Okay so the edits turned to be a failure

[Hans.Trondheim]

Here's the situation.

I tried editing my work with AI assistance, mainly because I have limited grasp of English literary language and often gets criticism for the words I use in my narrative.

Nevertheless, I also can't hire a professional editor, since my salary as a lowest-ranked public school teacher in a third-world shithole like the Philippines isn't enough for such luxury.

And so, I've been meaning to ask this forum about my writing in general. I guess time has come for me to evaluate where I put my attention and resources. Writing is increasingly becoming frustrating for me, coz I want to improve, but I don't know how to.

From 2019 to present, I've been delulu of my skills as a writer. However, I'm at the crossroads now; part of me wants to write, and another part want to stop and move on.

I've ask feedback threads (the ones whose opinions I trust) but nothing has come out of it so far.

So, for this thread, I'd like to ask those who have time to check my works. Tell me if I'm correct in just putting a stop to this, so I can refocus my time and resources elsewhere.

I won't remove my work from online display. But I won't continue writing those so I won't waste my time and yours.

And please don't say, "Write for what I want," because this is exactly what I did. Been there, done that.

Check and read my work. Be brutal about it. Thank you for your efforts.

 

[Louhi]

Take a break from writing to refocus on bettering the quality of your life and community. What you are experiencing might be burn out. You will be surprised at how it also improve your writing when you decided to return.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

Take a break from writing to refocus on bettering the quality of your life and community. What you are experiencing might be burn out. You will be surprised at how it also improve your writing when you decided to return.

I've been on a long break, and really, I don't know how to improve.

Peeps say "Why did you construct your sentence this way?" Or "Why use this word?" Or "You have a weird sentence construction."

So, I edit it. But I can't hire a professional editor coz their prices are expensive. So I turn to AI.

But then, feedback becomes "Writing has turned pretentious" or "Don't lose the flaws" or "Don't lose the human charm."

In reality, I don't even know what those meant. My grasp of literary English is limited; I don't even know what pretentious in wiriting meant.

I can't keep on wasting resources and effort for something that can't be done.

 

[Louhi]

I've been on a long break, and really, I don't know how to improve.

Peeps say "Why did you construct your sentence this way?" Or "Why use this word?" Or "You have a weird sentence construction."

So, I edit it. But I can't hire a professional editor coz their prices are expensive. So I turn to AI.

But then, feedback becomes "Writing has turned pretentious" or "Don't lose the flaws" or "Don't lose the human charm."

In reality, I don't even know what those meant. My grasp of literary English is limited; I don't even know what pretentious in wiriting meant.

That sounds like audience issues. Some people are just biased against non-native English speakers like that.

I used to have the same problem. But then I realized there is nothing I can do to change how other people think. Their environment and experience shaped them into the people they are today.

 

[YukieSama]

I've been on a long break, and really, I don't know how to improve.

Peeps say "Why did you construct your sentence this way?" Or "Why use this word?" Or "You have a weird sentence construction."

So, I edit it. But I can't hire a professional editor coz their prices are expensive. So I turn to AI.

But then, feedback becomes "Writing has turned pretentious" or "Don't lose the flaws" or "Don't lose the human charm."

In reality, I don't even know what those meant. My grasp of literary English is limited; I don't even know what pretentious in wiriting meant.

I can't keep on wasting resources and effort for something that can't be done.

Learning literary english isn't something that "Can't be done." It does take alot of time and effort for someone to become proficient in it and there's no way to get better quickly. What english books do you read because that's one of the most reliable way to improve story telling and writing skills. And you're going to have to tackle it like an actual subject.

But for resources on actual writing you've got loads i.e Stephen King: on Writing: A memoir of the Craft.
E.M forster, Aspects of the Novel.
Steven Pinker: the sense of Style.
Brooks Landons: Building Great Sentences.

My personally extremely biased favorite is The Mechanics of Fiction Writing by Rowe, P.E. You can watch all his lessons on youtube

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

Learning literary english isn't something that "Can't be done." It does take alot of time and effort for someone to become proficient in it and there's no way to get better quickly. What english books do you read because that's one of the most reliable way to improve story telling and writing skills. And you're going to have to tackle it like an actual subject.

But for resources on actual writing you've got loads i.e Stephen King: on Writing: A memoir of the Craft.
E.M forster, Aspects of the Novel.
Steven Pinker: the sense of Style.
Brooks Landons: Building Great Sentences.

Yeah, at my age and the resources available to me, it can't be done. I juggle writing with drawing, teaching, coding and taking care of my mother (the latter three is taking a huge chunk of my daily time).

 

[Rosica]

I don’t think you should quit, but I do think your current approach isn’t working, and that’s what’s causing the frustration.

Right now you’re stuck between two extremes. People say your sentences are “weird,” so you fix them. Then people say your writing feels “pretentious” or “unnatural.” That’s conflicting feedback with no clear direction.

Let me simplify what those comments usually mean.

When people say your writing is “weird,” they often mean the sentence structure doesn’t sound natural in English. This is common for non-native speakers.

When they say “pretentious,” they usually mean the wording feels overly formal or artificial, like it’s trying too hard to sound literary.

So you’re getting pulled in both directions without anyone explaining how to balance it.

Using AI to rewrite your work probably made this worse. It can fix grammar, but it often removes your natural voice and replaces it with something generic or overly polished. That’s why people say it lost “human charm.”

If you want to improve, you need a more focused method.

Pick one short passage of your writing and ask for very specific feedback like, “which sentences sound unnatural and why?”

Then revise it yourself based on that explanation.

Also, stop trying to fix everything at once. Focus only on sentence clarity for now. Ignore “style,” “voice,” and everything else until that becomes more natural.

If you still enjoy writing, don’t quit. Just change how you’re improving, because what you’re doing right now would frustrate anyone.

I’m not a professional writer, but this is what I’ve noticed from seeing people go through the same situation.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

I don’t think you should quit, but I do think your current approach isn’t working, and that’s what’s causing the frustration.

Right now you’re stuck between two extremes. People say your sentences are “weird,” so you fix them. Then people say your writing feels “pretentious” or “unnatural.” That’s conflicting feedback with no clear direction.

Let me simplify what those comments usually mean.

When people say your writing is “weird,” they often mean the sentence structure doesn’t sound natural in English. This is common for non-native speakers.

When they say “pretentious,” they usually mean the wording feels overly formal or artificial, like it’s trying too hard to sound literary.

So you’re getting pulled in both directions without anyone explaining how to balance it.

Using AI to rewrite your work probably made this worse. It can fix grammar, but it often removes your natural voice and replaces it with something generic or overly polished. That’s why people say it lost “human charm.”

If you want to improve, you need a more focused method.

Pick one short passage of your writing and ask for very specific feedback like, “which sentences sound unnatural and why?”

Then revise it yourself based on that explanation.

Also, stop trying to fix everything at once. Focus only on sentence clarity for now. Ignore “style,” “voice,” and everything else until that becomes more natural.

If you still enjoy writing, don’t quit. Just change how you’re improving, because what you’re doing right now would frustrate anyone.

I’m not a professional writer, but this is what I’ve noticed from seeing people go through the same situation.

Finally! Thanks for the explanation.

 

[Louhi]

I don’t think you should quit, but I do think your current approach isn’t working, and that’s what’s causing the frustration.

Right now you’re stuck between two extremes. People say your sentences are “weird,” so you fix them. Then people say your writing feels “pretentious” or “unnatural.” That’s conflicting feedback with no clear direction.

Let me simplify what those comments usually mean.

When people say your writing is “weird,” they often mean the sentence structure doesn’t sound natural in English. This is common for non-native speakers.

When they say “pretentious,” they usually mean the wording feels overly formal or artificial, like it’s trying too hard to sound literary.

So you’re getting pulled in both directions without anyone explaining how to balance it.

Using AI to rewrite your work probably made this worse. It can fix grammar, but it often removes your natural voice and replaces it with something generic or overly polished. That’s why people say it lost “human charm.”

If you want to improve, you need a more focused method.

Pick one short passage of your writing and ask for very specific feedback like, “which sentences sound unnatural and why?”

Then revise it yourself based on that explanation.

Also, stop trying to fix everything at once. Focus only on sentence clarity for now. Ignore “style,” “voice,” and everything else until that becomes more natural.

If you still enjoy writing, don’t quit. Just change how you’re improving, because what you’re doing right now would frustrate anyone.

I’m not a professional writer, but this is what I’ve noticed from seeing people go through the same situation.

Finally! Thanks for the explanation.

Rosica best girl confirmed.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

Rosica best girl confirmed.

Just to be clear, and I'm thankful for @JayMark for pointing it out.

Real life is slowly getting in my hobbies. So I'm trying to weigh stuff I should drop so I can focus time and resources to stuff that will bring me benefit than frustration.

 

[JayMark]

Writing for an audience kind of sucks like that too, because when I start writing for what I think the audience wants I don't enjoy the act of creation as much. Then when I write for audience and still get no audience it feels like a total waste. This isn't field of dreams, just because you build it doesn't mean they will come.

However, they'll never come if you don't, so there is that.

At least when I just write and let myself do what I want without worrying about an audience I can enjoy the act of creation and not give as much of AF for chasing the attention.

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

Writing for an audience kind of sucks like that too, because when I start writing for what I think the audience wants I don't enjoy the act of creation as much. Then when I write for audience and still get no audience it feels like a total waste. This isn't field of dreams, just because you build it doesn't mean they will come.

However, they'll never come if you don't, so there is that.

At least when I just write and let myself do what I want without worrying about an audience I can enjoy the act of creation and not give as much of AF for chasing the attention.

Writing for an audience isn't something I do. But what originally set off my desire to edit is the few feedback I received from peeps whose opinion I trust. I mean, I may not be well-known for my writings, but at least I wamt to put up respectable and proper work.

However, as it turned out, and what @Rosica pointed out, I was pulled into opposing directions. Thus editing is frustrating me.

I don't know if it will help, but when I get a bit... I go read a discworld novel. I often feel like there is new way to telling story and more energy to write after I read a new or old book.

I just want to know if I should continue coz I don't know if I put out proper work.

 

[Leti]

That sounds like audience issues. Some people are just biased against non-native English speakers like that.

I used to have the same problem. But then I realized there is nothing I can do to change how other people think. Their environment and experience shaped them into the people they are today.

Writing for an audience kind of sucks like that too, because when I start writing for what I think the audience wants I don't enjoy the act of creation as much. Then when I write for audience and still get no audience it feels like a total waste. This isn't field of dreams, just because you build it doesn't mean they will come.

However, they'll never come if you don't, so there is that.

At least when I just write and let myself do what I want without worrying about an audience I can enjoy the act of creation and not give as much of AF for chasing the attention.

Writing for an audience isn't something I do. But what originally set off my desire to edit is the few feedback I received from peeps whose opinion I trust. I mean, I may not be well-known for my writings, but at least I wamt to put up respectable and proper work.

However, as it turned out, and what @Rosica pointed out, I was pulled into opposing directions. Thus editing is frustrating me.

"Try to please everyone and get arrested for prostitution."
@NotaNuffian, 2026

 

[Eldoria]

Perhaps you shouldn't be so concerned about people who criticize you without a narrative solution.

Well, maybe they say "your writing is pretentious" or "your writing is stiff." This kind of criticism without a solution is simply "poison."

Even if the writing isn't good, at least you wrote it to the best of your ability. Casual readers or commenters may not write, or even if they write, but they can't provide a solution. Why listen to them?

Often, we just need to respect ourselves more than we care about listening to other people complaining.

 

[Tsuru]

@Hans.Trondheim Go watch animes or movies in english subs.
I mean, my english isnt my primary language.

I suck at times, but most of the times i sound normal and fluid.

 

[Rosica]

Even if the writing isn't good, at least you wrote it to the best of your ability. Casual readers or commenters may not write, or even if they write, but they can't provide a solution. Why listen to them?

I don't even listen to my parents. Why listen to random strangers on the internet?

 

[XplusYminusZ]

Here's the situation.

I tried editing my work with AI assistance, mainly because I have limited grasp of English literary language and often gets criticism for the words I use in my narrative.

Nevertheless, I also can't hire a professional editor, since my salary as a lowest-ranked public school teacher in a third-world shithole like the Philippines isn't enough for such luxury.

And so, I've been meaning to ask this forum about my writing in general. I guess time has come for me to evaluate where I put my attention and resources. Writing is increasingly becoming frustrating for me, coz I want to improve, but I don't know how to.

From 2019 to present, I've been delulu of my skills as a writer. However, I'm at the crossroads now; part of me wants to write, and another part want to stop and move on.

I've ask feedback threads (the ones whose opinions I trust) but nothing has come out of it so far.

So, for this thread, I'd like to ask those who have time to check my works. Tell me if I'm correct in just putting a stop to this, so I can refocus my time and resources elsewhere.

I won't remove my work from online display. But I won't continue writing those so I won't waste my time and yours.

And please don't say, "Write for what I want," because this is exactly what I did. Been there, done that.

Check and read my work. Be brutal about it. Thank you for your efforts.

Hi, Kababayan

Here's the situation.

I tried editing my work with AI assistance, mainly because I have limited grasp of English literary language and often gets criticism for the words I use in my narrative.

Nevertheless, I also can't hire a professional editor, since my salary as a lowest-ranked public school teacher in a third-world shithole like the Philippines isn't enough for such luxury.

And so, I've been meaning to ask this forum about my writing in general. I guess time has come for me to evaluate where I put my attention and resources. Writing is increasingly becoming frustrating for me, coz I want to improve, but I don't know how to.

From 2019 to present, I've been delulu of my skills as a writer. However, I'm at the crossroads now; part of me wants to write, and another part want to stop and move on.

I've ask feedback threads (the ones whose opinions I trust) but nothing has come out of it so far.

So, for this thread, I'd like to ask those who have time to check my works. Tell me if I'm correct in just putting a stop to this, so I can refocus my time and resources elsewhere.

I won't remove my work from online display. But I won't continue writing those so I won't waste my time and yours.

And please don't say, "Write for what I want," because this is exactly what I did. Been there, done that.

Check and read my work. Be brutal about it. Thank you for your efforts.

Here's the situation.

I tried editing my work with AI assistance, mainly because I have limited grasp of English literary language and often gets criticism for the words I use in my narrative.

Nevertheless, I also can't hire a professional editor, since my salary as a lowest-ranked public school teacher in a third-world shithole like the Philippines isn't enough for such luxury.

And so, I've been meaning to ask this forum about my writing in general. I guess time has come for me to evaluate where I put my attention and resources. Writing is increasingly becoming frustrating for me, coz I want to improve, but I don't know how to.

From 2019 to present, I've been delulu of my skills as a writer. However, I'm at the crossroads now; part of me wants to write, and another part want to stop and move on.

I've ask feedback threads (the ones whose opinions I trust) but nothing has come out of it so far.

So, for this thread, I'd like to ask those who have time to check my works. Tell me if I'm correct in just putting a stop to this, so I can refocus my time and resources elsewhere.

I won't remove my work from online display. But I won't continue writing those so I won't waste my time and yours.

And please don't say, "Write for what I want," because this is exactly what I did. Been there, done that.

Check and read my work. Be brutal about it. Thank you for your efforts.

Hello, Kababayan Kaway-kaway po!

Don't give up on writing if it is your talent. Every writer faces this kind of situation at least once. Focus on your story first. Make yourself a part of that story before you worry about what other people might say. Fall in love with your work and let the creativity in you flow like crystal water.

We can't tell what the future holds. What if one of your stories becomes a hit in the coming years?

About editing, you mentioned using AI assistance, which is the best tool to take advantage of right now. To make your story flow better, you can give the AI specific instructions to follow. Create a list of clear and simple rules. Copy and paste those instructions first, then add your draft. That is when the magic happens.

If you aren't sure about a specific word, just ask the AI. Don't struggle with it. You can type the whole sentence and include a Tagalog word, then ask the AI for the best English translation for that context.

You can copy this list of instructions for the AI assistant you use. I use this too because it keeps my work sounding like me and not a machine. It fixes awkward phrasing automatically. If you like using punchy lines or an informal tone, the last instruction protects that so it doesn't sound too formal. Reading something that is too "proper" is just boring. I hope this helps you out.

Treat that AI assistant as your Marites/Marisol friend and make chika. You can definitely brainstorm with it when you hit that writer's block stage.


Editing Instructions...

Please check the grammar and unfitting words.
Rephrase only if needed.
No poetic lines.
Please keep the gritty parts or words if they suit the story.

 

[JordanIda]

When I said in your last thread that Grammarly is your friend, IT WAS A JOKE.

Take the time you need for writing a bunch of words. Double that time. That's the time you need for editing. No short cuts.

Sheesh.

 

[MFontana]

Here's the situation.

I tried editing my work with AI assistance, mainly because I have limited grasp of English literary language and often gets criticism for the words I use in my narrative.

Nevertheless, I also can't hire a professional editor, since my salary as a lowest-ranked public school teacher in a third-world shithole like the Philippines isn't enough for such luxury.

And so, I've been meaning to ask this forum about my writing in general. I guess time has come for me to evaluate where I put my attention and resources. Writing is increasingly becoming frustrating for me, coz I want to improve, but I don't know how to.

From 2019 to present, I've been delulu of my skills as a writer. However, I'm at the crossroads now; part of me wants to write, and another part want to stop and move on.

I've ask feedback threads (the ones whose opinions I trust) but nothing has come out of it so far.

So, for this thread, I'd like to ask those who have time to check my works. Tell me if I'm correct in just putting a stop to this, so I can refocus my time and resources elsewhere.

I won't remove my work from online display. But I won't continue writing those so I won't waste my time and yours.

And please don't say, "Write for what I want," because this is exactly what I did. Been there, done that.

Check and read my work. Be brutal about it. Thank you for your efforts.

Here's the simple, cold, hard, truth of it.
You need to do what is best for you. Nobody online can tell you what that is. All we can do is tell you what we think is best, or what we want you to do, or what we think you should do, but since we're not YOU, we don't know what your living with, or your life experiences are like.

So, instead of doing that, I'll offer what insight I can, and encourage you to choose for yourself. Ultimately, the choice is in your hands, and yours alone.
Towards that end, I'd say this.
Do not listen to the vocal minority. Do not try to please the vocal minority. The vast majority are always out looking for something to complain about, and if you try to please them, you'll lose your own voice and story in the process of a perpetually failed endeavor. It just isn't worth it.
Artwork isn't meant to be perfect. It is meant to be felt, and reflected upon.
Novels are simply a form of artwork, and are creative expression.
Yours should be told in YOUR voice, even if it is weird. Even if some people don't like it, or bitch and moan about it.
Readers, all of them, will bring their own perspectives, and baggage, along for the ride that your story takes them on, and will often project their own expectations onto your story as they are reading.

Don't strive for perfection, because that will only lead to empty and hollow polish. Strive to tell your story, with all of its human and heartfelt flaws and shortcomings along with all of its strengths.

I'll also make you a deal. I'll add your stuff to my work-list for critiques and technical feedback, if you keep pushing forward, and commit to continue working on them, to tell your stories with your heart first. and foremost. I'm willing to put in the time and effort to help you hone your skills and to help ease the presentation of your story in English, but only if you're willing to commit and put in the effort to keep writing, and keep pushing forward.

The choice of what to do is, as it has always been, yours to make.

 

[JordanIda]

Tell me if I'm correct in just putting a stop to this, so I can refocus my time and resources elsewhere.

Hans, Hans, Hans.

Yes. Put a stop to this.

But first, please consider this question: Why are you writing in a language that is not your own? Why not write in your native language, and stay there?

Someone above says (with misplaced sympathy) that "some people are just biased against non-native English speakers." That's nonsense. Pure nonsensical virtue-signalling balderdash. IGNORE IT. This isn't a matter of fairness. "Bias" (whatever the bleep that means these days) doesn't enter into it. I happen to be a native English speaker. I don't force myself to read Korean, for sake of fairness. I don't struggle through Cyrillic, to virtue signal. English is my native language. I write and speak English. When reading, I expect the material to be correct. That doesn't make me a xenophobe. It's sensible. It's utilitarian. Language is utilitarian. I'm right-handed. I don't handicap myself, by writing with my left hand. English is my language. I don't handicap myself, by trying to write in Spanish.

Back to you, Hans. Write in your language. Write for readers in your language.

What? Too small an audience? Too many illiterates in your neck of the woods? Change that. Promote literacy. Mark Twain had precious few English readers here in post-Colonial America. He didn't move to Europe. He stayed here. He wrote here. He promoted literacy. He opened his own publishing house and sold his books door to door.

You can be the next Mark Twain. For your language.

The downside? You lose ten or eleven readers on Scribblehub and Royal Road. The upside? Who knows. People have won the Nobel Prize in Literature for promoting native language literacy. Did Gabriel Garcia Marquez write in English? No. Isabel Allende? No. Octavio Paz? No. Pablo Neruda? No. They were all translated to English. After they won the Nobel Prize.

Write in your language. For your readers. And if you have no readers, make some.