Hmmmmm

[Just-Legal]

Well, I posted my first poem. It got a vote.

It got a TWO vote.

Least it wasn't a one!

*considers pulling it and re-writing*

Opinions please!

 

[destinie21]

don't worry JL not to many people vote on poetry also some that do flame it just because it is poetry. I have many poems up none of them has a great votes but everyone whose given feedback here and in in the poetry f/d has enjoyed it.

The one thing I will say is I don't write my poems for anyone but me.

my poetry and stories

and a thread devoted almost entirely to my rants
Vent

 

[MathGirl]

The one thing I will say is I don't write my poems for anyone but me.
my poetry and stories
and a thread devoted almost entirely to my rants
Vent

Dear Destinie,
Could you possibly give us a link to a website?
MG

 

[Jenny _S]

Well, I posted my first poem. It got a vote.

It got a TWO vote.

Least it wasn't a one!

*considers pulling it and re-writing*

Opinions please!

Don't be discouraged, Just-Legal
Write for yourself. Fuck them.

I read your poem. It was good. It was not erotic and that is always a tough catagory. But you still did good.

 

[Icingsugar]

From what I've understood, if you write anything non-erotic, a big blob of pepole will just not get it.

Fuck 'em.

/Ice

 

[kiwiwolf]

JL, I just read your poem and in my humble opinion it was well written. It is full of real feeling and something I think a lot of us can relate to.

I hope you don't pull it. You were obviously happy with it or you wouldn't have posted it. Write for you. Post what makes you happy. It doesn't matter what you write, you are never going to satisfy everyone, so satisfy yourself.

I voted as I felt.

 

[damppanties]

Well, I posted my first poem. It got a vote.

It got a TWO vote.

Least it wasn't a one!

*considers pulling it and re-writing*

Opinions please!

I posted a poem. It got a vote.

After nine months of being there.


Your poem was good. Of course you can rewrite if you think you can make it better.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

In general:

In poetry, votes don't work exactly like in stories. I, and most every regular on the Poetry Feedback and Discussion forum, regularly vote 1s and 2s, and it's not flaming. It's simply an accurate reflection of what we think of the poem. Most poems will get a 3, only a really amazing poem will get a 5. Being erotic or non-erotic really has nothing to do with it, and if it does, it usually works the other way around: some erotic "poets" think erotic means having the words cock, cunt and fuck thrown in there somewhere, describing a mild spanking, and that's it. "Poetry". A lot of 1s come by that way. Over half of the poems on the site are non-erotic, 14 of the 20 top rated poems are non-erotic.


Your poem
Shattered:

In average, I would say that there are about 10-15 new poems posted every day. On the day you posted yours, though, there were 36. That might account for something, w/r to the low number of votes. Bad luck, I'd say.

In the poetry board we have a thread (new poems) where, everyday, someone who has read all the new poems posted that day will make reading recommendations, direct the attention of the regulars and whoever else is lurking to a particular set of poems. On that particular day, I was it. I remember reading your poem and hesitating if I should mention it or not. I ended up not doing it, and I'm sorry if that caused your poem to be less read. The truth is that while I didn't think it was a bad poem--it isn't--I also didn't think it rose above the rest, that day. The content isn't the epitome of originality, some rhymes are forced, the metre is non-existent, the structure isn't nearly as tight as it could be. Still, I think it was one of the best 5 poems posted that day, out of the 36. There was only one poem I truly thought deserved a 5 (perky_baby's Dram of Dreams), and one other that I voted 4. Yours was clearly a 3+, which isn't bad.

I wouldn't pull it, but maybe you could rewrite it (you can always rewrite) and submit an edit. Or you could start a thread in the board and workshop it with the regulars. It only hurts for a little bit, and it will usually be worth it. And keep on writing.

 

[oggbashan]

There is more bad poetry out in the real world than good.

Every parish magazine, club journal, pensioners' newsletter etc. gets swamped with poetry.

Even I have written and posted "poetry" on this site. I prefer to describe my work as doggerel.

Under another name I am the moderator of a Yahoo Poetry Group.
I have to think of a whole range of synonyms for "This is crap".

In my opinion a good poem should leave the reader thinking "I never saw/thought that before". That is very hard to achieve even if all the technical details are correct.

Og

 

[Angeline]

You wouldn't give a 5 to a story you think is vague or repetitive or full of errors, would you? Would you give it to such a story if its author told you "Well *I* think it's good because *I* know what I mean"? Of course you wouldn't. Poetry is no different from any other genre--all writing needs, at minimun, to be able to be understood and beyond that to draw the reader in and move him or her on some way. That is my criteria for voting--I'll give a high score to a poem that goes beyond simply communicating and does something exciting and/or unique.

Bear in mind though that people vote for all sorts of reasons, most of which have little bearing on the intrinsic worth of your writing. Your 2 might be the product of the voter not liking your profile, or wanting his girlfriend's poem to be rated higher, or some equally silly reason. I think a far better picture of what readers think of your poem comes from feedback. Even negative feedback is instructive.

Of course if you are only writing to please yourself, then it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.

 

[snooper]

In general:

In poetry, votes don't work exactly like in stories. I, and most every regular on the Poetry Feedback and Discussion forum, regularly vote 1s and 2s, and it's not flaming. It's simply an accurate reflection of what we think of the poem. Most poems will get a 3, only a really amazing poem will get a 5. ...

Isn't that what stories are supposed to get? A scale of 1 to 5 should be:
1 - bad
2 - poor
3 - average
4 - good
5 - excellent.

Judging from the reaction of writers on this forum they regard it as:
1 - jealousy
2 - doesn't happen
3 - atrocious
4 - bad
5 - average or better.

If voters could agree that a story starts as a 3 and gains or loses points as you read it, then the votes might mean something, but the majority of stories have scores of 4 or more, which indicates to me that this board is either a repository for far better than average writers, or that the voting system is not working in any rational manner.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

...this board is either a repository for far better than average writers...

I can only speak for myself.

 

[MlledeLaPlumeBleu]

Ahem.

 

[MathGirl]

Ahem.

Hurrraaccckkkkkk. Ptui.

 

[Angeline]

If voters could agree that a story starts as a 3 and gains or loses points as you read it, then the votes might mean something, but the majority of stories have scores of 4 or more, which indicates to me that this board is either a repository for far better than average writers, or that the voting system is not working in any rational manner.

What Lauren said.

Gains or loses points on what basis? And starting at 3 to me is the equivalent of social promotion or what used to be called the "gentleman's C," meaning that "civilized" people don't make anyone fail. It would be easier to just have a three-point scale instead of five. Better yet, imo, get rid of the numbers period and let people get feedback here and via email. But the system still won't work rationally because it's all muckied up with irrational humans.

 

[Seattle Zack]

I... a story starts as a 3 and gains or loses points as you read it, then the votes might mean something, but the majority of stories have scores of 4 or more, which indicates to me that this board is either a repository for far better than average writers, or that the voting system is not working in any rational manner.

If I read a story that's terrible I just back out, don't bother to vote and give it a 1 or 2. If I make it all the way to the little voting block without hitting the "back" button, then by my standards it's at least an average story.... I think many readers feel the same way.

Perhaps that might explain the preponderance of scores in the 3-5 range.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Ahem.

Oh yeah. Her too.

 

[raphy]

Most people wouldn't know good poetry if it bit them on the ass. (like me - I can't judge poetry at all, so I don't read it)

So don't sweat it. Poetry votes are even more arbitrary than story votes.

 

[Chicklet]

Well, I posted my first poem. It got a vote.

It got a TWO vote.

Least it wasn't a one!

*considers pulling it and re-writing*

Opinions please!

hey babe,

you wanna feel better, check out the votes on my poetry <wink>

 

[snooper]

... Gains or loses points on what basis? ...

The idea is that an average story is a 3. Before you start to read a story, you don't know if it's above or below average.

I would deduct points for (among other things) a story which:
A) is boring,
B) need spell checking,
C) needs grammar checking,
D) is repetitive,
E) lacks consistency (eg characters' names change)
F) lacks adequate characterisation.

I would add points for (among other things) a story which:
A) keeps me reading,
B) makes me want to know more about the characters,
C) makes me look forward to other stories by the same author,
D) describes people and places so that I feel I know them,
E) arouses my flagging sexual interest.