GA Makes Me a Better Writer. How about you?

[JLynch]

I’m in the midst of publishing my first story on this platform. I wanted to share how GA has encouraged/forced/required me to be a better writer.

My story was 100% complete before I began the process of publishing it here, chapter by chapter. I’ve discovered a few things.

1. Previously, I thought of myself as a pretty good writer. That being said, I only had nifty and a couple of other sites to use for comparison. After hanging out on GA consistently, I’ve found that I’m in the company of many VERY good writers, lots of whom leave me behind in the dust. Their story telling ability, compelling and unique narratives, and realistic dialogue are truly impressive. 

2. GA’s standards have made me look at my work with a more discerning eye. Early on, I was called out by a moderator for inserting too much sexual activity and not enough character and story in my work. The moderator was 100% correct. Although my work is still infused with a lot of sex, I’m much more careful about fleshing out the important story leading into and out of each one of these encounters. Overall, the story just makes more sense now. I’ll continue to rewrite future chapters to insure these standards are met.

3. I’d like to call out the numerous active readers of my work and other works on this site for making comments, recommendations, and giving reactions. They truly help and encourage me.

Anybody else? What has your experience been like on this site?

[Ron]

A long, long time ago in a far-off land... no, it was only a decade ago in fact, I asked the question in this The Lounge: Does writing reviews make you a better person? I felt then, (I still do) that this question was a justifiable one -- it certainly garnered a lot of comments at the time.

Your question is a different one and far easier to answer. Yes! If you're an author interested in the nuts-n-bolts of writing, learning, and growing you will benefit from having a diverse membership and I dare say a discerning, often highly educated, audience of readers who are eager to be helpful to authors in one way or another. There are few authors here who have not benefited in some way from the things you have mentioned. So, I would say that you have answered your topic question by already providing the answers to your query in your post. Yes! Yes, to all of it.

Edited February 1, 2024 by Ron

[Headstall]

Welcome and good luck, Jack! You can learn a lot on here... I still am. Cheers! Gary.

[kbois]

GA has been instrumental in the development of my writing. I've learned so much from not only writing, but listening to what others have to say. There are a ton of tools available and articles that will help guide you in developing your own style.  

I thought my first story was good when I first posted it. Looking back,the premise was good. The writing, not so much. But with each subsequent story, I improved. Finding the right support team is crucial. An editor and beta should be there to tell you what works and what doesn't- even if you don't want to hear it. If honesty isn't held in high regard among a team, then it's time to find someone else. You also need to learn that constructive criticism isn't meant to be bad. It's meant to be a learning opportunity. 

Learning is an ongoing process, as it should be. There is such a thing as too much in a story. Too much sex, too many sililoquies, too much conflict. These are things that you learn to moderate as you go. 

Anthologies and various contests are the perfect way to try something new. A new genre, a new character, a new POV.  Some of my best stuff has been the shorter stuff I've written for these events, which surprised me. 

At the end of the day, all we can hope for is that we didn't eff up too badly and screw the pooch with the story plot. Lol. As long as I learn from the mistakes I make, I call it a win. 

Writers write because they enjoy it (and most of us can't turn off the damn voices in our heads) and we want our readers to enjoy it too. 

So don't be afraid to branch out and try new things. (Hush @weinerdog, get your muzzle out of the gutter😂)

So keep engaging your readers. It's worth it. This community has plenty of amazing people, more than a few nuts and then there's those of us who are just plain bonkers (like myself most days)

 

 

[drown]

Starting to post on GA was the most effective way to improve my writing, and it has only been a month. I always kinda wanted to believe that if I ever did it, people could be entertained. Now it turns out, they are.

But when I look back at Chapter One of the first story I posted end of December 2023, I shudder. But that's good. The story itself presents the journey I have on here. In the future, with a team behind me that could put me in my place, I probably would do things differently. Then again, for my first story, I wouldn't want to change a thing. What a wild ride.

[LJCC]

On 2/1/2024 at 5:32 PM, drown said:

Starting to post on GA was the most effective way to improve my writing, and it has only been a month. I always kinda wanted to believe that if I ever did it, people could be entertained. Now it turns out, they are.

But when I look back at Chapter One of the first story I posted end of December 2023, I shudder. But that's good. The story itself presents the journey I have on here. In the future, with a team behind me that could put me in my place, I probably would do things differently. Then again, for my first story, I wouldn't want to change a thing. What a wild ride.

I can't believe you've been a member since 2010 and only posted a story now.

I've been a lurker since 2009 [I had to edit this; I was in my second year of university, so it's probably around 2006 or 2007], when there was a frigging chatroom (which I, er, was an avid chatterer), and I only joined in back in 2017.

It only means your story has been in the works for almost 14 years, marinating in the background.

Edited February 6, 2024 by LJCC

[drown]

7 hours ago, LJCC said:

I can't believe you've been a member since 2010 and only posted a story now.

I've been a lurker since 2009 [I had to edit this; I was in my second year of university, so it's probably around 2006 or 2007], when there was a frigging chatroom (which I, er, was an avid chatterer), and I only joined in back in 2017.

It only means your story has been in the works for almost 14 years, marinating in the background.

Oh I remember that chatroom so well. Must have been a moderating nightmare though.

And yeah, my writing had been marinating in my head. But I always felt it was so utterly subpar that I never did anything with it. In a weird moment during the holiday season just over a month ago, I decided to just take the leap. I did some editing and published chapters one and two of a story I always thought was fun. Even over this short period of time, I have grown so much already. From a professional standpoint, I wouldn't recommend doing what I do. But to become better, to improve, and to engage in the community, this was the perfect start with my first story. Had I waited and gotten chapter 1–11 to this point, I would reread chapter one, decide it's too bad compared to later chapters, and ultimately decide not to publish yet again for another decade. I'm glad I didn't.

And it's far from over, I just wonder how different my second story is going to be.

Side note: No one had ever seen a single story I wrote before December 2023. Not even my ex. lol