Confessions

thosearemysecret said:
I default to past tense. It drives me crazy. I've been struggling with it for my entire life and haven't been able to train myself out of it. What makes it especially frustrating is it only happens when I write fiction.
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I am curious, do you know why you write in the past tense?

Awhile ago I was adding to another author's story, but he insisted that I always write in the past tense. Of course I acquiesced, since it was his story, but I couldn't post many chapters because writing in the past tense for fiction was just too hard for me. Made me feel like I let him down.
 
* There are some words I feel like I use over and over again, which greatly annoys me.
(Ex: moan, groan, smile, grin, playful, completely, lips, kiss, etc.)
 
porneia said:
I am curious, do you know why you write in the past tense?

Awhile ago I was adding to another author's story, but he insisted that I always write in the past tense. Of course I acquiesced, since it was his story, but I couldn't post many chapters because writing in the past tense for fiction was just too hard for me. Made me feel like I let him down.
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I'm not sure. I think it might be because for more than a decade my day job was journalism. Most reporting is written in the past tense, so it might be old habits and training. Drives me crazy. I'll reread a chapter and will have started off in the present but by the end, I'm back to past tense. Perhaps my next story will need to be all in the past.
 
porneia said:
* There are some words I feel like I use over and over again, which greatly annoys me.
(Ex: moan, groan, smile, grin, playful, completely, lips, kiss, etc.)
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I caught myself doing this, too, especially with "moan" and "groan." I'm trying to throw in more "gasps" and "whimpers."
 
thosearemysecret said:
  • I let the characters drive. This often leads to the story getting away from the main plot. I don't mind if the story goes in a widely different direction. However, based on the annoyed comments I've received, readers seem to mind.
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Oooo... I know that one...
  • My favorite stories are blackmail but I'm terrible at it because I have a hard time being mean to girls. They need to secretly and hesitantly like being blackmailed. I know this is unrealistic.
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...this premise is, like, eighteen percent of the Erotica Market. Seriously. It's a variation on basic Erotic Romance Ravishment -- another way to let 'good girls' like sex without compromising their precious virtue, because 'they had no choice.'

Versus, of course, corruption narratives, where they don't like being blackmailed and want to resist but their precious virtue says 'oh, hey -- sex!'

Anyway. You're in good company.
 
thosearemysecret said:
I'm not sure. I think it might be because for more than a decade my day job was journalism. Most reporting is written in the past tense, so it might be old habits and training. Drives me crazy. I'll reread a chapter and will have started off in the present but by the end, I'm back to past tense. Perhaps my next story will need to be all in the past.
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I have the opposite problem. I have to assume it dates back to MUDding or something, but sometimes I find present tense just creeping into things.
 
thosearemysecret said:
I'm not sure . . . a decade my day job was journalism . . .
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Thank you. I was just curious. I have to do a fair bit of writing for my job, especially with regards to the liberal arts (history, politics, philosophy, etc.) It is usually in the past tense, but when it comes to fiction (which I have no background in) the past tense just doesn't feel natural.

Btw, I have been skimming through your stories, good stuff. Also, cool avatar.
 
  • I'm afraid to add to other writer's stories, even if I know I can hang, and that they would appreciate it. I feel like I'd miss the spirit of the thread/story, write too well (spelling/grammar/complexity) compared to the previous chapters and upset the original author, or write too poorly and look like crap in comparison. Also, styles would clash. I wish I could get over this, because I wish people would add to my stories as well, it would help so much, especially with the topics I don't care much to write about but need to.
  • I wish readers would interact more, and leave more comments, especially pointing out mistakes and such that we're all guilty of making but don't notice. On that note, I wish CHYOA and similar writing were more socially acceptable, as I'd like to show off some of my stuff to people I know, and get more personable feedback.
  • I'm with others above that some of ya'll's avatars are gross/weird.
  • I wish I could draw/animate. I would love to translate some CHYOA into a game, kinda like CoC/TiTS/etc., but lack the skills outside of writing and programming.
  • I repeat verbs/nouns a LOT in my stories, but most people either don't mind or notice, even if I do. To be fair, there are only so many "sexy" sex words, most are immature, laughable, or gross. Dick/cock/member/rod compared to something stupid or mundane like pecker/banger/penis/meat stick.
  • I burn out when I get 10-20 chapters in, at least for a while. I branch out far too much, when I should focus on making a coherent main thread, and then adding options later. Everyone is different, but I personally see this as my own issue.
 
8inchesandcounting said:
  • I'm afraid to add to other writer's stories, even if I know I can hang, and that they would appreciate it. I feel like I'd miss the spirit of the thread/story, write too well (spelling/grammar/complexity) compared to the previous chapters and upset the original author, or write too poorly and look like crap in comparison. Also, styles would clash. I wish I could get over this, because I wish people would add to my stories as well, it would help so much, especially with the topics I don't care much to write about but need to.
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Jump in on

https://chyoa.com/story/Mutata-Draco.10949

its got a bunch of authors already

Or

https://chyoa.com/story/Adventures-of-a-Monster-Tamer.6303

Its quality is all over the place...
 
* I know there are chapters I'll probably never get to write, but I'm too much of a stickler for my own rules to just write them. It's like a game.

* Initially started on Lois Lane's Night Out as practice because I didn't want to screw up the story I really wanted to contribute to.

* Always afraid I'm using the same words for genitalia, but rarely remember to try and substitute different terms when I'm "in the moment" writing.

* Not afraid to alliterate ("vibrating vulva, stiff schlong, tantalizing tits," etc.)

* The End is never really the end.
 
There's a difference between actively disliking something and just not having the time or inclination to delve into nearly a century of back issues from 20 different comic franchises at any one time in order to know what the hell I'm talking about.
 
Nemo of Utopia said:
There's a difference between actively disliking something and just not having the time or inclination to delve into nearly a century of back issues from 20 different comic franchises at any one time in order to know what the hell I'm talking about.
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Canonicity is pretty weak on this one, the big gimmick is the Lex Luthor/Kryptonite series where <science happens> and now Lois can be affected by Kryptonite. Everything else is more or less handwaved.

Ah, confessions...
  • I sincerely regret introducing rhyming demons, but people seem to appreciate them.
  • Have briefly toyed with the idea of an all-rhyme CHYOA story.
 
Zeebop said:
  • I sincerely regret introducing rhyming demons, but people seem to appreciate them.
  • Have briefly toyed with the idea of an all-rhyme CHYOA story.
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I once created a fantasy character who spoke exclusively in iambic pentameter.

It was a terrible idea and the story was total crap, but I did it.

(“Why doesn’t this person ever say yes or no?” “...because by definition everything that say has to work in ten syllable blocks. Also, shut up.”)
 
Nemo of Utopia said:
There's a difference between actively disliking something and just not having the time or inclination to delve into nearly a century of back issues from 20 different comic franchises at any one time in order to know what the hell I'm talking about.
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*psst* This is why they have moderately convenient jumping-on points every few years, standalone animated versions, and Wikipedia pages for the obscure stuff. Comic mythology is powerful in part because, like traditional mythology, it's so damn flexible.
 
thosearemysecret said:
I default to past tense. It drives me crazy. I've been struggling with it for my entire life and haven't been able to train myself out of it. What makes it especially frustrating is it only happens when I write fiction.
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I'm not entirely sure why this is an issue. Most first-person and third-person fiction is written in the past tense. ("It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.") Second-person, though, is almost always present tense. ("You are simultaneously having the best of times and the worst of times.")

Anyway, to be on-topic with this thread:

  • Sometimes I feel like I write too many chapters that involve a woman going through a "beautification" transformation, and then use the same language too often to describe it.
  • If I don't write an entire chapter in one sitting, it's extremely unlikely that I'll go back to finish the chapter anytime soon. (This is a big part of the reason I haven't been writing much recently -- not enough time most days to sit and do some serious writing.)
 
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