Just got my first 'H'

[slyc_willie]

Congrats on the red H! It is very cool.



A lot of green E's have red H's, more do than don't. Most that have both that I've read have deserved both their E and H. If you want both, it seems that the stories are usually fairly unique within the tradition of the genre, and beautifully crafted. Do not write something goofy taking creative license in second person/present tense. Some people will truly hate it. And you will languish in the low 4's.

I wonder if there are too many -- or any -- "triple crown" stories on Lit. I imagine it takes an incredible string of luck, fanbase, and skill to have a single story possess an H, W, and an E.

 

[sr71plt]

I wonder if there are too many -- or any -- "triple crown" stories on Lit. I imagine it takes an incredible string of luck, fanbase, and skill to have a single story possess an H, W, and an E.

That's a good question, and if anyone knows of any such story, it would be good to have it identified. I would think that it was impossible--that a green E wouldn't be given to a contest entry because it would be prejudicial.

 

[Weird Harold]

That's a good question, and if anyone knows of any such story, it would be good to have it identified. I would think that it was impossible--that a green E wouldn't be given to a contest entry because it would be prejudicial.

The Winner Tag also goes on the monthly and annual 'best rated/reader's choice' winners, and Editor's Choices aren't excluded from that award.

 

[slyc_willie]

The Winner Tag also goes on the monthly and annual 'best rated/reader's choice' winners, and Editor's Choices aren't excluded from that award.

So a story could be submitted and receive an Editor's Choice award, then go on to earn at least fifty votes to place it at 4.5 or higher, making it "hot," and then score so high that it also wins a monthly or Reader's Choice award.

Sounds like a serious stretch. But there has to be at least one out there, somewhere . . . .

 

[DeeZire]

Sounds like a serious stretch. But there has to be at least one out there, somewhere . . . .

It's sitting on my hard drive, waiting for a rewrite... and my neighbor is Elvis Presley.

 

[slyc_willie]

It's sitting on my hard drive, waiting for a rewrite...

So say we all.

 

[james_futuo]

So a story could be submitted and receive an Editor's Choice award, then go on to earn at least fifty votes to place it at 4.5 or higher, making it "hot," and then score so high that it also wins a monthly or Reader's Choice award.

Sounds like a serious stretch. But there has to be at least one out there, somewhere . . . .

Yes, there is, and it's my first story. I submitted a couple of days ago and it should be up for all to see sometime soon...

 

[driphoney]

So a story could be submitted and receive an Editor's Choice award, then go on to earn at least fifty votes to place it at 4.5 or higher, making it "hot," and then score so high that it also wins a monthly or Reader's Choice award.

Sounds like a serious stretch. But there has to be at least one out there, somewhere . . . .

Why does it have to have 50 votes to get the red H?

As for the triple crown, would love to read that story(ies.)

 

[Boxlicker101]

Quote:
Originally Posted by slyc_willie
So a story could be submitted and receive an Editor's Choice award, then go on to earn at least fifty votes to place it at 4.5 or higher, making it "hot," and then score so high that it also wins a monthly or Reader's Choice award.

Sounds like a serious stretch. But there has to be at least one out there, somewhere . . . .

Why does it have to have 50 votes to get the red H?

As for the triple crown, would love to read that story(ies.)

To have a story decorated with a H, you need ten votes. It would have to be awarded the E by whoever passed on it to be posted. To win the W, it would have to win a monthly prize or be nominated for and win the annual prize in its category. I don't know of any suich story, but there might be one or more around. None of mine have ever done that.

 

[Owlwhisper]

.....

 

[slyc_willie]

RisiaSkye has managed this three times. Pretty amazing.

Indeed. Very impressive. I'm jealous.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Owlwhisper
RisiaSkye has managed this three times. Pretty amazing.

Indeed. Very impressive. I'm jealous.

I am too, kind of, but I went to her index and looked for myself. Two of the stories are in 2001 and one was in early 2002, so she didn't have as much competition with other authors as we have now. Besides that, she really doesn't have that many H except for those. I don't think she is posting here any more, since the most recent one was over a year ago.

Even considering everything, that is quite an accomplishment.

 

[slyc_willie]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Owlwhisper
RisiaSkye has managed this three times. Pretty amazing.




I am too, kind of, but I went to her index and looked for myself. Two of the stories are in 2001 and one was in early 2002, so she didn't have as much competition with other authors as we have now. Besides that, she really doesn't have that many H except for those. I don't think she is posting here any more, since the most recent one was over a year ago.

Even considering everything, that is quite an accomplishment.

I took that into consideration, too. I haven't checked all the authors on Owl's list, but I imagine most of those stories were posted during Lit's early days.

To get the triple crown now, considering how many authors we have and how many stories go up every day, would truly be an impressive achievement.

 

[Owlwhisper]

.....

 

[Boxlicker101]

The triple crown winners are spread rather uniformly across the years. The two exceptions are 2001 and 2006.

2001 stands out because that was the year with (by far) the most Editors Choice awards. 256 were given out that year; the average for all other years is only 91.

2006 may also represent a peak because it was the year with the third highest number of ECs awarded (110), and because that was near the peak in voting averages. Since 2006 vote averages have plunged dramatically, making it increasingly difficult to get the H in the triple crown. That's probably one reason there are no triple crown winners from 2007 or 2008.

It was in January of either 2007 or 2008 that the voting criteria changed. Before that, a "5" was an "excellent story." Since then, it was meant "one of the best." I get a lot of PM's saying something like "This was an excellent story. I really enjoyed it." accompanied by a vote of 75%, which equals a four vote when a star is selected.

This is an observation, not a complaint because everybody's work should be judged on the same basis. I suspect that if you look at the top all time stories, you will see years before the change are represented out of proportion.

 

[Owlwhisper]

.....

 

[sr71plt]

Thanks for tracking that down Owlwhisper. That was quite interesting.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Thanks for tracking that down Owlwhisper. That was quite interesting.

Yes, it was, and I don't know how you did it. I looked at some popular authors' indexes and found no triple crowns, but I had no thought of looking at those of everybody.

As for the early stories being rated more highly, perhaps the readers became more sophisticated. In 2005 and earlier, readers might have read a story and said something like "Oh, wow, that's really hot!" and rated it a five. However, after reading many other stories, some much better than that first one, they would have been jaded enough to vote lower and, to be honest, more accurately. I sometimes look at some of my stories from 2003 or 2004 and see how they are sporting the H's and look at later stories that I consider better, and note they are not ranked as highly.

 

[Owlwhisper]

.....

 

[TxRad]

Earlier this year I wrote a program that parses the web pages in the category listings. When the question of triple crown winners came up, I was curious to know if there was such an animal. It just took a few added lines of code to find out. I was surprised to see so many people turn up, although in retrospect I have to ask why I expected so few. Seventeen triple crowns out of almost 175,000 stories makes it perhaps the rarest of Lit accomplishments. (My apologies to any triple crown poets; I looked only at stories.)

I have my doubts about the jaded reader theory, even though it's a very reasonable one. There's so much turnover here that I suspect jaded readers tend to move on before they reach the point of casting repeated low votes. The abrupt change in voting trends also makes me think something is in play other than a change in hundreds of thousands of readers. My pet theory is that it has something to do with the sweeps, but that's pure speculation.

Try running the averages on each category against the average of the whole and I think you'll find part of your answer.

 

[driphoney]

For some reason, I find the numbers you've compiled fascinating.

Maybe the readers haven't so much become 'jaded' as 'discerning'. After reading a few dozen or so stories, especially in a preferred cat, you get pickier. As a reader, you don't leave, it's the biggest game in town, but your expectations change a little and you votes slip.

You're probably right, though: better sweeps. I'm really surprised to see the numbers jump around on my vote count and scoring occasionally. But, oddly, my scores (such as they are) tend to go up, not down. Makes me think there are some haters out there! I don't have much posted, though, unlike the gentlemen here on the thread, and I'm new. Also, my stuff would be better suited on a romance site, or, even better, buried in my hard-drive!

Interesting evolution of the thread. Thanks.

 

[Owlwhisper]

.....

 

[jomar]

...
Maybe the readers haven't so much become 'jaded' as 'discerning'. After reading a few dozen or so stories, especially in a preferred cat, you get pickier. As a reader, you don't leave, it's the biggest game in town, but your expectations change a little and you votes slip.

...

Well, all I know is that the second chapter of my new fetish stroker would have an H if it weren't for the occasional one-bomb that drags it back down.

Anonymous just left a PC with a one-bomb that said, "Hmmm. I don't know, something about the story seems fishy...

What! I mean, at least try to be creative!

 

[driphoney]

Well, all I know is that the second chapter of my new fetish stroker would have an H if it weren't for the occasional one-bomb that drags it back down.

Anonymous just left a PC with a one-bomb that said, "Hmmm. I don't know, something about the story seems fishy...

What! I mean, at least try to be creative!

Ahh, yeah. Well, the bombers. Gotta love 'em. Not. I know it sounds weird, I had no idea of the timing of submission postings or anything, but happened to be checking to see if my very first chapter had posted back in January, and noticed that it was 'pending'. I clicked away to see what that meant exactly, changed my mind, clicked back to my member page and it was 'accepted'. Imagine my shock when I noticed that I already had a '1'. Whoever gave me that one didn't even have time to read the story!! Was that a bomb, or just a discerning speed reader?

My very first Lit vote: a '1'. Joy.

 

[sr71plt]

Ahh, yeah. Well, the bombers. Gotta love 'em. Not. I know it sounds weird, I had no idea of the timing of submission postings or anything, but happened to be checking to see if my very first chapter had posted back in January, and noticed that it was 'pending'. I clicked away to see what that meant exactly, changed my mind, clicked back to my member page and it was 'accepted'. Imagine my shock when I noticed that I already had a '1'. Whoever gave me that one didn't even have time to read the story!! Was that a bomb, or just a discerning speed reader?

My very first Lit vote: a '1'. Joy.

What I'd like to see an explanation of is the ones that register hot when they are posted. That requires a minimum of ten votes.