It might also mean that a lot of the readers are people who are not members of the site. Your settings may only allow for members to vote and certainly only members can comment.
If you really want more feedback, try a bit of advertising. Sure, mass e-mails are annoying but for every 9 people who throw your message in the trash, one might actually read your story. Stick a link in your forum signature and post lots here. In general, stay active on the site and get your name out there.
I've been on this site for a year and am pretty well-known (fair to say?) but I still struggle to get a lot of people to read my stuff and give feedback on it.
Perseverance!
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clum
1 month ago
Bisexual Cis Male, 35
0 miles · Scotland
Forum
Clumeleon
Quote by Mazza
Hey Clum, is this a good time to tell you that, being born in Edinburgh, and much to hubby's chagrin, I am a Jam Tarts Lassie...
*not sure whether to duck or stand*
My family are from the east of Edinburgh so they're all Hibees. I, therefore, tend to lean that way too when it comes down to it. However, I'm a Livi fan really so it makes no odd to me (plus, the Hibs are shite these days).
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Clumeleon
What are your big three's:
Me:
Three things I could do without:
1. Paying rent.
2. Unionists.
3. Facebook.
Three movies I want you to see:
1. Snatch
2. Sliding Doors
3. La Vie En Rose
Three things to fulfil a day.
1. Sleep.
2. Fun.
3. Fresh air.
Three people who changed my life:
1. My boss when I was a youth worker.
2. Nichiren Daishonin
3. My girlfriend.
Me:
Three things I could do without:
1. Paying rent.
2. Unionists.
3. Facebook.
Three movies I want you to see:
1. Snatch
2. Sliding Doors
3. La Vie En Rose
Three things to fulfil a day.
1. Sleep.
2. Fun.
3. Fresh air.
Three people who changed my life:
1. My boss when I was a youth worker.
2. Nichiren Daishonin
3. My girlfriend.
Clumeleon
Quote by Mazza
Well, just the huge amount that there are, how to use them, how to combine them, common mistakes that people make when using them...
If I'm honest, I know more about tenses (and grammar in general) in German than I do in English. Such a well-structured language.
Clumeleon
For the record, none of the examples come from my own work. They were all made up arbitrarily as I was writing. I'm not saying they're good but they're typical of the things I see a lot in stories and so I thought they would be relatable.
Looking back over the Ethan Blake stories I have written, there are very few exclamation marks and all of them in dialogue. I never use more than one and I do not use the interrobang in my writing.
Looking back over the Ethan Blake stories I have written, there are very few exclamation marks and all of them in dialogue. I never use more than one and I do not use the interrobang in my writing.
Clumeleon
Quote by Mazza
Hey, Clum?
I'd really love to see you write something about tenses.
That one will probably take a bit more work and research but I can definitely add it to my list. I have been known to shift tenses but it's usually down to poor editing than genuine mistakes.
Is there anything about tenses in particular or would you just like a general overview with a load of common errors highlighted?
Clumeleon
Quote by RumpleForeskin
In the following example, the term "exclaimed" is redundant since that's what the exclammation point(US usage) mark(UK usage) tells the reader.
"Holy shit!" she exclaimed as his monstrous cock entered her. "You better slow down or you'll split me in half."
Instead, a descriptive term might sharpen the moment. "Holy shit!" she shrieked/wailed/etc...."
That is more of a (very fair) comment on the quality of the example rather than on the use of the exclamation mark. The "exclaimed" is redundant but not incorrect. The point is to show how the punctuation should be used.
Quote by RumpleForeskin
One other nit-picker: There is no right or wrong when it comes to punctuation/grammar in COMMERCIAL FICTION. The issue is what is the most effective. For instance in the following example:
"He was just about finished shaving his scrotum when he heard, "Hurry the fuck up, this cunt is ready and waiting!
In my (very) humble opinion, two short sentences in the quote would work better than the single sentnce: "Hurry the fuck up! This cunt is...."
I do try to make it clear in my posts that the majority of what I write is what I consider to be good practice and that other ways are acceptable in certain situations. I would say that there are most definitely wrong ways to punctuate any piece of prose, commercial fiction or not.
These threads are intended to give people a basic grounding in using punctuation both correctly and effectively. They are motivated by the vast number of stories that we are asked to verify that are near illegible. Yes, people can do it their own way but for people who don't have a way, these hints a tips may be useful.
Again, I agree with you and your example would have worked well in place of my own but that's just a matter of taste and bears no relevance to the use of the exclamation mark.
Quote by RumpleForeskin
Final thought, it's been my experience that editors prefer stories where words, not punctuation is the primary tool used to describe moments. Elmore Leonard claims he limits exclamation points/marks to three or four per novel. That's a bit extreme and he was probably teasing, still, it's a thought.
I thoroughly agree with Elmore Leonard's sentiment, whoever he may be (excuse my ignorance). Exclamation marks, as I noted several times, should not be used lightly. However, on this site, with the huge number of daily orgasms, they are required slightly more often.
Yes, it should be the words that tell the story but without proper punctuation, even the most powerful words can be rendered meaningless. As an occasional editor, if a piece of writing is not punctuated properly then I cannot feel the full impact of the words. Exclamation marks are a bad example though.
Thanks for your comments.
Clumeleon
Aunt Julia by Norman MacCaig
Aunt Julia spoke Gaelic
very loud and very fast.
I could not answer her —
I could not understand her.
She wore men's boots
when she wore any.
— I can see her strong foot,
stained with peat,
paddling with the treadle of the spinningwheel
while her right hand drew yarn
marvellously out of the air.
Hers was the only house
where I've lain at night
in a box bed, listening to
crickets being friendly.
She was buckets
and water flouncing into them.
She was winds pouring wetly
round house-ends.
She was brown eggs, black skirts
and a keeper of threepennybits
in a teapot.
Aunt Julia spoke Gaelic
very loud and very fast.
By the time I had learned
a little, she lay
silenced in the absolute black
of a sandy grave
at Luskentyre.
But I hear her still, welcoming me
with a seagull's voice
across a hundred yards
of peatscrapes and lazybeds
and getting angry, getting angry
with so many questions
unanswered.
Maybe not my favourite but certainly a good'n and the first I thought of.
Aunt Julia spoke Gaelic
very loud and very fast.
I could not answer her —
I could not understand her.
She wore men's boots
when she wore any.
— I can see her strong foot,
stained with peat,
paddling with the treadle of the spinningwheel
while her right hand drew yarn
marvellously out of the air.
Hers was the only house
where I've lain at night
in a box bed, listening to
crickets being friendly.
She was buckets
and water flouncing into them.
She was winds pouring wetly
round house-ends.
She was brown eggs, black skirts
and a keeper of threepennybits
in a teapot.
Aunt Julia spoke Gaelic
very loud and very fast.
By the time I had learned
a little, she lay
silenced in the absolute black
of a sandy grave
at Luskentyre.
But I hear her still, welcoming me
with a seagull's voice
across a hundred yards
of peatscrapes and lazybeds
and getting angry, getting angry
with so many questions
unanswered.
Maybe not my favourite but certainly a good'n and the first I thought of.
Clumeleon
Quote by SydneySider
Not necessarily an improvement, but more of a tweak. When you click on "Active Topics", it obviously brings up the newest posts. Once you enter the thread, it directs you to the last page, if there is more than one, but once in there, I cant seem to go back through the older pages. You have to click on the thread header or the category header, then access the the thread that way. Just a thought....
At the top and bottom of the thread it should say "X Pages: 1 2 ... X-1 [X]" where the numbers are clickable links and the one in square brackets is the page you're on.
I just checked this out myself and this is still the case if you go via Active Topics. If it's not working for you then it would seem it's a problem with your own account and someone in tech should have a look.
Clumeleon
Quote by stephanie
Clum, I think you're WASTING you're talent studying Math....... (Come and be an English teacher, You're sooooooooo good at it!!!!!)
xx Steph
"So, you have a degree in Mathematics but you want to teach English?"
Believe me, I would lose every last morsel of respect from my fellow mathematicians. I can teach maths, too. Should I post those threads?
Clumeleon
Quote by overmykneenow
Are you really advocating the interrobang!?
For the purposes of many of the stories here, I would say it's acceptable and sometimes useful (see my example). If you're an aspiring novelist then no.
The reason I included it is because I see it so often and I figure, if people are going to do it then better that they do it right.
In more informal text (e.g., in forums), it's absolutely fine.
Clumeleon
Quote by runningbear04
I think they are measuring in cm's instead of inches
Until 2006, Lush Stories was, in fact, known as The Big Cock Club and only extremely well-endowed men were allowed to join. Proof of your cock size had to be provided and verified (in person) before access to the site was granted.
This all changed when the site was taken over by an Australian rogue who turned it into an outlet of erotica and opened it to the general public. The place has never been quite the same since...
Clumeleon
Quote by Magical_felix
You need to find a guy that will act like you gave thme a glass of water after they have been wondering around a desert. Like this man.
Haha, that's harsh, MF.
Clumeleon
Shelley Argent, the national spokeswoman for Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays whose elder son James, 35, is gay was angered by the comments of Christian groups.
The name of that organisation offends me. "Gays"!? As in, "Hi, I'm Harry and I'm a gay."? Ugh.
Also, does this thread constitute discussing ? If so, Nicola might be due a suspension.
Clumeleon
Okay, I know I'm becoming a pain in the arse now but...
With the motivation being to not have stories appear on the front page for a day and then disappear into the abyss, never to be rated or commented on again, how about some sort of historical stories feature.
This could take the form of, 'On This Day in Year Dot', and have a link to all the stories posted on that date. Or you could, say, the top 20 stories that were posted in the same month as the current one but from previous years, like 'May's Finest'.
I just feel like if your story isn't EP standard, but still good, and you don't have hundreds of friends, it can be difficult to get anyone to read older work. Any variation on this theme would help.
With the motivation being to not have stories appear on the front page for a day and then disappear into the abyss, never to be rated or commented on again, how about some sort of historical stories feature.
This could take the form of, 'On This Day in Year Dot', and have a link to all the stories posted on that date. Or you could, say, the top 20 stories that were posted in the same month as the current one but from previous years, like 'May's Finest'.
I just feel like if your story isn't EP standard, but still good, and you don't have hundreds of friends, it can be difficult to get anyone to read older work. Any variation on this theme would help.
