Not much erotica in SYW?

cornflake

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Hi --

Welcome to AW. :)

There is an erotica area in SYW, but the password is different from the rest of SYW. You need to PM a mod for that section to affirm your age and they'll let you know the password. The info is in this FAQ.
 

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Once you have the password you need to read the Read This First Stickie and click the link in that stickie to see the threads posted for crit.
 

Maryn

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What I see at Erotica SYW is that the regulars don't post work there for feedback very often. Much of what gets posted is from authors who are either new to AW--and that's fine, so long as they didn't rush to their 50 posts--or new to writing erotica. The down side of that seems to be that many get discouraged to learn that what's hot to the author isn't necessarily good writing publishers might want. And we seem to have more than our share of recent arrivals who intend to show the rest of us how it's done--despite never having sold their erotic fiction. I know, huh?

Because there's a fairly active social thread, friendships have been formed, and some of them, I gather, involve people who critique and beta read for one another in private. Keep hanging out when you're able and that could be you.

Maryn, wondering if she has anything to post there, just for MinaJane
 

MinaJane

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Thanks, Maryn
Since I've never really shared my stories, except some fanfiction years ago, I don't know if my writing is any good, but also if the erotic parts are actually hot. The point was certainly not top rush to 50 posts just to share something here, but more to look at what other writers do and what advice they get in return, and see if some are applicable to my work.

But it's all fine, I can probably check Romance SYW, start from there. And I'll definitely hang out in your corner of the forum because you're a very welcoming crowd :)
 

Maryn

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We try. I did put up my first chapter, thinking of you. It's not especially hot, just setting up. But at least it's new material.
 

Fallen

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Also, if you're after something specific, you can always ask a question in there that looks for short examples of what you're looking for to help improve on, maybe? *looks at Maryn for confirmation* Anything from first-time touches and how it's handled/why it's handled a particular way, to just how descriptive authors get/what word choices they make.

Welcome to AW, by the way. :)
 

MinaJane

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Thank you :)

I think that I made the mistake of writing first, before learning the codes/rules of that particular genre. I just put on paper the story I had in my head without really thinking about it.
Now I'm wondering if I still managed to write something worth reading, or if I missed the mark completely!
 

JakeSTamer

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That's ok, I did the same thing. I was over half way done with my story before I found AW and started learning what I was doing wrong. I'm still leaning and trying to unlearn bad habits. Once you learn something, you can always edit your work, that's what I'm doing, a lot, lol. You've been to SYW erotica so you've probably seen what I've posted and all of Maryn's and others red ink, lol. :D
 

Maryn

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Au contraire, my friend! I never use red. It's too demoralizing, one's precious words and a sea of red. I like purple or green.
 

JakeSTamer

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Lol, yes I take it back. I much prefer the purple and green also.
 

c.m.n.

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Sometimes it's easier not to worry about genre rules when first starting to work on a story, whether you're new to that particular genre or not.

It really just depends on what kind of writer you are.

For me, I just like to go with what's in my head first before worrying about all the crap that makes the story readable by the public. But I'm also already familiar with genre tropes, rules, and what-nots. When I wasn't though, I didn't worry about them, either.

If you're interested in critiquing, you can also consider maybe a beta swap. Or if you're just wanting to read things, maybe check out older pieces in SYW or check out the book recommendation thread that should be somewhere around here.

:hi:
 

MinaJane

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I started checking old posts in SYW, to see if some recurrent advice could be applicable to me, and I intend to go through my story again with those in mind.

As it turns out, the first point I'll have to check is not specific to erotica: there's a thread here in General Writing about bad writing advice, and everyone seemed to agree that trying to replace "say" in every dialogue tag was not good. I'm not sure how many times I've forced myself to chose another verb instead of say, because I was given that advice, but probaby too much!

Beta swap is indeed something I'd like to do, but I haven't been here long enough, I think :)
 

c.m.n.

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I started checking old posts in SYW, to see if some recurrent advice could be applicable to me, and I intend to go through my story again with those in mind.

As it turns out, the first point I'll have to check is not specific to erotica: there's a thread here in General Writing about bad writing advice, and everyone seemed to agree that trying to replace "say" in every dialogue tag was not good. I'm not sure how many times I've forced myself to chose another verb instead of say, because I was given that advice, but probaby too much!

Yeah, I think there's just so much you can do to replace the word "say" or "said" with other verbs. What I like is action, instead.

Example:

"A rose for my lady," he said.

VS.

"A rose for my lady." He handed her a beautiful red rose in full bloom.

OR

"A rose for my lady." (Don't put anything here because the dialogue already assumes he's giving her a rose.)
"Oh, thank you!" She blushed a bright red as she sniffed the beautiful rose.


I don't know. Just examples, hehe.
 

MinaJane

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At some point I had a lot of : "A rose for my lady," he whispered softly as he handed her...
I used that syntax so many times it was annoying even to me. The next revision cleared most of those out!

Thanks for the examples, it's simple and clear. I might copy this on a sticky note and keep it on my desk while I edit :)