Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Non Member Views

I'm facinated by non-member views. Who are all these non-members. Where are they coming from...out of the Ozone? Actually the statistic I value most on writing.com is "Views" When I see a member view I think...hmmm, another writer, taking a break from their busy schedule...took a gander at something I wrote. Then if the member takes a second look I think, Hey! maybe I finally wrote something worth a second look...then it occurs to me that most of the second member looks I receive are about contest entries and since I don't win many contests they are probably groaning about having to read it a second time for an evaluation or worse a dreaded "Obligatory Review." Non-member views are more akin to readers, I think. I'm sure many come from world wide cruisers of the web. It's a cheap way of getting to read. There is no way of telling if a non-member is a repeat reader or not...too bad they can't comment. Anyway this is an interesting statistic to me because it involves readers and that after all is the audience of a writer. A reader looks at it and if they like it are inclined to read more when the author posts again. Or maybe its just hit and miss depending upon what happens to be posted on the board...I noticed a rather dramatic drop-off in non viewer hits when I had to post to a higher content rating...there was a ninety percent drop off in views. Oh well, its something to think about.

The next form of feedback I like is Reviews...I don't get many of these and that's OK because I don't find them very useful. For a review to be helpful to a writer it has to be willing to show some tough love. I have come to the conclusion that reviewers tire of the beating they take when they try and point out areas that need improving. When I first came to this site I tried some tough love reviews and I have absolutely no talent for doing them. First I made it a rule to only review material I liked reading. If I didn't like it I passed. My dad was famous for his adages. One was if you can't say something good don't say anything at all. I have come to believe that is the "Golden Rule" of writing.com. My dad had alot of those adages, another being that "All Women are Beautiful." Before you start getting a warm and fuzzy for the old Geezer realize that he was a Rake. He had the "Irresistible Gene" that hops around in the family and women flocked to him... and he was generous in his interest, much to my mother's chagrin. My Brother and a cousin of mine have it...luckily it passed over me...if they get any pleasure from it, it doesn't last long. My wife was the only woman who ever took the slightest interest in me in that regard. She is very affectionate and has brought a load of emotional and physical love to our relationship....I take that back...there was a young woman when I went back to Tech School. For some reason she developed a warm spot in her heart and though I was tempted had learned enough over a lifetime not to head down that road. Maybe if she had been older I might have succumbed but a young woman...shiver...Still it was a lift to know somebody cared enough to show a physical and emotional interest. How did I get off on this tangent...sorry

Ah yes, it had to do with reviewing...Anyway when I first got here I was like a bull in a china cabinet. It took me a while to get socialized enough to where I didn't get booted. I had this feeling that if I read something that was worth commenting on that had a Fatal Flaw...that was something that would in my view cause a publisher to toss it in the reject pile that I had a moral obligation to tactfully point this out to the writer. I know, I know was I ever naive. After half a dozen "How Dare You." responses I decided to stop doing that. Now these indignant writers had an interesting outlook. As soon as they got my feedback they went to my port and did a review in kind. The idea was that if my writing was inferior to theirs I had no right to comment. This had me scratching because what did that have to do with anything...The comments were offered without any axe to grind, and focused on a serious area of concern. Take it or leave it... It was the type of review I would have liked to received and thought any writer serious about improving their craft could benefit by. Was I ever out in left field. Then the advice of my father came back to me...no not about the beautiful women, but about saying good.. and suddenly the light came on. Of Course!

The real reason writers flock to writing.com was not to get their writing reviewed but to find a support group. They come here because they are saturated with all the "Aw Shucks" in life and need someone to say. "I found your piece absolutely delightful. Keep up the good work...I expect to see you soon on the best seller list. That put the whole matter into a better context and since then I've gotten fewer toxic replies, however that might be attributable to the fact that I have all but stopped giving reviews.

Now I keep my head bowed and just write whatever my muse fills my head with. Sometimes I hear her whisper, "Percy Darling, I find your work to be absolutely delightful, keep up the good work and soon you will be the best seller list." I smile, puff my chest out and thank god for such a wise and wonderful muse. She is truly beautiful and what she sees in me is a mystery.