Even the very best authors probably have at least one story in their collection that just ... isnt as good. Something between imagining the story and writing it down some factor gets left out, or something that doesnt scan gets added in, and it just ... flops.
So what does an author do?
Well, hopefully, learn from it.
So, as I am in that place with my last story, I'm hoping for some constructive criticism in the hopes that I might get better the next time.
Comments
There's no such thing as a story that's flopped.
Just a story that hasn't found its audience.
I'll admit I haven't kept up with your stuff recently (heck, the past 2 years I've only just managed to keep up with Gaby and that's pretty much been it as far as TG fic is concerned,) but if you ever need someone to bounce ideas off of I'm here. Hit me up and I can share Skype and Discord info, and give you a friendly (if no doubt infuriating) chat partner :)
Melanie E.
Dealing out those cards
I am the Ace of Flops. I practiced my story writing in a very immature way, always in a hurry to publish something to see what others think. It's taken a while to realize that my stories need to be polished and what I first write is not the gem that the world should see. And then there's the 'not thinking it all through first' problem. It's said.
So, flops are test balloons to see what others have to say or that indigestion that you just have to get out.
However you look at it, they are all successes and all failures. Nothing can ever score a 100 on expectation nor get the audience appeal that will truly satisfy you adulations.
I liked to think that if I took them all back and worked on them more or again, then I would find the key to unlock the magic, again.
What is a flop?
Just a story that hasn't found its audience yet.
I'd expect that most of us have had our very own 'damp squibs'. Mine seems to be 'The Things We do For Love'. I guess most readers didn't see that It was not meant to be a serious piece but a bit of 'fluff'.
My advice FWIW, is shrug your shoulders and don't worry about it and chalk it up to experience.
Samantha
Don't be so serious !
It is not the end of the world if your audience thinks it's crap.
I'd have stopped beating my head on the wall a long time ago, but a loyal and loving few have encouraged me to keep going. I haven't felt motivated to find an audience who is more open to what I write, probably because I am too lazy, or fearful of failure. When a story I write flops, I can just say to myself, "fuck it, I don't care anyhow", thus saving a small part of myself from the hurt of rejection.
AND, there are other sites out there but the denizens of some of some of them will just rip your soul out and leave it bleeding in the sewer. There are some fine writers out there, but so far some of them write pure, misogynistic pornography. Others are so superioristic, and snippy that they will bust you and reject you over a misused semicolon. A site that I will leave unnamed had a site mistress that regularly rejected what I wrote and made me fix it before she would deign to publish it. She pressed me to improve and while she drove me to tears at times, I am grateful that she had the patience with me to produce what she felt me capable of.
Shit, I'm 71 and not very interested in first bras and skirts any more. And, frankly, as is illustrated in my first two stories, "Desert Princess" and "Ms Frankenstein", transitioning was this painfully traumatic shitty experience that might have been a miscarriage that I lived through. So, for me, a story (no, I have not read yours) has to exercise my brain, cause me dismay, confuse me, and inspire me. It's nice if the writing skills have a minimum of spelling and grammar errors. Though, my first writing had an abundance of them, and it humbles me that who ever fixed my dredge was kind enough to do it.
So, dry your tears, get off your ass and get to work.
Gwen
Dot, any story you write...
Is a story that many of the folks here will stop and read.
I have to admit that I haven't read all of your stories yet, but I've enjoyed every one of yours that I have read so far.
You're a good writer; sometimes a story, even though it is good, doesn't get the attention it deserves. That doesn't mean you should get upset over it; what you need to do is write the next story. Sometimes it takes a while before a story is noticed and appreciated.
Chin up, pen out or fingers ready to tap the keys, and let the muse guide you. *huggles*
That sounds a bit like conceit!
At the time of my reply you have 64 kudos - 64 people who have pressed the Good Story button. Do their opinions not matter to you?
Sure it would be nice for everyone to have to have the kind of success of some other authors, but remember, if you get just one Kudos, that's one more than if you hadn't have posted here. Be pleased for every one of those 64 who thought it was a good story.
Just as one author to another, I've found the last few lines are very important for getting people to press the Good Story button, rather than immediately pressing the Back button. In the case of your last story, it's a nice story but there's no Punch! or Wow! factor at the end. I think it just needs that bit extra to get them to press the damn button.
Best wishes
Charlotte