Writing Out Loud

Thoughts on results of my latest #PitMad submission

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Should Writers Embrace Imperfection In Manuscripts?

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View attachment 3378I love to tell stories and I enjoy the company of serious writers. I've been a wordsmith, journalist, and editor for most of my career. I have never done fiction.

I have always wanted to try my hand at being a novelist. I knew from experience I had a gift for words. People adored my newspaper columns, and the sermons I gave as a member of my church's lay ministry.

My self-published autobiography of life as an abused child was getting five-star reviews.

Folks loved my book. I didn't. I authored it out of personal necessity. I needed to come to terms with the past. My childhood is an ongoing odyssey. As is life.

After getting the reality of yesterday out of my system, I wanted to something for fun.

I'll be honest, my current WIP - 97,500 words, started as a throwaway.

I've always wanted to write a dirty story so, what the hell, I gave it a shot.
I love the Post-Apocalyptic genre and I also appreciate spicy well-written tales such as the "Clan of the Cave Bear" series by Jean M. Auel.

Spice is good, as long as it doesn't overwhelm the flavor or ruin the recipe.

To make things interesting, I gave myself a challenge.

My guy is a doppelganger of myself and I put him in the most impossible situation I could imagine: trapped in an all-woman survivalist cult living off-the-grid for fifteen years.

They don't want him with them and he doesn't want to be there. They can't let him go - no man alive is allowed to know the location of their home. They will not kill him, for he's done them no harm and he can't stay, because he is not one of them.

By the way, it's the dead of winter.

Eight months and 80,000 words later the Apocalypse happens.

I'll say no more. You'll need to read the story to find out how the adventure turns out.

As a historian of the future, I feel an obligation to craft characters and a world as real as fantasy allows. Every word, deed, and thought must ring with truthful credibility. No super-heroes inhabit my book, only ordinary bat-shit crazy people doing the best they can to survive.

I'm also a coward. To test my penmanship, I posted my chapters online under the name of Nathan Wolf, in a self-publishing process, I call, "Writing Out Loud". Strangers on the web would score my wordsmithing abilities. Not my friends.

To my utter astonishment, my story was a hit! So far, readers have downloaded more than a million copies from websites scattered about the internet. I am thrilled by the 92-97% approval rating awarded by readers. I'm also scared to death. Will my next chapter be as worthy of expectations?

It is a continuing journey. As is life.
 
Welcome, Nathan. What a difficult childhood, but lovely life you've had after. I've heard Clan of the Cave Bear is excellent, but I haven't got there yet.
 
I loved the clan of the cave bear. I didn't enjoy the sequels as much but I think I know where you got the inspiration for your story. The same idea kindled a story I thought about for awhile but never wrote about a post apocalyptic event a group of survivors and the power struggle between the sexes that results in the women taking all the men hostage as prisoners after a rape. In my story the men eventually manage to grab power back and it ends full circle, twenty years later as a mother instructs her daughter on being a proper wife on her wedding day.

It's certainly a topic rife with creative possibilities
 
A warm welcome to you, Nathan.
There is plenty to do and see here @Litopia :)
 
Welcome! But where did you post your WIP to get 1 million downloads? That's an impressive feat!
Download History
Sexstories.com ---- 930,000 reads - Rated 95% (since removed by author)
Literotica.com ---- 21,400 reads - Rated 4.78/5.00 (95.6%)
Storiesonline.com - 307,920 reads - Rated 9.61/10.00
Erotic stories - 91,818 reads - Rated 9.51/10.00

The story has been pirated and plagiarized on hundreds of different sites across the web

SAMPLE COMMENTS:
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by AZTT1 on 03/01/2019
I like the way you extended the story

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by Anonymous user on 03/01/2019
I really love your Story. nice flow. good characters.

But I must say only one thing. If you could split it into better readable parts(maybe 4 to 6 pages each) that would make it easier to read, bc your reader do not need to scroll through the pages to find the newer part.

But that´s only my 2 cents. Anyway....please continue.

PS. Your Story reminds me of a French Author of the 70.th Robert Merle

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What...
by Powertool79 on 03/01/2019

Anonymous said.

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Guard Duty:
by Anonymous user on 03/01/2019

You might as well equip your guard post with a neon sign if you are going to let your characters smoke while on watch. The smell of cigarettes or worse, pot, is a dead give way to anyone approaching. I thought these folks had a bit of smarts.

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by Anonymous user on 03/01/2019
Loved it. Could definitely handle hearing more, there's a lot more that could be done with this setup.

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looking forward to the next part
by JayMcK on 03/02/2019

wasn't sure when I started it, but you kept me interested all the way through. yes as said below, maybe smaller blocks at a time, I had to keep coming back to it as too long for one sitting, but enjoyable none the less

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Love the Longer Length!
by nthusiastic on 03/02/2019

I was thrilled to find I had 28 pages to enjoy. Thank you! I read so quickly, most stories here are barely a minute's worth.

I also greatly appreciate the example of the talented yet underendowed male as I have found that to be the case more often than the reverse. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that the average man's skill is inversely proportional to the size of his equipment ( with the extremely rare exception). Does anyone know a word for the opposite of a size queen? That would be me. Best lover I ever had was virtually impotent, but wow, could he rock my world!

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Epic!
by YourLink on 03/02/2019

Thoughtful, well researched and imaginative. I enjoyed this read very much. I await the next installment with pleasure.

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by Anonymous user on 03/02/2019
Brilliant, can't wait to see how it progresses.

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I think you’re my new favorite author.
by Rickman48 on 03/02/2019

Another Avalon Hill gamer! I really miss those days and having a worthy opponent. I remember the rules mechanic battles too. Good read!

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RE: Guard Duty
by You on 03/02/2019

"You might as well equip your guard post with a neon sign if you are going to let your characters smoke while on watch. The smell of cigarettes or worse, pot, is a dead give way to anyone approaching. I thought these folks had a bit of smarts." --Anonymous 03/02/19

The Anonymous gentleman is correct. I will do a slight edit - the bunker is not scheduled to be operational for a few days. None-the-less, smoking on a watch is a good way to get killed. So is hanky panky.

That said, it is clear their minds are not 100% in the game.

Thank you. Good catch.

Nathan

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Disaster
by Anonymous user on 03/02/2019

Most cities are much less than a week from anarchy. Food and water in and waste out run near limits all the time. Stopping all that means riots, right now.

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Really enjoying this...
by RangerLee on 03/02/2019

Very well written, really good character development, an interesting story told well. Very good work! Looking forward to the continuation.

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Easy read
by Anonymous user on 03/03/2019

An enjoyable read good character development, looking forward to the next installment

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Really good read
by Anonymous user on 03/03/2019

Really liked the overall story as well as the characters you created. Was unprepared for the length of this installment, but I'm looking forward to your next release.

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Finally
by SexlessStiff on 03/03/2019

IMO, far too long. That being said, I did enjoy this story.

I am not going to comment on technical issues - firearms, explosives, electronics, etc. Any problems therein were minimal and 'ain't nobody got time for that'.

I liked it. Great storytelling, 'ok' writing. Not terrible, but enough errors to make it to the "needs to be mentioned" level. I gave it a '4' which is a high mark for me. I have given one story 5 stars, ever. Thanks, I look forward to your next work.

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FANTASTIC
by Anonymous user on 03/04/2019

Please teach the new writers to this site how to write fantastic science fiction and fantasy. Snekguy stole Larry Nivens Man-Kzin Wars and calls it Pinwheel series check his plagiarized work.

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Truly enjoying.
by Anonymous user on 03/05/2019

Will be waiting for the rest of your story. As a 75-year-old, I am enjoying imagining myself in your story.

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RE: Please teach the new writers to this site how to write...
by You on 03/05/2019
I wish I could. This story is my first attempt to write fiction. I've been a writer and community journalist for forty years.

I write in the first person and my MC's backstory is my own. In many respects, my book is an autobiography of an imaginary future. My duty as a writer is to craft a story worth reading by using words worth remembering.

My advice?

Write that which is true and credible. Center your fiction in reality.

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by JDDRIVER on 03/05/2019
Looking forward to the next chapter!!!

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Very enjoyable, look forward to reading another of your tales.
by Anonymous user on 19 hours ago

I enjoyed reading this, and I am looking forward to reading more of this tale and any others you may be in the process of writing

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Not what I expected...
by doofus67 on 18 hours ago

In fact, it turned out far better.

Thoroughly engaging, extremely well-written story. The snake-cave storyline had me gripped only to be superseded with the Sky Fire scenario.

So many "what ifs" within this too. What if Dennis and Alice had turned back before the blizzard, would he still be a "Sister"? What if they hadn't gone to town that fateful day, would Fitzwater have bothered them with everything else going on in the world. More importantly, what if letting Fitzwater go is going to come back to haunt them.

Regardless, looking forward to the next installment.
 
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Thoughts on results of my latest #PitMad submission

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Should Writers Embrace Imperfection In Manuscripts?

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