Writing [Rant] Don't Insult your Readers.

[Menace]

There are "artistic nudes" on DeviantArt, and that's all there is for Adult Content. Adult stories with 18+ content is ganked off the site within minutes, so is any image with people engaging in any form of 18+ activities.

I go elsewhere to post my adult images.

That might be the theory, but in practice I'm following accounts with several 18+ stories and they are still there. So it seems the ban is enforced pretty badly. But we're really getting off course here.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

...writing the stories I wanted to read, but couldn't find...


It was for me!



Ah, my bad. I missed those. They must have been in the YA section.
-- It's so nice to meet another library addict.

Wasn't so much of an addiction as a babysitter... mom was the librarian so I spent a lot of time there before we went home after school!

 

[naosu]

Yes we can.


It's a problem a lot of people don't even know is happening -- until it happens to them.


If they're confrontational -- TROLL. Don't Answer!

Thanks for the reply!

 

[Danja]

Just say No to: PLOT WAFFLING!​

Plot Waffling is a form of Author Intrusion that appears when the author is convinced that their Readers are too stupid, or too immature to comprehend what's going on in the story without assistance.

For example, when a character keeps "noticing" what seems to be something relatively unimportant that adds nothing to the current scene.

✧ "Wow, that's interesting. Why is that there?"
✧ "I wonder who that is, even though I'm not interested in them, really."

Translation: "NOTICE THIS NOW! Hell, write this shit down!"

​

This form of Plot Waffling is even worse, and is commonly mistaken by the Author as Foreshadowing:

✧ Little did they know, but this would be the last time...
✧ If only they knew that...
✧ Don’t worry about it. You’ll know the truth soon enough.
✧ Anyway, I’m getting ahead of my story. Little Ozzie and Terrible Chester do not enter the picture until after the cow explodes.

This shit is not Foreshadowing! This is fairytale Narration shit, and it does not belong in books or stories meant for anyone older than Twelve! It definitely doesn't belong in books or stories meant for Adults

I've used it (mostly as a tipoff that something isn't right about the situation ... that all is NOT as it seems).

Adult Readers generally prefer stories they can't guess the ending to by the fourth chapter, flawed complex characters dealing with personal issues, realistic relationships even if the adult scenes happen behind closed doors, rich and detailed descriptions that allow the Reader to clearly visualize the story's world, and a college-level vocabulary to support the full breadth of the story.

You gravely overestimate adult readers.

​

The world sucks right now. Most adults have to work 60-90 hours a week at jobs that don't pay nearly enough to be self-supporting. They don't need to be reminded of it after hours.

Many adults read to ESCAPE (Why do you think Elin Hilderbrand is so popular?)

Many adults never went to college (writing with a college-level vocabulary is a sure way to lose your readers).