mel_pomene
Virgin
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2011
- Posts
- 1
This is the first time I have ever used the Forum, so please forgive me for any errors of etiquette I may have inadvertantly broken. I also realise that this may not be exactly the right place for my piece, and any advice would be appreciated as to using the Forum itself.
I submitted this in the Essays category and was advised it would be more suited to the Forum; consequently, I have had to make some minor changes, but I hope it still reads well enough.
We are very fortunate to have, in Literotica, a site that tries, and usually succeeds, to bring a wide variety of erotic fiction to a great many people, readers and writers alike. Although not the only site of its type, I would opine that few others come close to carrying the sheer amount of material as Literotica itself.
Normally, most things are conducted in a reasonable way; criticisms are given and taken, usually in a spirit of comradeship, which only makes the occasional, incipient 'flame war' all the more unpleasant.
It isn't easy to be a writer, let alone a good one, and those who do write on sites like Literotica do so for little more reward than seeing their copy published and the hope of attracting an appreciative comment or a score of three or more stars. Sometimes, an author will have some difficulty in presenting his or her work to its best advantage, particularly those new to the site. It is much easier to pass a careless and destructive opinion on a story, or even worse an author, that is often immediately realised.
To say something along the lines of 'This is garbage' doesn't help the author to know why the commenter has this opinion, or to help him or her to improve their next story -- if, indeed, he/she comes back with another story after receiving such short shrift this time around. Everyone loses -- not good.
I am not advocating awarding scores of five stars for every story that is published, or for having only the most glowing words of praise for every story written. What I would ask is that the author is criticised for the faults of this individual story, rather than because a reader doesn't like reading copy in a particular genre. Time and time again, we find that stories refuse to 'fit in' to the categories allowed by Literotica, and there are categories that only the boldest would try their hand in; I am sure you can think of one such without even trying!
I have often thought that submissions should, in some way, reflect the opinions of authors, rather than non-writing readers, possibly by having to submit two considered critiques for each story they submit for publication. This, obviously, is a matter for the owners and moderators of the site, but it would help level the playing field.
Similarly, although every author is proud of his/her 'baby', some of them will be found lacking some element or another, something that would make the story a better one.
The author checks constantly to see whether or not his/her story has been accepted and published, eager to read what others have to say -- that is simply human nature. Often, the comments received will be less friendly than the author feels the story deserves. Again, it is natural to want to kick and screamm, to shout at your monitor that this is all so unfair; your work deserves better than this.
Perhaps this isn't the best time to try to take in what has been said; it certainly isn't the time to write hasty and vitriolic replies in anger. If the critic has made some suggestions, maybe something about grammar, spelling (that is a perennial problem, with US and UK English battling on an almost daily basis) or punctuation (see the parenthesised comment above!), try to accept what is being said. If it IS just, 'this is cr*p', then by all means feel free to disregard any such comment. It is even less productive to remove comments that the writer does not like as it is to make sweeping comments of the kind I have mentioned above; again, this way, we all lose out.
The essential thing, in my opinion, is not to make closed comments -- or, from the author's POV, to close your mind to adverse comments on your story. We all want the stories we write and read to be the best we can make them, working together. Surely, it is far better to point out perceived inadequacies in a story that to dismiss the entire thing as being unfit to publish.
To this end, as well, I honestly fail to see why anyone would put him/herself through the discomfort of reading a story the know they aren't going to enjoy, merely to have the dubious pleasure of publicly trashing it. Ther are categories I feel will not appeal to me, so I leave them alone; others will undoubtedly feel the same about those categories that do appeal to me.
As I said in the opening of the third paragraph of this post, I know how difficult it is to write. I have had the privilege of working with two fine Volunteer Editors, both of whom have tried their very best to make my work readable but I remain unpublished, unable to summon up the courage to post my work; in some respects, we have to be our own sternest critic, and I realise I am not a writer. I do not, however, accept that not being a writer renders my opinions invalid or, indeed, irrelevant.
I also hope I would never attempt to remove comments, and, no matter how badly 'stung' I felt by a harsh criticism, to justify my copy by saying something such as, 'Well, you haven't had anything published, so how would you know if it is good or not?'
This kind of site isn't primarily a competition; I know that competitions are held, and for those who relish such things, they can be an inspiration. Others just have a tale to tell to the best of their ability. It would be nice to think that everyone felt similarly.
In short, I believe a little more give and take in what we give and take would be of benefit to us all.
mel_pomene
I submitted this in the Essays category and was advised it would be more suited to the Forum; consequently, I have had to make some minor changes, but I hope it still reads well enough.
We are very fortunate to have, in Literotica, a site that tries, and usually succeeds, to bring a wide variety of erotic fiction to a great many people, readers and writers alike. Although not the only site of its type, I would opine that few others come close to carrying the sheer amount of material as Literotica itself.
Normally, most things are conducted in a reasonable way; criticisms are given and taken, usually in a spirit of comradeship, which only makes the occasional, incipient 'flame war' all the more unpleasant.
It isn't easy to be a writer, let alone a good one, and those who do write on sites like Literotica do so for little more reward than seeing their copy published and the hope of attracting an appreciative comment or a score of three or more stars. Sometimes, an author will have some difficulty in presenting his or her work to its best advantage, particularly those new to the site. It is much easier to pass a careless and destructive opinion on a story, or even worse an author, that is often immediately realised.
To say something along the lines of 'This is garbage' doesn't help the author to know why the commenter has this opinion, or to help him or her to improve their next story -- if, indeed, he/she comes back with another story after receiving such short shrift this time around. Everyone loses -- not good.
I am not advocating awarding scores of five stars for every story that is published, or for having only the most glowing words of praise for every story written. What I would ask is that the author is criticised for the faults of this individual story, rather than because a reader doesn't like reading copy in a particular genre. Time and time again, we find that stories refuse to 'fit in' to the categories allowed by Literotica, and there are categories that only the boldest would try their hand in; I am sure you can think of one such without even trying!
I have often thought that submissions should, in some way, reflect the opinions of authors, rather than non-writing readers, possibly by having to submit two considered critiques for each story they submit for publication. This, obviously, is a matter for the owners and moderators of the site, but it would help level the playing field.
Similarly, although every author is proud of his/her 'baby', some of them will be found lacking some element or another, something that would make the story a better one.
The author checks constantly to see whether or not his/her story has been accepted and published, eager to read what others have to say -- that is simply human nature. Often, the comments received will be less friendly than the author feels the story deserves. Again, it is natural to want to kick and screamm, to shout at your monitor that this is all so unfair; your work deserves better than this.
Perhaps this isn't the best time to try to take in what has been said; it certainly isn't the time to write hasty and vitriolic replies in anger. If the critic has made some suggestions, maybe something about grammar, spelling (that is a perennial problem, with US and UK English battling on an almost daily basis) or punctuation (see the parenthesised comment above!), try to accept what is being said. If it IS just, 'this is cr*p', then by all means feel free to disregard any such comment. It is even less productive to remove comments that the writer does not like as it is to make sweeping comments of the kind I have mentioned above; again, this way, we all lose out.
The essential thing, in my opinion, is not to make closed comments -- or, from the author's POV, to close your mind to adverse comments on your story. We all want the stories we write and read to be the best we can make them, working together. Surely, it is far better to point out perceived inadequacies in a story that to dismiss the entire thing as being unfit to publish.
To this end, as well, I honestly fail to see why anyone would put him/herself through the discomfort of reading a story the know they aren't going to enjoy, merely to have the dubious pleasure of publicly trashing it. Ther are categories I feel will not appeal to me, so I leave them alone; others will undoubtedly feel the same about those categories that do appeal to me.
As I said in the opening of the third paragraph of this post, I know how difficult it is to write. I have had the privilege of working with two fine Volunteer Editors, both of whom have tried their very best to make my work readable but I remain unpublished, unable to summon up the courage to post my work; in some respects, we have to be our own sternest critic, and I realise I am not a writer. I do not, however, accept that not being a writer renders my opinions invalid or, indeed, irrelevant.
I also hope I would never attempt to remove comments, and, no matter how badly 'stung' I felt by a harsh criticism, to justify my copy by saying something such as, 'Well, you haven't had anything published, so how would you know if it is good or not?'
This kind of site isn't primarily a competition; I know that competitions are held, and for those who relish such things, they can be an inspiration. Others just have a tale to tell to the best of their ability. It would be nice to think that everyone felt similarly.
In short, I believe a little more give and take in what we give and take would be of benefit to us all.
mel_pomene
