Why do I have such a fixation on the Kudos and Total Views numbers?
That is a very good question when you consider that I’ve been saying for eons that there is absolutely no correlation between the quality of writing and these two numbers, for any given story.
The over-riding answer is this – I’ve seen too many new or impressionable writers turned off when their stories don’t receive high scores.
Supposedly, upon meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe -- Lincoln said about Uncle Tom's Cabin -- "So you're the woman who wrote that little book that started this great war."
A few months ago I read Uncle Tom's Cabin as part of my research to write a book about a transperson during the Civil War. I was shocked by the emotions elicited. It was frightening to think how the reader would have reacted in the 1800s.
In a few days I will post the final chapter for my mini-serial "The Womb of the Unknown Cheerleader."
A few days after that, I will unpublish the story. It is scheduled to form part of a Doppler Press book called "How You Play the Game." Rasufelle is putting the finishing touches on another enticing cover.
It will join over a dozen other books I've donated to BC. I take no part of the revenues generated.
Supposedly, readers get a great deal of enjoyment out of guessing what happens next. How will Emily react when Jacob tells her that she is trans? If the author has made that answer plausible in the story the reader will feel good about continuing. If the answer has been guessed correctly the reader pats herself on the back and reads on -- looking for more self-affirmation.
There has been much discussion about whether are not writing a synopsis is preferable to writing a complete story.
An unwritten contract does exist between the reader and the author.
A comment yesterday on one of my stories brought this home to me one more time.
A few years ago, I tried to write a story that would create a pile of revenue for Erin through Doppler Press. That effort failed. I have no interest in reading age regression/baby stories and shouldn’t have tried to write one. I donate my books to Erin and she receives 100% of the revenue. Unlike the other twelve of my books published by Doppler -- this one doesn’t sell much and received poor reviews.
Nearly thirty years ago, I accomplished something good that had me on the front page of statewide newspapers, repeatedly. Many, many good things happened for hundreds of thousands of people as a direct result of my efforts.
Then some bad people asked me to do some unlawful things, which I refused to do.
At the same time, other people wanted to make money they weren’t entitled to.
Thirty months into the project, I found myself accused by a state-wide elected official of malfeasance.
I just noticed that I have had no interaction with anyone listed under the column on the left called Who's Online.
In stark contrast, many of those listed on the right hand side under In Memoriam were people I had had a great deal of interaction with in comments or messages. I had edited stories for a number of them.
Nora Ephron said “Writers are cannibals. They really are. They are predators, and if you are friends with them, and if you say anything funny at dinner, or if anything good happens to you, you are in big trouble.”
In a sense, we do devour everything we see and regurgitate it, as needed.
I’m more curious about a different kind of cannibalizing. In marketing, be use that term when introducing a new product or service.
Will the new product help us gain market share. . .or will it simply cut into our current sales?
One of my favorite movies is the 1950s classic Friendly Persuasion – starring Gary Cooper. The entire movie is based on people trying to motivate the Quakers to take part in war. The movie dissects the ethical considerations for various members of one large family. (It also has a great theme song - Thee My Love by Pat Boone.)
She has often said that what she would really love to receive is financial stability for Big Closet.
There is a way you can help!
Almost everyone on this site lives hand-to-mouth. It was stated in a story on ABC News in May of 2019 that 40% of Americans have less than $400 in an emergency fund for unexpected expenses. That was pre-Covid. Clearly that number would be much worse today.
A few days ago, I posted a blog in which I whined horribly about petty grievances.
I announced, quite pathetically, that I was going to take my ball and go home.
Over the next few days, I received about three dozen comments, PMs, and emails. They were almost universally encouraging and sympathetic. Some rightly called me out for the shortcomings I displayed.
Embarrassingly, I can’t even claim that I had acted out of passion, because I wrote the blog and let it sit for a number of days before posting it.
In the mid 90s, I’d grown weary of the poorly written transgender stories I read on FM, Storysite, and other online locations.
My massive ego (more about that later) told me that I could write better stories. In college, I’d taken every writing course I could and wrote a humor column for the campus paper, along with sports articles.
I liked these reproductions so much that I built a one-third replica in my backyard as a playhouse for my boys who were six and ten at the time. The Civilian Conservation Corp built these repros in 1934.
Those of us who have been with Big Closet for over two decades have seen a lot of change. (I know my profile says I’ve only been here fifteen years, but that is because I left for a year when a reader said she was going to commit suicide because one of my stories made her feel so badly abut her life. She said the loving family I depicted in one of my stories was in stark contrast to hers.)
Okay. . .there was a huge vote for LGBT rights in the Supreme Court today. Much to the surprise of some, including me, the conservative packed court voted 6-3 to acknowledge gay rights.
I’m doing my happy dance.
There’s a blog about this that has drawn some comments. I would consider most of the people who have commented to be nice people I’ve enjoyed speaking with for years. Yet. . ..
I’ve left little doubt where I stand on most issues. I’m a liberal.
Yet. . .if Erin sees fit to take down that other blog, I’m not going to be upset.
Last November, I watched a documentary called The Game Changers. It convinced me to try a vegan diet, mainly due to the adverse impact the meat industry has on the environment. I'm not radical, in that I'll share an occasional hamburger with fries with my spouse, but for all practical purposes I'm eating a plant-based diet and enjoying it. I rarely eat the psuedo meat because it is so highly processed but live three blocks from a Burger King and will eat the occasional impossible-burger.
The riots are two miles from me in one direction and four miles in another direction.
If I hadn't been watching the coverage on TV nothing would seem amiss.
I don't condone the destruction but . . .. The county attorney who hasn't brought charges yet is a long time jerk. His dad was governor and Agri Sec in JFK's cabinet. These riots are on his hands.
Do NOT follow this link, if for some strange reason the president's actions surrounding his recommendation to do a scientific study of injecting bleach didn't bother you.
The other day I was feeling pretty good about myself. Admittedly that is a common occurrence as I'm almost as self-confident as our Fearless Leader, who has plenary power according to Mike Pence. Being a former altar boy myself I know that when Pence uses the word "plenary" he's calling on his Baltimore Catechism education to define "plenary" as absolute and unqualified.
What caused me to trip the light narcissistic was the ever growing number of hits on my old stories.
Imagine your over-served roommate, Teddy, announcing to that braying jackass in the bar, “You need a good slap.”
Now slur those words and add in five salient facts: 1.) Your roommate is built like a fireplug, 2.) he boxed Golden Gloves too many years, 3.) his face is right out of Guys and Dolls, 4.) his childhood would have shocked Dickens, and 5.) recently when his girlfriend had the gall to break up with him, he painted her car – with a broom and gallon of red enamel.
Over the years, I’ve made the statement many times that there is very little correlation between the quality of writing and the number of hits, quotes, and kudos.
To test this -- I took the last ten stories I’ve posted on BC. . .that still are posted as free stories and listed them in order of the best to worst. They’re my stories, I can do that. Unlike kids, having a favorite story is allowed.
Checks can be made out & sent to:
Joyce Melton
1001 Third St.
Space 80
Calimesa, CA 92320
USA
Note: $6000 is the operating, maintenance and upgrade budget. Amounts received in excess of the $6000 will be applied to long term debt accrued over the last 19 years.
