Well I think I better quit writing

[TunnelKing089]

Do what you enjoy,don't worry about other people's opinions.

Carry on.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

This comment is giving me strong Billy Madison vibes. It should really have been finished with “I award you one star, and may God have mercy on your soul.”

We are all less erotic for having read it!

 

[AG31]

According to a lovely reader.
My writing is the worst on Literotica. He has never seen such rubbish and other than talking to you guys on here, I shouldn't be writing.
"If your reason for doing this is because you think that your work is good, then you couldn’t be more wrong. The dashboard states that you’ve written 73 stories to pick up just 148 followers, which is two followers per piece. That tells the entire story. Your writing is rancid and there isn’t a single thing that you do well. No one’s going to be able to sit you down and coach you, it’s crystal clear that you’re not built for this."

I think I won't be receiving a Christmas card from him this year.

B

Ya gotta be kidding!!

I figure there are two kinds of negative comments. There are those that point out objective problems with your phrasing or description or plotting or... or....

And there are those that just don't get what you're about. Lots of people won't get what you're about. Clearly this is one of them. IGNORE.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Everybody gets a few comments like that, although that one seems more intense than usual.

How come I can't get one that nasty? (pouts)

 

[Bazzle]

Ya gotta be kidding!!

I figure there are two kinds of negative comments. There are those that point out objective problems with your phrasing or description or plotting or... or....

And there are those that just don't get what you're about. Lots of people won't get what you're about. Clearly this is one of them. IGNORE.

They completely missed the ending. Thing's didn't have to make sense.

They literally missed it.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Why not? I do it all the time. This is a place for amateurs to post their stories, after all.
And to be honest, I've seen more than a few native speakers/authors here who don't seem to have a tenth of my knowledge about grammar and punctuation. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff that passes the moderation and gets published here. Personally, I would have loved it if Laurel tightened her standards about grammar, punctuation, and story length. It would reduce the number of stories considerably but I do believe that less is more in this sense. But I don't mind it too much as long as people are enjoying their writing experience.

Slang and jargon? Yeah, that can be tough to nail, but as I said, this isn't a competition for some literary award for authenticity. It's just us amateurs writing our fantasies and having fun.

Very much agree. Some stories here are on a par with professionally published stuff, and that's great, but it's not a reason to make the place unfriendly to people who don't have that polish.

When I'm in the headspace to write (which unfortunately I haven't been lately), I like to think I'm pretty decent by Lit standards. I even have a positive review from Stacnash. But if, when I was starting out, I'd seen a bunch of stories getting reviews like the one Bazzle quotes, I probably wouldn't be posting my stories here.

Every time I write and post a story here, including the one that SN liked, I have to go through this process of "What if it sucks? Well then, so be it, I'm still going to post it."

 

[Bramblethorn]

Why not? I do it all the time. This is a place for amateurs to post their stories, after all.
And to be honest, I've seen more than a few native speakers/authors here who don't seem to have a tenth of my knowledge about grammar and punctuation. You wouldn't believe some of the stuff that passes the moderation and gets published here. Personally, I would have loved it if Laurel tightened her standards about grammar, punctuation, and story length. It would reduce the number of stories considerably but I do believe that less is more in this sense. But I don't mind it too much as long as people are enjoying their writing experience.

Slang and jargon? Yeah, that can be tough to nail, but as I said, this isn't a competition for some literary award for authenticity. It's just us amateurs writing our fantasies and having fun.

Very much agree. Some stories here are on a par with professionally published stuff, and that's great, but it's not a reason to make the place unfriendly to people who don't have that polish. It's like going to karaoke night at the local bar and telling people "you're never going to be a great singer so never sing again".

 

[gunhilltrain]

How come I can't get one that nasty? (pouts)

This has some impact. "You seem to not know when to use a period and when to use a comma. This is all stuff regurgitated from Wikipedia, with some made-up dialogue thrown in. . . . .Who cares about this minor human failure?"

I still think my four-part series about a fictionalized Valerie Solanas was pretty good, but it all got dismal ratings probably because she was such a polarizing figure. For the record, I didn't use Wikipedia, but I was inspired by Mary Harron's 1996 movie about her.

https://storage.googleapis.com/antique-arena-assets/image/product/62978/ah62978_(2).jpg

 

[onehitwanda]

Nope it was named. I just didn't want to give them oxygen

Did the username start with and S, end with an h, and contain eight letters? That /100 score is a bit of a shibboleth for them.

If so, hon, it's a badge of honour.

 

[Jorunn]

I have an editor looking on my translations. Even then I got remarks that it is American English and that there are still some places which sound "European" it worked rather well.

I know from my professionell background how difficult it is for a non-native speaker to use a foreign language in a way that it is not obviously that it is not your mother-tongue.

Really, I would never publish a story in Englsih without having native.speaker checking it.

As a non-native speaker, I am wondering whether others think the words for their story in their native language or in English. I still have to do both. I can write simple things in English, but often work through more complex scenes in Norwegian, then use my sequencing and conversation ideas to re-write them in English.

I do try to use American idioms and sayings in English in my stories. But after a year of learning and improving my stories, Grammarly still manages to find 200-300 things I need to fix!

 

[Sappho_CGN]

I write my stories in German and then translate into English.

 

[Omenainen]

I’m much better writer than translator. I don’t translate, when I write in English I think in English.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I’m much better writer than translator. I don’t translate, when I write in English I think in English.

This goes for me too. It takes some getting used to, but I don't think I would be able to create by writing something in my own language and then translating it. The expressions, the harmony, and the tone of the sentences wouldn't be the same. Translating, although somewhat linked to writing, is still a different skill set and talent.

 

[TheLobster]

I’m much better writer than translator. I don’t translate, when I write in English I think in English.

Same here.

 

[StillStunned]

I've worked with enough translators, and dabbled in it myself, to know that the best translation is in fact a new text, and the best translators are actually writers.

Or else they'd better have a good editor.

 

[Ada Stuart]

As a non-native speaker, I am wondering whether others think the words for their story in their native language or in English. I still have to do both. I can write simple things in English, but often work through more complex scenes in Norwegian, then use my sequencing and conversation ideas to re-write them in English.

I do try to use American idioms and sayings in English in my stories. But after a year of learning and improving my stories, Grammarly still manages to find 200-300 things I need to fix!

I'm also Norwegian, and Grammarly still finds a ton of errors in my writing, particularly words that are in the wrong sequence or I use the wrong prepositions (all the time). And that's despite having written in English for almost two decades.

That said, I discovered that it was much easier to write English after I started reading a lot of books in that language. Now, I even dream in English, Oh, and having Grammarly always running in the background also gives you that constant learning curve - only to return to kindergarten level when you get tired .

As for negative reviews, I've received a lot of them, mostly concerning my grammar (or lack of it) and comments like our German friend got about not finishing school. Well, if I had admitted to my readers that this is my second language, they might have gone easier on me. But, I never did that until several years later since I prefer to get honest reviews about my writing - even if they skin me alive because of my username Still, it's very useful to develop a thick skin when you're a writer, eh?

Anyway, one of the nicest comments I've ever received was a guy saying: "For a work done in the author’s second (or subsequent) language this story is remarkably well paced with much better use of words than almost all stories on this list. I think it is not the author’s first language because the (1) language is so precise, and (2) the almond in the rice pudding screams “Norskie” or maybe Dane. Doesn’t matter; I wish I could write so well even in my own first language."

That's just the type of comment that makes you want to keep writing

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Bjorn Ulvaes was (I suppose still is) the lyricist in Abba. He fluently spoke seven or eight languages. Many people don't know that Abba sold as many or more records in the Latin world than in the English world, largely because most of Abba's albums were recorded with English lyrics, and then again in Spanish lyrics. Bjorn would write the Spanish versions too. Songs like Fernando and Chiquitita were actually written in Spanish first if I'm not mistaken.

I can only imagine how difficult lyrics would be to translate. Lyrics are often based on expression and metaphor which so often do not translate at all. A certain expression or metaphor often only exists in one language. Whole new metaphors would need to be written and still be able to retain the narrative. And when it comes to expressions, one cannot have a mere mechanical conversational level of a language. One needs to speak it and know it fluently.

The other thing that you will find if you research Abba's songs (most of their hits have their own wikipedia page with a history of how it was written) is that most of them were test recorded with bogus lyrics and working titles before Bjorn would finish them properly. Frida and Agnetha were often blown away and laughing over the hilarious bullshit that he would come up with on the spot that always rhymed and had teh perfect inflective rhythm. Indeed the working titles always had the same inflective rhythm as the final titles.

He may have been the most gifted lyricist in the history of pop music. Un-be-lie-va-ble talent.

 

[Lanmandragon]

I can sympathise. My mother tongue is British English, but I have lived and worked in Germany for over 40 years. Each language has its idiosyncrasies, German has its completely illogical genders (presumably derived from Latin) and its cases.
My way in was to read large amounts, in particular Der Spiegel, but there is always the next language trap waiting around the corner.

 

[Bramblethorn]

The other thing that you will find if you research Abba's songs (most of their hits have their own wikipedia page with a history of how it was written) is that most of them were test recorded with bogus lyrics and working titles before Bjorn would finish them properly. Frida and Agnetha were often blown away and laughing over the hilarious bullshit that he would come up with on the spot that always rhymed and had teh perfect inflective rhythm. Indeed the working titles always had the same inflective rhythm as the final titles.

Roxette's "The Look" was written the same way, but Per Gessel decided he liked the placeholder lyrics enough that he never got around to replacing them. Hence "Walking like a man, hitting like a hammer" etc. etc.

I can sympathise. My mother tongue is British English, but I have lived and worked in Germany for over 40 years. Each language has its idiosyncrasies, German has its completely illogical genders (presumably derived from Latin) and its cases.

AFAIK the generally accepted theory is that both languages are descended from a common ancestor (Proto-Indo-European) about 4500-6500 years ago which already had a three-gender system. Old English had this too, but it gradually disappeared between the Norman Conquest and the 15th century.

 

[MyBareTorso]

Bjorn Ulvaes was (I suppose still is) the lyricist in Abba. He fluently spoke seven or eight languages. Many people don't know that Abba sold as many or more records in the Latin world than in the English world, largely because most of Abba's albums were recorded with English lyrics, and then again in Spanish lyrics. Bjorn would write the Spanish versions too. Songs like Fernando and Chiquitita were actually written in Spanish first if I'm not mistaken.

I can only imagine how difficult lyrics would be to translate. Lyrics are often based on expression and metaphor which so often do not translate at all. A certain expression or metaphor often only exists in one language. Whole new metaphors would need to be written and still be able to retain the narrative. And when it comes to expressions, one cannot have a mere mechanical conversational level of a language. One needs to speak it and know it fluently.

The other thing that you will find if you research Abba's songs (most of their hits have their own wikipedia page with a history of how it was written) is that most of them were test recorded with bogus lyrics and working titles before Bjorn would finish them properly. Frida and Agnetha were often blown away and laughing over the hilarious bullshit that he would come up with on the spot that always rhymed and had teh perfect inflective rhythm. Indeed the working titles always had the same inflective rhythm as the final titles.

He may have been the most gifted lyricist in the history of pop music. Un-be-lie-va-ble talent.

And we LOVE Abba in Australia... they're like a cultural institution here.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

And we LOVE Abba in Australia... they're like a cultural institution here.

I'm not aware of any Abba lyrics written in Australian.

 

[Voboy]

I'm not aware of any Abba lyrics written in Australian.

Hear me out.

There once was an English princess called Maud, who later went on to become Holy Roman Empress.

Maud is short for Matilda. A Queen is midway between a princess and an empress, just as Australia is midway between Asia (geographically) and Europe (linguistically).

Hence, "Dancing Queen" is nothing but a postmodern critique of the Australian-English "Waltzing Matilda."

Discuss.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Hear me out.

There once was an English princess called Maud, who later went on to become Holy Roman Empress.

Maud is short for Matilda. A Queen is midway between a princess and an empress, just as Australia is midway between Asia (geographically) and Europe (linguistically).

Hence, "Dancing Queen" is nothing but a postmodern critique of the Australian-English "Waltzing Matilda."

Discuss.

Queen Maud even had her own land and dominion over millions of penguins.

 

[Voboy]

Queen Maud even had her own land and dominion over millions of penguins.

And it's in Antarctica, which is adjacent to... Australia.

I think I'm onto something here.

 

[Bramblethorn]

ABBA-related side note: the reason Sweden has such disproportionate success in pop music is kind of interesting. Back in the 1940s, an influential faction in Swedish politics got Very Concerned that Young People Today were listening to the wrong kind of music, i.e. American dance music.

So they instituted a big educational program to expose children to classical music. Those kids got a free/cheap musical education, the program created additional jobs for musicians making it a more viable career path, the kids grew up and turned their musical education to...writing pop music.

https://psmag.com/social-justice/swedish-pop-mafia-music-world-influence-73966/