Comments on Blog Fiction: Chaos Reigns in World of Online Fiction

I'll be closing NovLounge once I return on the 4th...

2008-11-15T04:02:46.917-05:00

I'll be closing NovLounge once I return on the 4th - I agree with you that too many discussion sites won't do this community any good at the moment (it is, after all, still rather small). Also, I think the forums on WFG should be more than adequate, and it'll make far more sense to drive community participation to it, rather than to critical sites like Novelr.

PS: not supposed to be commenting, seeing as I've left even Novelr in the cold, but I saw your post in my feed reader and had to drop by. This is good coverage of the online fiction sphere, Dustin. Keep up the good work.

Well, I guess I just don't like blog fiction. I've...

2008-09-10T18:32:07.636-04:00

Well, I guess I just don't like blog fiction. I've tried it (www.thestoryplace.blog.com), and have received feedback from readers that they find the format disjointed and frustrating in terms of readability. So I'm closing the site, and have shifted all but one story to my www.thestoryteller.synthasite.com, which presents each story complete on its own page, and makes makes reading it a LOT simpler. I've gotten some rave reviews on it, too.

George Polley
Sapporo, Japan

Chris,Thanks for the thoughts. And Big Giant Than...

2008-09-09T22:01:33.342-04:00

Chris,
Thanks for the thoughts. And Big Giant Thank you for the listing on your community page. As you may have noticed I've listed your forum's feed on my blog. Hopefully we'll each get some extra traffic and a larger community.

I'm late to the show, but I'll point out that most...

2008-09-09T17:16:15.959-04:00

I'm late to the show, but I'll point out that most of the people posting in the WFG forums are writers. There was a number of good long threads that involved a lot of people, so I think maybe a lull was to be expected.

Something I'm a little more happy about is that reader registrations are up (we have over 100 now) and those readers are starting to post reviews at WFG more often. I think that's a great sign.

In any event, just wanted to let you know that we've added a link to your site on our community links page.

My bad Susan. I see it now. You should put your ...

2008-09-07T11:26:22.854-04:00

My bad Susan. I see it now. You should put your blog in my online fiction listing. It probably won't get you much traffic, but it'll at least get you a linkback.

Also, you should definitely submit your blog to the Web Fiction Guide. You'll get some attention from that site if you do.

Go look again at the Meet and Greet, Dustin. Trevo...

2008-09-07T09:48:33.420-04:00

Go look again at the Meet and Greet, Dustin. Trevor's in rare form today.

Susan,Which blog do you post fiction too? Your pr...

2008-09-05T21:50:09.181-04:00

Susan,
Which blog do you post fiction too? Your profile only seems to list blogs about fiction, but none that actually contain it.

I never knew such a place existed and I've been po...

2008-09-05T18:08:34.530-04:00

I never knew such a place existed and I've been posting fiction (a lot of fiction) on my blog for well over two years now.

Leif,That is precisely what I'm afraid of. It was...

2008-09-03T13:45:25.636-04:00

Leif,
That is precisely what I'm afraid of. It wasn't a problem before because pages unbound was the only one. There was room for other sites as long as PU kept going. Once it stopped, people scattered and critical mass was lost.

JZ,
I hope that you're right. That I'm just over reacting and this is just a cyclical thing.

Or is everyone overwhelmed by the quantity of onli...

2008-09-03T10:00:19.602-04:00

Or is everyone overwhelmed by the quantity of online content? There are so many forums, social networks and blogs to read and contribute to that everyone's time is spread thinly across them all...

Speaking only personally, I'd bet that it's a comb...

2008-09-03T08:53:34.710-04:00

Speaking only personally, I'd bet that it's a combination of a number of the things you mentioned.

1. Lots of the people (though not all) are in the US.
2. Lots of writers and readers of web fiction are college students. They're going back to school (at least in the US...)
3. Labor Day and it's associated weekend do slow things down...
4. I've got young kids. They're going back to school.
5. Forums have a burst of activity when they begin (WFG just began in many ways)and tend to go in cycles anyway...

At the moment, I'm guessing that most people don't realize that PU has come back...