FrankieXP: What becomes of a good Catholic boy who draws parallels between papal debaucheries of the 1500s, Facebook, and this Sunday's church crowd, and even injects himself personally into the "ranting?" Someone, tie me down. I want to go to confession. |
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FrankieXP: Being a rebel can easily put you in a village of one. That being so, it's wise to enjoy the company. |
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I'm a rebel...against rebellion. :) - | ||
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FrankieXP: My continuing experience with FanStory has now reached another core sampling: there are trolls along the review highway, and when review dollars are ripe for picking, they appear like robber-bandits, taking the reviewing heist, and leaving a few scrambled words of worthless feedback. This, I conclude, is a cost of doing business with the legitimate reviewers, and simply is built into the price of paying for reviews. As in life, so in FanStory. Now, what do I do about this creeping cynicism? Oh, the usual antidote: I'll turn it into a story. |
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Quite wise of you, Frankie. - | ||
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FrankieXP: As a fairly new fanstory member, I'm just catching on to the rankings as rank. I scanned 18 pages of "comments" which were all reviews, and every review was a 5 or 6. What is the value or meaning of a ranking if no one gets a 2, 3, or 4? I have come to the conclusion that this system is simply meaningless or worse, its meaning is that we a cabal of liars, engaged in a mass hypnosis of how very talented we all are. |
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Bottom line--ignore the rankings. Ignore the stars. Look for the things that really matter--honest, helpful feedback from fellow writers who only want to share what they've learned about the craft. When you get a thorough, honest review, respond with gratitude. Give a Reviewer of the Month nomination. Then maybe they will come back and review you again. Because one thing about honest reviewers--they hate to waste time on thin-skinned, egotistical authors. - | ||
Cheers, Louise - | ||
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Ahhh, his eyes have opened, and he's on to us! LOL! *Trying to hypnotize Frankie* Listen to my voice, Frankie! We are all perfect reviewers--with absolutely no faults in our reviews! Oooooooo! LOL! :) - | ||
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FrankieXP: Not having yet uploaded a suitable picture, I posted the marquis tower for the South Coast Repertory theater in the Segerstrom Center for the Arts near my home in Orange County Caifornia. I attended a play there today, "Anton's Uncles" a fun and lively version of a play by Anton Chekov. I have also taken 2 acting and an improv class at this location. |
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FrankieXP: Well, I'm ranked, but not "rank" I pray, at 835 after a couple of poems. I am the "poet-warrior" unashamedly, and poetry is my natural environment. Place me first, or place me last, I know exactly who I am. |
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thought it was 'another jim'.... ;-) - | ||
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FrankieXP: I'm discovering that I enjoy giving reviews. The evidence is in the time I give and the number of reviews. That is a little disturbing. I am here to write primarily, and don't want the allocation of effort to be askew. But here are the advantages: I learn to be a better writer by reviewing; I learn the subtle art of diplomacy and grace; I learn the value of honest appraisal; I learn that feedback is just feedback--you choose how to use it; I learn the tenderness of the human heart, especially on matters of its own creation; I learn to get to the point; I learn to focus on the major observations; I learn the importance of encouragement and a positive ending; I learn that writers can be alone in the creation, but not lonely. |
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FrankieXP: Wrote an essay today, and while non-fiction is not my first choice, I saw that FanStory opens that door for submissions as well, so why not, at least occasionally? My topic: The European financial crisis of the next 3 to 6 months: what it portends. |
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FrankieXP: In writing a free verse poem this morning, I edited it by reading it aloud several times, changing it as needed with each reading. Poems, I'm convinced, are like songs that must be played with the human voice to identify the dross, so it may be removed. |
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FrankieXP: If ego had pheromones, I'm convinced the combined contributions would roll in like a heavy London fog into Fanstory, and we all would haggle at the hackles raised by reviews rating less than six, or votes distributed by paid promotions or the begging of our cliques. |
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Welcome to the site! Anisa - | ||
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FrankieXP: So, candid posting time: much of the poetry in a recent competition wafted in wrong direction of my senses. One piece (other than my own narcissistic creation) was exceptional, and I rated my competitor appropriately. Truth has this quality: the positive means nothing without the daring to state also the negative. [Yes, I am a novice to this forum, and you can tell many of my impressions will be "first impressions" not to be repeated.] |
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FrankieXP: Just entered the "What is Love?" poetry contest. The experience led me to conclude that love may be best recognized not in the moment, but in looking back. |
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FrankieXP: In the last 8 weeks I've been writing and delivering stand-up comedy material. This is a demanding art form, and requires an excellent sense of "story" structure: a set-up, a misdirection, and a "happy" surprise ending. My first paid stand up performance is this Saturday night. |
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FrankieXP: Entered my first contest: 5,7,5 poetry. OK, I'm tempted to try a month of this. It would be nice to be part of a supportive community. |
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