we eat to what car we have, and that's really hard to break away from. I'm so used to His opinions being the ones that matter that I've spent years not even questioning His choices and I have no way to plot how to get to a position where I can question Him from where we are.

I think I need to start with asking for permission to discuss something less crucial with Him first. Just thinking about questioning His choice makes me break out in a sweat but without being able to raise an objection for anything does leave me with lots of things about which I'm not happy. I've spent a very long time taking them as just the downside of the relationship, since all relationships take compromise, but maybe there are things in there which I can use to start the discussions.

The new plug is for rectal use. I'm less concerned about the hygiene and bodily processes part than anything else because I've spent so long already wearing a butt plug or stretching ring and have the routine to fit around that, but the expanding plug is quite painful even to wear for a few minutes at the moment and the thought of that being a full time pain leaves me cold. I have no idea whether it has been tested for long term wear and don't know whether the arms create pressure spots or abrasions inside, for instance, and that leaves me with big concerns too.

I think I need to get a bit more confidence to discuss this with Him. Thank you

You're welcome.

I'm afraid that your reply to my post perfectly demonstrates why I can't understand the BDSM scene. For me, to remove somebody's ability to make decisions, and only one person's opinions being the ones that count, it shows that something is horribly wrong. For you to feel so uncomfortable at the thought of discussing something so personal and important, I feel, is a warning sign.

I do believe in compromise, but not at somebody's else's constant detriment. I believe in people having choices in what they do. To choose to let somebody else take control is one thing, but not to the point where the sub is no longer able to easily communicate their feelings, or act as an independant human being. I understand that habits can be fallen into easily, and then become seemingly impossible to break out of. But if this person really cares for you, on whatever level, I would hope that they would be willing to stop and listen at the very first sign that you want to talk. Indeed, I would hope that they pre-empted that and asked you themselves before even such a need arose.

As I said, I don't really understand this situation you're in, but I do wish you well, and that you are able to find a healthy, happy way forward in your future. Good luck!

Quote by noll


Sounds like the Android browser alright, unless there's a fox or a dolphin wrapped around it or when the world map is the background of a compass. Browser icon concepts are not all that original ;)

Ah, I remember now. I once installed Dolphin, so I could watch BBC iPlayer without the desktop computer, but when it did an update, it wanted more information than I was willing to give, so I got rid of it.

Quote by sundancer2004


it is what it is, ask a silly question you get a silly answer

"It is what it is"? Yeah, good one. Just because you think it's a silly question, that doesn't mean it IS a silly question. You're free to think what you like, and within the Lush Terms and Conditions, to say what you like. But that doesn't mean you're right.

This is a space to discuss things that people want or need to discuss. If you had any ounce of comprehension, you would see that the original poster's questions are of a concern to them. It's more than just somebody needing to unlock an orifice, funny as that can sound. It's about a relationship, communication, and health and safety.

Your first comment, I can understand and was fine with. Calling the questions silly, however, says more about you than the poster. At this point, only one of you comes across as an idiot, and it's not the original poster.

Quote by PanJinlian
I'm trying to decide whether to allow Him to put me into chastity devices full time. I already wear a butt plug or stretching ring most of the time as His choice (and have, by necessity, the personal hygiene routine that goes with it) but now He wants me to wear full time an expanding plug that locks into position once expanded, and He also wants to put padlocks through my labia piercings to act as chastity device.

I have no problem with keeping myself for Him and His friends- I have done so for over a decade. I don't understand what makes Him choose now, after so long, to introduce this.

And it has to be said, I really don't relish the thought of how uncomfortable and intrusive wearing the expanding plug is likely to be and that's without trying to sit down on the stem of the plug or the padlocks.

Practically, this will limit me enormously and reduce my ability to have any sort of outside life because I can't imagine how I would go to the gym or do a yoga class with them in place.

Thoughts? Where do we go from here? I'm worried that His choices mean that He no longer trusts me. I have no idea how to enter this conversation and how to discuss whether I consent to this or whether I refuse. If I refuse then that could have huge implications as we have been real life partners for a very long time.

Quote by noll


That looks like the default Android browser you have there. You might wanna switch to a more modern browser as that one is pretty far behind in web standards support. Chrome, Firefox and Opera all provide browsers for Android as well and overall pages will just work better in one of those other browsers.

As for your issue: it seems like a browser bug if you really clear usernames and passwords regularly.

I just press the little world picture that takes me on the internet. I'll not worry about it, as I don't know how long my Shiny will last (not much longer). When it does finally die, Lush will hopefully forget me. There are worse sites to be remembered on.

Quote by gav
Good to see some of you find this a useful feature. I understand concerns over unwanted notifications appearing on your desktop.

I was toying with the idea of showing the persons avatar that is associated with the message. But then the thought of a masturbating daffy duck being presented to the other patrons of my local coffee shop has me doubting this feature.

Thoughts?

It's great for other people, but it's not for me, I'm afraid. Is there a way to stop the "Would you like..." box appearing every single time I open a new tab or page, please?

Quote by Jen


It might be to do with your 'clear history' settings. Do you have all options ticked?

Quote by principessa
I have been the writer who posted the stories that I have written with collaborators. I have always felt a little guilty about getting the recognition attached to those stories but for the mention of the co-writer's name at the beginning of each story and the acknowledgement note that most writers (including me) added to the stories. Anyone who reads the stories knows who the other writer is so the praise in comments is shared. I realize that there is some inequity in the poster of the story getting the views, badges, and possible awards.

However, the suggestions that have been made so far to remedy this would put those who collaborate on stories in a better position than those who write alone in that each story would be doubly posted, doubly awarded and double rated and ranked. For those who count views towards hundreds of thousands and millions, it would be a sort of double dipping to allow the story to be viewed and have those views counted on two members' pages. Dividing the views between the two writers does not make sense either.

I understand that it rankles to see a story you have worked on garner views and awards for your co-writer that cannot be shared, but I can think of no equitable way to fix this to make it fair between collaborators and at the same time remain fair to the other writers on the site. I would be open to any suggestions that could do that.

Quote by Milik_the_Red


From my personal perspective, I believe all awards and views should be duplicated on all the collaborating authors pages and the stories should appear there as well. I know the current belief is that would not be proper, but I can't logically see why it would not. This is not a zero sum gain where somehow we are going to throw something off balance. We should be fairly awarding our writers for their efforts.

Quote by InnocentBliss87
Also there is one other thing I wanted to ask, the story mods was I know some a very particular. When it comes to grammar and puncation, and some spelling. Would I be able to get away with certain words like? Ok and Tho even tho you know their meanings put spelt different.

Quote by InnocentBliss87


yes can show you a little of what I am talking about,

(Karly began to calm down she glanced down at her watch.Karly gasped, horrifiedly, "Oh shit a brick I'm late!" she let slip silently under her breath, completely forgetting where was at the moment. She looked around carefully and somewhat embarrassed,And feeling as if she is being watched. She turned cautiously to see a lady serving at the at the lobby desk. "Oh I'm sorry I do not usually swear or curse." much she said.)

Thanks for the response. Please bear with me in this long-winded reply. Sorry if it doesn't help. I won't be offended if you can't be bothered to read it all. Or, just skip to the end for the list of tips! There are others far more experienced and talented than I, with all the technical words and stuff, but at least I added some little sunshine emoticons.



Aside from your issues with spellcheckers, I'm afraid there are multiple issues with your grammar, punctuation, and formatting, making it currently unsuitable for submission to Lush. A spellchecker is no help unless the basics are right. If I was going to accept this excerpt (bearing in mind that I'm not a mod), I'd be wanting to see something more like this:

Karly was beginning to calm down when she glanced at her watch. She gasped, horrified.

"Oh, shit a brick, I'm late!" she said loudly, completely forgetting where she was for a moment. She took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts. Feeling uneasy, she looked around, somewhat embarrassed. She felt like she was being watched. Cautiously, she turned to see a receptionist behind the lobby desk, staring at her.

"I'm really sorry, I don't usually swear," she offered, smiling sheepishly.

ORIGINAL:
Karly began to calm down she glanced down at her watch.Karly gasped, horrifiedly, ...

REVISED:
Karly was beginning to calm down when she glanced at her watch. She gasped, horrified.

ORIGINAL:
"Oh shit a brick I'm late!" she let slip silently under her breath, completely forgetting where was at the moment.

REVISED:
"Oh, shit a brick, I'm late!" she said loudly, completely forgetting where she was for a moment.

The word, "Oh", in this context, needs a comma after it. Also, there are two (little) sentences in that one sentence, so you also need another comma after "brick". This way, youur readers get the delightful vision of the agony of one's anus pushing out a rough cement block, and then a little pause for breath, before finding out why. Readers love imagery.

Next, if she slips the words silently under her breath, there is no need to worry about forgetting where she is (unless there's something else we can't see of the context). Therefore, I changed her words to being said loudly, so that this excerpt makes more sense for the readers. Otherwise, the following sentences don't make much sense. If she'd said it silently, she wouldn't attract attention.

Also, the word "she" is missing from between "where" and "was". I see an extra space there after "was", so I'm presuming that's just a typo (which a spellchecker wouldn't pick up, only a grammar check). Finally, I would write, "for a moment", as it seems less final than "at the moment". It's transient, passing. She forgot just for a second.

ORIGINAL:
She looked around carefully and somewhat embarrassed,And feeling as if she is being watched.

REVISED:
She took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts. Feeling uneasy, she looked around, somewhat embarrassed. She felt like she was being watched.

She turned cautiously to see a lady serving at the at the lobby desk. "Oh I'm sorry I do not usually swear or curse." much she said.

Cautiously, she turned to see a receptionist behind the lobby desk, staring at her.

"I'm really sorry, I don't usually swear," she offered, smiling sheepishly.

There are a lot of "she"s in writing. Sometimes, it can be too many. Remember I said that your readers like imagery? And we like to FEEL things? By putting the emotion or adverb, the way in which a thing is done or felt, it can raise the emotion and atmosphere for the next part of the story without taking away too much of the detail or more important matters.

Your sentence regarding who was behind the desk was a bit clunky, so I pared that down a little, and added that she was staring. otherwise, how do we know that's who was watching Karly? Maybe we don't, but the excuse she offers afterwards makes it seem like it was.

For Lush Stories, the generally accepted format of speech punctuation requires a new line when somebody who wasn't talking last, talks again. This helps readers who rely on computer screens to both keep their place, and not miss anything important that's said.

Finally, not everybody starts all their sentences with, "Oh". Well, some of us do. I use "Well" and "Anyway", even though I shouldn't. However, in a story, it takes away from the flow, and appears unnatural. Also, swearing and cursing can mean the same thing sometimes, and in this case, it keeps the sentence tidy. I also added in a little extra embarassment at the end, so the reader gets an image of Karly blushing with shining eyes, the way pretty ladies do sometimes.






I would suggest reading your story out loud to yourself. Print it out, and change the computer file as you go along. Reading it out loud can stop our mind reading what it WANTS to see, as opposed to what's there.

It also shows us when things seem a bit forced or unrealistic, especially in the dialogue. That's when getting a friend to read it with or for you can help too.




Tips for InnocentBliss87:

Slow down whilst writing, or do a really good read-through afterwards to get rid of broken sentences, grammar and punctuation problems.

Read the story out loud to find mistakes, repetition and awkwardness.

Spend time looking through the "Essential Reading" part of the forum. It will save time later, trust me! If a story is rejected, odds on, you will probably be directed here or to similar resources. https://www.lushstories.com/forum/yaf_topics32_Essential-Reading.aspx

Spend a few minutes trying to "see" your characters in your head, their looks, their feelings, their emotions, surroundings, noises. This will help you create a picture for your readers, if you can include words and images that create the same world you can see in your head.

Don't give up! For some, writing is easy (knobheads). For others, it is a seemingly never-ending slog. However, with enough hard work and perseverance, I have never yet seen anybody fail, who kept trying.

Quote by InnocentBliss87


I've been a little bothered when writing certain words in a story how come when you actually spell the words right,it comes back and says it's spelt wrong or a mistake in them I'll give you a few examples of what I'm talking about. example 1, drasticly horrifiedly example 2. frustratedly, Would i be able to use those words In a story?, I'm sure some can understand there meanings if would any story moderators accept those words in story??

I'm afraid that not all your examples are actually words in the generally accepted sense. These are possibly the correct words:

1. Drastically

2. Horrifically, or horrifyingly, or in horror, or simply, horrified

Or did you mean "drastically horrifying"?



3. Frustratingly or in frustration, or, the right context, frustratedly as an adverb



It may be that the context of what you're trying to do isn't correct. Or maybe it is. Can you please give whole sentence examples so we can get a better picture of the issue?

Quote by Theodore_LoveLance
Ok ladies, I was just wondering why my gf loves to get face fucked? Are there more of you gals out there?

I like it because he's lost control in the feeling my mouth is giving him. By the time he gets to that point, I've given him so much pleasure (or so little?) that he takes the last few moments in oblivion, both ramming his cock and spurting into my gagging throat, and yanking me closer to him by my hair. I guess it's a power thing: mine, in that he's beyond anything but the sensation I give him, and his, in that I'm totally under his control even though he's lost his own. It makes sense in my head, anyway.

Quote by NOLAHotGal


I believe this is because Americans still have better morals than most other countries.

Brandie

I sincerely hope you meant this to be as hilarious as I find it.



I'd prefer not to share public toilets with the opposite sex, because I often go there to calm down from panic attacks. Another sex using them means even more traffic, and even more noise. If I did have to use a unisex bathroom, where the stalls are all in one space, I'd want there to be proper floor to ceiling walls and doors, with strong locks.

I think a lot of us are nervous or unhappy about it simply because we're not used to the idea (unless we're Ally McBeal fans).

Quote by gottohaveu
I think they all are fucking lessies to - they should fuck off to another site

There is some great information here!

Quote by clum
One of the most common issues Story Verifiers encounter here on Lush Stories, even among the most talented and experienced writers, is improper formatting of dialogue. All too often, good pieces of writing are ruined by the lack of this basic skill. We, as moderators, have decided to produce this simple resource for the authors of Lush so that they may produce better work, benefiting both themselves and us.

It is almost impossible, given the numerous complex cases, to give comprehensive coverage of this topic but we hope that this illustrative guide will prove helpful for the majority of the amateur writers here.

Punctuation and format of dialogue


Speech/Quotation Marks

All direct speech and quotations should be enclosed by speech/quotation marks. Double quotes (" ") are the norm but single quotes (' ') are also acceptable; the most important thing is that you are consistent using the same ones throughout your story.

Punctuation & Upper/Lower Case Letters

Direct speech should always begin with an upper-case letter and end-of-speech punctuation is always contained within the speech marks. If dialogue occurs more than once in one sentence, then subsequent dialogue may begin with either an uppercase or a lowercase letter.

"Stuart," she yelled, "Don't stop! Fuck me until I come, baby."

Alternatively:

"Stuart," she yelled, "don't stop! Fuck me until I come, baby."

Both forms are acceptable.

Note the comma after "Stuart" but before the closing speech marks. I should point out that "she" is not capitalised; in this type of sentence, the dialogue tag ("she yelled") following the speech should not be capitalised unless it's a proper noun. The same applies for question marks and exclamation points:

"Who's your daddy?" he cried out, smacking the insatiable slut's ass.

From one writer to another, I would advise that you mix up your dialogue in this way to prevent it from becoming stale and repetitive. However, it's just as important to be correct as to be exciting, so don't forget these rules.

This is really the bread and butter of writing dialogue and something everyone should have learned in school. Don't let your story down by messing up something so simple.

As a slight aside, I want to draw your attention to the comma when used with the word "stop.” This is an important comma which is often omitted; without it, the sentence takes on a completely different meaning (and, indeed, is quite confusing).
Take the sentence: "Stuart, don't stop." Here the speaker is imploring Stuart not to stop.
However, in the sentence: "Stuart, don't, stop," the meaning would be the exact opposite. This is why punctuation is important.

Similarly, "Let's eat, Mom!" is a request to be fed, whereas "Let's eat Mom!" is an initiation by cannibals!

It is important to remember that when someone (Stuart) is addressed, there is a comma either before or after their name. The same applies to phrases like "good morning" or words like "well".

"Good morning, Stuart. How did you know that I was here?"

"Well, it was Lisa who told me."

Also, note if the name appears mid sentence, it should look like this:

"Sit down, Stuart, and start eating."



Quotes within quotes

If you quote within a quote, for whatever reason, use the other speech marks in order to set it apart, i.e., if you ordinarily use double quotes then use single quotes and vice-versa. This is not something I would recommend doing too often in fictional prose as the extra (though necessary) punctuation can be messy and distracting. It is usually better to use indirect speech in these instances.

Example:

"I can't tell you how much I want that big, black cock," sighed Susan.

"Well," Pat replied, "It's too bad that 'big, black cock' is attached to your best friend's husband."

"Yeah, I know. Linda once said, 'If anyone goes near my husband, I'll claw her eyes out', and I have no doubt she would."

Pat doubted that she would "claw her eyes out" but was well aware of Linda's mean streak.

This short dialogue is rich with examples of how to use speech marks in a variety of contexts. Pay close attention to the punctuation used (or not used) in each case. I will go into more detail about this as we go on. In the last line, although nothing is actually being said, we use speech marks to indicate a direct quote.

Note: In the third example, the comma goes outside of the quoted quote 'If anyone goes near my husband, I'll claw her eyes out'
This is because the comma is punctuating the entire sentence and is not part of the quoted dialogue.
Finally, for this section; note the position of quotation marks, when quoting a question:
“Is it right that she said, ‘John called Dan a liar’?”
The Question mark is part of the dialogue and not part of the quote, there immediately preceeds the closing quotation marks.


Paragraphing

No discussion on formatting dialogue would be complete without mentioning one of the most hard and fast rules in the book: you must take a new paragraph every time the speaker changes. This is a rule that cannot be compromised under any circumstances. I can't emphasise this enough - it's a pet hate of many moderators (and rightly so). Failure to do this only causes confusion, lack of clarity and break in flow as the reader tries to figure out what the frick is going on.

Example:

He smiled and asked, "How do you want it?"

She leaned back onto the pillows and looked directly at him, grinning.

"Rough!" she responded.

"You got it."

Even though these sentences are very short, a new line is absolutely necessary every time the speaker changes. A second line of narrative can go between the dialogue in a separate paragraph or could have been combined with the third line.

No matter what effect you think you're attempting to create in your writing, you can never bend on this rule. Got it?



In-Line Quotes

I already gave an example of this above but this tricky technique probably needs a little more attention. Sometimes it's necessary to quote someone without having them say it explicitly and this is when you should use what I have dubbed an "in-line quote" . These should run fluidly into the sentence and they don't require the stringent punctuation rules of direct quotes (but you still have to learn how to do them right).

Example:

Upon reading John's text message, he was feeling a bit "hot, hard and horny" himself. What he wouldn't give to be taken "hard up the arse".

It's clear from the way these sentences are constructed that the text in quotes is taken directly from the aforementioned text message. Notice how the quotes integrate seamlessly with the rest of the sentence. The most important point is the final period - it falls outside the speech marks. This is not in contradiction with my earlier remarks; different rules apply to this kind of dialogue.

Don't over-think this technique; simply enclose the text which is directly quoted with speech marks and you can't go far wrong. If you're unsure, avoid it or ask a friend who knows.


This stuff is not difficult - learn it! If you can get this right, you're halfway there and your story is much less likely to be rejected. With the ever-increasing number of submissions, verifiers are taking a harder line with stories and not taking the time to fix what you, as writers, should already know. If you want to write good prose, it has to be technically accurate.

Read this, absorb it and implement it. Come back to refresh your memory whenever you are in doubt.

This Lush Service Announcement brought to you by Clum, DanielleX, and Principessa.