LJCC

...John Doe is 18, tall, muscular, hung like a horse and will punch your face if you piss him off, but will also, er, like, not punch you if you suck his dick and he'll fall for you if you ask about his feelings, but not so much, since he's very manly and will only open up to you coz' of plot reasons. He also has plot friends who don't have any backstory and will come and go for various reasons. Did I mention he has emotional scars that will get healed by the most manliest chick-with-dicks character simp who wants to fix him? I've read stories like this in Nifty, and pretty much everything is a summary. If I were John, I'd be like, "Are you kidding me? Are you fucking kidding me? My entire life and character summarized in one paragraph in an 80k novel? And you didn't even spread it around, it's literally in one paragraph. Fuck you, author."

Currently at 107k (at the time of this message) with around 9 or 10 more chapters to go. This is quite a long story, something I never anticipated, to be honest. So roughly around June or July'ish.

It's not really a correlation and causation fallacy if the word count appears to be the glaring truth as written in every one of your promising and signatue author newsletters. You could have omitted that and just stated that X Author has published 150 books in 10 decades or something. 😂 Even quality could be tested for metrics and paramaters, as with everything else this world. If let's say: Author X has a very good response rate/feedback from readers. (Quality metric, 50%) Author X has written 5 stories in an X amount of time. (Quantity metric, 20%) Author X has written roughly 300k+ of text. (Consistency metric, 20%) Author X has been consistently posting in 5 years/1 story per year...(Consistenty and Quantity metric, 10%) And so on and so forth, then it'd be easier for authors to have a set goal to aspire to. The only objective metric would be quality, to assess if whether the feedback or response are actually commentaries aimed at the quality of writing or not. I'm just imagining writers are like in an X Factor stage and the mods are like, "Sorry sweety. It's an X for me." And then the Simon Cowell of the juding panel are like, "Your writing's shit. I do love your similes. Improve on that. Next!" 🤣

Well, they're the ones who made it obvious by stating, elaborating, and elucidating the numbers. It's not like I just magically made it up to prove a point. I got it from the link you posted, and all of their announcements for their signature and promising authors had a very clear word count description. https://gayauthors.org/search/?tags=author promotion&updated_after=any&sortby=newest >> the link you sent. As I've said, I'm not saying it's a bad metric in general, but when they've blatantly made it obvious, then come on, just make a rule about it. Chances are, if they wrote, for example: You need to write 300k+ words a year (or something). Aspring Writer A would think: "Hey, my stories were a hit. I have an audience. I've written around 250k+ words. Why not write another epic banger so I could be considered?" I mean, that's basically going for the basic script of why they had promising authors and signature author titles to begin with, to inspire writers to write...and of course, to have those stories posted on this site.

I think word count is one of them: She has been a member at GA for just under five years, and in that time she has posted over 900,000 words across ten stories... ...has been a member since 2016 and in that time has posted over 500k words across 35 stories including the popular... has only been a member at GA for less than two years, but in that time he has posted over 700,000 words across twenty-three stories for almost eight years, and in that time has posted over 1,370,000 words across thirty-one stories a member at GA for over three years, and in that time has posted over 340,000 words across twenty-three stories has been a member at GA for over six years, and in that time he's posted over 700,000 words across eight stories including his highly enjoyable epic It kind of makes sense they'd consider prolific writing as a testament to the promotion since they'd have to ensure that you'd keep on writing after being promoted as part of their requirement: Promising Authors must be willing to agree to post concurrently on Gay Authors any new material with the exception of personal blogs Although it begs the question, how often should you post once you're promoted? Are you required to post at least 100,000 words a year to complete a single story to maintain your status? Or, You'd have to shell out several stories a year regardless of the word count? Because, based on the promoted authors, they've had numerous stories (with lots of views) on their plate, and those collated stories were (based on the lowest number of their 'wored count' announcements) more than 300k+++ words at least. Is it safe to say you'd need to write at least 300k++ words to be considered? They should definitely have a clear cut rule on that. Because it makes authors assume that you could write ONE very successful story and that you could be viable for promotion when, in fact, you'd need to write an X amount of successful stories with an X amount of word count that are legible, readable, well-written, and have a core audience or demographic before being considered. And I'm not saying it's wrong or it's bad. It is just the requirement to keep this site flowing (which I wholly understand), because promoted authors who aren't exactly posting is a definite 'bad for business' model. So if you're writing a lot, but those stories aren't really picking up traction, or if you're writing once in a blue moon and you're like RR Martin who'd post a story once every turn of the third moon, then chances are, you won't be considered.

I actually use Google to read my work: https://cloud.google.com/text-to-speech/#demo It's free and can read up to less than 1k words; depending on your internet, it can go for more. It's fairly slow (TO MY INTERNET) once it's past 1k since my net runs like a slug. The quality of the voice is superb. And that is so VERY true: If it doesn't sound right to you, the author, you know it's not going to work for the reader. The number of times I've re-edited my work, thinking it was good but apparently it's not, is a lot. Having someone read your work helps with your pacing and overall writing.

For those reading my story, I swear, I'll have it finished before June. 😅 80k+ words in, and I'm still, er, more than halfway. Haha.

He used to edit my past novels so he's very laissez-faire about it, and I'm like, bitch, I'm doing this for free...now you gotta suck my dick for wasting my time. Sadly he did not. But yeah, I'm never editing his work again that twat. Haha. Although he realized that most editors are shit writers. I guess that logic goes both ways, where majority of writers are horrible at editing their own work.

Then the mom says, "Victor, you're gay?" Victor says, "No shit mom he's literally inside me. Duh!"

You could beta-read the current story I'm writing if you want, which is currently at 70k+ words, and it's still, er, barely done. I have a feeling this is going to be around 150k+ long. I'll probably have people at it once it's done, though.

I had one where he wanted an editor and a beta reader all in one package. I explained to him what an editor and a beta reader do, and his mind was blown, but he still refused to see the difference. In addition to the fact that he thought he was doing God's work, when I literally said to him in the nicest way possible, "Your writing's shit." Still didn't sink in. I could name a few things wrong with his writing. But the number one issue I had was the overly flowery words. Pull back man. PULL BACK! I would literally write: Then he'd go back to me and defend his writing. An editor's note would literally be just this: (Cut/Shorten) But no, I had to be extra and explain to the idiot (he's a good friend, so I get to call him a tosser) about every change.

I've been blasting this music on repeat for a while now. Gotta love the 80s.

Thanks for noticing. I put a period to fix it. I certainly missed that. Editing Error 101. 🤣

This is so true when proofreading your own work. Heck, I might even see something I'd missed out on from reading my own work today and yesterday. There would be moments where I'm reading a passage of a paragraph and an entire two-sentence plot enters my brain that changes the course of the story for the better; that wouldn't have happened if I hadn't read my story repeatedly. There are days when I read my own work from the last paragraph I wrote. And sometimes, my brain would just inform me to read everything from the start, like, "You just wrote an important scene. Read everything to know if it's cohesive," at which point I'd be catching certain words or phrases that needed editing in that single read-through. I think that's where the magic of editing comes from. You, as a writer, literally have the control to weave the story in whatever fabric you choose.

I totally agree. When I edited your example, it totally changed when I altered the dialogue tags and included the word "said" as part of the dialogue. "I said..." James pondered whether to admit what he'd seen or not. "Er, I mean, THEY said that Herb is blonde all over!" "He is." Joseph nodded, helplessly eyeing anything but their faces—his friend's faces. Truth was, he was hiding a boner when they saw Herb's whorly bush. "We saw that when he was nude." Ralph looked up, coyfully shrugging off the admission. "But Joe said his pubic roots were red," Darwin muttered. I feel like excessive dialog tags do take the readers out of immersion. Also, writers sometimes forget that dialog tags are also used to denote a sequence of actions. "Hold up," he said, gripping her arm tightly. This suggests that the events occur simultaneously, whereas: "Wait." He swiftly snatched his arm away. Implies that the action is sequential.

When you take on the task of reviewing projects for friends or others, what are the things that make you want to tear your hair out? And when it comes to editing your own work, what are the things that send you spiraling into a state of absolute madness? Editing/Beta-Reading Other's Work: The absurd names that make me play a never-ending game of memory gymnastics! Xavanderasmus, Reliquariatosian, Obericantiana... Seriously, who comes up with these tongue-twisters? In my mind, they'll forever be X, R, and O, because I simply can't be bothered to untangle their full names every single time. It's like a mild annoyance that prickles at me, just waiting for the next time I have to stumble through those syllables. ON a SIDENOTE: the Silmarillion may be a treasure trove of epic lore, but that's precisely why it remains untouched on my bookshelf. It's like a labyrinth of bizarre names that never seem to end, and man, does it drain the life out of me trying to keep up with all of them. It's like a never-ending marathon of mental exhaustion, and I just can't bear the thought of diving into that name-filled abyss. When every character in a story starts blending together like a bland soup and their personalities and voices become a copy-paste job, it's like a one-way ticket to amnesia. I'd be like, "Who's that character again?" And if you add some good ol' head-hopping into the mix, well, that's when I'm ready to throw in the towel and call it a day. I can put up with a lot, but if I can't distinguish your characters or muster up an ounce of care for them, then my motivation to keep reading takes a nosedive. When critiquing my own work: Ah, the joys of proofreading my own writing for what feels like the gazillionth time, only to stumble upon a sneaky little verb that decided to play hide-and-seek. Seriously, why on earth did my eyes fail to spot it during the other 99 rounds of scrutiny? It's like my brain was having a laugh at my expense, keeping that missing verb under wraps until the perfect moment to drive me bonkers. Also, repeating words: He came to play yesterday, and when Hanna asked to play with me today, and when I told Etzy to play with us, we just decided to play each other in a fight to the death, for this is SPARTA! Yeah, I hate missing out on repeating verbs or descriptions.

I did have a beer at a McDonald's in Spain. So this kinda' makes sense. Also, why is this AI guy so hot? I think I'm having a phase for mustachoid men having mullets.

I have a feeling this is going to be a good read. And I like that this is greatly edited, which shows quality.

I want my own squirrel now. Quick! Hide in my beard Mr. McNatty!

Imagine yourself writing the middle of the story in a 3rd-person POV involving several characters, and you're required to write several things going on at once in the background. One group of people is heading to a club, with one of your major characters going through an incident. The other is staying at home and arguing with an ex, which is a major plot point in the story. One of them is having a flashback to his years in Iraq, while the other is having a mid-life crisis. The struggle is, how do you write all these things in less than an X amount of words while struggling to make it readable at least? Imagine yourself writing the middle of the story in first-person POV involving two characters, and you're required to describe one of the major characters' mental awakenings about his marriage. You're supposed to write two long pages about everything that's going through his mind: the struggle of his possible divorce, the love he still feels for his husband, the implications it will have on his kids, family, and friends, etc. You'd have to scrounge up the mental energy to put yourself in the shoes of a man considering divorce, since after all, you are writing from a first-person POV, and it is your job as a writer to write it authentically and as close to reality as possible. Regardless of these situations, whether you're writing a third-person POV or a first-person POV, writing in the middle always requires mental fortitude, which not all writers may possess. That's why the middle is very problematic for most writers. It's a make-or-break thing because not everyone is willing to sacrifice their time and sanity to write about complicated plots, dialogues, and scenes. And in most novels, the middle part is where most of the meat is found. If it doesn't have drama, then you're just describing a BBC article about Russia's attempt to annex Ukraine. The middle, throughout the history of writing, is where most people give up writing. The writer's block wins. And the energy needed to push the plot forward is spent somewhere else.

Sagging Middle Syndrome could be a name of a band. 🤣 Like writers who never finish their work, while the band plays halfway and never finishes their song. I'd pay to see that.

Every writer has their own unique struggle when it comes to writing, and for me, it's always the beginning that gives me a hard time. I mean, seriously, where the heck should the story actually begin? It's ironic that I already have the middle and the ending in my head, and getting from Point B to C is a breeze, while actually arriving and starting to write Point A can leave me stranded for weeks, looking at my laptop for days or weeks. I remember writing some crap about socks, because I was literally firing blanks on the page. There's so much to consider, and if you're anything like me, you have no clue what's going to unfold next. How do you kick things off? How do you grab the reader's attention right from the start while also introducing your characters and setting the stage for the story? When I was working on my first novel here, this was my biggest hurdle. I had everything else figured out, but I kept going back to the beginning, constantly tweaking it. The opening line had to be an absolute knockout that instantly hooked the reader. And I guess for the majority of the writers, well, it's pretty clear that the middle is the hardest. I mean, there's a whole phrase dedicated to it called 'Sagging Middle Syndrome' for a reason.

Ah, got it. So moving forward, all text has to be the same format. I guess I'd have to edit my previous story for consistency. Thanks for the heads-up.

So basically, this is what I'm seeing right now as I'm typing it here, which used to be the same in the past when i'm writing a story. Now, I seem to have lost the ability to edit my text and other things, and I'm just seeing the most basic of formats. Can you please advise if this is a "Me" issue or something that's really changed moving forward? If it's a me issue, can you please advise how I can change it back? Thanks heaps.

I've been waiting for someone to correct me on the translations apart from Tagalog (my bestfriend translated those for me), and most of it is, er, Google Translate. 🤣 OK. You're my official German translator. I'm kidding. Or am I?