Fifty Shades of ABUSE

Fifty Abusive Moments in
Fifty Shades of Grey

 http://theramblingcurl.blogspot.com/2014/02/fifty-abusive-moments-in-fifty-shades.html

Yes, you read that title right.  I'm so tired of being told that there's no abuse in Fifty Shades of Grey, that I've decided to compile something of a list.  A list of fifty abusive moments, to be precise.  Because, well, I'm a sucker for a blog title that's also a play on the book title.  I'm aware that this is going to be a LONG process and therefore a long, long blog to read, but if you've somehow stumbled upon it as a Fifty Shades fan, I implore you to at the very least give it a look. Think there can't possibly be fifty examples of abuse in the biggest-selling "romance" novel of all time?  Think again...

This is supposed to be a "love story" and I don't know how many ways of saying "it's not" there are left.  All I'm going to say is NO.  If someone treats you the way Christian treats Ana, get the hell out of there.  You deserve better.  We all do.  And we all deserve better "erotica" than Fifty Shades of Grey.

To read the entire thing, in all it's wondrous glory: 

Go HERE. Read that. 

Posted on: The Rambling Curl

And just for the record, I AGREE.

So you want a Critique? [RANT]

So you want a Critique?
WARNING! Incoming Rant!

A Critique...? Really?
Are you sure that's what you want? ​

From the responses I've gotten on many different forums, and the responses I've seen others get, plus the resulting peanut gallery commentary, I'm not so sure a Critique is what some of you are actually looking for.

Let's start at the beginning.

Do you even know what a Critique actually is?​

cri·tique​

kriˈtēk/​

noun: critique; plural noun: critiques​

1. a detailed analysis and assessment of something, especially a literary, philosophical, or political theory.​

synonyms: analysis, evaluation, assessment, appraisal, appreciation, criticism, review, study, commentary, exposition, exegesis​

"a critique of North American culture"​

verb: critique; 3rd person present: critiques; past tense: critiqued; past participle: critiqued; gerund or present participle: critiquing​

1. evaluate (a theory or practice) in a detailed and analytical way.​

"the authors critique the methods and practices used in the research"​

THINK: Are you actually looking for a Critique; a detailed analysis of your work, or are you really looking for something else, but that's the word everyone else is using, so you're using it too?

Things you might really be looking for:​

• "Can you check my sentence structure and look for typos?"
• "Are my characters interesting enough to keep reading?"
• "Is this fight scene or love scene confusing? Did I describe it well enough that you can see what's going on clearly in your imagination?"
• "Does this story drag? Is it boring to you?"
• "Have I used too much narrative and exposition? What should I trim out?"
• "Should I use additional characters to tell this story, or stick with what I have?"
• "Should I use more description in this scene, or more dialog?"
• "Do you like this Main Character, or should I use someone different?"
• "Should I keep writing this or scrap the whole thing?"
• "Is my dialog entertaining enough to keep you interested?"
• "Did I do good this time? Is this an improvement on my last work?"

Once you know what you're really looking for,
you then need to know:

How to ASK
for what you actually Want.​

Here are some examples of how you DON'T do it.

• "Will you gimme a critique?"
• "Can you take a look at my story?"
• "Can you give me an honest opinion of my story?"
• "Can you tell me if this is any good?"

None of these questions will get you what you're after so Stop Asking Them.

Instead:

Be Direct!
Ask point-blank for what you actually Want. ​

Don't play around. Ask for what you want in clear, simple English. Being indirect or too broad in your request for help with your work will not only Not get you want you really want, it frustrates the hell out of those of us that want to help you. How are we supposed to assist you when we don't know what kind of assistance you're looking for?

• You want a Character Interaction check? ASK for one.
• You want a Plotting check? ASK for one.
• You want a Grammar and Typo check? ASK for one.
• You want an Action Scene Description check? ASK for one.
• You want to know if a Scene is boring? ASK if it's boring.
• You want to know if you have enough info in your info-dump exposition, or if you have too much? Ask exactly that.
• You want all of the above? List the entire set of questions and ASK for those things to be checked.

And just for the record:

Specify if this is for a Creative Writing piece
or for something you intend for
Professional Publication.

There IS a Difference!​

The advice from the Professionals such as myself ("Follow these rules,") tends to be diametrically opposed to advice from the Creative writers ("There are no rules!") If you want to avoid a fight breaking out between the Creatives and the Pros, specify the type of writing advice you're looking for. Seriously.

So...!

Don't just throw your writing at us 

and ask for a Critique!
ASK for Precisely for what you Want.​

This way, those of us experienced enough to offer you solid advice can give you the solid advice you want.

 

These are all Vanity Press.

----- Original Message -----​

from: OkuriOkami

Don't ask for a critique for something  

You didn't actually write Yourself.​

​

If your story is mostly generated by Butler, Clanker, or whatever you call LLM (AI writing apps,) these days, you are not the author. You are a director at best, and a thief at worst.​

​~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

​

OkuriOkami is Right.
AI generated text is 
UNACCEPTABLE. ​

No professional business will touch AI generated work -- especially Publishers.

Self-publishers such as; Amazon and Ingram Spark, and vanity presses such as; Hybrid Publishing and Reedsy Limited, are not Publishers. They're Print companies. They'll post/print anything the customer pays for, just like any other printing business. Think: Kinkos, SnapFish, and FedEx Office Print.

AI generated text is Not Accepted
in Any professional capacity. ​

From school assignments, to magazine articles, to the office environment, AI generated text is Not Accepted, and can come with some pretty harsh consequences.

This doesn't mean you can't use ChatGPT or other AI programs for Research!

It means you can't copy/paste a chunk of AI text into any work you plan to claim as written by You, or worse, post an entire story made from solid AI generated text and expect a publisher to take it.

Not only is it fairly easy to spot the difference between AI text and text written by a person, especially if they're an Editor, there are apps out there that flag AI generated text with the snap of a picture, and almost all businesses and teachers have it. I know for a fact that my publisher does.

​

----- Original Message -----​

from: OkuriOkami

Don't ask for a critique if 

you're not actually looking for feedback.​

 

If you're asking for feedback as a marketing tool to gain more exposure, (to get attention,) please don't. Market your story properly. Don't disguise marketing as asking for a critique. Especially if you keep asking for feedback again and again without improving your story using the feedback you've already received.​

Also...

Don't Attack those of us
that answer your Requests for Help! ​

No one wants to help someone that bites the hand that gives them what they asked for.

If you're not mature enough to gracefully accept that you're going to hear things you may not like about your work, then you're not mature enough to ask for assistance from those of us that actually know what the hell we're doing.

There are tons of people that are damned good at writing, but won't say a word because they've been bitten one too many times when all they did was try to help, myself included.

Suggestion for those that want to 
Offer their help.
 

In other words:
How to give Unsolicited Advice: ​

Private Message (PM) the person you want to help and ASK if they're interested in hearing about all the mistakes in their writing, err...hearing the advice you want to offer.

If they say "Sure!" PM your analysis of their work.

If your analysis is particularly long and detailed, in other words; it's going to take a lot of rewriting to get their work straight, don't expect a reply for a week at the very least. It takes about that long for the impact (that their writing needs serious work,) to wear off. (Sometimes it takes Months.)

Remember, it always hurts when someone points out something you got wrong.

Also, don't expect them to follow your advice immediately. Nine times out of ten, they will wait to see if anyone else says the same thing -- or offers an easier solution.

If your analysis is supported by others, the next stage is to try out your advice and see if it actually works for them. Sometimes it will, sometimes it won't. At this point, it's out of your hands because no matter what, it's up to them to decide if they want to take your advice or not. So don't freak out if they say, "Thanks, but I wanna try something else."

One more thing... 

Members of the Peanut Gallery?
Stay the hell OUT! ​

Don't get in the way of someone trying to help someone else.

If you don't like the advice offered, it's fine to offer your own take on the situation -- that's actually Helpful.

However...

Don't Attack the other people posting Advice.​

That's not just Rude, it's extremely Unhelpful to the person who posted for help. So what if their advice doesn't agree with what you believe to be true? It's up to the person who Asked for said advice to decide if they want to take the advice offered, or not -- Not You, so keep your Butt Out!

I have spoken.

[/rant]

You may commence with the bitching. ♥

Should I get a Degree in Writing?

 "Should I get a Degree in 

Creative Writing?"

----- Original Message -----
I've being toying with the idea of getting a degree in 'Creative Writing' recently and was wondering if this is a good idea or not?

 -- Wanna go Pro

WARNING! RANT Ahead...!

If you want to write professionally, 

Don't Waste your Money on 

Creative writing courses. 

What they teach you in those so-called Creative Writing classes is how to break rules, not how to USE them to write a story a publisher will accept. 

 

In addition, they may RUIN the instincts for storytelling you currently possess and destroy your ability to write publishable fiction.

Instead, take a few cheap writing courses on COPYWRITING because that is how published fiction (and non-fiction) is actually written.

If you don't plan on writing Professionally then knock your socks off and take as many Creative Writing courses as your bank account can handle. I hear they're a lot of fun. Just don't expect any publisher to ever accept your...results.

 

As an author of over 30 published titles, I can tell you from years of experience that:

1) You DON'T need a degree of any kind to write Fiction successfully. 

What you need are Life Experiences to write from.

You can't describe what you don't Know, so pack your back-pack and Go places, See things, and Do things. Join a Living History group or three. Learn how to; shoot a black-powder musket, ride a horse, belly-dance, wield a sword while wearing armor, spin wool, weave cloth, play a musical instrument, train dogs, speak a foreign language...etc. (I've done all of these.)

 

 

2) ANY fiction-writing course that isn't taught by a multi-published Fiction Author is a waste of your time and money.

You need to learn from those who actually DO IT, not from those who wish they could. 

3) Realize and Accept that there is absolutely Nothing CREATIVE about writing for Money. 

The Writing Guidelines posted by publishing houses are NOT Guidelines, they're absolute and unbreakable Rules. If you don't write what they want in the way they want it you WILL be Rejected --no matter how brilliant it is-- simply because it's Not what they asked for in their Guidelines.

"Is Writing Fiction

a good Profession?"

Not really. 

 

The pay sucks ass, especially if you are writing for a New York publisher. If you work for an ePublishing house the pay is better and far more frequent, but it's still not impressive.

For the Dirty Details: $Money Facts$: Ebooks & NY Print Publication

Just so you know, the ONLY ebook genre that actually makes good money these days is Erotic Romance (Women's Adult Pulp Fiction.)

"What sort of job opportunities

are there?"

Lots of people (read: Businesses,) are looking for good writers, but none of them are willing to pay a writer what they're actually worth because they all seem to think Writing is EASY. (We all learned it in grammar school so it must be easy, right?)

For the Dirty Details: How Much Does a Copywriter Actually Make?

"If you have a degree in English and/or something writing orientated, is it worth it?"

It's NOT, especially if you plan to write Fiction.

A degree in English will only teach you how to TEACH English -- not use it, and critique books in ways even the authors don't understand. 

 

Unless you intend to make a living writing essays, teaching school, or as an editor correcting other people's fiction manuscripts, an English degree is a waste of your time and money.

"What are your thoughts on going to University to learn to Write professionally?"

If you want a degree, Get One.

However...! Most universities prepare you for Teaching, Research, and Business -- NOT fiction writing. Be prepared to spend a lot of money learning a ton of crap you will not only never use, but may possibly Damage the fiction-writing skills you've already developed. 

If you're bound and determined to take classes on writing, go to Fiction Writing Workshops. Those are usually hosted by published authors and you'll actually learn things that are useful to your writing like; plotting, character design, pacing, narrative tricks, and the grammar authors actually use.

For the Dirty Details: The Secret to Proper Paragraphing for Fiction. 

If you want to write professionally then simply WRITE then post where your work can be found. Hang out where the authors hang out and Pay Attention when they give advice.  

 

Read as many books on writing as you can get your hands on; but only those written by Published AUTHORS. 

 

Most importantly, Keep Writing until a publisher spots your work and offers you a contract.

That's what worked for me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

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