In which there is a sickeningly lack of drama and wailing.
| BartholoMew Rose | review reply |
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Oh hey, this old thing got a review! :) |
| Air-Head-Ry | Your Review |
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Thank you for your review, I am sorry you do not like my story, but thank you for taking the time to point out the grammar errors. I will work on fixing those in the future. |
| Rainbow Colored Blood | re: Your review to Rebel Seed |
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I can’t really be mad at your review for a number of reasons. Besides I have improved a LOT since then. That was pretty much in my category in worst things I have ever written. I’m actually quite glad you critiqued it. So thank you! I read some of the things on your FAQ, and I totally agree with what you do. I drifted away from this site for a while because there were so few GOOD fanfictions. I am a picky reader, and I will only read a fanfiction if it has good grammar and good spelling. Hopefully what you do has an effect on the community because it definitely did have an effect on me. I can see why some people would get angry but I’m actually quite glad you’re doing this. I hope you critique my other Homestuck story. …Please don’t review my other stuff. I don’t mean the crackfic, I mean Screaming Voices and False Ending. Those two are actually embarrassing to me. I can’t believe I wrote like that! |
I thought that after the AOOOOOOOO crowd’s drama, FFN would be a goldmine, but it’s been sickeningly civil. Even Yaoifriend, who threatened to write me a hatefic! Somehow we’ve ended up talking like adults about characterization.
I guess what’s going on is there’s very little feedback, so less sense that everyone else is getting told they’re great while only their story was singled out for criticism, and in the absence of an existing commenting culture my stuff provokes less outrage.
Then you look at Tumblr, which is all about instant gratification and not particularly sincere over the top praise and tiny intense circlejerks. Of course those people would get upset easily about criticism. That sort of thing breeds large but fragile egos, the nagging uncertainty about if what you’re doing is any good, and melodrama of all stripes. (hi friends!) The couple bad responses I’ve gotten were from the few FFN people who were at least passingly familiar with the site.
The Archive looks more adult, but experienced fans and mature fans really aren’t the same thing at all, and doubly so when it’s tumblrites. And I suspect the kudos thing feeds into a similar “everyone tells me I’m awesome!/does anyone really think I’m any good?” setup.
It’s always a little surprising at how defensive people can get about their stuff. It just seems so weird. Like, wouldn’t you be happy that people are pointing out what is wrong and telling you how to fix it rather than simply disengaging and not commenting on it?
I’m actually quite insecure about my own work. Most people, imo, are way too close to their own stuff to begin judging it anywhere near objectively, so I always put a reader’s opinion before my own. Isn’t it just the general assumption that people will say nice things about anything, so the fact that people said nice things doesn’t mean that the work is any good. It just means that people were being fundamentally people, and were nice and polite rather than honest.
The writer wouldn’t be able to spot it, but what if there are systemic story flaws that are really obvious to everyone else? Maybe the people who found the flaws decided that it was too much trouble to articulate, and that they didn’t want to upset anyone, and stopped reading without comment? What if the main character is boring and unsympathetic?
What if I actually just wrote Holocaust-denial propaganda, and I can’t see it because I’m not self-aware or knowledgeable enough about any of these things?!
If someone pointed out that this or that metaphor I used and portrayed positively in the story was basically a popular argument about Auschwitz never existing, but with the proper nouns changed, I would cringe in silent horror and delete whatever I just wrote. And then I would educate myself on Holocaust denial, because I’ve clearly internalized the issue somehow and holy fuck. I don’t want people to think that I think the Holocaust never happened. (This is just an example. It could just as easily involve gay marriage, or religion, or baby eating or something like that.)
tl;dr version: I am insecure, therefore everyone else is right. Especially when they say I did something wrong. I should not argue. Even if the issue is unclear, the fact remains that I have done something wrong and I need to fix it. (Or abandon ship, but that’s reserved for when my head is so far up my own ass that I can’t even see how hard I’m hating on minorities without a sensitivity-counselor holding my hand the whole time.)
It’s just weird to hear that people get more defensive rather than less because of their insecurity. I guess everyone handles it differently.
I think it’s really unstable feelings. If you always worry your writing sucks, then hearing it sucks just confirms that. If you always think your writing’s great, then hearing it sucks just shows other people are stupid and/or jealous. But if you go back and forth between TOP OF THE WORLD and oh god oh god worst writer ever, then when someone says something negative, you’re hearing the voice saying you’re terrible, and if you can shout them down it’s just like shouting down your own nagging worries.
People with high but insecure self-esteem are the most touchy.
Isn’t it just the general assumption that people will say nice things about anything, so the fact that people said nice things doesn’t mean that the work is any good. It just means that people were being fundamentally people, and were nice and polite rather than honest.
Also, if you’re using people to keep your ego up, you really can’t admit this to yourself. People generally want to be liked, and part of that means really wanting to believe that the praise they get.
“If you always worry your writing sucks, then hearing it sucks just
confirms that. If you always think your writing’s great, then hearing it
sucks just shows other people are stupid and/or jealous. But if you go
back and forth between TOP OF THE WORLD and oh god oh god worst writer
ever, then when someone says something negative, you’re hearing the
voice saying you’re terrible, and if you can shout them down it’s just
like shouting down your own nagging worries.”
Eh. I have that sort of vacillation in attitude toward my own writing, and instead of freaking out and trying to shout down anyone who criticizes it, I simply also vacillate between responses of “well that just confirms it” and “other people are stupid.”
Well, there’s also maturity.
But, say, my younger brother tended to be stuck on negative and would just instantly give up and sulk. A schoolmate of mine was posting a godawful story about her self-insert tormenting FLUFFY-SAAAAAAMMMMMAAAAA and gave no fucks about criticism because lol haters r dumb. I think there needs to be an element of uncertainty to care about criticism, and the vacillation makes people more irrational about it.
‘ I am sorry you do not like my story, but thank you for taking the time to point out the grammar errors. I will work on fixing those in the future. ‘ Good on you, Air-Head-Ry :)
I’m with Sessalisk on ‘wouldn’t you be happy that people are pointing out what is wrong and telling you how to fix it’. I love reviews that actually tell me what they thought was good, or if they give me tips on how to improve. I’m not a fan of ‘Good job’ or ‘I like it’ reviews because it’s vague as to what they think I could do better on, and what it is that they like. To me, it’s also lazy. And then there’s the completely useless reviews that don’t imply whether someone liked/hated the piece at all- for example, I saw a fic about a certain character turning into a bunny and all someone had to say about it was ‘BUNNY!’. -_-
I’ve noticed that the people who assume their work is flawless, who get angry at people for pointing out something that could be improved, have a lot of ‘good I like it’ reviews, where no-one is taking out a few minutes or so to give them some tips about what they could improve on, any grammar mistakes etc.
And then there’s the completely useless reviews that don’t imply whether someone liked/hated the piece at all- for example, I saw a fic about a certain character turning into a bunny and all someone had to say about it was ‘BUNNY!’. -_-
Well, you’ve learned bunnies are a good choice for fanfic! Oh, bunnies. Their ears flop!
a lot of ‘good I like it’ reviews
Yup… It’s an all or nothing thing for a lot of people. Either what you say isn’t true or what all those people said wasn’t true. One of the things people get caught up on is they find some reviewer who says they don’t care about whatever the original complaint was. It takes a while for people to figure out that people could like a story without that story being flawless.
Lol! XD Bunnies and their floppy ears are really cute :P I hardly ever see any helpful reviews around FF nowadays. I’ve received about three, but I feel sorry for the authors who don’t receive any at all. :(
‘ It takes a while for people to figure out that people could like a story without that story being flawless.’
And yeah, that’s something I see a lot of. Most of the stories- in fact, probably all of the stories I like also have something I don’t like as much, but I still like the story. I think a flawless story is almost impossible to write, since someone, somewhere is always going to dislike something about it. :)
Well, if you leave hundreds of critical reviews, you’ll probably get some criticism, between the flames! ::::D
I also share Sessalisk’s opinions of concrit. It should be accepted with a grain of salt, but still accepted. I really wish someone would tell me what was wrong with my stories, rather than post “update” or “lol” or “loved it!”
As a reviewer, it’s incredibly frustrating trying to break that cycle of “ur great, im great, we r all gng to b published, OMG!!!11.” People say things like “all 73 of my other reviews were good. Do you think they’re all wrong?” Yes. Yes, I absolutely do, and I’m right. It’s just so hard to show that in the shower of warm and fuzzy lies.
Oh, yes. A good sign the person’s judgement is suspect is when they say it’s so awesome it can be published. Right up there with “I haven’t read fanfic before but wow you’re great!”
Much agreement. I love getting long reviews, whether they’re good or bad. Short reviews on my work I read, but then instantly dismiss and forget about. On the other hand, I reread long, articulate reviews a couple time time get a better sense of exactly what worked, which lines people are quoting back at me, what didn’t work as well and maybe why it didn’t.
I remember being highly defensive about my work when I was younger, but exactly how it felt is sort of lost in my memory behind how critical I am about almost anything I wrote more than a year ago. These days I’m more comfortable about my writing skills, less worried about what anyone else thinks as long as I like the story, and more aware of my own stylistic tendencies and strengths and weaknesses as a write. When people point out things I do or don’t do well, I generally already know. I spend a lot more time bemoaning that I’ll never be as amazing as my favorite authors in my own eyes than caring about what people on the internet say. Though admittedly, it’s been awhile since I got any reviews that were really negative and articulate about it.
That’s certainly the healthier outlook. It helps to have your sense of ego be less reliant on outside sources – if you feel more sure of your writing, and you have a better grasp of if something’s objectively good/bad, then you’re less helpless before the whims of reviewers, and so less likely to lash out at them for hurting you.