Poetic Referendum(s) On Life

And the Judges Are...

One of the areas of this website that I shy away from now are the contests. Some are great for inspiring one to write, come up with new ideas. But what is the purpose of writing for these prompts? To me, it is to show what I can do and to see what kind of response/feedback I can get for my efforts. In the past, I wrote Kansaspoet and enjoyed the process. I have been meaning to return, but have lost my way. Many other contests with or without prompts have come along. I've tried most and failed, either to finish an entry or to provide an entry satisfactory to the judges. So now, I don't give contests priority. And I think about why I don't enter any more, and this is what I'm coming up with.

I think the amount of time it takes to participate is great, and a writer would like a return on the investment to make it worth while. For several reasons, the return has lessened for me. Very little attention is paid to entries. I enter, get a review and that is about it. Just about anyone can judge a contest and if you don't know what the judges like, it's a shot in the dark. I don't even know why some of these folks think they qualify to hold a contest and/or judge it. The reviews seem rushed, don't seem to grasp the concept of what the writer attempts to achieve. The judging is questionable. I find judges can't appreciate anything beyond rhyme, symmetry and meter.

It feels like some don't appreciate the effort it takes some to participate, even admonishing aimlessly because of the low number of entries. Or, they give reviews that don't properly thank, and some just go right into criticizing. I got two such reviews from a member who I thought was a friend, who picked apart my work with no apologies. A person who previously suggested poetry was not their thing. So why try to judge and shoot down what I thought were some decent efforts?

The whole process was becoming pretty disappointing. Thankfully, I'm getting plenty of attention from my Rising Star friends, mainly GabriellaR45 who has awarded three or more of my works inside of two months, I want to say. She has been very encouraging. I tell you, my membership is due to run out in a few months, and I'm not too thrilled about staying on because of the kind of response I get on a variety of things. I have made some great contacts, but I really don't need to keep 225 items online or spend all the time dressing up my port for such disappointing outcomes. The free membership is basically all I need.

I pretty much stopped gabbing in scroll because it is always the same old stuff. Mostly puns, wordplay and some imaginative interactions aside from a bunch of 'hello' and 'how are yous'. I stopped participating in forums because they are barely interactive. There is little give and take. I feel reviewing other members is the greatest way to make contacts. Some people will return the favor and provide decent commentary. I've found a few members to keep me on my toes. But keeping the lines of communication open is pretty difficult, making me pursue input. That usually results in a less than favorable outcome. I'm starting to the think the online thing is good for just a few things.

One, is introducing new items. I can keep the minimum 10 items here and review folks to keep lines of communication open. Two, is I can follow groups and contests to see what is happening. I can still watch what they are talking about in scroll to know what the latest is. Three, I'll have a port with email set up where I can direct people from around the net and in my travels to look at my work. I don't need over 200 items. I don't need a book. I can post a few chapters. A writer doesn't need to post a whole book online. I worry about others who could take my works and rewrite to suit themselves, as there is much of that rewriting of copyrighted material going around, as with freelance writing articles on the internet. You can practically rewrite anything and have it pass copyscape or whatever without infringement.

So, don't need tons of space. And I can link to another webpage where I'm allowed to have lots of free webspace where people can review without the bother of ratings and other crap. They can just leave feedback without all the posturing and other stuff that strains potential relationships from forming.

So, I guess I'm leaning toward letting my upgrade expire in November. I'll just take down what I don't need to leave up. I had a good run. I'm not going to get any further accolades than I'm getting for the occasional item, so it's not worth the extra investment.

I just want to get serious about writing again and leave the better portion of my time here behind me. I'll savor and keep the few worthwhile acquaintances I've made in hopes of furthering myself as a writer. Despite what I failed to accomplish here in one year, I think I'm better for the experience overall. I worry for others who'll fall into a trap of false expectations. I wish I could warn them somehow on how to avoid the pitfalls to get the greatest rewards from being a member here. I've done what I can. I have to close the door on that as well. I have to put myself first now and stop looking back

Brian