i wrote about 120k this year so here's some thoughts, from me to myself:
beautiful prose is lovely to have but if you focus too much on sound and look you lose substance. become superficial. above all prose needs function. a message. e usor a scrie versuri cand nimic nu ai a spune
don't overexplain. "he nodded in approval"--no. cut that out. just "he nodded" is fine
adjectives over adverbs. strong action verbs over adverbs
don't get into too much detail. it's overwhelming. you actively dislike it when reading someone else's work
dialogue, like all else, needs to serve a purpose. in fics where there's no word count constraint it's easy to slow down the pace and write meaningless conversations (meaningless in the sense they don't have a narrative role). don't do that
the most difficult thing to write in porn is the dialogue
"said" is fine. "asked" is fine. overcomplicated dialogue tags can be a sign of poor writing
in general any kind of exaggeration, when unintentional, is a sign of mediocre writing. too much dialogue, too flowery prose, too much description. you're overcompensating for other writing skills you lack
when in doubt return to basic, simple, good words. nothing wrong with that
good writing has good rhythm. trust your gut and your decade of music experience
also just trust your instincts. you have a good feel on the flow and development of a scene. if you feel like it works, then it works
experiment! character pov, tense, style, form, flow, sound, scenes
telling is not only good, it's essential. get your head out of the "show don't tell" school of beginner writers and learn how to tell better
introspection is key to writing emotions
introspection is also what takes smut from decent to incredible. focus on what the characters think and feel instead of do
an unreliable narrator is ridiculously simple to pull off. just lie in the "tell don't show" parts
cut down on describing gestures and mimic. oh and appearance as well. people don't blush this frequently. nor do they grin or curl their lip of twist their mouth or raise their eyebrows. also everyone knows this character is golden haired you don't have to mention it every single time!!!
i still have no idea how to write longer fics
or how to adequately write in a faux archaic tone. shakespearian thee thou and tolkienesque storytelling. but it will come in time
study your favourite authors' and fic writers' prose and figure out why you like their style so much. implement that in your writing. learn!!!
and don't be too hard on yourself. remember you only started writing 15 months ago. and in your second language. you have time. you'll improve. i trust you
