The inherent sentimentality of certain categories

[Britva415]

Valid point, but I think what OP was going for was more that some categories tend to have a higher percentage of stories that are well written.

Oh, that wasn't what I got from it at all.

Up-page, they already discussed the inadequacy of using "artistry" to try to delve not the difference they were trying to describe, but even way before that, in the very first post, it seemed to me like they were focused on content rather than on writing quality.

EDIT: Nevermind, I see that I'm late to the party and they edited the post, probably since you wrote this.

 

[MelissaBaby]

As a writer in that category, I'm never happier than when I can make the readers cry (what an awful thing to say) - it means those blubbering messes I write have managed to jump off the page and connect with their feelings in a real way.

Don't sweat it, I have said many times that (for me personally) I would rather make a reader cry than make them come. Perhaps it's because of my background working strip clubs, but I don't see getting someone to come as any great achievement.

But this...a comment on Queen of the Roller Derby...if I was keeping a scorecard, this would be a grand slam homerun.

 

[YmaOHyd]

You seem to have missed out The Woman in the Spare Room for some reason



But, yes there are TONS of parenting stories in LS. Looking at the Top 20 today, you've also got A Ghost of a Chance by @careythomas Mary's Innocent Passion by @Glaze72 and even the St Clair series by @Todd172 in addition to the ones RedGarters mentioned.

I'm not saying they don't exist, but they're not the most popular plot. Four, I think, of the time five all-time in Romance are essentially parent plots.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

I'm not saying they don't exist, but they're not the most popular plot. Four, I think, of the time five all-time in Romance are essentially parent plots.

That doesn't make it the most popular plot, just the most successful.

 

[RocketGrunt]

The "toplists" and "most popular" sections are broken beyond repair and are not an accurate glimpse of what the most popular things actually are. The #2 on the Romance Toplist has been given 4250 5-star reviews. The #20 on the Romance Toplist has been given 29,328 5-star reviews. The number 20 story is obviously, and I mean obviously more popular than the number 2, and it's not remotely close. It's had more than six times as much positive feedback.

The "Popular" tag on the Romance stories category page is even more broken, where currently the #1 on the ALL TIME Popular list has 940 views. Not 940 5-star reviews, 940 views. There isn't a single story on the Romance All-Time Popular Stories section that has even one-third as many views as the #20 story on the Romance Toplist has 5-star ratings.

And let's not forget that if you get to the bottom of the "All Time Popular" top ten and click the button for "More Popular Romance Sex Stories" it sends you to the toplist, where not a single one of the top ten stories of supposedly all time have placed in the top 50 of the toplist. The formula that spits out placement on these lists is just completely broken and does not give an accurate assessment of what is or is not popular. It doesn't even give consistent results.