Where are the stories?

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There's only been one new story posted since the contest ended Sunday. We need more stories!

Hugs,
Erin

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Who's a greedy girl, then?

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Erin, all your contributors must be well wrote-out after their (our?) great efforts for your extremely successful competition. Give 'em (us?) a break.

We've also got to read all the comp entries so we can vote. I'm just wondering if you wear your leather bra and thigh-high boots, and carry the whip EVERY day, or just when you're feeling authoritative. Promises promises - or is it wishful thinking on my part?

Geoff :o)

Actually

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erin's picture

Jeanne owned all the leather goods, swords, knives, whips, feather boas, etc. Gave it all away when she passed away, just not a lot of fun without her. :)

If that looks like I'm kidding, it's probably because I''m not.

Hugs,
Erin

= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.

More Stories

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I moved right after Christmas and had a story written but it needs editing. My ISP lied to me and told me I woulod have my DSL at my new place when I moved in. I finally got back on line on the ninth of January.
Boy, have I missed a lot in those two weeks. Once I find someone to edit I'll submit my story. I'm sorry I missed entering the contest. However; I was so depressed before the holidays my writing muse was not visiting, so I was drawing blanks on trying to get a story going. Then Christmas eve I got a brilliant idea for a story and wrote it thinking I would get it in before the seventh of this year. Alas, the best laid plans of bunnies and women often go awry.

Jill Micayla
May you have a wonderful today and a better tomorrow

Jill Micayla
Be kinder than necessary,Because everyone you meet
Is fighting some kind of battle.

re: Where are the stories?

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Mine was ready a few weeks ago, but there was so many Christmas entries that I decided to wait. I think it was a good job I did.

Hugs to all

Karen

Writer or Reader Rabbit?

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When I'm in a writing mode I hardly ever read. The opposite is also true. Also, when I'm called upon to edit I set aside my writing. At the moment, I KNOW of four excellent stories that are in various stages of preparation. Dimelza Cassisdy has two close to complete, Shalimar has one, and Laurie Satori has a rather intricate story rewrite going of one of her old classics.

So few new stories might be attributable to:

1.) So many good stories to read -- there are at least ten stories in the Holiday contest that are in the top fifteen percent of all stories on this site (in quality) . . . and yes, I've read them all. Bring on the quiz!
2.) Editors and writers tied up meeting the Christmas story deadline, or,
3.) Editors and writers tied up with the normal Holiday season RL rush.

I wonder though -- there was a thread recently about shelf life. Even though my stories tend to get read long after they're posted, I do get dismayed when my new stories are pushed off the front page by old stories migrated to BCTS from other parts of Erin's site. What is the purpose of doing that? If it is done to vex me - it worked . . . but that would be paranoia; and I know everyone isn't out to get me . . . just some people . . . all the time . . . and they get their friends to help and . . . .

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

Migrations

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Rachel Greenham's picture

It certainly seems silly to be migrating lots of stories from classic when the rate of new stories being posted is quite high, as it was through December. One would think it would be a good thing to do when things are quiet.

... except that could have a chilling effect, making people less likely to post new things expecting them to be buried quickly.

Erin's Contest, Lull in Stories and Paranoia

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I do have a couple Timeouts available but I need to give them a proofing pass and send on to Janet Nolan for her clean-up.

I think the writers and proofer/editors -- at least from my shrub in the woods -- are exhausted. Itinerant has had my latest new Timeout over week now but with my two BC entrie and RL I'm not pressuring him.

As to paranoia, Angela, paranoia is a GOOD thing, in limited doses. and ... get BACK I see you out there. I have a buttered waffle and I know how to use it!

-- Curses, Angela has discovered our secret plot to keep bumping her off the front page --

John in Wauwatosa

P.S. Remember Erin's contest vote has begun. Vote early and often. No, on second thought vote only once, per the rules. Mutiple voting is Chicago-style.

John in Wauwatosa

You missed the meeting Angela

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Breanna Ramsey's picture

We had a vote and the results were 80% in favor of vexing you for the fun of it. Oh, and could you please stop mumbling in that far corner of your kitchen, you know, over by the refrigerator? The microphone there is malfunctioning.

Okay, now if I can be serious for a moment, I too have had some concern over the migrations. I think the migration of old stories to BCTS is good, it exposes them to new readers, and I really appreciate Dru taking time to help Erin out moving them.

It does affect the 'shelf life' of new stories, however. Looking back over the last few weeks, there has been an average of ten stories migrated each week - on top of all the contest entries and other story postings. The plain truth is that once a story is pushed from the front page its readership will drop dramatically.

I really hate complaining about something without offering a solution, but I just don't have one, other than perhaps limiting the number of migrations each week. I also really, really don't want to hurt Erin's or Dru's feelings, or anyone else for that matter. I do feel this is a legitimate concern though. I love this place and greatly appreciate all the hard work that is put into maintaining it.

Now, on to a more fun topic: what can we do to vex Angela next?

Scott

Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of--but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards.

Lazarus Long
Robert A. Heinlein's 'Time Enoough for Love'

Bree

The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense.
-- Tom Clancy

http://genomorph.tglibrary.com/ (Currently broken)
http://bree-ramsey314.livejournal.com/
Twitter: @genomorph

Suggestion on migrations

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Instead of listing all migrated stories directly on the front page, why not create a "Migration Blog" which could be updated once or twice a week with the synopses and links to those stories. That would give the migrations only one spot on the front page, but still be easily accessible.

Amelia

"Reading rots the mind." - Uncle Analdas

"Reading rots the mind." - Uncle Analdas

Apology and Paranoia

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I started that stupid thread and need to apologize for it.

I was just feeling really beat up at the time - Well, first a site changed the way they downloaded stories, just to mess mine up. Then the utility company shut off the power to 15 blocks just to fry my computer. While out hunting for a new one I could the least not afford, someone got into my seven year old car and did something to make one of the idiot lights come on. And then I tried to fix some problems on another site and it all went wrong because computers don't like me. (that's the highlights of that week) As I often do when I feel picked on, I ran off to annoy people I like, all of you.

Anyway...don't pay attention to it. I would hate to think I said something to dissuade anyone from writing. And the best way for writers to keep their stories being read is to write more.

Also migrating stories is a way to beat the short shelf life (if it does exist); so keep it up! (Angela, I did name two exceptions to that shelf life bit; surly, you know.)

I don't mind a shortage of new stories right now because I am so far behind and know so many did so much over the last month (How do you people do so much during December?) But if anyone does stop writing I'll know you are just doing it to get at me.

Affection;
Jan

"No one but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money" Samuel Johnson

Why not?

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I have to agree with previous commentators.
The authors who entered the contest really put their hearts into the stories, many of which were produced and edited in very fast order. And the quality was very high.

I score most stories I read on a scale of 1= best-5=worst, ( though I now go in 0.5 increments ), so I can find the ones I want to go back to more easily.
The bell curve is usually pretty close to being centered on 3,0. ( 2.88 for the past six months )
For the contest entries, it was skewed way up to 2.15.

I will say that if I read everything out there on all the other sites, it might be closer to or even lower than 4.

So thank all of you authors for some outstandingly good stories. The writers who post here are among the very best in the genre.

Holly

One of the most difficult things to give away is kindness.
It usually comes back to you.

Holly

Coming soon!

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JulieO has been on a roll, and I'll soon (today or tomorrow) be posting a new non-holiday short story of hers, which will also have a teaser for her forthcoming "Coeds."

"Coeds" will be the first story in a series which brings together some of her most popular characters from earlier stories: Jirra from the Fresh Start series, Beth (Initially the heroine of Change of Course) and Celeste from The Protector/Celestial Awakenings series, Cat and Matt from The Scholarship (including a cameo by Erika), and Diana Bowie from Corruption and Double Jeopardy.

So, if you're looking for something to read and haven't yet read all of those earlier JulieO stories, maybe you should get started. (Change of Course and the earlier Protector stories are posted at FM.)

Amelia

"Reading rots the mind." - Uncle Analdas

"Reading rots the mind." - Uncle Analdas

Is it there yet?

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Breanna Ramsey's picture

*Taps foot impatiently while refreshing BC every few minutes*

Scott

Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of--but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards.

Lazarus Long
Robert A. Heinlein's 'Time Enoough for Love'

Bree

The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense.
-- Tom Clancy

http://genomorph.tglibrary.com/ (Currently broken)
http://bree-ramsey314.livejournal.com/
Twitter: @genomorph

In home page design ...

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... as in newspapers, anything below what you see when the home page first loads (or "below the fold" in newspaper parlance) is less likely to be read. And once it's pushed off the home page completely, no one would necessarily know it's there unless they went looking for it.

I don't know the software upon which BigCloset is based, but would it be possible to create something like the "Comments" listing in the sidebar, only with the titles and authors of the most recent new stories listed in the area above where you would have to scroll? Then the "fold" would become less of an obstacle to people finding new works?

Just a thought. *smile*

Randalynn

Stories

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erin's picture

As the contest heated up, how I handled migrated stories changed. Near the end of the contest, they were going directly to the lower third of the page. Now that there are no new stories being posted, I'm letting the migrated stories do what they did before the contest, stand in for new stuff.

All during the contest, a week's worth of new stories were available on the front page. Migrated stories, if they were in the upper parts of the front page at all, stayed there from 1 to 4 days only before being pulled directly to the lower third or completely off the page. At no time were there more than four reposts in the "yellow" nor more than seven reposts total on the front page.

As for listing the newest stories in a sidebar, that isn't as easy as it sounds since stories are not all one thing to the software -- which isn't that easy to explainm, just take my word for it. :) Currently, I'm using that space for the Swicki and the list of current comments but when blogs or forums are hot, I move a list of those into the area. The Swicki pays for itself through ads there and the more it gets used the more useful it becomes because it remembers all the searches it has done and saves them, offsite, for future use.

When there are no new stories, fresh reposts will be allowed to appear high on the page so that the page changes near the top where people can see the content changing. Reposts will continue not spending as long on the front page as new stories. The reason there are two or three reposts near the top right now is that there are no new stories.

So where are the new stories? :)

Hugs,
Erin

= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.

I sent a few private mesages to a few posters...

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...that would post a series of short chapters either on the same day or within a few days. I urged them to combine these short chapters into one part. I did this because I saw how fast the longer stories were being relegated off the front page so quickly.

I am happy to say they agreed.

As for migrating the older stories from the classic site, I for one declined the offer from Dru to migrate my stories to the Top Shelf. I did this because I want to do re-writes and have them proofed and edited before they show up here. I wonder, would that count as a migration? That is, if they have had a rewrite done on them to make them even better with the additional work of more proofing and editing?

Anyway, I do not have a solution other than asking Dru to post only one part of the migrated story per day?

Oh and I too thank you Dru for your selfless giving work of migrating such wonderful classics! I know the newbies all appreciate what you are doing. I think they are not aware of the other site and these stories are to good to be missed.

Huggles
Angel

Be yourself, so easy to say, so hard to live.

"Be Your-Self, So Easy to Say, So Hard to Live!"

Migrating and multi-part stories

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erin's picture

Just as amplification...

Dru is reposting stories from Classic BC into an internal queue where I control when and where they appear. All of the stories she is reposting are at least two years old and might as well be new stories to many of the people coming to BC. Look at the reads and comments some of the reposts get.

For multi-part stories, generally only the most recent part stays in the yellow/upper part of the front page for more than a day.

Thanks, Dru.

- Erin

= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.

I am writing

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I am writing as fgast as my brain and fingers can move.

Love,

Paula

Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.

The Coda
Chapterhouse: Dune

Paula

Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.

The Coda
Chapterhouse: Dune

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