The Earth Day 2011 Contest Support Thread

[DG Hear]

So I find these comments on my story, Lost in the Woods today:

It's an EARTH DAY story, and a light one at that. The names were part of the fun. I am stumped (haha) that people didn't get it. Ah well.

Don't worry about the few idiots. It's one of the best stories I've read. Best of luck to you.

It has six views already, and is still not posted. I wonder if this one will pile up dozens of pre-posting views the way others have done lately.

Box, I had 40 views on my earth day story before it got posted. Best of luck to you also. My comments, votes and reads are slowing down, but I did receive a bunch so far.
votes 620 reads/views 14827 comments 19

 

[PennLady]

Box, I had 40 views on my earth day story before it got posted. Best of luck to you also. My comments, votes and reads are slowing down, but I did receive a bunch so far.
votes 620 reads/views 14827 comments 19

Wow, you're away ahead of me in all those categories! Good on ya, as I'm told the Aussies say.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Don't worry about the few idiots. It's one of the best stories I've read. Best of luck to you.


Box, I had 40 views on my earth day story before it got posted. Best of luck to you also. My comments, votes and reads are slowing down, but I did receive a bunch so far.
votes 620 reads/views 14827 comments 19

It appears I am getting two views per hour. I have ten so far, in less than five hours.

 

[Darkniciad]

An' here's the nightly track:

We added 5 new stories for a total of 37

Average and median scores are both 4.16

Total votes are up to 5558 with an average of 174 and a median of 66

Total views are up to 454,120 with an average of 14,188 and a median of 6,873

Contest stories have accumulated a total of 76 favorites and 261 comments.

Back to writing with me. Hoping to finish the ending tonight, then go back and write the sex *laugh* The transition into the sex wasn't flowing right, so I skipped ahead to the ending, which isn't giving me any problems at all.

 

[Boxlicker101]

I must say, I had pretty fast service. My story posted with 59 views in less than six hours.

 

[LettersFromTatyana]

Mine's up, too.

My eyes flew open at 5:30 this morning as I realized I'd used the word metaphor when I should've used analogy. I guess there is a downside to having a story post so quickly. Oh well.

 

[Guest]

[size=+2]the ASSOCIATION of INDEPENDENT READERS (A.I.R.)[/size]

http://nickscipio.com/pod/media/2007/04/worldpussy.jpg



[size=+2]

A.I.R. 2011 Earth Day Story Contest

[/size]

A.I.R. would like to congratulate alwayswantedto for being the first author to accumulate over 1000 VOTES in our EARTH DAY contest. And it only took him a couple of days to achieve this feat.

I wonder if darkboy will graph it for us?

His wonderful story, The Platform appears destined to win one of the coveted A.,I.R.’S!

Well done! ​

​

[size=+2]Gabrielle L.[/size]
President, A.I.R.
Secretery of the MOST COMMENTED on
and the MOST VOTED on story clubs
Miami Beach, Florida

 

[TxRad]

Scouries, no one care about your fake contest, with no prizes and fraudulent winners. Namely you and your alts. So go back and play in your ego threads where you belong.

 

[Darkniciad]

I finished the ending of mine this morning. Now I just have to go back and write the sex

I'll apologize to everyone in advance of it posting for the onslaught of mouth-foaming rants it's going to induce in certain people ( and inflate-a-date-obvious-alt-non-people )

Now, to see if I can wrap this thing up today.

 

[MarlowBunny]

I am glad to get comments, but the vitriol is starting to stink up the place. I have gotten more comments and feedback on my three contest entries than on all my other 11 stories combined. That's good! But, ... I am getting discouraged by the number of people who basically tell me I wasted their time, or I should go do something anatomically improbable to myself.

What the hell? It's not like they didn't get their money's worth. Why all the hate?

For those of you who try to be literary with your erotica, do you get comments saying you wasted the reader's time? Is it just because I try to include a little plot and character motivation, or is it because I failed in my attempts to include plot and character motivation?

I am also getting a lot of comments and even demands that I remove "My Brother - My Hero" from the contest because it isn't sufficiently about Earth Day. For crying out loud: The protagonist was disabled by an environmental catastrophe. His reason for living is to promote a cleaner environment. He testified before congress to get the Environmental Protection Agency Super Fund established. His childhood home is an EPA Superfund Site. How much more about Earth Day could the story be without writing "Earth Day" in every other sentence?

I'm sorry to vent, but this is getting ridiculous.

Is anybody else getting so much hate?

 

[Darkniciad]

Don't stress on it too much. That last comment on "my brother" in particular has some familiar wording that screams of a certain troll.

I haven't read it yet, but from what you describe here, it certainly seems to fit to me. This contest usually doesn't get a lot of entries because people can't get their heads around the theme.

Probably half of the entries over the years have been just any typical story of nudity outdoors with the word Earth Day thrown in, and little connection to the actual theme behind Earth Day. Having environmentalism as a central driving force for a character is probably more on theme than most of those, mention or no.

There's also the bandwagon issue. Once one person says something in the comments -- especially something critical -- those who come after tend to jump on board and say the same thing.

 

[LettersFromTatyana]

Speaking of comments...

I've never been tempted to remove a comment, good or bad. I've been tickled pink by most of the comments on my Earth Day story. However, I have one of those classic, "there's probably a lovely story buried in there..." comments, in which Anonymous complains about the story without actually reading the story.

I'm tempted to leave it to provide humor for anyone else who chooses to read the comments after reading. I've certainly had a few chuckles from it; had Anonyous actually read the story, he'd have seen that he agreed with the main character. However, I'd hate for someone to check the comments and decide not to read the story because of what this dude says about the story's alternative energy "rhetoric," as he put it.

To delete? To not delete? What are the ethics surrounding comment removal?

 

[PennLady]

Speaking of comments...

I've never been tempted to remove a comment, good or bad. I've been tickled pink by most of the comments on my Earth Day story. However, I have one of those classic, "there's probably a lovely story buried in there..." comments, in which Anonymous complains about the story without actually reading the story.

I'm tempted to leave it to provide humor for anyone else who chooses to read the comments after reading. I've certainly had a few chuckles from it; had Anonyous actually read the story, he'd have seen that he agreed with the main character. However, I'd hate for someone to check the comments and decide not to read the story because of what this dude says about the story's alternative energy "rhetoric," as he put it.

To delete? To not delete? What are the ethics surrounding comment removal?

I rarely delete. I deleted two comments over a year ago on one of my Young Blood chapters because they were personal attacks and beyond the pale. I've left everything else there.

Do a lot of people read comments first? I never do...

 

[SuperHeroRalph]

I am glad to get comments, but the vitriol is starting to stink up the place. I have gotten more comments and feedback on my three contest entries than on all my other 11 stories combined. That's good! But, ... I am getting discouraged by the number of people who basically tell me I wasted their time, or I should go do something anatomically improbable to myself.

What the hell? It's not like they didn't get their money's worth. Why all the hate?

For those of you who try to be literary with your erotica, do you get comments saying you wasted the reader's time? Is it just because I try to include a little plot and character motivation, or is it because I failed in my attempts to include plot and character motivation?

I am also getting a lot of comments and even demands that I remove "My Brother - My Hero" from the contest because it isn't sufficiently about Earth Day. For crying out loud: The protagonist was disabled by an environmental catastrophe. His reason for living is to promote a cleaner environment. He testified before congress to get the Environmental Protection Agency Super Fund established. His childhood home is an EPA Superfund Site. How much more about Earth Day could the story be without writing "Earth Day" in every other sentence?

I'm sorry to vent, but this is getting ridiculous.

Is anybody else getting so much hate?

If it's of any help to you, I turn off anonymous comments. The number of comments falls dramatically, but it leaves those who give real feedback and opinions.

Too many readers are too free with their words, when they don't have to log in and somewhat identify themselves.

 

[Darkniciad]

There's no protocol on comments. Some will chop out anything negative without hesitation. Some will leave anything, even advertising spam.

My rule of thumb is that if it attacks another writer or their story, I'll remove it ( has only happened once ) and I'll nuke spam.

Beyond that, most of the negative comments either have legitimate gripes ( even if I don't agree ) or are so badly written that they're funny, or so generic that they're pointless.

I always say that if the comment bothers you and you can't get it out of your head ( whether that be on a personal level, concern about how it will affect readership, or anything else ) then delete it.

Just because you're providing a forum for people to comment doesn't mean you have to let them say anything they want. It's your comment board, and you have control of it for that reason.

 

[DG Hear]

My comments, votes and reads are slowing down, but I did receive a bunch so far.
votes 620 reads/views 14827 comments 19

Funny after I posted this I received 4 new votes totaling 12 pts. Knocked my avg. down. I guess it goes with letting people know my totals. Anyway, that was this morning. I just checked and I had a minor sweep that took away 5 votes and put my average back to where it was.

Damn, this is fun. I do wish the best to all you serious writers. For me, it's all mostly for fun.
With respect (for all who write stories)
DG Hear

 

[PrincessErin]

.....

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Under normal circumstances I toss out any comment by an illiterate goob who doesn't know which end of his elementary canal to feed. Technical criticism I accept gracefully. Nastiness I don't do or tolerate.

 

[Boxlicker101]

Under normal circumstances I toss out any comment by an illiterate goob who doesn't know which end of his elementary canal to feed. Technical criticism I accept gracefully. Nastiness I don't do or tolerate.

What's an "elementary canal?

 

[voluptuary_manque]

What's an "elementary canal?

a typo? How about alimentary canal?

 

[MarlowBunny]

I know the response from some will be "you need to have a thick skin" etc. etc. but I know it hurts when you put time into your work. I think because the site is free people expect the absolute best and because they didn't pay they can say what they want.
I read your stories. I liked them. Is that enough? hehe

Thank you. I'm glad you liked the stories. I'm trying to evolve as a writer. My recent interests have been improving dialog, studying personality types, and forging more intricate plots. I have only been posting here since last Summer, and I see lots of progress in my own work during that time.

Unfortunately, many of the stories that I think show the most improvement are the lowest rated. I'm suspicious that I am not yet a good judge of my own success or failure. Therefore, I value the opinions of others (perhaps more than I otherwise would).

I am particularly confused about "The Spirit of the Glen." I think (thought) it was my best work with regard to dialog and plot. It is currently the lowest rated story I have written, and it has produced some very emotional feedback and PMs. Sigh...

I appreciate any constructive feedback that all of you provide.

 

[MatthewVett]

Thank you. I'm glad you liked the stories. I'm trying to evolve as a writer. My recent interests have been improving dialog, studying personality types, and forging more intricate plots. I have only been posting here since last Summer, and I see lots of progress in my own work during that time.

Unfortunately, many of the stories that I think show the most improvement are the lowest rated. I'm suspicious that I am not yet a good judge of my own success or failure. Therefore, I value the opinions of others (perhaps more than I otherwise would).

I am particularly confused about "The Spirit of the Glen." I think (thought) it was my best work with regard to dialog and plot. It is currently the lowest rated story I have written, and it has produced some very emotional feedback and PMs. Sigh...

I appreciate any constructive feedback that all of you provide.

Well just remember that the readers here aren't very objective. A lot depends on your category and the preconceptions that readers have when they start reading. I sometimes have author's notes at the beginning of stories to help explain a bit. I think they help. My best rated stories tend to be those I have author's notes for, possibly because I help set expectations at the beginning. People who don't want it leave, people who are willing to try it stay.

And it's great you're trying to better yourself! Always experiment with new stuff!

 

[Bestroika]

I feel bad because I haven't been able to make it through everyone's stories yet, but it has been a cray week at my house. I really wish everyone a ton of luck and if I haven't had time to read your story, I do apologize.

MarlowBunny, do not let people's commentary discourage you. I know it is hard sometimes. I too have had a few hard hits to the chin in the last week since the story went up. But really, you have to pick yourself up off the floor, dust yourself off, and sally forth. I am sorry though, that you've gotten commentary that could hurt you like that.

 

[Darkniciad]

Tracking time

3 new stories bring the total up to 40.

Average score is now 4.17, and the median is 4.16.

Total of 5812 votes with an average of 157 and a median of 64.

Total of 502,911 views with an average of 13,590 and a median of 7,096

Contest stories have accumulated 87 favorites and 279 comments.

We're over the half million mark on views

If this child of mine will wind down, I might just get the chance to finish the sex in mine and have it done, ready to sit for a day or two and simmer.

 

[MarlowBunny]

Thank you Bestroika, LiquidMatthew, voluptuary_manque, PrincessErin, Darkniciad, LettersFromTatyana, and everybody else.

I'm sorry to vent. I am thickening my skin. I just have a hard time imagining why someone would invest the time to tell me to call me a "Funcking buzkill" or write "This story sucked." I would think that if the story sucked, they would move on or vote low and move on. Not related to this contest, one of my all time "favorite" comments was "I am worse than her for taking the time when I could have been dropping bricks off of freeway bridges on cars to read this story."

I'm in the mood to laugh about it now.