Feo Takahari
Auror
I'd like to begin with two assertions:
1): Most of what's posted in the showcase isn't that good, at least in the form that it's posted in.
2): Not only is this to be expected, it's completely okay.
To explain, if I had something really good that I wanted to post, I wouldn't post it in a forum for commentary and criticism. Instead, I use the showcase for things that I think might be good with a lot of revision--hence why everything I've posted in the showcase has kind of sucked. I think most people who post stories there are doing the same, but not everyone who reads stories there realizes this, leading to a certain amount of friction (which thankfully doesn't often bubble over, due to the relative politeness of this site's community.)
Looked at in this light--it all sucks, but we're trying to make it suck less--the question of whether or not to post something in the showcase because you're "afraid it's bad" ceases to be an issue. Be bad with everyone else, and try to be less bad in your next revision. Conversely, while commenting on stories there is still something of a chore, it's a more agreeable chore if you look for the potential greatness in bad stories, rather than searching for (and often failing to find) good stories.
Maybe some posters will think this is completely obvious. Hell, maybe you all will. But it took me a while to think of things in these terms, and I wanted to pass the thought on.
1): Most of what's posted in the showcase isn't that good, at least in the form that it's posted in.
2): Not only is this to be expected, it's completely okay.
To explain, if I had something really good that I wanted to post, I wouldn't post it in a forum for commentary and criticism. Instead, I use the showcase for things that I think might be good with a lot of revision--hence why everything I've posted in the showcase has kind of sucked. I think most people who post stories there are doing the same, but not everyone who reads stories there realizes this, leading to a certain amount of friction (which thankfully doesn't often bubble over, due to the relative politeness of this site's community.)
Looked at in this light--it all sucks, but we're trying to make it suck less--the question of whether or not to post something in the showcase because you're "afraid it's bad" ceases to be an issue. Be bad with everyone else, and try to be less bad in your next revision. Conversely, while commenting on stories there is still something of a chore, it's a more agreeable chore if you look for the potential greatness in bad stories, rather than searching for (and often failing to find) good stories.
Maybe some posters will think this is completely obvious. Hell, maybe you all will. But it took me a while to think of things in these terms, and I wanted to pass the thought on.