How Long To Write A Story?

Quote by LadyX
I hear all that Alan but get a damn proofreader before you submit it. I bet you would get more readers and less attitude if you took that one simple step. As for me I got two people proofing after a moderator was nice enough to tell me to fix my mistakes before they rejected it. That goodwill dont last forever though baby, so now I have others help me on the back end too. Okay I said enough here but that just pissed me off when I read it. Sorry everyone.

Quote by NobeUddy
Old thread but I will comment anyway.

My poems are larks that assemble themselves in my head. When (if) I put them down on paper, I will usually test and check meter and rhyme (if it rhymes). Sometimes the most wonderful poems that work in my head, evaporate into a self incriminating stain that spells out "WTF!" once they hit paper. If I am lucky to have it work in my head, and on paper, and I somehow didn't manage to kill it by polishing it into nothingness; I will add it to my collection. All of this takes an hour or two not counting the head doodles. I have learned that if I let it cling to the vine a bit longer, (a month of not looking at it?) I will often see things in it that will make it better. Only then do I feel comfortable posting it. I try and not loose sweat over poems. They are fun word challenges and rhythm exercises, but I don't think I will ever be a great poet, so I do them for the distraction. Poems for me are like a literary sudoko puzzle.

My writing, however, is massive. Even the most simple story has pages of research and character backgrounds (and pictures and web links). After a few paragraphs of keyboard tickling the story takes on a life of its own and I have to fight to keep it under control. Once the story is done, then the editing begins. I take out tons of needless stuff that doesn't progress the story. After that is done, I go through a grammar edit and proof. I will sometimes do a few of these passes. It doesn't have to be perfect, but I like to clean out the nasty stuff that are planted like weeds along the literary row as I am writing. If it is not erotica -- I send it to a line editor who helps me with a third eye. Unfortunately my erotica never makes it this far. So I am sure it is riddled with mistakes or inconsistencies. The whole process can take months for an average 4K word story (Which probably started out at 6K before the edit.)

I really wish there was a critique circle here to help with third eye edits.

Quote by gypsymoth

Quote by NobeUddy
Old thread but I will comment anyway.

My poems are larks that assemble themselves in my head. When (if) I put them down on paper, I will usually test and check meter and rhyme (if it rhymes). Sometimes the most wonderful poems that work in my head, evaporate into a self incriminating stain that spells out "WTF!" once they hit paper. If I am lucky to have it work in my head, and on paper, and I somehow didn't manage to kill it by polishing it into nothingness; I will add it to my collection. All of this takes an hour or two not counting the head doodles. I have learned that if I let it cling to the vine a bit longer, (a month of not looking at it?) I will often see things in it that will make it better. Only then do I feel comfortable posting it. I try and not loose sweat over poems. They are fun word challenges and rhythm exercises, but I don't think I will ever be a great poet, so I do them for the distraction. Poems for me are like a literary sudoko puzzle.

My writing, however, is massive. Even the most simple story has pages of research and character backgrounds (and pictures and web links). After a few paragraphs of keyboard tickling the story takes on a life of its own and I have to fight to keep it under control. Once the story is done, then the editing begins. I take out tons of needless stuff that doesn't progress the story. After that is done, I go through a grammar edit and proof. I will sometimes do a few of these passes. It doesn't have to be perfect, but I like to clean out the nasty stuff that are planted like weeds along the literary row as I am writing. If it is not erotica -- I send it to a line editor who helps me with a third eye. Unfortunately my erotica never makes it this far. So I am sure it is riddled with mistakes or inconsistencies. The whole process can take months for an average 4K word story (Which probably started out at 6K before the edit.)

I really wish there was a critique circle here to help with third eye edits.

Thank you for sharing that, all of it.