Forum / one other overlooked gem + requisite complaints
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strannikovSep 20, 12:56pmI've communicated recently with Jurgen with concerns about reliability of the algorithms used to rank or rate Fictionaut contributions. I here make a case in point with my own very latest posting:
http://fictionaut.com/stories/strannikov/egalite-in-equal-measures
which on the basis of traffic stats and the fave-meter (an almost perfectly useless metric, to my reckoning) presently underperforms some of my weaker offerings, even though it is much more polished and substantive than a literary joke like "Predicting the Present, However Tardily" (which was and remains a complete toss-off that I posted simply to gauge local reaction: I am not exactly heartened that it has performed so well when a deserving piece like "Egalite" gets bypassed).
The algorithms can serve well only as short-hand notation and cannot be thought to provide utterly reliable information about the actual literary quality or merit of any piece appearing on the Fictionaut site. (This sentiment, though belabored in this Forum often enough, perhaps has not yet been belabored enough, especially by silent members of the silent Board of Advisors.)
Since I'm clearing my nether throat here, permit me to observe that I am aware that some of my shortcomings are of my own making: I don't maintain a Facebook page, don't have a Twitter account, possess and operate neither cellphone nor smartphone, don't subscribe to late-breaking literary fashion, and don't subscribe to any of the local cults of celebrity (the fact that I read so little here of other Fictionauters' work is my concession to the feelings of others: I can be a severe critic, partly owing to my twelve professional years as copyeditor and proofreader, partly owing to native temperament and talent, partly owing to what I perceive here as a general absence or vast understatement of literary-critical standards [merely descriptive, that is: I do not favor prescriptive or deontological literary standards, but neither do I favor simple reliance on the "standard" provided by rank popularity]). Plus, I've advertised how poorly I think of most MFA programs and what I decry as the "academic captivity" of contemporary fiction, just as on occasion I've not been shy about badmouthing journalistic forays into fiction and journalistic appropriation of fictional narrative technique.
In point of fact, I have very few friends in this world of seven billion plus, and the few friends I have are not literary types. But I am not looking to cultivate friendships with my writing: I write, and having written I rely on my stories to tell their own tales.
But then, perversely, I of course expect them to be read: that's why I post them, after all. I do expect them to be read: not agreed with or necessarily remembered, but read. And while I respect my work's ability to speak for itself, in this very limited circumstance I am also willing to toot the kazoo here in this Forum to point out that I am acutely aware that some excellent work is being ignored, which just happens to be my own: well-written, well-edited, incisive, humorous when not downright funny, intelligent, interesting, unique, imaginative, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
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James ClaffeySep 20, 02:06pmI can't quite understand how your most recent piece has been ignored by the readership. I found it to be engaging, thought-provoking, and a damn fine piece of writing. Keep going.
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Barry BasdenSep 20, 02:07pmThis is a closed community. Send it out into the world.
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Frankie SaxxSep 20, 06:06pm
I did not see it at all. Thanks for the link. I always enjoy your work, even when it makes my brain feel inadequate. :)
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mxi woddSep 20, 06:45pmHere's a good 'un
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I also like this one (though did send stran some questiones):
http://fictionaut.com/stories/strannikov/the-escape-of-eduirdo
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Frankie SaxxSep 20, 07:22pm
Oh yes! The Escape of Eduirdo was good.
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Adam SifreSep 20, 08:05pm'Tis a cruel world.
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Carol ReidSep 21, 01:50amThanks for the wake-up call, Strannikov.
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James Lloyd DavisSep 21, 03:34pmThis is some new kind of faux theater, right? An in joke? Has to be, so I'm not going to say what I think. It's obviously a trap for the uninitiated.
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Carol ReidSep 21, 03:52pm
Guess I'm hopelessly naïve (shocker, eh?). I took it as real, and I read and enjoyed the story.
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James Lloyd DavisSep 21, 04:13pm
It's good for one to be confident about the quality of one's work, but there is such a thing as hyperbole. When it appears, or seems to appear, and maybe I'm overly suspicious, but it triggers automatic caution.
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James Lloyd DavisSep 21, 04:16pm
Consider this: "And while I respect my work's ability to speak for itself, in this very limited circumstance I am also willing to toot the kazoo here in this Forum to point out that I am acutely aware that some excellent work is being ignored, which just happens to be my own: well-written, well-edited, incisive, humorous when not downright funny, intelligent, interesting, unique, imaginative, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera."
Perhaps it's hyperbole in pursuit of mere humor. Difficult to tell.
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Susan GibbSep 21, 06:58pmEvery time I wander back here I read a few stories, read the forum, and wander away again.
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James Lloyd DavisSep 21, 09:33pm
"My! People come and go so quickly here!" Dorothy
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strannikovSep 22, 01:00am
Thank you, Fictionauters, one and all.
My solicitation on behalf of "Egalite in Equal Measures" yielded welcome traffic in views, in substantive and rewarding comments, even in the Faves we love to hate (and which remain constituent to the lovely algorithms we dare not live without) not just for the one story but all my other twenty-five postings.
This exercise helped pull me and stretch me a little, too: I read works I would not have read but for the initial kindness and response shown me, and this experience has enlarged my sense of engagement with the significant work you share here.
Thank you for reading, with hopes that at least some of my stuff clicks. Keep up all good work.
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