The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 09

[TheRedLantern]

You could always do it the way my eldest does, with a plate and fork. Bonus points if you can learn the nifty trick of using the back of the fork to smash all the delicious crumbs into one last delicious bite.

Now I need to decide between "more dishes" and "getting icing on my face and fingers". I was going to write pros & cons to help with this decision, but I think that's the whole list.

I trust @iwatchus is taking notes for his Cupcakes Studies graduate-level class that he's teaching.

 

[MrPixel]

It's the icing stuck to the tip of my nose that makes it all worthwhile.

 

[Bomberaw]

You need to keep in mind that the readers generally aren't critics. That's something I think a lot of author's--especially authors who are new to getting reader feedback--need to remember.

Readers vote almost entirely on whether or not they enjoy the story. If you include subject matter they don't enjoy, then they'll vote low. They may not even have to get very far into a story to know if they'll enjoy the content.

If you value the score, then it's important to put your story in the right category and to know the community in the category well enough to judge what they want and don't want. Otherwise, you should adjust your expectations downward.

When you get comments on the quality of your writing, then they usually come from other writers, people who want to be writers, or the rare readers who fancy themselves as critics. To get more of that kind of input, you can find beta readers, ask for it in the Story Feedback forum, or enter the contests and events. Other writers in the contest and events are more likely to read and comment.

Thank you for this, it definitely helps to keep things in perspective. I mean, I knew that chapter wouldn't be received as well, but it was just frustrating watching it go under 4.3 stars.

I personally don't think my writing is SUPER interesting currently (although I've been told otherwise plenty), but I do know the second chapter was better than the first and definitely should have been rated higher. If it was based on quality.

Thanks

 

[NotWise]

Thank you for this, it definitely helps to keep things in perspective. I mean, I knew that chapter wouldn't be received as well, but it was just frustrating watching it go under 4.3 stars.

I personally don't think my writing is SUPER interesting currently (although I've been told otherwise plenty), but I do know the second chapter was better than the first and definitely should have been rated higher. If it was based on quality.

Thanks

I think we all go through this, and some of us take a long time to figure it out. I read authors complaining about the Red H. They didn't get one, and they could find poorly-written stories that did, so the Red H doesn't mean anything.

But it does. The Red H means that readers enjoyed the story. It doesn't mean the story is well-written.

It helps if you have confidence in your writing. That also helps you clear the clutter when you're trying to understand why a story didn't score well. Don't worry about the writing. Go straight to the story elements that readers did or did not like.

 

[Bomberaw]

I think we all go through this, and some of us take a long time to figure it out. I read authors complaining about the Red H. They didn't get one, and they could find poorly-written stories that did, so the Red H doesn't mean anything.

But it does. The Red H means that readers enjoyed the story. It doesn't mean the story is well-written.

It helps if you have confidence in your writing. That also helps you clear the clutter when you're trying to understand why a story didn't score well. Don't worry about the writing. Go straight to the story elements that readers did or did not like.

Yeah, I do have confidence in my storyboarding and a decent bit in my storytelling. I've just gotten rusty now with my writing and it'll take a bit to get it back to snuff. And like, I knew exactly why it got kinda bombed, but it's frustrating nonetheless.

It was because the MC ended up being trans, and the fact that people bombed the ratings for a while there frustrated me to no end because it was just a stupid, hateful thing.

Idk, I'm already getting over it, it just frustrates me. Probably would have gotten a better rating in the trans category, but it's not a real big piece of the story after the beginning, so

 

[NotWise]

Yeah, I do have confidence in my storyboarding and a decent bit in my storytelling. I've just gotten rusty now with my writing and it'll take a bit to get it back to snuff. And like, I knew exactly why it got kinda bombed, but it's frustrating nonetheless.

It was because the MC ended up being trans, and the fact that people bombed the ratings for a while there frustrated me to no end because it was just a stupid, hateful thing.

Idk, I'm already getting over it, it just frustrates me. Probably would have gotten a better rating in the trans category, but it's not a real big piece of the story after the beginning, so

I'm not at all familiar with NonHuman, but I do have an upcoming story slated to go there. I'm surprised that the crowd there would be offended by a trans character. I read the comments, but not the story. Why do you think they bombed it for the trans content?

 

[MrPixel]

Speaking of scoring... which I don't like to do in public... if you turn off scoring in an already-published story, does the score vanish, or does it freeze? I recall it becomes ineligible for contests or "top lists", but those are of no concern. This was discussed a long time ago, but I can't find the post. So...?

Tanks.

 

[NotWise]

Speaking of scoring... which I don't like to do in public... if you turn off scoring in an already-published story, does the score vanish, or does it freeze? I recall it becomes ineligible for contests or "top lists", but those are of no concern. This was discussed a long time ago, but I can't find the post. So...?

Tanks.

There's this thread from Pearl Harbor Day last year. I think the conclusion is that the score should disappear, but that doesn't always happen on a consistent schedule.

 

[MrPixel]

Thanks. I knew it wasn't a recent discussion. Anyway, my takeaway from what @ElectricBlue tested, they freeze. Don't want that.

 

[Bomberaw]

I'm not at all familiar with NonHuman, but I do have an upcoming story slated to go there. I'm surprised that the crowd there would be offended by a trans character. I read the comments, but not the story. Why do you think they bombed it for the trans content?

Mmm, right off the bat it rated a fair bit lower than the first chapter despite being better quality (I published the first chapter before having it edited/proofread and updated it later), and at first there were several super low votes before it went back up and leveled out.

Idk, I could be totally wrong, but it's what it seemed like for sure. Granted, I expected a bad reaction, so maybe I psyched myself out a bit too.

Idk, I still feel it should definitely have a higher rating than the first chapter.

P.S. Basically, the first chapter kind of introduces the werewolves and MC with her dysphoria, second chapter shit happens and she's forced through the change and it forces her to physically transition.

 

[NotWise]

Mmm, right off the bat it rated a fair bit lower than the first chapter despite being better quality (I published the first chapter before having it edited/proofread and updated it later), and at first there were several super low votes before it went back up and leveled out.

Idk, I could be totally wrong, but it's what it seemed like for sure. Granted, I expected a bad reaction, so maybe I psyched myself out a bit too.

Idk, I still feel it should definitely have a higher rating than the first chapter.

P.S. Basically, the first chapter kind of introduces the werewolves and MC with her dysphoria, second chapter shit happens and she's forced through the change and it forces her to physically transition.

I read most of the first story and maybe half the second. I'm not qualified to comment. What I know of werewolves comes from Lon Chaney, so to me your literary world is a little dense.

One thing I would point out is that both stories are less than a Lit page. Stories that short often don't score well because there isn't a lot of opportunity for the readers to engage. I looked at other stories in the category, and there were several other short pieces, so maybe that's a norm in NonHuman.

It made me think that my ghost story may not go to NonHuman.

 

[Bomberaw]

I read most of the first story and maybe half the second. I'm not qualified to comment. What I know of werewolves comes from Lon Chaney, so to me your literary world is a little dense.

One thing I would point out is that both stories are less than a Lit page. Stories that short often don't score well because there isn't a lot of opportunity for the readers to engage. I looked at other stories in the category, and there were several other short pieces, so maybe that's a norm in NonHuman.

It made me think that my ghost story may not go to NonHuman.

Fair, most of the ones I read from other people are two or three pages. And my next chapter is gonna be longer, closer to 6k/7k words.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

Well, it's starting to feel like Groundhog Day with the hot sunny weather taking the temperatures into the 90s day after day after day ...

At least the coffee is hot and fresh. The teapot is adding to the humidity with all of the steam being given off it. There are donuts on the counter and a plate of chocolate cupcakes filled with peanut butter cream and iced with peanut butter cream cheese icing.

I'll be over in the corner working on my story. I hope to have a skeleton of the whole story done before I set it aside to do a final edit on the story I'm submitting for the 2025 Crime and Punishment Story Event next month.

 

[NotWise]

One new scene written. I'll do a walk-through in the garden then edit the old scene I moved. After that I need to prep the beds for fall crops. Not sure how much time the weather will give me. The afternoon should be hot and sunny.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Good morning to the creative souls of Lit!

I slept in, but by way of greeting a bright sunny day, there are Morning Glory muffins on the counter.

 

[Candy_Kane54]

Good morning to the creative souls of Lit!

I slept in, but by way of greeting a bright sunny day, there are Morning Glory muffins on the counter.

Oh, those are delicious ...

 

[MrPixel]

Well, it's starting to feel like Groundhog Day...

Just let us know when you get the urge to take up the piano.

 

[TheRedLantern]

there are Morning Glory muffins on the counter.

Pretty soon, Laurel's gonna give us a "Baked Goods/Pastries" category to put stories in.

 

[NotWise]

The heat let me get to 11:45 before I noped out, but I finished more than I thought I could. I dug out thirty two feet of edging and reset it deeper and straighter.

I have a glass of ice water. I'm sitting beside the swamp cooler vent with my shoes, my socks and my shirt off. My wife's BFF is here, and she'd prefer I keep my pants on. That will last until I get into the shower.

My daughter came by yesterday and took a dozen cucumbers. My wife's friend took the rest to feed to her goats. I'm cucumber-free until the fall crop yields something.

 

[MrPixel]

Speaking of "heat", a not-quite-heated discussion with C ensued when we were trying to plan our eating out for lunch. She declared, steadfastly, that we were not going to patronize "the usual" Mexican-ish restaurant any more, they didn't have anything she liked. We have a problem in our small town because there are very few sit-down places to begin with, and several closed on Sunday. So I assented to our "Plan B", which is 12 miles out of town.

On the way and not yet halfway through town, she relented to being okay with a veggie side dish she frequently ordered, and I turned the wheel towards our "usual place."

It was okay! She got the normal veggie dish, and they were featuring an appetizer that I would characterize as "corn salad," which was tasty. I would do it again.

The highlights of our extended late lunch were, first, a party three tables behind us who was shouting at each other in normal conversation, and we could not hear ourselves think much less converse. So we pulled out our phones and had a hilarious time texting to each other. I taught her all sorts of emojis with sexual connotations. We were laughing to each other, and I glanced off to the side to a young couple - she was particularly cute with a wonderful smile - who were doing the same, texting to each other and laughing. I caught the eye of the cutie and we shared a good chuckle.

It was a good lunch.

 

[TheRedLantern]

Now I need to decide between "more dishes" and "getting icing on my face and fingers". I was going to write pros & cons to help with this decision, but I think that's the whole list.

I went "icing all over myself".

I know you were all waiting to find out.

 

[NotWise]

I went "icing all over myself".

I know you were all waiting to find out.

With bated breath.

For my WIP, I need to replace the sex scene that I moved, but I think I'll do a little more to set the new scene before I write it, and that requires going back much earlier in the story and rewriting a couple conversations. Pantsing the story has annoying effects, but I think I can finish it no later that Wednesday.

I'm sure y'all were waiting for that, too.

 

[Omenainen]

I’m very slow to get started this morning. Maybe a cup of old TxRad’s blackest will help, I trust we still make it like he did?

I’m not a morning person. Back-to-work weeks are taxing for me.

I have a story waiting to post, though, and that’s nice since it’s been forever since the last one. It’s in the Born to Run event so it’ll drop on the 25th.

 

[TheRedLantern]

I'm sad to have missed the TxRad era of the coffee shop, but under the Candy_Kane administration it's warm, inviting, and open to all with no judgement. Glad to have you stopping by, @Omenainen !

 

[Candy_Kane54]

@Omenainen - the coffee is as black as you want. If you want something stronger, the cappuccino machine is available ...

The coffee is fresh, black, and hot. The teapot is boiling and there are donuts and cream cheese danish on the counter. Enjoy!

I'll be over in the corner working on my next Great American Erotic Novel (I wish). If you hear any muttering, it's due to my disagreement with my Muse on where the story is going. I'm trying for melodrama but my characters just want to have fun ...