your fav pieces and why others don't seem to like them

I tend to get that with my Discordant Apple stuff, which i love writing. However, a fair bit of the stuff i write out of boredom ends up being cherry-picked, so guess it is just one of those things.

www.lorrainemace.com My Black Widow's Funeral is (in my eyes) far better than the three pieces that were Cherry Picked, but it didn't find favour. This is not a complaint, merely a response to the original question. :)

Writers are often recommended to give up the work they like the most- whether it’s a phrase or a whole piece. Falling in love with your own work – like falling in love with anything- can make you blind to its faults. Being brutal is a requirement for any writer. Having said that, to stay sane, writers needs to write for themselves, first and foremost. Waiting for praise- or the next cherry- can make you focus on your 'success' instead of the next line you need to write. But you have a great ABC collection and 19 cherries so I don't think you should worry too much.

On the whole, the short stories I think are good are the ones that get cherried. However, I've never had any poetry cherried, even though some of it (I think)is pretty strong.

I have had a couple of surprises with the cherry picking: stories that I didn't think would be picked and yet were, & the other way round as well. I really like getting cherry-picked but like most rewards I suppose, there can come a stage when one wants something a little different: me, I'd love to write something worthy of story of the week; something good enough for the ABCTales magazine & something that gets quite a few comments. In fact I'd probably trade all of the glittering prizes just for regular comments & criticism.... "Oooh, I liked that one" is not as useful I think as "really mate don't you think it's time you did this with your writing... or that?"

Good point, kropotkin. I'm not going to go into the whole 'inevitability of the subjective nature of cherry picking' debate again - but I do think sometimes as I read stuff through - 'this person really likes this, but it's not nearly as good as that other piece of theirs I read the other day. I'm sure they won't agree. Tough'. It does take the outsider's eye sometimes to see what works and what doesn't. But I also think it's like asking the way in India - you should ask a reasonable number of people (many of whom will point in entirely different directions), take a consensus and then add in your own thoughts. It may throw you slightly off the line of your original intention but it is unlikely to turn you around.

Agreed, Tony, but getting "a number of people" to discuss your piece of writing is a rare event. I don't like self-flagging, and I've never had anyone else flag my work. So pretty much the only feedback that is guaranteed is whether it get's a cherry or not.

Who is this Cherry anyway? And does she prefer crime, horror or general fiction?

Comments are always very welcome - good, bad or ugly - especially from other contributors to this site. Maybe as an unofficial rule: for every piece that is submitted by a member they should also comment (no matter how short) on anothers work. I'm sure things will snowball ...

I think this is a good idea. A bit like creative bartering– a sort of 'LETS for Lits' which would bump us from cherry seeking to being a truly interactive writing community.

I've written several books. I think they're okay... but what do people prefer to read? My flippin` diaries. "Got up, ate apple for lunch (damned diet, worked all day went to bed, the end" I'm grateful for any feedback on anything... but it's never failed to amaze me that I pour buckets of effort into a piece of fiction and yet a five minute ramble gets more attention. :-) Fickle lot people who read.

I've written several books. I think they're okay... but what do people prefer to read? My flippin` diaries. "Got up, ate apple for lunch (damned diet, worked all day went to bed, the end" I'm grateful for any feedback on anything... but it's never failed to amaze me that I pour buckets of effort into a piece of fiction and yet a five minute ramble gets more attention. :-) Fickle lot people who read.

OK - point taken - I will post a new 'general rule' on the front page and let's see if we get more comments!

Story of the week is so dependent on the quality of that week's offerings. Last week I was snowed under with great stories - but this week the knockout stuff has been poetry. Although I do have a couple in mind that I like very much... You can always nominate for Story of Poem of the Week. Just email me with your suggestion/s.

"I've written several books. I think they're okay... but what do people prefer to read? My flippin` diaries. " Well, your life's always likely to more interesting people who weren't there and don't know what happens next than to you because you were there and do know what happens next.