How Can I Improve?

[peckersnot]

Hello all.

I'm very new here -which I guess is obvious.

So far I've created three webteases, all focusing on my interest in Patricia Heaton.

Each one has been better received than the one before it, in terms of ratings received from viewers.

I don't want people to take this the wrong way, and I certainly don't want to be perceived as "blowing my own horn," but...I just can't understand how so many other teases -that are not particularly imaginative in any way- have received higher ratings than my own work.

I realize that people have different tastes and interests, in terms of the basic content of a tease, the style in which it is written, and even the photos that are selected to accompany the text.

I also understand that some people perhaps just don't care for Patricia Heaton.

Still, I'm baffled at the high scores garnered by some of the teases on this sight.

Do flashteases automatically receive higher ratings than regular webteases? (Some flashteases here have very high ratings, but offer content that is, in my opinion anyways, nothing really special.)

My teases frequently include an element of subversive humour. (For instance, in the first of my "Patty" teases, I make a joke out of the North American male's obsession with large breasts, as Patty's boobs grow bigger and bigger with each photo-shopped image.)

Do people not "get" this as humour? Do they not appreciate it? (I've been hard pressed to find many teases that offer much in the way of real inventiveness....Hundreds of them seem to follow a very predictable formula.)

One more question: When a tease is considered for "tease of the month" status, is that decision made based on the numerical rating only, or on the number of votes that have been cast, or both? (E.g. Does a 4.8 rating based on 100 votes beat a 4.6 rating based on 350 votes?)

What do you think I could do to improve my teases?

How could they be better? What could I do differently?

What would you like to see?

I welcome all suggestions.

-Peckersnot

[Handcuffed]

Taking an initial glance, I would recommend changing the model every few teases to appeal to a broader audience (Patricia Heaton is probably too old for some people's tastes). Also, the Photoshop head-switching is quite obvious so I would refrain from doing that.

[cumhardy]

the teases are rated quite well.
one thing that I noticed was the outfit/location of the model changed every page, some people find it distracting and it might detract from the immersive fantasy. I know its hard to find lots of images from the same photoshoot when you are looking for celeb pics (especially celeb fakes).

If you are bothered about ratings I would say dont write a celeb tease, they always seem to get rated lower for some reason. But you should really write what you want and not worry about the score it gets.

[SexualChoc]

Don't use photo shoped photos
It's very distracting and anyone that has used them
does not get high votes.
Also I recomend more 'build up' before putting 'edge' instructions
also look at previous TOTM winner, but do NOT copy!

I however recomend NOT changing what you do!
Some ideas take a while and even several teases before they become popular
and some, well they are never popular!
I personnaly have written bad teases just for fun!
(My fav comedy tease- that I wrote- Werewolf Tease)
http://www.milovana.com/webteases/showtease.php?id=2676

I am not sure either why flashteases have recently recieved such high ratings either
but not to worry As far as I know there are seperate rating for 'regular' teases.

[cactusman]

Rating of flash teases have only recently started, and so many flash teases have only a few ratings, and most of those are probably from dedicated fans of them, so they tend to be high.

Your teases are pretty highly rated already, and some higher than some of my own, so I wouldn't worry on that score.

I second the advice of others to not get too concerned about the ratings of your teases. I fell into that trap, and it caused me a lot of problems (see http://www.milovana.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=5198). So it's best to just think about doing what YOU really like and enjoy.

Tease of the Month voting is based only on the (50-70) votes of people who log in and actually vote in the poll, which occurs around the first week of each month (for the previous month's teases).

There is a lot of very good advice, some of it contributed by me, about writing webteases in the forum, which you can find at http://www.milovana.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=44. It has helped me to read through that set of posts and think about it.

In any case, keep working and doing what you like!

[explorer]

Hello,

This will be my first post on milovana, I've been lurking for a very long time. Generally speaking, I don't post on forums because what is said is much too easily (and much too often) misconstrued (some numbers say only as little as 40% of what we typed is interpreted as we intended it). This post is not meant to attack you personally, just to be concise and honest; That said, don't read this and interpret any part offensively. I am the type of person that doesn't contribute to communities or have much of a social life online (no ms/fb/twit/blogs/instant messengers/etc) because I will see 10000 people saying good things about me or what I am doing with one person being a jerkoff saying something negative and dwell on that comment. As an aside, I haven't read any other replies to this thread, so I may just be repeating whatever someone else said. If this is the case, feel free to disregard this post.

First off, the tone of your post seems a bit indignant. You seem insulted that your teases aren't rated higher. It's a bit cocky, and you do come off as a bit full of yourself, seemingly comparing your creative ability to that of the masses.

I just can't understand how so many other teases -that are not particularly imaginative in any way- have received higher ratings than my own work.

1) Milovana's predominant audience is male(s). Males are simple. There is a reason why there are teases other than yours that seem to follow a simple formula that get much higher ratings: it works.
2) If your teases haven't been rated that many times, the distribution of votes is small (and likely skewed). I presume the number of votes is small as you are new here.
3) Maybe the other teases are over or underrepresented. No way to tell.

Point is, there are too many factors to say with some large degree of accuracy what a good tease rating actually is or what it means or how reliable it is. So stop stressing and just put out more content.

I also understand that some people perhaps just don't care for Patricia Heaton.

Patricia Heaton is fine. The poorly photoshopped heads on bodies that don't match in skin tone, change outfits (and scenery) from one page to the next, however, does.

Do flashteases automatically receive higher ratings than regular webteases? (Some flashteases here have very high ratings, but offer content that is, in my opinion anyways, nothing really special.)

Flashtease rating was only recently implemented IIRC; this means they have fewer votes. Therefore, I assume that the distribution of their numbers is skewed. Another explanation is that some people just prefer flash teases. This could be related to the fact that flash teases offer a higher level of control (a written tease can say wait 5 minutes, but a flash tease is currently the only style, which can actually prevent you from advancing in the event you don't want to wait). I argue this, but personally I prefer the written teases, as some things written in teases isn't my cuppa tea, but the tease itself will be engaging, so I may skip a particular instruction I find off-putting.

My teases frequently include an element of subversive humour. (For instance, in the first of my "Patty" teases, I make a joke out of the North American male's obsession with large breasts, as Patty's boobs grow bigger and bigger with each photo-shopped image.)

I'm jerking off, sure humor is good, but it's not really what I'm seeking in that mindset. As an aside, I like tits, sure, but I'm hardly obsessed with them. Furthermore, this is a bit insulting. Not to mention it's a gamble (if the viewer likes boobs or not, if they are American, or if they will appreciate the style.

Do people not "get" this as humor? Do they not appreciate it? (I've been hard pressed to find many teases that offer much in the way of real inventiveness....Hundreds of them seem to follow a very predictable formula.)

I'm almost positive everyone understands, it's just that if I wanted to laugh I would go to a funny picture site, not a site I associate with a bottle of lube and a box of Kleenex. I suppose this was a long answer to both questions, as I don't appreciate it. Giggling, or the subject of the tease making cruel and intriguing comments is however, a different matter. As for the parenthetical statement, read above, the reason the predictable formula is prevalent is because it works.

What do you think I could do to improve my teases?

Here's how it works. You keep releasing content, no matter how shitty or quickly written, and see what people respond to. Just don't stop producing, whatever you do. And don't let these things get you down... Don't equate your self worth with the average rating of your teases; remember, they are mostly rated by males who either are or were very recently masturbating.

How could they be better? What could I do differently?

I encourage you to be original. As I said above, keep releasing content, you'll get a feel for what people like. However, please please please please please stop using these 'shopped photos in your teases, they are distracting. As well, it would be an improvement if you keep the scenery consistent . Maybe even consistent within the story. Ex: Page 1)Girl in secretary uniform in the office and says “lets go outside” or something similar. Page 2)She's outside in a bikini ordering the reader to do something. I realize there would be a bit of inconsistency and a bit less verisimilitude to the overall scene, but this would be more or less tolerable.

What would you like to see?

I would like to see you keep thinking out of the box, and not become a slave to the rating of web teases. Keep doing these teases, don't follow the formula. Be inventive.

Hope this helped.

P.S. This is one long first post.

[peckersnot]

Thank you all for your excellent, constructive criticisms, insights and ideas.

First of all, I haven't "photo-shopped" these images of Patricia Heaton. I lack the technology and the know-how to do this. (I am a real Luddite when it comes to technologies that are much newer than an Edison wax cylinder!) So I have been constrained by the visual images I have been able to find of Patty Heaton on the net.

I agree that it is incongruous and somewhat distracting to have different images in every shot...but as I said, I lack the technology and the skill to do otherwise.

I agree that I shouldn't really be concerned about the ratings my teases receive. Given the fact that most men are evaluating the merits of the works produced with their dicks in their hands and a bottle of lube and a box of kleenex next to them...well, it's not exactly like being nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.

I also am not impressed with most of the flashteases. I find the ticking clocks to be damned annoying, and I dislike the fact that I cannot move forward at my own pace.

Not everyone cares for Patty Heaton the way I do. -I'm fine with that. I don't expect everyone to share my interest in right-wing Republican milfs who were raised as good Catholic girls.

I'm sure there are a thousand celebrities out there that people would consider more current, or "hotter" or whatever.

I do feel that my teases are somewhat distinctive compared to most of what I've looked at on this site. (And I will admit that I have looked less extensively than some who have been here for months or even years.)

Perhaps next I will try to find a complete photo set I like of a girl that I can use to create a tease that features some coherence re: a consistent background, a predictable stripping away of clothing, etc.

Clearly subtlety, humour, etc., are not going to be appreciated by the majority here who are just looking to jerk-off.

I think you are all correct when you advise me to be myself, explore the themes I want to explore in my own way -and try to have fun with this activity.

The last thing this site needs is a newbie producing teases that are indistinguishable from dozens of others.

Thanks again for your advice.

-Peckersnot

[cumhardy]

Hello,

they are mostly rated by males who either are or were very recently masturbating.

Hope this helped.

you could have just said that really...

[Incubo]

OK, first things first. About the ratings....seriously...who cares?
I don't mean to be rude here, but the ratings aren't exactly objective. People rate teases in any one of a dozens of different manners based on whatever the heck they want. There's no set "rules" or guidelines for how you should rate a tease or its content, so you're going to get wildly different ratings based solely on the subjective view of what that particular reader happened to like. Some readers rate high if they happen to like the girl in the pictures. Does that mean the story was good? No. Some rate high if you appealed to their particular kink. (i.e. Cum eating, CBT, forced Bi, whatever) Doesn't necessarily mean your tease was good or bad just means that particular reader did or didn't find what they wanted in your teases. So my first adivce is, don't worry about the ratings. They don't mean much anyway.

Personally, I prefer a story to go with the pictures. If all I wanted was to mindlessly jerk off to a slideshow, then I wouldn't bother reading these things at all. Just load a bunch of pictures in a slideshow player and have at it. However, that's MY taste and not necessarily anyone else's. Some folks don't want that. They want short, to the point, instuctions and nothing else. To each their own. This site has a wide variety of content, so I'm sure everyone can find at least something they like, but likewise, they aren't going to like everything here either.

As for originality....well, it's kind of a double edged sword. It's considered absolutely great when people like the idea and absolutely horrible when they don't. So when you push the envelope of the "norm" you have to be prepared for either reaction. If you want to write or explore new things, that's great, but don't be suprised when some of those things don't go over very well with others. Just the nature of the game, so to speak.

The question for me has always come down to one simple thing. What are you writing for? Are you writing because you want high ratings or are you writing because you enjoy it? If ratings are all you want, then maybe you shouldn't be writing at all. (just my personal opinion here) If you're writing because you enjoy it, then does the rating really even matter? Sure, I'm thrilled when others enjoy what I wrote, but that's not why I wrote it. I wrote it because I like to write.

Just my thoughts on it.

[peckersnot]

Thanks for your thoughtful response.

I agree that it's a mug's game to even attempt to please everyone and garner high ratings that are not much of an indication of anything.

"Why are you doing this?" is an excellent question.

I guess I'm doing this to express my own sexual interests and kinks and to try to do it in a way that I find interesting. -People can either take it or leave it.

I also confess that I find it arousing to create a tease, to put it out there in the world -so to speak- and to share what turns my crank with others who may or may not be of like mind.

-Peckersnot