After reading this article, I popped over there for a second and tooled around for a bit. And I realized, even as I was scrolling through some glowing reviews, that none of them actually made me want to read the books.

When I go to the library to look for a print book, I expect there to be glowing praise from somebody on the cover somewhere. Glowing praise does not make me pick up a book.

Instead, I think I search for the things about fiction that I know I love. Themes like forbidden love or one person’s struggle against an oppressive society. Web fiction is very easy to dismiss. I can close a book and stop reading it, but it still sits on my nightstand, reminding me that it’s in my possession. Once I close a browser window, it’s gone. I sometimes wish, when I’m looking for fiction to read online, that there was something short and quick–something that would get to the heart of the matter. Something that would tell me, “This is why this book is worth reading. This is what it wants to tell you, or discuss, or posit.”

I feel the same way as some of the others do above me. Every time I sit down to try to read a webfic, I audition about four, am unimpressed with each, and then give up for some different reading material. This is depressing to me. I am writing webfic, and I would love to connect with other authors who are doing so as well. I don’t want to seem “snobby.” My own story is a YA romance-thriller, and, while I’m proud of it, I’m sure it has its weaknesses.

I know there is outstanding online fiction out there. It does just seem tough to find.

(But of course it’s a hypothetical position for me, whereas for you it’s your actual concern, which I can only imagine. Hence the respect.)

@ Sonja — You have no idea how glad I was to see your comments show up on Diggory yesterday. There almost wouldn’t have been a community on NMAI without your influence — I met the entire WFG editorial board because of you. Arguably I’d have some network of friends because of Pages Unbound before its demise (I think that’s how I found Allan) but it wouldn’t have been the same.

Hearing you’re not writing online right now is a bit of a disappointment, considering how much I loved Fiction Murdered? and the characters of the Mutants. I’m sure you have your reasons. You’re a writer — I’m sure you’ll continue with that when you’re ready, whether it’s as a hobby, online, or in publishing. I’m patient, I am. (It took me a decade to finish NMAI, and I was in no rush. I still think about changing some parts.)

Just glad you’re back online!

@Gavin Would this be a bad time to say that I’ve resolved to step away from writing online fiction (though I do plan on taking a breath and taking the plunge to reading it once more)?

I read stuff that people recommend, but even the stuff that is universally adored isn’t always my cup of tea. But it’s like any recommendation from friends. I trust their recommendations, and if I don’t like it, I chalk it up to my personal tastes, because the stuff that is being recommended is technically good.

But yeah – with 300 stories, it is hard to find the really good stuff out there. And with demands on my time, it’s hard to take time to look.

Best of luck to Chris on figuring out ways to separate the wheat from the chaff (and some of my early work certainly belongs in the latter category). If there’s anyway I can help, don’t hesitate to ask.

These people are my friends, and I like seeing them creating. I like knowing we’re not in this alone.

My burn-out is over web fiction in general because, yeah, there’s 300 stories on WFG. But I have no idea how to find the gems, and no interest in slogging through the rest. I still believe the original format had its merits, even though I like a lot of the redesigned elements. I would put the stars back on the main listing pages again, regardless of how authors feel about them. But that’s just me.

Maybe I’m a jerk for having high standards, but I want to read something new that makes me remember that fiction can startle and amaze me.

Over at WFG, I mentioned again something I proposed on the old forums here – Wovelcon. I was just throwing the name out there because we were talking about key terms for StumbleUpon and I used wovel which someone hadn’t heard before.

I mentioned over there that we’d need a critical mass before something like that could even be considered. But when I see 300 entries on WFG in under a year, and traditionally published authors, like Cat Valente, going the webfiction route, I’m wondering if we might not be closer than we think.

I think a con on our own is too big an idea right now. But perhaps reaching out to large conventions with a lot of cross-over might not be out of line – see if we can get a panel or two. ComicCon has opened its doors to webcomic artists. We’re a logical next step.

Maybe, if I get motivated, I’ll call the organizers after this year’s con is over, and see if maybe they’d be willing to host a panel and invite some of the bigger names in webfiction to speak.

I’m always open to the thoughts of the community.

More importantly, when something isn’t up to snuff, most people (especially lurkers, who make up the majority of all site’s visitors) simply move on. Time and energy are not limitless. With nonfiction, people get riled up, want to argue, inspired to action. Mediocre fiction doesn’t do that.

And, yes, your comment left me smiling. That time when we were all new, and we had just met each other – that was an exciting one for me as well. I think for all of us. What changed in the months since?

I would disagree only on the point of community though – the community is still strong, and still out there … whenever WFG loads for me I always make it a point to check the forums, and I’m always encouraged by what I see there. Writers helping each other, writers with zany humour, writers asking for commentary, for critique. And I’ve just linked to an online fiction book club – which is itself an alliance between 5 writers, spread out in all corners of the globe. Maybe what we have lost, they have gained, and the joy of our partnerships have merely moved on to the newer members of the online fiction fraternity.

Is it us? Or the medium as a whole? I’m not sure. But I’d like to think that it is us, because I’m a believer in being able to change what we don’t like. And this is something that I don’t like. Things can be better. I’m working on the how.

@Jim: Possible, but I’m not inclined to think so. Chris (Lethe, not Poirier) became jaded with the whole process – like us – many many months ago, before summer began. And I can say confidently, too, that my … lethargy began in January, after coming back online to a landscape vastly different from when I left for exams (big companies! ebook wars!).

@Chris: I’ve already told you this, but I pray you get – and stay – better. =) But anyway. When you did a rollcall in the editors forum a couple of days back I responded because I’m still invested in WFG – even if it doesn’t seem so. WFG rarely loads on my end these couple of days – along with a LOT of websites – but once I’m in Singapore, with an ISP that at least practices some degree of network neutrality, I intend to go back and contribute. WFG imposes structure to the loose ecosystem that is our medium. I admit: it may not be as good for finding quality fiction today, and there are flaws with the way it filters the fiction for the new reader – but our medium would be two years backwards if WFG were to completely fall.

I understand where you’re coming from, though, and I do – myself – feel jaded and miffed at the sheer amount of tosh we have to sift through just to survive. The effort to benefits ratio isn’t worth it. But then again, looking back at all the work we’ve done – getting members together, talking and planning and reviewing … wouldn’t it be a waste to let it die?

It’s been slow, launching Shelves, but I’m convinced that while Shelves may be the right answer to helping readers into online fiction … WFG is more critical for the medium’s health. Then again, we may not be right people to maintain and curate a directory/backbone/archive – important as it is – of online fiction.

However, I have to agree with Gavin. Perhaps I shouldn’t be saying this publicly, but most of the stuff we get at WFG is not worth reading. That was one of the reasons for the policy change to not reviewing everything, and why we set the default rating to just under 3 stars. Recently, most of my decisions have been about whether it is worth the time and angst to mark things down to 2.5 or 2 stars, where most of the recent listings belong.

That’s not me saying I think my own work is brilliant, BTW — I don’t think it is. To be quite honest, I think Winter Rain is overrated on WFG.

I have a fairly low opinion of online crit groups, to be honest. I no longer spend any time in them myself. I think they are worthwhile when you are just starting out, but only if you spend your time *writing* critiques for writers better than yourself. The stuff you get back generally isn’t very useful, because people don’t generally critique “down” — ie. most of the feedback you’ll receive is from people just as lost and confused as you (and often moreso). Personally, I’m far more interested in hearing how my readers *felt* while reading something I’ve written, than I am in hearing how they think I should change it. Then, at least, I can tell if I achieved my own goals, and that helps guide the development of my craft.

Also, I’m finding my conversations with other writers are changing my perspective, and helping me nail down exactly what it is I’m trying to do. All in, I’m finding myself caring less and less about online fiction. I’m growing bored and jaded about the whole thing. I mean, I intend to keep writing online, and I’ll always be happy to have people read and comment — but, really, I’m caring less and less about trying to advertise or grow my readership. I’m writing for my own sake, not anybody else’s. And, as for reading, I’d rather spend my time on a few stories I really enjoy, than sifting through tons of crap.

Eli: your idea of the Shelves project — where only good stuff gets in — may have been the right choice all along.

Chris.

I’m not saying that’s all of it, but it probably contributes to a lack of comments (or short ones) at the very least.

Of course, the fact that this has changed from being a new thing to a “not quite so new” thing probably contributes too.

In the summer of 2007 it was thrilling to discover Tales of MU. I had never thought about the possibilities of writing just fiction on the Internet. In fact, I was doing research about the feasibility of comic books, with built in search functions. I discovered a ToMU ad on a webcomic site. The rich psychological complexity of AE’s characters, combined with her subversion of traditional fantasy tropes, and willingness to explore niche topics, convinced me that online fiction could go places traditional literature couldn’t.

That was a tremendously exciting time for me. I’m primarily a prose writer, so I set aside the comic book idea and went for my preferred style, and just wrote fiction. It’s hard to believe that I’ve been online with No Man an Island since October 2007, and The Surprising Life and Death of Diggory Franklin has been going strong for a year.

Stories like Alisiyad and Queen of Seven were rich in characterization, and comparable in quality to anything published. The Mutants and Fiction Murdered? played with traditional ideas in new ways. Hanging out on these sites, getting to know these authors, led me to Novelr and to the emergence of the Web Fiction Guide. We have developed the medium quite well for a two year span.

But now I feel like we’re spinning our wheels. ToMU has been online for more than two years, and only two months have passed in the life of Mackenzie Blaise. Important plot points (Two summoning a demon, for instance) fall by the wayside because of the relationship soap drama that dominates the text. And which goes around and around in circles. It is extremely difficult to maintain an emotional connection to characters over a two year span when all they do is the same thing they did last month and last year.

And the promise and potential of WFG, to expose us to new fiction, has somewhat fallen flat. I’ve given up reviewing anything about magic or vampires or zombies, because I don’t care to see another revamp of overdone cultural and traditional creations. I want something original and fresh. There are a few notable exceptions and experiments that attempt to push into new territory, but overall I feel like a lot of the fiction is amateur quality, and not something I want to spend time reading.

We’ve always said that the best things about Internet fiction are the possibility for community and experimentation. Well, the community has been pretty dry lately, and the experiments seem few and far between. I personally need something to get me excited again, the way I was with the originality of ToMU’s early days, and the chance to share NMAI’s unique structure.

I have big plans for Diggory, the “Not your Average Hero” and “Unexpected Tangent” stories hint at the possibilities of my character. But I want to be excited about fiction in general, and right now I’m not. Of my first online friends, only Eli, Jim and Allan are still updating. Sarah and Sonja have been on hiatus awhile, and even Chris Poirer has been slow to update lately. It just feels like the driving forces behind the excitement and growth have gotten tired, or maybe it’s just me.

@Steph: point well taken, about site purpose. In my experience writers don’t generally ask for reviews within the site, true, but the serious ones do usually email and follow up on off-hand remarks from readers. Gavin does that, and so does Chris/Lethe … and a few other writers that I can’t really remember at the moment. These are generally old-school, and serious about improving their craft (as pretentious as that sounds – I know – but it’s true).

On your point about writing crit groups: I … don’t know what to say, really. It appears to me that the Internet brings out the best in us, or the worst in us; and that it’s also hard to create and maintain a community culture that is just right – not too harsh, not too soft; always friendly.

@Duane: glad to be back. =) Your third factor matters more, I think, at sites like WFG where you get a high concentration of (writing) peers. And I can understand exactly what you mean when you say mutual praise – it’s something everyone is tempted to do, sooner or later, if you’re new, in a community, and you want to be liked.

@Jim: When I comment on your stories I comment on the characters, and treat them as actual people sitting right beside you. I try to do the same when I’m commenting on other serials now, too. As for critique … I think it’s still possible at sites, but in those cases it’s rarely done in public … I’ve a feeling more writers receive C&C via email than we can tell.

@Clare: Hey, I came late to this comment thread, too, and I’m all out of things to say in response to what this bunch have already covered. ;-)

@Gavin, Allan: I’m feeling a bit of that, though I wonder if it’s a result of being out of it for so long. I was struggling with Novelr and with the direction of the medium for sometime – it seems to have lost it’s … newness, it’s excitement. Maybe because we matured as a community, I don’t know. I’m fighting to reclaim that passion that got us started. It’s important.

Burn out? Maybe. But I think I’ve rested enough.

But I also think Eli has a point. And I agree with Jim. Yeah, you don’t see a lot of criticism on the person’s site. But I’m also not sure it’s the proper forum.

Especially for those just starting out, of course they can improve – Lord knows I needed to. But at the same time, a heap of criticism can be discouraging right out of the gate. And let’s face it – unlike the offline world, the anonymity of the internet can lead to much harsher criticism than one would find in an offline review of work.