I've noticed in all kinds of cultural activity that artists/writers/musicians etc, are often most proud of works that are not generally considered their greatest.
Now I've discovered this happening to me; stories that I felt most proud of on publication can pass relatively unnoticed, while ones that I wrote on a whim for fun might be awarded a Recommended Read or prove more popular than I would have thought.
Do other authors have similar experiences? What stories are you most proud of, and did the response match your pride? Or have you published stories here where you're totally mystified by the esteem in which they're held?
Almost always. Many of my personal favorites are some that scored lowest, or were not as well acclaimed by the readers. I feel it's because the story may have been more personalized in m mind than I actually succeeded to to do with the reader. Whatever the cause. I think it happens to most writers eventually.
I feel the same way. It's happened to me quite a bit.
I think the category of the story also matters. I think that if your work that you're proud of is in a category that doesn't get as much attention (e.g., trans), it may also suffer in terms of views, votes, and comments.
Doesn't explain the RR issue though. Maybe sometimes it's easy to "overwrite" a story you think is really good. RR, however, do seem a bit random given the nature of the "which moderator happened to get to it in what mood" of the way they are awarded, if I understand the system correctly. A couple of my RRs make sense to me. A couple of others don't as much, bc like you I think a lot of my other work is better.
The same thing here. I have written stories that I was sure were going to be hits and they just sit there, while others that I whipped out easily have shot to the top. I can never seem to predict which ones will be "best sellers" and which ones will sit on the shelves. So I just write them and I'm happy that they get read at all! LOL!
I'm certain that it happens to all of us — stories of which we took greater care often failing to attract a high score, or even appreciative comments whilst others which we dashed off seeming to fare much better.
I agree about categories, and also about RRs, which depend on the degree of sympathy of the particular moderator to what we have written as well as their mood on the day.
In the end what really matters is how we feel about the story, the rest is just personal vanity.
another thought I had is that maybe the stories that mean the most to us, the ones that perhaps in our minds are the most meaningful and even "literarily excellent," may be missing a spark of fun that the "ooh! I have a really hot idea that I have to get down and write in one sitting" stories have. And readers may well respond to the latter kind very positively.
This could almost be an axiom for writers and artists in general. It mystifies me what is going to be popular. Fifty Shades of Grey, for example. WTF?? I can aim for popularity, like I did with Arianrhod, and come close to the mark, but I consider it far from my best work, which often goes un-noticed. I find it curious that my most recent stories have all received RR's and an EP, but my earlier stuff, which I consider every bit as good (or better!) was completely ignored for critical acclaim. Does it mean that I'm pandering now when I write, and before I was just writing to please myself? Scary thought, artistically speaking. Or... is "art" truly just whatever panders to popular taste?
I think many of my poems don't get a lot of response , only because I don't muddy the waters with four letter words.
I have written some stories that do really well and I don't think they are that great. Other times, I written some things that are just quick little stories that have the best results. There are definitely categories that do really well here.
I think the worst categories are love stories, mature and straight sex. I find those are the worst categories on most sites that don't do very well at all.
Cuckold and Taboo are very hot categories.
I do think that if you have a fan base and your stories generate views you will get your stories read.
Hugs,
Mysteria
xo
What a great question!
I'm new to this writing thing, and sometimes the words just flow from my mind through my fingertips to the screen. Most of those stories seem to get the best response.
When I struggle with a project, put it away, then come back to it, I don't seem to have as much positive feedback. Even if I feel I've solved the issues I was wrestling with.
Ketchup on eggs is just gross. Salsa on the other hand, yummy.
G
When I started submitting in the summer I was cranking out on average a story per week. Some seemed to gain some attention, and others were mostly ignored. But I enjoyed writing all of them. I'm probably my own biggest fan.
Post-avant-retro-demelodicized-electro-yodel-core is my jam.
I usually can't predict which of my stories will receive the most critical acceptance. I've had seven stories that received Editor's Pick awards but certainly could not predict that beforehand on any of them. I often do have a better idea of which ones will receive the most views/reads. The category you're writing in has a lot to do with that. Some categories are much more popular than others.
I've written a couple of stories in the Humor category and know beforehand that they will not receive near as many views as my other stories. But I may have had more fun writing those two stories than any others.
I've also found score is not a great indication of how good my story is or any story here for that matter.
When I first started writing here I was just telling stories. Since I've been here I've learned to write and each time I do I push myself hard to get even better. One reason I started writing was to conquer my dyslexia. I know I have a long way to go to become the writer I aim to be.
And writing is also kind of like sex, just pleasing yourself all the time is masturbation, once you learn to make love with words you are pleasing others.
I don't try to predict the response.
I wrote Sandcastles as a quick story for someone I care about a lot, just hoping to make her week better. I didn't actually expect it to be well liked by anyone else. When it received an Editor's pick I was very surprised that it was that highly regarded.
I wrote Syncopation (with Milik) to try something different. I really enjoyed it and am proud of the story. Sadly, very few people read it.
Some are easy to predict what will be popular: raunchy fun stories always are popular with the masses. Somehow, they seem the least interesting to write.
Yeah, me too. Special Assistance and Respite are probably the stories I'm most proud of, but in terms of reads, they're nestled in the back of the herd. My two most popular stories, Sleeping Over and Naughty Girl, aren't my best effort and don't have the critical recognition of Recommended Reads.
I thought categories might have something to do with it, and maybe to some extent that's true. But a very clever friend recently pointed out to me that the title probably has something to do with the popularity of a story. I'll test that out with my next few stories and see what happens.
My latest story is a racy little piece about what happens when someone cute from work invites you over to watch Netflix and Chill. A true artist's work comes from the heart (or the head) and they don't give a flying fuck about the public's opinion of it. Many of the worlds great artists did not gain recognition while they were alive, receiving no personal gain, from their work. That being said, public praise and acceptance are important as well. We all, secretly or otherwise, like being praised for what we do, and, we gravitate towards that end. There are two schools of thought on the subject: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" and "You will never grow in your craft without going outside your comfort zone." Does that mean, we should pander to the public? Only if you need to sell, and that is a personal decision.
As for me, I have found that those of my works that I like best, have been, for the most part, well received, but do not necessarily have the highest grades.
I kind of know what the OP is saying. I certainly have a couple favorites among my stories that don't seem to get much love from others ("The Professor" has a, to me, surprisingly low score and view count). And a couple of my RRs were unexpected. I thought the stories were good and I liked them, but I did not think they were THAT good (but, happily, other mods thought otherwise). OTOH, a couple of my successes were entirely expected; stories I liked that others did, too (e.g. "Summer Storm", my latest).
I am a real rookie (2 stories) but have discovered this already. Submitted my very best story - ignored. Knocked something simple out and submitted half heartedly - nice comments. I have a hobby artist friend who actually makes money from his art. This is unheard of. He paints quaint country cottages and churches and sells them in minutes. He regards them as boring rubbish but it pays for all his materials for the stuff he likes.
This gives me something to think about when my stories just sit there. I'll remember why I write to begin with when something isn't as well received as I thought it might be. Just because I think it's great doesn't mean anyone else will. Thanks!
