Writing Goals for 2023

[ofbuttons]

Never go below 4.4 is my hard line.

This seems like you're setting yourself up for failure. People will 1-star you for any reason, with no regard to your skills as a writer.

 

[SimonDoom]

Never go below 4.4 is my hard line.

This is an unworthy goal. It won't do anything toward making you a better writer. What it will do is make you anxious to avoid doing anything controversial that might net a good story a less than desired score. Speaking for myself, my story scores range from 3.73 to 4.79, and I don't see the score range representing any meaningful difference in story quality. The score reflects other things: stories that are very short, or that do or don't push the buttons for the readers of the category in which the story is published.

I'm sufficiently familiar with, and capable of gaming, the Literotica marketplace that if I wanted to I could only write stories that get scores over 4.4, but I would be LESS of a writer if I did that.

Be bold and takes risks. Damn the scores, at least some of the time.

 

[OtterlyMindblowing]

Interesting. I will take that to heart. My scheduled stuff will hold for a while, the more experimental and prompted writings are going to be my next few. I’ll see how they go.

 

[MelissaBaby]

This is an unworthy goal. It won't do anything toward making you a better writer. What it will do is make you anxious to avoid doing anything controversial that might net a good story a less than desired score. Speaking for myself, my story scores range from 3.73 to 4.79, and I don't see the score range representing any meaningful difference in story quality. The score reflects other things: stories that are very short, or that do or don't push the buttons for the readers of the category in which the story is published.

I'm sufficiently familiar with, and capable of gaming, the Literotica marketplace that if I wanted to I could only write stories that get scores over 4.4, but I would be LESS of a writer if I did that.

Be bold and takes risks. Damn the scores, at least some of the time.

I think it's a bit unfair that you did not quote the entire passage in what the poster said.

4) Maintain or improve my writing quality. This is the important one to me. Right now I have 10 chapters published, and though some hopscotch the line I have straight H ratings most days. Never go below 4.4 is my hard line.

They didn't say that their goal was to achieve high scores for the sake of high scores, but that that they were seeking to improve, and established a certain score as a measure of success. At least, that's how I read it.

I have tried a lot of different things, and when I do, my goal is to succeed at them.Granted, not everyone sees a high score as a measure of success. But writing a good enough story to get a high score is not incompatible with being bold or tackling controversial subjects. Striving to do both is a worthy goal. As is seeking to just write good stories, period.

 

[SimonDoom]

I think it's a bit unfair that you did not quote the entire passage in what the poster said.



They didn't say that their goal was to achieve high scores for the sake of high scores, but that that they were seeking to improve, and established a certain score as a measure of success. At least, that's how I read it.

I have tried a lot of different things, and when I do, my goal is to succeed at them.Granted, not everyone sees a high score as a measure of success. But writing a good enough story to get a high score is not incompatible with being bold or tackling controversial subjects. Striving to do both is a worthy goal. As is seeking to just write good stories, period.

I don't agree with you. The reason is that there are some creative choices you can make that will almost ensure NOT getting a score of over 4.4, regardless of quality. So if you make 4.4 a hard line, it means, whether you consciously intend it this way or not, you are avoiding certain kinds of risks, not to ensure or improve quality, but for the sake of the high score in and of itself. Quoting the rest of what he wrote wouldn't change this.

I don't demean wanting, all things being even, to get high scores. I agree it's one indicator of how one is doing. I'd prefer to have a high score than a low one. But I also know there are creative choices one can make here that have nothing to do with quality that dramatically increase one's chance of getting a lower score.

 

[ChloeTzang]

This is sort of a follow up to Lovecraft's thread for assessing your writing in 2022. What are your goals for writing, here at Lit and elsewhere, if applicable, for 2023?

I was way to ambitious for 2022, given I changed jobs, which wasn't something I anticipated doing at the start of the year.
So lets, see, for 2023.....

1. Work on improving myself as a writer.
2. Finish Jeong Park Chapter 11.
3. Add one chapter each to Chinese Takeout and Happy Birthday.
4. Get "My Asian Sister 3" done and finished.
5. (a) Write my Valentines Day story and (b) April Fools Day story
6. Complete my story for Geek Day event
7. Complete my story for the Hammered event
8. Get my Summer Lovin' entry done and in THIS year
9. Co-write a Sci-Fi novel and see it all the way thru (external to Lit, this one's a co-write with a published Sci-Fi author)
10. Complete my 3rd Shanghai Trilogy novel for my publisher, along with an (erotic) Sci-Fi novel that I signed up to get done
11. Self-publish "The Price of Love," "Sometimes Harder is Best" and "The Temptation of Sammi Woo." (at least)

I think that should keep me busy.....

 

[GrantBricksly]

So...I am considering submitting something in poetry for the first time...to start with, I would likely take something I've already written, and maybe tweak it a bit and then submit....but...I'm thinking about it...Not sure If I want to count that toward my "submit a story every month" goal or if that should be separate....

 

[OtterlyMindblowing]

So...I am considering submitting something in poetry for the first time...to start with, I would likely take something I've already written, and maybe tweak it a bit and then submit....but...I'm thinking about it...Not sure If I want to count that toward my "submit a story every month" goal or if that should be separate....

Honestly? I’ve done both poetry and prose, and both are similar levels of effort. I say do it, and count it!