Level 3 Reading Assignments

[Ruby]

Hi Students,

By the time you've gotten to this level, we already know you can write. This level is a place to push yourself, to apply tools and techniques to make your writing even better.

The following reading assignments are a must. They will help you work on things like:

• Grammar nits that change the meaning of the sentence
• Story layout for easy readability
• Passive versus active story telling – also called “telling versus showing”
• Checking for consistency of action and descriptions
• Pacing

Essays that must be read.

The Guide for Amateur Writers of Erotica
http://www.literotica.com/storyxs/stories/guide.shtml

An Easy Guide to Better Writing
http://english.literotica.com/storie...y.php?id=44341

I Pushed My Pud Up Her Poop-Chute - & other words/phrases to avoid in stories.
http://english.literotica.com/storie...y.php?id=42607

Show or Tell - Illustrations of how to convey meaning in fiction.
http://english.literotica.com/storie...y.php?id=99931

ACTIVE Voice - the Voice of GOD
http://darkerotica.blogspot.com/2004...ce-of-god.html

The Secret to Good Writing - Being your own editor can lead to being a better writer.
http://english.literotica.com/storie...y.php?id=41059

The Importance of Pacing
http://www.simegen.com/school/worksh...ornelison.html

Can’t get enough? Read on as you desire.

For a larger collections of essays and how-to’s visit here on Literotica
http://www.literotica.com/storyxs/writ_stor.shtml

A collection of articles by Morgan Hawke and others can be found here
http://www.darkerotica.net/EroticQuills.html

Found and read an essay that you want to discuss?
Please open a new thread with the name of the essay and go for it!

Read and write on!

Ruby

[Ruby]

What about those POV issues? Morgan Hawke addresses POV in her usual blunt and enjoyable style. Enjoy:

Pesky POV Problems & CURES
http://darkerotica.blogspot.com/2005...ems-cures.html

[ThisYouWillDo]

Morgan Hawke says: There are a great many Romance books that have both the Hero’s POV and the Heroine’s. As far as I’m concerned, the only time you need both is when the Hero has his own story going on, his own separate subplot.

Now, have I missed the point, am I being incredibly naive, or is this some convention I'm not aware of? Why can I not write a story about how Tristan fell in love with Isolde, his envy as she married King Mark, and his struggles with his conscience as they conducted their secret affair behind his back, all from Tristan's point of view? Or King Mark's for that matter. Does it somehow thereby cease to be "Romance"?

-----------

John Fowles's The Collector (not a Romance) was written with two POV's. First the butterfly collector's POV - I can't remember if he used the 1st or 3rd person for this chap; next he retold the story from the victim's POV, in the form of diary entries (in the 1st person, obviously). Finally, he reverted to the butterfly collector's POV.

Because he divided the story into 3 clear sections there was no problem with changing POV at these points. And because we were in the heads of two different people, we got quite different views of the same events. I did not find this repetition boring, but, on the contrary, illuminating and engrossing. But the story was presented deliberately that way and readers knew, or soon discovered, that he was going to explore the minds of an obsessive and his victim as the plot unfolded.

Fowles did not mix POV's within these sections however. The butterfly collector could only surmise his victim's thoughts in his parts of the book, and she could only guess at his thoughts in hers.

TYWD

[Ruby]

Morgan Hawke says: There are a great many Romance books that have both the Hero’s POV and the Heroine’s. As far as I’m concerned, the only time you need both is when the Hero has his own story going on, his own separate subplot.

Now, have I missed the point, am I being incredibly naive, or is this some convention I'm not aware of?

It's Morgan's point of view and by nature of the article, her recommendation of what to follow. She focuses on writing what sells and passes along the tidbits for her niche genres: dark erotic fiction / erotic fiction.

Why can I not write a story about how Tristan fell in love with Isolde, his envy as she married King Mark, and his struggles with his conscience as they conducted their secret affair behind his back, all from Tristan's point of view? Or King Mark's for that matter. Does it somehow thereby cease to be "Romance"?

By genre definition, it may cease to be romance if it's a critical thinking piece about the envy caused by another's romance.

Romance books generally have one or two viewpoints:
that of the herione and the hero.

Some authors will switch POV styles in the same book.
The leading lady is given the 1st person POV,
the leading man is given the 3rd person POV.
Others use 3rd person POV and switch POV with each scene, tipping the readers off by starting the scene with the name of the character of the POV being shared.

Ruby glanced up and wondered if she was making sense. Once again, it was late at night and she was excited that one of her students had not only read an assignment, he had also posted questions and valid discussion points! What a wonderful way to start her free time. She's have to remember to thank him.

John Fowles's The Collector (not a Romance) was written with two POV's. First the butterfly collector's POV - I can't remember if he used the 1st or 3rd person for this chap; next he retold the story from the victim's POV, in the form of diary entries (in the 1st person, obviously). Finally, he reverted to the butterfly collector's POV.

Because he divided the story into 3 clear sections there was no problem with changing POV at these points. And because we were in the heads of two different people, we got quite different views of the same events. I did not find this repetition boring, but, on the contrary, illuminating and engrossing. But the story was presented deliberately that way and readers knew, or soon discovered, that he was going to explore the minds of an obsessive and his victim as the plot unfolded.

Fowles did not mix POV's within these sections however. The butterfly collector could only surmise his victim's thoughts in his parts of the book, and she could only guess at his thoughts in hers.

TYWD

It sounds like a great read.

The trick for each of us as authors is to think about the genres in which we write to write, then analyze the common traits and what makes them successful.

That's why "How to Write a ______" books are so popular. They take on a large piece of our research.

We can write what makes us happy. However, if we are submitting to a particular publisher, we most often have to write within their guidelines. Some calls for novels, will define both the POV, acceptable story elements for their readers and the expected outcome of the story.

The reason we practice different POV assignemts at this level is to determine which we like to write and try out POVs we hadn't considered using. Some stories require a fine blend of more than one POV and finding that blend can be exhilarating.

Thanks TYWD!

[ThisYouWillDo]

Thanks, Ruby. I guess I've never read a Romance - not even Austin, the Brontes, or Heyer. I certainly had no idea that they were always written from the female's POV, or that they were concerned with just two principal characters. I just assumed that female writers would naturally write romantic stories just as men might write stories about deeds of derring-do. Ah well. One lives and learns, as they say.

Is there a section of this course that studies literary forms?

TYWD

[Ruby]

Thanks, Ruby. I guess I've never read a Romance - not even Austin, the Brontes, or Heyer. I certainly had no idea that they were always written from the female's POV, or that they were concerned with just two principal characters.

You've never read a romance?!
I'm not surprised.
I tried to get my husband to read one once.
The book had army commandos, a heroine in distress,
lot and lots of "will he like me if...", "will she like me if...", "I'm no good for her because..." etc.

The man who watches chick flicks with me, couldn't ever get into all the angst. After reading a third of the book he put it down and I let him off the hook. They aren't for everyone.

I just assumed that female writers would naturally write romantic stories just as men might write stories about deeds of derring-do. Ah well. One lives and learns, as they say.

Is there a section of this course that studies literary forms?

TYWD

Hmmmm.... Unless Mad Lews is covering this in level four, I'd say not. However, that could be something to discuss if enough people were interested in it.

Ruby


PS

Gotta love wikipedia. They have a fantastic page
about romance novels and what classifies them as such.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_novel