Competition vs support: writers' views on other writers

[pink_silk_glove]

I don't really see it as competitive because competition requires some sort of metric for winning and losing. If you get more views and a higher score you aren't "winning" or "beating me", you are just getting more views and a higher score.

For many of us it's this way, but for many others it is totally a competition to have a high Red H ratio on their catalog, to top the lists, to win the contests.

Personally I can be very competitive, but not when it comes to art.

 

[lovecraft68]

The site-sponsored contests involve money. That invites scheming competition.

You think its the money or the Blue W?

I've always thought it was the latter, its not like the prizes are large sums.

 

[lovecraft68]

For many of us it's this way, but for many others it is totally a competition to have a high Red H ratio on their catalog, to top the lists, to win the contests.

Personally I can be very competitive, but not when it comes to art.

I'm competitive in everything. I'm not a sore loser, but my mentality is if you're not in it to win it, why get in it?

But mostly I compete with myself, if my story doesn't place I don't get upset at the winners, I just think I should have written a better story.

 

[KeithD]

You think its the money or the Blue W?

I've always thought it was the latter, its not like the prizes are large sums.

It would be different for different folks. But when it's for the money, it always ups the competition. The prize money here is quite good.

 

[KeithD]

I'm competitive in everything. I'm not a sore loser, but my mentality is if you're not in it to win it, why get in it?

But mostly I compete with myself, if my story doesn't place I don't get upset at the winners, I just think I should have written a better story.

I just don't consider it a story-quality contest. That would require blind judging--preferably by a panel of judges, not just one.

 

[Cagivagurl]

Not necessarily. Honest confidence/courage can get the job done. Also conviction.

I think you are confused.
Yes honesty, courage and confidence are all good qualities to carry you forward.
However, what got you moving on your journey is EGO... At some point it says. "I can do this... I'm at least as good as everybody else."
Ego is the driver to post your stories. Otherwise we would have our desktops full of un- submitted stories....
There is no shame in admitting you have an ego... We all have them...

Cagivagurl

 

[pink_silk_glove]

However, what got you moving on your journey is EGO... At some point it says. "I can do this... I'm at least as good as everybody else."
Ego is the driver to post your stories. Otherwise we would have our desktops full of un- submitted stories....

Speak for yourself.

 

[Cagivagurl]

Speak for yourself.

I always do.
not claiming to be offering anything other than my opinion.

Cagivagurl

 

[Voboy]

Yeah... was never intending to enter a competition, as I don't really believe writing should be competitive. This just confirms that for me.

Oh, don't let that stop you. Most of us who routinely enter competitions don't expect to win them. Plenty of us who have won have refused to accept the monetary reward.

For me, and (I suspect) for many others here, the contests aren't really about competing. They're about exposure, or about the challenge of writing to a deadline, or about the novelty of writing to a prompt (or in a category) they would not ordinarily touch. It's a fun exercise, overall.

If you want to see AH writers supporting other AH writers, the thing to do is enter a contest and then go hang out in the accompanying Support Thread. THAT'S where you'll see real encouragement, mutual support, and genuine pleasure when our compadres do well. Personally, I think those support threads are the best of the AH.

 

[Priscilla_June]

Its kinda sad. I think you see this with a lot of things in life. In the realm of art, its like that part of people is all they have to hold price in themselves, so they take such measures to defend their own ego.

 

[Priscilla_June]

Oh, don't let that stop you. Most of us who routinely enter competitions don't expect to win them. Plenty of us who have won have refused to accept the monetary reward.

For me, and (I suspect) for many others here, the contests aren't really about competing. They're about exposure, or about the challenge of writing to a deadline, or about the novelty of writing to a prompt (or in a category) they would not ordinarily touch. It's a fun exercise, overall.

If you want to see AH writers supporting other AH writers, the thing to do is enter a contest and then go hang out in the accompanying Support Thread. THAT'S where you'll see real encouragement, mutual support, and genuine pleasure when our compadres do well. Personally, I think those support threads are the best of the AH.

I enter competitions for more publicity haha. I have no chance of winning. Some really great authors out there.

 

[SimonDoom]

I think competition, so long as the rules are clear and fair and people don't cheat, is a great thing. I think it strengthens character and I think it spurs people on to be better. There's certainly a place for competition here or in any artistic/creative endeavor. I enjoyed placing in a story contest last year. You just have to put it in perspective, and in the context of Literotica not take it too seriously.

 

[THBGato]

Oh, don't let that stop you. Most of us who routinely enter competitions don't expect to win them.

Oh, I'm not worried about that. I just don't want to enter competitions because that's not why I write. I also suck at sitting on a story - once it's done, I want to publish it. I don't want to wait until a vaguely relevant competition comes around.

If I'm still here in 4 or 5 years' time, maybe I'll have changed my tune... but probably not.

 

[Devinter]

Yeah... was never intending to enter a competition, as I don't really believe writing should be competitive. This just confirms that for me.

I completely agree that writing should not be competitive, but I would strongly recommend that you don't exclude yourself from the competitions just because of that.

The truth is that they - along with the author-run-challenges - are great for honing your craft, as they push you out of your comfort zone and forces you to attempt new things. If I didn't sign up for them, I wouldn't have dared to write a Lesbian story for instance, and it's usually a great idea to broaden your horizons. And even when the theme is something quite basic, like "Summer loving", that actually challenges you to think of something that makes your story stick out and thus usually leads to more interesting plots and characters than average. Furthermore, from what I've seen, other authors - including your "competitors" - are super helpful and encouraging during these events. I feel like they bring the community together rather than causes separation and splintering.

 

[NoTalentHack]

I think it can be a little of both and still be healthy. Don't get me wrong: I'm big on collaboration and support. While I don't do it every time, I try to boost other writers in the afterwords of my stories as often as I can, although I prefer to find some thematic or at least category-specific thread to tie the two together. I know that I've had an incredible amount of good fortune, and I want to spread it around to both highlight great authors who aren't (IMO) getting enough exposure and give readers something new they might not have come across before.

At the same time, the contests are fun, as are little friendly competitions like @oneagainst and me trying to hit as many categories as possible (I think he's winning, the bastard), but at the end of the day, all we can win in these comps are bragging rights and a little bit of cash. If earning money was my goal, I'd just work a few more hours at my day job; as to bragging rights, I like them, but I'd keep writing even without them.

On the whole, I've found the AH to be incredibly supportive, even most of the people that I've had cross words with. I hope that lasts.

 

[oneagainst]

I think it can be a little of both and still be healthy. Don't get me wrong: I'm big on collaboration and support. While I don't do it every time, I try to boost other writers in the afterwords of my stories as often as I can, although I prefer to find some thematic or at least category-specific thread to tie the two together. I know that I've had an incredible amount of good fortune, and I want to spread it around to both highlight great authors who aren't (IMO) getting enough exposure and give readers something new they might not have come across before.

At the same time, the contests are fun, as are little friendly competitions like @oneagainst and I trying to hit as many categories as possible (I think he's winning, the bastard), but at the end of the day, all we can win in these comps are bragging rights and a little bit of cash. If earning money was my goal, I'd just work a few more hours at my day job; as to bragging rights, I like them, but I'd keep writing even without them.

On the whole, I've found the AH to be incredibly supportive, even most of the people that I've had cross words with. I hope that lasts.

Not that it matters or I'm counting, but yes I am winning, the bastard

 

[oneagainst]

It's also massively helpful to talk to authors such as @NoTalentHack who are kicking arse in their home categories to see what that category is about from the other side of the glass. As @joy_of_cooking said in another thread, writing about a kink you don't have is an exercise, so it needs research.

 

[MajorRewrite]

I'm reminded of what Kareem Abdul-Jabbar once said about the incessant, silly pseudo-debate over who is the basketball "GOAT" (Greatest Of All Time). He said, "It's not Highlander. There can be more than just one."

Hmm. Now I’m wondering what it would be like if every week’s story submissions were thrown into a March Madness style single elimination tournament?

Imagine the drama!

 

[SimonDoom]

Hmm. Now I’m wondering what it would be like if every week’s story submissions were thrown into a March Madness style single elimination tournament?

Imagine the drama!

I don't think the authors could handle that. Too many meltdowns.

 

[Bamagan]

I could see a certain amount of interest in it as a writing exercise. For example, if there were eight participants, each would write a segment of a story from a shared prompt, between 750-1000 words, which would then be paired off for initial voting. Whichever quartet wins the first round would then continue their stories by adding another segment, which could possibly be extended to ~1500 words since the field has been narrowed. Then those winners face off with a final segment each.
The glory of winning a round would be tempered by the need for extra work!

 

[ChloeTzang]

Revisionist history.

Only one clique was gaming contests, the others were calling it out and proving it.

Sweeps existed well before that, back when everything was blamed on two posters/authors Scouries and Bostonfictionwriter.

You're right in the Mod was created due to that.

Also right that as soon as there was a mod the 'clique' all faded away.

I think when I joined in 2015 I saw the tail end of some of that but it really seems to have faded away and you sure don't get some of the bitchiness on the AH that used to come out now and then.

I do miss Noir tho. Loved the guy - we emailed for a while after he got the boot but in the end his emails stopped, and he was a pretty old guy, so..... But I do miss him.

 

[ChloeTzang]

The site-sponsored contests involve money. That invites scheming competition.

and a certain amount of strategy and gaming LOL

 

[ChloeTzang]

The site certainly did nothing to keep the victim, at the head of the top list at the time, so a draw of readers, at the time--or two other top performers before her who were being harassed.

That was a bit before I started but I do remember that - said victim's writing was a bit of an inspiration for me when I started here, and she gave me some really good advice early on which I really appreciated

 

[lovecraft68]

I think when I joined in 2015 I saw the tail end of some of that but it really seems to have faded away and you sure don't get some of the bitchiness on the AH that used to come out now and then.

I do miss Noir tho. Loved the guy - we emailed for a while after he got the boot but in the end his emails stopped, and he was a pretty old guy, so..... But I do miss him.

He was a good guy, helped a lot of us behind the scenes. Problem he had was his old curmudgeon/Archie Bunker persona-and it was completely contrived-offended the delicate lib faction here and he was branded a troll. His eyes were going near the end of his time here, and he got tired of getting time outs because aforementioned thin skinned divas kept reporting him, so he moved on.

Odds are he may have moved on completely at this point, he was up there and not in great health.

But after years of people giving him the "where's your writing?" he created the Noir pen name and his style, content and ability to "go there" on certain topics blew the posers here away.

He commented about getting a Green E under another pen name and no one believed him because he wouldn't link it on the forum. But he did send it to me, and at least one other that I know of. Great story, but told from the perspective of an elderly woman recounting her days as a slave. Today's woke crowd would have run screaming from it.

And in the end, that was the problem people had with him. Both in his posts and in his writing, he had the balls to express himself and not worry about what he should and shouldn't say or write. Now we have sensitivity readers and "inclusivity" features in word's editing. Pffffffttttt

 

[lovecraft68]

That was a bit before I started but I do remember that - said victim's writing was a bit of an inspiration for me when I started here, and she gave me some really good advice early on which I really appreciated

Said victim went on to not only make a killing in the pay market, but her babysitter series is now a series of adult films by a major producer.

Lit sure showed her.