New Scoring Standard

[AMoveableBeast]

I freely admit to being a work in progress writer (mind the construction please) so feel just as free to score my stories as you will. From 1 to 5, good or bad as you feel I deserve.

I will accept all criticisms of my ability to write, tell a story, or to entertain with words. Point out mistakes to me and I will try to fix them in future stories.

I also promise that if such criticism is delivered in a polite fashion I will respond with a thank you.

And then I will keep writing.

Ms., your writing, which is quite good and much to my liking, suffers from/revels in a certain discomforting darkness. Nothing drives down scores like being daring or different. The highest scores on this site are, generally, granted not purely to the most well-written, but also to those that stick to a certain inoffensive class of storytelling.

 

[sr71plt]

I don't think much of James Joyce. But then I don't think much of JBJ thinking he can set standards for anything around here much, either.

 

[lovecraft68]

Ms., your writing, which is quite good and much to my liking, suffers from/revels in a certain discomforting darkness. Nothing drives down scores like being daring or different. The highest scores on this site are, generally, granted not purely to the most well-written, but also to those that stick to a certain inoffensive class of storytelling.

Very true. If I'm in the mood to just write something hot and fun and "basic" I do very well.

In other works-The SWB series in particular-and I go off the beaten path and go with some harsh grim themes its not as well received.

Tropes are popular for a reason and there is a large portion of readership who can read the same story over and over(not exactly same story, I'm talking plot and theme)

There are countless incest stories based on the simple premise of mom/sis/daughter sees son/bro/dad jerking off, becomes enamored with their cock and fucks them they will always do well.

My lowest scoring mother son story is one that deals with the father being an alcoholic and a verbally abusive one and shows it during the story, the son also has some sad recollections of the past. But a fun frivolous mom son romp? High scores all around.

Lit has become just fun for me. My darker stuff is now just being published for sale and I post fluffier stuff here.

 

[AMoveableBeast]

I don't think much of James Joyce. But then I don't think much of JBJ thinking he can set standards for anything around here much, either.

Joyce is an interesting writer. He is that strangest combination of a genius--I don't use that word much--and a barbarian. He is like the Marquis de Sade, writing with shit, but somehow making it sexy.

 

[AMoveableBeast]

Very true. If I'm in the mood to just write something hot and fun and "basic" I do very well.

In other works-The SWB series in particular-and I go off the beaten path and go with some harsh grim themes its not as well received.

Tropes are popular for a reason and there is a large portion of readership who can read the same story over and over(not exactly same story, I'm talking plot and theme)

There are countless incest stories based on the simple premise of mom/sis/daughter sees son/bro/dad jerking off, becomes enamored with their cock and fucks them they will always do well.

My lowest scoring mother son story is one that deals with the father being an alcoholic and a verbally abusive one and shows it during the story, the son also has some sad recollections of the past. But a fun frivolous mom son romp? High scores all around.

Lit has become just fun for me. My darker stuff is now just being published for sale and I post fluffier stuff here.

Personally, I much prefer depth. Then again, I don't read erotic in an effort to "scratch an itch" as so many do. I do it to explore, to discover, to learn, to be bolstered and disquieted in turn, which is the same reason I read anything. I just sometimes do it one-handed in this case.

 

[sr71plt]

Joyce is an interesting writer. He is that strangest combination of a genius--I don't use that word much--and a barbarian. He is like the Marquis de Sade, writing with shit, but somehow making it sexy.

I never bothered to read him further than a couple of paragraphs. Didn't give me the impression he was reading to connect with readers at all. There are so many good writers than I don't have to do extra work to try to understand and appreciate him.

 

[lovecraft68]

Joyce is an interesting writer. He is that strangest combination of a genius--I don't use that word much--and a barbarian. He is like the Marquis de Sade, writing with shit, but somehow making it sexy.

I've read Joyce and of course 120 days of Sodom.

Both are acquired tastes. 120 days was too over the top at points to be considered anything but the equivalent to the "Gore fest" 80's horror movies. But at other points so far ahead of his time and just so wrong it was.....right.

 

[AMoveableBeast]

I never bothered to read him further than a couple of paragraphs. Didn't give me the impression he was reading to connect with readers at all. There are so many good writers than I don't have to do extra work to try to understand and appreciate him.

It's funny, Joyce has a reputation--well deserved in some cases, as in Fenigan's Wake--as being somewhat of an inaccessible writer, difficult and esoteric. In truth, the man is a vulgar savage with plebeian tendencies and a deep love of profanity. He's like a one-eyed Irish Bukowski.

 

[SikFuk]

.... The highest scores on this site are, generally, granted not purely to the most well-written, but also to those that stick to a certain inoffensive class of storytelling.

The other day I ran across a Red H story which kept flipping from present tense to past tense, not because of a POV change but because the writer didn't know any better. If a story that poorly written can get a 4.5 while something memorable and interesting can't score about a 4, it does render the Red H sort of meaningless - unless one aspires to be the Brittney Spears of porn writing.

 

[lovecraft68]

The other day I ran across a Red H story which kept flipping from present tense to past tense, not because of a POV change but because the writer didn't know any better. If a story that poorly written can get a 4.5 while something memorable and interesting can't score about a 4, it does render the Red H sort of meaningless - unless one aspires to be the Brittney Spears of porn writing.

Many people read here to get off. If the story gets them off or does it for them they give it a 5.

The people here who like some depth with the smut and an actual storyline won't just dole out 5's.

Many authors have come to consider those writers trolls. Because how can you not a give a 5 to a story where a brother and sister are fucking for no reason in paragraph two of a 2000k "story"?

 

[laptopwriter]

I can only remember giving one person a one...

and that was because he just pissed me off. I felt bad afterward because it really was a decently written story but that was partly why I was so ticked.

I like several of the genres but LW is my favorite. I am not into willing cuckold stories, however. Not at all. I not a, (as the say) burn the bitch guy either. I simply like a well thought out, well written piece.

I thought I was reading just such a story. If I remember correctly, it was 5 or 6 pages long. It described a man suspicious of his wife. He went through great lengths to discover the truth about whether or not she was cheating on him. It was well done and the methods he used to uncover the truth were plausible. At the very end of the story he followed his wife to a remote hide-a-way and watched as she went inside. He waited a few minutes before approaching a window and looked inside. There was wife having sex with his best friend, so...he took out his dick and masturbated while watching them!

There was absolutely no indication that he would enjoy watching his wife with another man, if fact quite the opposite was true at several points in the story. I guess the author thought of it as a twist but it pissed me off to no end and I gave the SOB 1 star.

Other than that one story, I always try to rate a story on it's merits. Seldom do I give a story less than 3*s because I feel almost any effort is due that.

 

[Swilly]

I recognize that this is a (mostly) amateur site, so I don't hold writers accountable to a standard as if they were seasoned professional writers.

If something that is barely coherent makes its way onto the site and I start reading it, I'm more likely to move on and won't rate it. It's unlikely that I'll rate something below a three. A good story with a lot of grammatical errors might get a three from me, assuming it is coherent enough. A bad story with no errors might not even get rated. By bad, I mean poorly thought out, doesn't make sense, logical errors that essentially ruin the story. If I just don't like how the story turns out or the subject matter, I won't penalize an author for that. I guess I rate based upon how well done a story is, not how well I liked it.

I wish there was, as someone else here indicated, a plus to go with a five. My biggest issue is with the four and five rating. There are really well done stories that I'd rate a five, but then you come across that one where the writing is far superior to nearly anything else out here. What do you do with that? They deserve that plus. If I rate the latter story a four, then it falls below the H tag, but it deserves it in my opinion. If I rate it a five, then I have no way of highlighting the truly exceptional story.

 

[StrangeLife]

Ms., your writing, which is quite good and much to my liking, suffers from/revels in a certain discomforting darkness. Nothing drives down scores like being daring or different...

I will take this to heart as well. I don't really suck - I am just "daring or different." Thanks beast. You just made my day


Hmm, now where can I get that printed on a T-shirt...

 

[AMoveableBeast]

I will take this to heart as well. I don't really suck - I am just "daring or different." Thanks beast. You just made my day


Hmm, now where can I get that printed on a T-shirt...

Void where prohibited. Participation may vary.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I recognize that this is a (mostly) amateur site, so I don't hold writers accountable to a standard as if they were seasoned professional writers.

If something that is barely coherent makes its way onto the site and I start reading it, I'm more likely to move on and won't rate it. It's unlikely that I'll rate something below a three. A good story with a lot of grammatical errors might get a three from me, assuming it is coherent enough. A bad story with no errors might not even get rated. By bad, I mean poorly thought out, doesn't make sense, logical errors that essentially ruin the story. If I just don't like how the story turns out or the subject matter, I won't penalize an author for that. I guess I rate based upon how well done a story is, not how well I liked it.

I wish there was, as someone else here indicated, a plus to go with a five. My biggest issue is with the four and five rating. There are really well done stories that I'd rate a five, but then you come across that one where the writing is far superior to nearly anything else out here. What do you do with that? They deserve that plus. If I rate the latter story a four, then it falls below the H tag, but it deserves it in my opinion. If I rate it a five, then I have no way of highlighting the truly exceptional story.

I been thinking about something like a DISTINGUISHED MERIT AWARD, and call it PILOT'S OWN. 'When nuthin else comes near, it must be PILOTS OWN."

 

[sr71plt]

I wish there was, as someone else here indicated, a plus to go with a five. My biggest issue is with the four and five rating. There are really well done stories that I'd rate a five, but then you come across that one where the writing is far superior to nearly anything else out here. What do you do with that? They deserve that plus. If I rate the latter story a four, then it falls below the H tag, but it deserves it in my opinion. If I rate it a five, then I have no way of highlighting the truly exceptional story.

Yes, to note that you think a story should get the routinely lift above the pile for notice here (the 4.50 red H), you have to go all the way and rate it a 5. If you rate anything else, you are saying it deserves to be sunk in the "and all the rest" pile. For years some of us have asked for two levels of hot to be awarded--one symbol for 4.50 above and one for 4.00 and above (or maybe 4.25), because the system here also gives the power for one detractor to negate seven 5 raters for the red H distinction.

 

[AMoveableBeast]

Yes, to note that you think a story should get the routinely lift above the pile for notice here (the 4.50 red H), you have to go all the way and rate it a 5. If you rate anything else, you are saying it deserves to be sunk in the "and all the rest" pile. For years some of us have asked for two levels of hot to be awarded--one symbol for 4.50 above and one for 4.00 and above (or maybe 4.25), because the system here also gives the power for one detractor to negate seven 5 raters for the red H distinction.

I've never been a fan of the five point rating system, in general, because of this. A ten point, or even a percentage scale, would work much better to adequately differentiate.

 

[SikFuk]

...I wish there was, as someone else here indicated, a plus to go with a five.....

I'd suggest a nomination system, sending stories to a panel for further review. Stories approved by the panel could receive a Green E, or a purple P, or - the horror - a Gold Star. To finance this operation, aspiring writers could pay a paypal fee to make a story eligible for consideration (after it's been nominated). The panel members could be reimbursed for their time, and the panel could weed out the crap writers padding the nomination process with their alts. The chances of this happening are slim to none, but we can dream, right?

 

[lovecraft68]

Good discussion.

However we are dealing with an ownership that now has to be prodded and reminded to start contests. There is no shot they would revamp the entire scoring system

 

[MSTarot]

Ms., your writing, which is quite good and much to my liking, suffers from/revels in a certain discomforting darkness. Nothing drives down scores like being daring or different. The highest scores on this site are, generally, granted not purely to the most well-written, but also to those that stick to a certain inoffensive class of storytelling.

I like to write the whole spectrum from light to dark, and yes I guess I do tend to revel in the darker side.

It's the story for me. I have a story. I want to tell that story. if it slips towards the dark or the light I don't try to keep it in the middle.