Than-kudes

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I hear various people saying that kudos or kudoses or kudi or whatever they are in the plural, are no signifier of a good writer or anything else, which might question why we have them.

Anyway, like Tesco, I deal in quantity not necessarily quality and I've just discovered that if I look on my account page, it tells me how many of these Kudos thingies I have. It appears to be rather a lot, over 10,000 - now it might be some sort of electronic error or be a total random thing, perhaps Erin's electric meter got plugged into it by mistake - but just in case it isn't, thank you for all the readers who've voted rather than vetoed me.

I hope to have a new chapter of Bonkers up for Christmas.

Angharad.

Comments

I would have thought ...

... that a writer of your quality and experience would be aware of the fact that, like panini and data, kudos is already a plural. I despair of the British education system sometimes. Or perhaps it's just the Welsh division?

In any case you're welcome ;)

Robi

That's because in Wales...

Puddintane's picture

...everyone is a classical Greek scholar (very learned folk, the Welsh) and knows that "kudos" is a Greek word that means "glory" and is not a plural at all. If one insists upon making it into a plural, one could, one supposes, use whatever system one prefers. Kudoses? Kudosim? Kudosarooni?

There's glory for you.
--- Humpty Dumpty

Cheers,

Puddin'

A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style

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Cheers,

Puddin'

A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style

Apropos of nothing,

perhaps.

Just before I opened this I was reading an article in GQ (yes, yes, but I sometimes read The New Yorker and The Economist too.), and it talked about the friendship, uh cherished enmity, uh acrimonious affinity -- remarkable comity and mutual esteem, between David Foster Wallace and Jonathan Franzen.

If those two could handle it, then it doesn't seem like the rest of us need to talk about quantity vs. quality, or critical recognition vs. commercial success, at all, does it?

Kudos is nice (plural in form, singular in use as I understand it (a strange entomology, English just should never borrow words that end with an /s/ or /z/ sound, and I see no way that rule will last much longer.). Each of us may give a multitude, while as a singular it would only refer to mere official recognition of some sort.) Enjoy them.

>> Never borrow esses or zed sounds...

Puddintane's picture

But what about noses? Or hoses? Or glucose or sucrose? (Aren't those last pair two of Santa's reindeer? -- On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Glucose and Sucrose! Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!" )

Cheers,

Puddin'

A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style

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Cheers,

Puddin'

A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style

If it's any consolation...

I've less than 250 kidoses :-) (I was actually surprised there were as many as there were, 'cause I can't manage to get stuff finished these days, what with RL intrusion.)

You spin a yarn that's a pleasure to read (most of the time). Your yarns periodically touch points that impact us in ways you may not expect. I know that on more than one occasion you've made me sit back and think... About myself, my family, my life, the world... I thank you. And, you can blame a few of your 10,000 kudos on me. :-) But, I assure you, that someone else helped!

Anne

wouldn't be cool if...

... the plural of kudos was kudis? (koodies)

Ang, you deserve every one of your kudis. :) And I'm happy to give you more, just keep writing!

Yes

"kudos or kudoses or kudi or whatever they are in the plural, are no signifier of a good writer".

Your ego (like mine) is sufficiently large so that you don't really need those strokes. There are many aspiring authors on BC who are stopped in their tracks when their stories fail to attract a large number of kudos. That is why I (and others) take the time to point out that kudos are not a reliable indicator of quality writing. Many great stories on BC attract few reads and limited kudos.

Your writing appeals to a group of people who can identify strongly with it. That is the essence of good writing. You're lucky in that there are quite a number of those people who frequent BC.

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

Reasons for Kudos

A few reasons why certain stories get kudos and others don't. Quite a bit of it is about timing and how long it's been up. Most of the rest is about advertising and "following the pack." Warrior From Batuk came out in 2007, before kudos, but since kudos came out, very few kudos have been given, considering the thousands of hits since then. It has a total of 9 kudos on all 31 chapters. Do I feel terrible about it? No.

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."

Mahatma Gandhi

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."

Mahatma Gandhi

Oh, that thingie's not a veto button?

Oops. :D

As much as you write, you should have rather a lot of whatever those things are! You're one of few people I know of who might potentially suffer from "carpal finger" syndrome!

You go girl, you keep writin' weez be keep on kudoin!

Carla Ann