Comments are oxygen to authors, lifeblood. They show that somebody has read their story and cared enough to respond with some encouragement, or not, as the case may be, but at least appreciated the effort that went into posting.
As I write this the average number of comments per story is about 10. Are you not ashamed? Are you not entertained? How much effort does it take to post a comment? And one of them is mine, so I can tag each story. That means that, on average, only nine of you have commented and some of those are authors responding to comments.
This is my current “leaderboard”. Think of it as the score in a golf tournament at the half-way mark (although we’re nowhere near halfway). Because a comment is listed it doesn’t mean it’s going to win. The order is purely haphazard and means nothing. It just means that I like it for whatever reason. New comments can change the list and there are many new stories to come. I will tell you what I like but you will have to access the actual comment by yourself, thus hopefully increasing the comment count and giving me more work, which I don’t mind at all. You are welcome to tell me that my choices are terrible, or that you think I’m the greatest thing since sliced bread (some hope?). However, I do hope you will not waste your time doing that, but will add a comment to one of the great stories that are flooding in to our site.
I will tell you why I like each comment. Agree or disagree. Tell me why I should have chosen another comment, but tack it onto one of our contest stories, so that you make it count.
Out With The Old Cyclist
D.Eden Wow! What an Unexpected twist.
Nice analysis, Dallas
Cosmic Loophole Terrynaut
Terrynaut Coincidence or Catalyst
Intelligent musing, Terry
View From A Bridge Marianne G
What a lovely Story
Empathy from Sunflowerchan
Nice comment from Ron Houston. Encouragement
Resolution Evaluation Dorothy Colleen
Dorothy Colleen I Had Trouble
Dorothy is a champion commenter for everyone and encourages with every comment
Contest Resolution Bru
Bru I Confess
Enigmatic, as we would expect from Bru but constructive
Hero Suzi Auchentiber
Alan. Welcome to “ Team Authors”
Like A Landslide!
NY Resolutions Broken and Kept CTen
CTen Some Thoughts
Reminding us about reality
A Life For My Child Holly Snow
Alice-s Thank God I’m An Atheist.
Brevity is the soul of wit.
I Will Confess Girlinthe light
Daphne Xu Starcrossed Lovers.
She stole my line. Jealousy!
The Simple Life Ricky
Bru You can still get caught
So true. Trust nobody
First Flight Steph C
Outsider . Steph!
Emotional response
Don’t forget. There’s a long way to go. This board will change along the way.
Comments
I try and leave encouraging comments
because when I was new here, a number of authors left encouraging comments on my stories, and it gave me the confidence to keep trying to write. So I want to pay it forward, and help as many authors as I can have even a small moment of happiness about what they wrote.
huggles to all, and please folks, try and leave a comment if you can!
You Do That, Dorothy
And we all love you for it.
Maybe it’s me.
It’s almost certainly me. But when I see the line, “Out With The Old Cyclist,” I immediately think, “What, then? ‘In with the new Cyclist?’ But I like the old Cyclist (by which I mean, “the Cyclist we know,” not “the Cyclist of a certain age”). Cyclists, I think to myself, are not like widgets, or even like cycles. They are not interchangeable. The new Cyclist may take performance-enhancing substances. Or have no stamina for longer rides. Or, God help us, write without the skill and soul of the “old cyclist.” No, no, and no!
I have a similar reaction, I confess, every time “Boys Don’t Cry on Kindle” shows up at the top of the “teaser boxes.” I find myself asking where boys do cry, if they don’t do it on kindle. The answers that pop into my head are seldom informative.
Emma
Yeah, Sorry
I should have put more spacing between title and author. But I don't think you have to worry about old "Cyclists" and new "Cyclists" or Stephs. She's a lovely lady and I'm sure she'll keep on posting here. On her latest her bike is a Dawes. I had a Dawes sixty-five years ago, didn't know they still made them, but there ya go....continuity!
When I comment…….
I do so because a story, or a comment, has stirred something inside me. I am grateful for the acknowledgement, but as to the contest…….
Please consider others before me. Not only do I not need the prize or the honor, but I am not even really competing. I am simply being myself, and that is all the award that I need or desire.
“All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts."
I am just happy to play my part.
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
Play More
Dallas,
As long as a comment comes from your heart we love it. If you win the prize (big IF) you can always donate it to the site,
Joanne
My Apologies
I need to get back to reading and leaving more comments on the stories, most of the time I'm just lurking. And the number of stories I need to read and comment seems to grow evermore by the hour. For that I'm thankful. I want to be more like Dot and spread encourgment, more like Emma and highlight passages that made the story, and more like you, lovely lady and leave wonderful feedback. Something to aim for in the in the months ahead I guess.
Hey, Sunflowerchan
You're doing all right. It's easy. Just comment, comment, comment. And write more stories for the competition!
I love your signature picture. I'm a pushover for French Maids!
2 cents
A lot of ‘stories’ aren’t stories, in fact, but chapters or episodes... and there’s only so many times one might meaningfully say “great... keep going.” Thus, I don’t think people who post fragments should be in any way surprised at the lack of feedback. Also, I find something like “great... keep going” to be of no real value, compared to the workshopping-type feedback I get from a few authors that I know well. (Effectively, I get all the feedback I need – and act upon it – long before I go ‘public’ with a story on Fictionmania or here.)
By definition, a story has a beginning, a middle and an end. For this reason, I don’t tend to comment on individual episodes. (I’ve been burned too many times by a story that never finishes, or that takes a turn I don’t like. Personally, I seldom even start to read a tale until I know it’s finished.) There’s also that old adage about when one should say nothing. BC is a “nice” place where nobody wants a flame war, so there may be people making no comment at all in preference to being thought of as very negative.
I’ve had some very odd comments, at times. For example, an encouragement to “keep going” with a story despite the fact that it was marked as complete and that it very clearly concluded with the death of the main character. So... comments? I can take ’em or leave ’em.
Sugar and Spiiice – TG Fiction by Bryony Marsh
This Contest
Specifies that a story must be between 2500 and 5000 words. That's a pretty tight demarcation, so I don't think your qualifications hold water in this context.
I understand that comments on serial stories that don't finish can be frustrating, but that's not what we are talking about here.
I am just sorry that you are so bitter in this series which is intended to raise interest in our site.
I Mostly Agree with Bryony
Joanne, I read Bryony's comments somewhat differently than you did. It appears she was speaking in general while you were interpreting her remarks as part of the context of your blog.
The vast majority of current BC writers prefer to write serials. There have been times when the majority wrote short stories but the serial chapter to solo ratio is about ten to one (pre-contest). Commenting ethics on BC need to reflect the tsunami of serials that is our current reality.
Bryony has always struck me as thoughtful. As such I'm sure she knows that a good writer must be in the heads of all her characters at the same time in order to present a cohesive story to her reader. She must also be in the head of her reader at all times to answer all the questions her reader might have.
In my experience an author needs two things to keep a solid connection with her readers. She needs a respectful beta reader or group of beta readers, and she needs comments from readers she doesn't know, or barely knows.
A friend once told me that a thousand "atta girls" are wiped out by one "as shit."
I wrote a story called Texas Two Step that in part paid homage to Footloose. The back story involved a tragic auto accident on a bridge. The story was generally well received and sold quite well on Amazon. However one person on Amazon who evidently never heard of poetic license torched me for my lack of research as the town in my story was on flat land and didn't have a high bridge.
I actually did an extraordinary amount of research to write that story.
Now, several years later, when I think of that story I think about that comment.
On the other hand, I received a comment on a story I wrote called Uncivil, which is set during that Civil War. A person commented who identified himself as a Civil War buff who complimented me on the accuracy of the tale. When I think of that story I think of that comment.
Comments matter.
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
As to me personally…….
Although I enjoy reading many of the short stories, my real preference is for the serials. It is so much easier and more fulfilling to get invested in a story and the characters when reading a longer story. I will readily admit that when searching for a new story to read I will often gloss over the short stories to find a new (at least new to me - many of them are actually not new) serial. And yes, I know that I am quite likely missing out on a lot of very, very good work by doing this.
However, when I find a story by an author that really moves me, I then go back and read everything I can find by that author - long, short, inbetween, comments, grocery lists, you name it.
I know that there are some authors who basically write nothing but short stories, and because of my penchant for serials I may miss their work. That is why I watch the comments on the site - especially from a select few people whose opinion matters to me. If I see a comment from them, I read it - and then I read the story it is associated with. If the story pulls me in, then I have a new author to read. Obviously you can’t read everything posted here, and this is the method I have found which works best for me.
I will also read work by any new author I see on the site; you never know what you will find when you do, and I have found it to be worth the time and effort.
I will comment that the current contest is frustrating the hell out of me, lol. So many stories! So little time! I have not even begun to wade through them - I am in the midst of trying to catch up on stories which I had already identified to read, but hopefully once that is done I will be able to circle back and pick up where I left off with contest stories.
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
Atta girl
Firstly 2 points:
1. I love comments. I look for them and I am disappointed if I get none at all, pleased if I get positives and thoughtful if I get less positive.
2. I am a hopeless commenter because I am a hopeless reader. I really wish I could do more reading, but I am very busy with work and my own stories. Believe me, if I read something good I will commend it because I know the value of doing that.
Now some comments on the negatives:
On another platform I have been subject to abusive comments mainly based on my copious output. I wish I could say they mean nothing, but that would be a lie. But just a dozen "atta girls" would bury those.
As for corrections of fact, I am grateful. I have discovered that the best way to avoid such mistakes is to have Eric edit your stories - he is incredible in his breadth of knowledge and attention to detail.
Then there are those who criticize my style (or styles, because I use more than one) - I always assume that these people mean well, and so I often hold back the urge to counter-comment, but I think that style and structure is not rigid.
For instance, I do not agree that "by definition, a story has a beginning, a middle and an end". Some of my short stories can be called just the beginning, may have an ending that the reader must guess at, and some are just the bit in the middle - a conversation or a snippet of time in a life or a relationship.
I write short stories because that is how they form in my head. I prefer to read short stories because I am a busy person and I want to get to the end.
I have read episodic stories but I find many seem repetitive and I absolutely hate the ones where the writer disappears before the end.
The problem with short stories is that for each one you need new characters, and I do like them to be new each time.
I don't only write short stories - a few have chapters - but these are hard work for me.
A final closing word - Big Closet is a community, so comments here always seem warmer to me. I feel that this is a collegial place and that I am among other writers with an understanding of my condition and my need to express it.
I am happy to say it again - thank you all.
Maryanne
Eric
Eric does possess amazing knowledge.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Thanks for the Shout-Out...
...from both of you. Always glad to be appreciated...
Eric
My two ctens
Comments are nice. Especially when they have a content. I also fully understand people who are reluctant to post a comment like "Nice story". I include myself in that category. Posting on individual chapters of serials is often meant to encourage the author to continue the story. At times that can go beyond the reasonable like the one who wanted a story where the main character has been killed off. Or perhaps the poster was looking for a ghost story?
Personally I think that telling someone you don't like a story can be motivated. In particular if you say why. One thing though: there is no need to do that using wording that appears to be deliberately hurtful. Many times there may be something you want to tell the author that may be better expressed in a message instead.
By definition, a story has a beginning, a middle and an end. I think there is more than one poster here who'd be inclined to challenge that, or at least give it a try. No obligation to like that of course.
CTen
My take on comments
My own take on comments is that if I like a story, I will try to write something about it. I never post a truly negative comment, if I don't like something I just move on. One of my earliest stories on another site, I received a one word comment "dross," and I did not even try again for several years.
I was trying to read every one of the contest stories, but I have not been able to keep up! That's basically a good thing, because it means the contest is generating a lot of new content. I will try to read more, there have been some really good stories.
As an author, I love comments. Kudo's are nice, and I do appreciate them, but they are anonymous, and I love to know who liked my story, enough to say something about it.
I am one of the author's that had life intervene and I really had to abandon a story. But I tried to make sure that it was at a reasonable stopping off place. I could have ended it there, most of the major story lines had been wrapped up, I suppose it would not take much for me to put an ending on it now, and maybe I should do that.
But what is really relevant to this thread is that when I started that story, I had no clue as to where I was going to go with it. I started it as a form of self therapy. The comments I received helped me to continue to write it (this was the story, I stopped for 3 years!) and in ways that lead to places I never could have imagined writing about when I began it. I am still amazed that it was my own work when I go back and read again now.
For most of us, comments are the only "pay" we ever get for putting our hearts out in our stories. I will gladly accept an "Atta Girl!" any day, though a more detailed comment on how a story or that chapter touched you, is always a joy to me.
Life intervened, and I had not written anything since 2019, prior to this contest. It felt so good to break out those skills again, and to have some folks remember me, and give me encouragement has been very rewarding. So thank you to anyone that read my 2 stories and shared your thoughts with me, I cannot tell you how good it felt.
Hopefully I can use that to get my muse going again.
Kristy
I Can Only Speak Personally
To me comments matter very much. I'm a comment whore. Luckily I also have a very thick skin and critical comments don't drive me to close shop even when they hurt. I try to find a suitable reply (and I don't mean "fuck off"). Fortunately most are favourable or at least not unkind.
I also have no preference for serials or shorts. I recognise that both fill a need for a writer. Write the best you can and I'll try it on for size
If I don't like a story I take one of two courses of action. I either keep my mouth shut or I send the author a PM. However, sometimes you misunderestimate the reaction to a comment you make. Some years ago one of the best authors on this site (now writing elsewhere) mis-spelled the same word multiple times in one of her stories, so I PM'd her and gave her the correct spelling. I received the most vitriolic reply , to the tune of, "who was I to dare to criticise her work". I never again commented on any of her stories.
At the moment all of my time is taken up by reading every entry in the New Year's Contest, and reading every comment, which I'm supposed to judge. It's a pleasure, not a chore, and I've got another five weeks of this. So comment, you bystanders.
I've Had the Same Experience
I've sent a PM to a number of authors pointing out typos. About a third of the time the response is a one-fingered salute.
The rest of the time the authors are thankful I took the time to help them present their story in the best light.
This one-third ratio has also held for when I beta-read manuscripts for authors.
I ALWAYS try to set ground rules that the author has total control and can reject all of my suggestions. Even so, about one-third act as if I'm trying to smother their baby.
I have a massive ego. No surprise there! It takes a bit of ego to put yourself out there as an author. Sometimes egos get in the way.
Sometimes you end up with strong friendships.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Egotism
Taint necessarily so...
I started writing here as an experiment. Transition almost always brings problems, and my life is no exception, Writing was one way I found to put some structure into my life, to make sense of Stuff. It then got addictive, and that is mainly due to my system of building characters first, then letting them out to dance. The next step was the realisation that I am actually not bad at writing; not great, but adequate for my needs.
That means those characters become even more real to me, and increase my own desire to see 'what happens next'.
Comments, though, are appreciated, apart from the very rare cases where something is posted that leaves me wondering what the commenter has actually read, as it certainly could not have been what I had written. Sometimes--often, in fact--the comments work as 'beta reading', and in my 'Cold Feet' it was a prod from a commenter that showed me I had succeeded in writing out the main character.
Oopsies...
My own main failing in comments is that I am often too busy, or having senior moments, to reply to those who take the time to comment on my work. I don't mean to be rude, but it may seem so.
Characters become even more real to me...
Totally agree with this line: That means those characters become even more real to me, and increase my own desire to see 'what happens next'.
I want to see what's next because they're part of me, my heart, imagination... Tough to just let them fade. Great point Steph.
XOXOXO
Rachel M. Moore...
Thoughts
A few thoughts on comments while I rush through eating dinner...
For quite a few of us, I believe BCTS is the only (or almost the only) place we post our written work. And I think it's also the case for many of us that friends and family will either outright refuse or avoid reading any of it, if they even know about our stories at all. Which means in turn that the only feedback and support is from kudos and comments here.
Think about that for a moment. Think about how much insane effort it takes, especially for longer works (serials and books), to write out these stories, edit them either alone or with the help of a few special other people, and get them posted. I've heard it said (well, saw it written), that writers must be broken - because if we didn't -HAVE- to write, we wouldn't. Way too much effort, way too much craziness in splattering our hearts across all the pages. The level of obsession required is ridiculous.
Which is why each and every comment I have received (well, with only like one exception) have filled me with joy. Even the ones where someone only said that they loved it. Because, and I'll have to speak on my own here, what I hope for with writing is for a connection with the reader. I hope that they not only enjoy the story but feel it, with the words serving as a medium where spirits touch and resonate. A comment from someone I can identify even as only a pseudonym therefore means so much more than just a kudo upclick. Don't get me wrong, I love those too as it's absolutely better than total silence!
But I want to know that folks have managed to become engrossed enough to demand more as the parts of the books get posted one after the other, and yes I will giggle like a loon as people decry the number of cliffhangers that may find their way in - because it means the work connected. It means that someone else out there has shared through this oddly delayed medium that moment of when the words were crafted and experienced.
And then, at least for the books, I 'disappear' to go spend over a year working on the next one - utilizing each spare weekend day and vacation time available to scheme, craft, exult, and weep alongside the characters. Before yet again being able to share them with those here on this site.
It's absolutely a thrill when a reader comments about something specific from the latest installments, a scene or moment that really touched them. Or when a reader (you know who you are! <3 ) composes essays regarding the myriad of sub-plot details and hidden meanings lurking within the text. When Emma (thank you!!) binge read the entire available set, leaving comments on each part of each book one after the other, what a wondrous pair of weeks that was!
I wish I had more time and energy to binge read more on here myself, but the obsession to keep plowing ahead on the series which has dominated so much of my life for six years is a harsh mistress. And yet rewarding as well - made more so by the many kind readers leaving their comments here. I can not thank them enough.
- Erisian <3