As a Writer (on feedback/concrit/litcrit)

[butterfly]

So, there is a thing happening on the sidelines of my flist -- seems to be mostly SGA-related, which is not my area of focus, so I will not be getting involved in any of the details. Anyway, the thing in question is about whether or not public crit of fanfiction should be allowed, and if it should, whether the author's intentions should be taken into account.

For the record -- I do not, and feel that I should not, have any say in what people say about my stories. If you love them, yay. If you hate them, I'm curious as to why. If you mostly like them except for one or two (or twelve) things, then I really, really want to know. Because I want to know how good a job I'm doing and how to improve. Writing is communication. If people don't understand me, then I didn't succeed in communicating to them. And, to me, that is what matters.

So, I pay attention to my feedback. I notice what people point out as their favorite spots (especially if it's mentioned by several people -- I'm still thrilled to bits over people praising my Leia characterization), and I also notice when people mention that something doesn't seem to fit.

There are three recent cases that specifically stand out to me -- one where I disagreed with the feedback and two where I agreed.

In one case, someone disagreed with my characterization of Anakin as dropping his lightsaber perhaps more easily than most. I disagreed, citing Attack of the Clones as a reference point -- they were focusing more on his characterization in Revenge of the Sith. As the story in question has an Anakin who is between those two states of being, and because the point of view was Obi-Wan, who would remember all the earlier times Anakin wasn't so great at holding onto his lightsaber, I decided that my story worked as it was and didn't need adjusting.

In the second case, someone disagreed with a thought that I had Anakin actively thinking -- I reread the thought in question and while I thought that it was potentially in-character, in the end, I agreed that it disrupted the story's focus, twisting what was originally a tense moment into something more humorous. In this case, I deleted the line from the chapter.

In the third case, I was told that my story didn't flow quite right in a certain section and a couple of paragraphs felt a little choppy -- I ended up adjusting the section and actually writing a few extra lines to give the story the push that it needed.

All of which is to say -- if you are moved by my fiction on a level deep enough to comment on it, please don't feel that you need to sugarcoat your words. I can take the truth.

More than that, if you don't want to, you don't need to inform me of your comments -- speaking from experience, many rec journals don't actually tell the authors that they've been recommended. They have that right and so do crit communities. Once my stories exist outside my head, they are no longer my sole property, though I retain the right to edit them as I please and repost them -- much as George Lucas has done with the earlier Star Wars movies. But any earlier versions do still potentially exist, of course -- if nowhere else, they exist in the minds of the people who read them and remember them. Theoretically, a story that was only under friendslock exists outside these boundaries, as it is not public, but as I post my stories public, this does not apply to me.

Now, if an author dislikes being criticized in public, then each reader does have to decide if they want to move forward anyway, balancing the risks (if an author takes crit to heart or feels that they're being personally attacked, they may leave fandom) against the rewards (honest and open discussion of a particular story). And the potential always exists that the author will feel insulted or hurt, because our stories are like dearly beloveds, in many ways.

But, bottom-line, I don't believe that readers (or any consumers of public media) require permission to speak about something that has been publicly released in any form, web or otherwise. 

Though if you'd prefer to have the author's permission before dissecting a story of theirs, I'm giving that permission right now.

Comments

[fatale.livejournal.com]

You know, I was actually thinking about this earlier and it seems to be a touchy subject. I wish authors would write disclaimers in their heading to let me know what they will and will not accept--without being dishonest and biting off more than they can chew. It seems that authors feel obligated to say they love concrit.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

You know, I was actually thinking about this earlier and it seems to be a touchy subject. I wish authors would write disclaimers in their heading to let me know what they will and will not accept--without being dishonest and biting off more than they can chew. It seems that authors feel obligated to say they love concrit.

This is part of why I don't mention concrit in my header, actually -- because everyone says that they want it, and my experience is that many of those people only think that they want it. They think that they want concrit until it's staring them in the face, telling them that this reader didn't like what they wrote.

And I'll be honest -- I get sad when people don't like something in my stories. I'm like a kicked puppy, whimpering on the floor, because my baby (and my pride) was insulted and it hurts.

Then I reread the story in question and figure out if I think the crit is warranted. I don't let myself live in the initial pain of rejection, because that would defeat the reason that I post my work. If I were writing for myself alone, I would keep my work to myself (like Emily Dickinson, whose work was primarily published after her death). But I'm posting in order to share my vision with other people. If something doesn't ring true for people, then I want to know if I failed in communicating my vision, and if I did, I'm going to want to fix it so that I succeed in my primary goal of communication.

Here via metafandom

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

*nodnod* It definitely hurts. The times I've put my fics up on comms like crit_sans_lube, sometimes I open the window with comments and don't have the courage to actually read them for hours. But for me, finding out what needs work is worth the hurt. And even if I don't agree with the crit, it makes me think through my choices, so it still is helpful in that regard, because now I know why I think it works and why it's worth keeping it the way it is; I'm not just doing so because that was the first thing that came into my head.

Re: Here via metafandom

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

But for me, finding out what needs work is worth the hurt. And even if I don't agree with the crit, it makes me think through my choices, so it still is helpful in that regard, because now I know why I think it works and why it's worth keeping it the way it is; I'm not just doing so because that was the first thing that came into my head.

Yes, that is exactly it!

[grimorie.livejournal.com]

Unrelated to your post... It just occured to me, have you watched the Clone Wars? Its really, really good, in some ways better than Revenge of the Sith.

Since Revenge of the Sith takes off immediately after Clone Wars, I think you'll enjoy it very much, especially the characterization of Obi-wan and Anakin.

I love how Obi-wan was dryly sarcastic the whole time with Anakin and Anakin consistently loses his lightsaber in the Clone Wars:)

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

I've watched the first... season, I think it was called, but haven't seen the second yet.

Since Revenge of the Sith takes off immediately after Clone Wars, I think you'll enjoy it very much, especially the characterization of Obi-wan and Anakin.

I love how Obi-wan was dryly sarcastic the whole time with Anakin and Anakin consistently loses his lightsaber in the Clone Wars:)

Hee. Coolness.

[grimorie.livejournal.com]

I've watched the first... season, I think it was called, but haven't seen the second yet.

The second season kicks much ass. Anakin kicked ass, Obi kicked much ass, Jedi kicked ass, Yoda is the badmother frellin' ass kicker to end all ass kickers.

In conclusion? Much ass was kicked. hee.

I really love the one scene, where Obi-wan is so rain soaked and miserable and all he wants is to sleep in a very dry place, then in strides Anakin with this plate full of worms (obviously from the Simba school of eating) and Obi-wan has this ewwww expression in his face but he's trying to muster it in a I'm you're master face.

Ben goes, "How could you eat *that*?"

Anakin just goes on munching with this slight smirk on his face, but still trying to play innocent, "Why, master didn't you tell me I should try to live off the Living Force?"

Ben proceeds to look ver pained, kinda like how Giles is with Buffy.

And much later when they proceed to infiltrate the enemy base they go through this sewer and you could clearly see it *stinks* and Obi turns to Anakin, saying: "What a wonderful new smell you've discovered."

Um... heh... sorry, got carried away here, I just love Clone Wars so much!:D

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

The second season does sound like a lot of fun. I'll have to get my hands on it!

Um... heh... sorry, got carried away here, I just love Clone Wars so much!:D

And, please, don't be sorry in the slightest. I love reading about people's passions.

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

Okay, you know I already adored you as a writer, right? I adore you even more now. This totally sums up my feelings, only you put it across far more articulately than I ever could. Even right down to the acknowledgement that it does hurt sometimes, but you have to weigh the decisions. If you decide to walk out in public with an ugly t-shirt, expect people to say something. I even use my flames as concrit. Seriously.

Thank you for this post. ♥

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

You are so very welcome!

Okay, you know I already adored you as a writer, right? I adore you even more now. This totally sums up my feelings, only you put it across far more articulately than I ever could. Even right down to the acknowledgement that it does hurt sometimes, but you have to weigh the decisions.

Thank you! And yes, it does hurt sometimes. But it's a pain that does help with growth, I do truly believe that. Because none of us are perfect. I'm working on How To Plot right now, and SW has been very helpful with that, and I'm also still not as good at describing places as I'd like, as I'm still combating my tendency to do the whole 'they are in a random white room with no furniture' thing. And when people point out places where I failed, it helps me clarify what I need to work on. And even if I decide that they're wrong in this instance (for whatever reason), it's still made me take a closer look at my work.

If you decide to walk out in public with an ugly t-shirt, expect people to say something. I even use my flames as concrit. Seriously.

I haven't, as of yet, gotten anything that I would call a flame (probably partly because I don't, in general, put my fanfic on display -- I just post it and wait for interested parties to find it), but I definitely agree in principle and hope that I would be as wise as you are.

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

Oh, definitely. It hurts, but I learn so much. I love it when that happens. There's a lot of things I need to work on myself. Scene-description is one thing, as is mastery of the technical stuff, like comma usage and turns of phrases. And exactly, no concrit should be disregarded... it should be considere don its own merits, and then it's up to the writer to agree or disagree. And the ability to look closer keeps us on our toes.

Why is it always me who gets the pyscho flamers on Fiction Alley that are pissed off because I write slash or because I didn't write the endign the way they wanted, or didn't pair up who they wanted? ;_; I've gotten some really nasty harsh crit on an OFC, but after walking away from it crying, I came back a few days later and learned. Haven't got anything like that since then.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

And the ability to look closer keeps us on our toes.

Yes, very much so.

Why is it always me who gets the pyscho flamers on Fiction Alley that are pissed off because I write slash or because I didn't write the endign the way they wanted, or didn't pair up who they wanted? ;_; I've gotten some really nasty harsh crit on an OFC, but after walking away from it crying, I came back a few days later and learned. Haven't got anything like that since then.

That certainly doesn't sound like any fun at all. Part of the reason that I don't post outside my journal much is because I am very aware that I am posting for a specific audience. On the other hand, posting outside an area of comfort gives other people the opportunity to find out about my work. It's one of those risk/reward scenarios again -- posting more widely leads to a broader audience, but it can also lead to people who have such a different worldview that they don't see anything wrong with condemning a story based on the pairing.

Personally, I actually don't often read stories with pairings that I don't like, because, deep down, I'm a lot like the Harmonians in a certain way -- I have a very firm idea about what my preferred type of love is, and I'm just not very interested in reading about loves that are outside that type.

Fate will likely kick me in the ass one day by having me fall in love outside my type.

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

I tend to make myself pretty public, so I guess that's why I've come to accept the flames and the trolls. I recently got some girl who popped up in my journal that told me that I was "pretentious" (never said why), and that my fics were like HP intellislash, and basically that she hates me. With a troll journal. I'm still kinda baffled about the whys and wherefores of this. It stung, but after a while, I laughed because she garbled her insult so badly that it made no sense. XD

Yeah, I don't read outside my preferred ships and genfic much. I flee from certain pairings and scenarios. Very little can move me to read it. However, I'm more likely to not enjoy Anakin/Obi-Wan, because I, like the Harmoniums, have a very limited range of what I accept and hold dear, and want from that pairing. It's so dear to me that few live up to my expectations. I recognize I'm being over-picky, but there's nothing I can do about it. XD

Ahahaha. My internet crush is not the Slytherin queen of life I ever expected to crush on. XD She is very different from my normal type, so yeah. Fate's cruel.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

I tend to make myself pretty public, so I guess that's why I've come to accept the flames and the trolls. I recently got some girl who popped up in my journal that told me that I was "pretentious" (never said why), and that my fics were like HP intellislash, and basically that she hates me. With a troll journal. I'm still kinda baffled about the whys and wherefores of this. It stung, but after a while, I laughed because she garbled her insult so badly that it made no sense.

I remember seeing that comment! You were very classy in your response.

Yeah, I don't read outside my preferred ships and genfic much. I flee from certain pairings and scenarios. Very little can move me to read it. However, I'm more likely to not enjoy Anakin/Obi-Wan, because I, like the Harmoniums, have a very limited range of what I accept and hold dear, and want from that pairing. It's so dear to me that few live up to my expectations. I recognize I'm being over-picky, but there's nothing I can do about it.

Well, I suppose the pickiness is part of what led me to write my own version of the pairing that fit into my range better (well, that and the overwhelming compellingness of the characters and their relationship, of course). And I can't see that as such a bad thing.

Ahahaha. My internet crush is not the Slytherin queen of life I ever expected to crush on. XD She is very different from my normal type, so yeah. Fate's cruel.

Very much so, yes. I actually had a crush on my current roommate for the first month before I moved in with her to about the first month after. Though I maintain that this is not my fault as I'm attracted to women and we're sleeping in the same bed. But yes, there was a period when I spent a lot of time wanting to jump her, but also knowing that it so completely did not actually fit into our purely friendship-type relationship. I'm actually pretty glad that it faded back into friendship, because that is not a fun situation.

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

I remember seeing that comment! You were very classy in your response.

Thank you. It just frustrates me, because I'd at least like to know why I'm so hate-able. XD

Well, I suppose the pickiness is part of what led me to write my own version of the pairing that fit into my range better (well, that and the overwhelming compellingness of the characters and their relationship, of course). And I can't see that as such a bad thing.

Naturally. Same here. I just wind up writing it the way I like it. XD And I read people who at least are on the same level playing field that I'm on. If it's too different, I'm out.

I actually had a crush on my current roommate for the first month before I moved in with her to about the first month after.

Omg. I so totally know how you feel. I once crushed on one of my co-workers for a little while, before it luckily faded away. But having a friendship versus sexual thing is very sticky. I've been in a relationship that emotionally was more intense than any romantic relationship, but we never actually had sex. Came close, though. Too many weird friendship type barriers for us.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Thank you. It just frustrates me, because I'd at least like to know why I'm so hate-able. XD

I've noticed that there are people (generally, the straight-forward, vocal types) who tend to attract more extreme reactions, the 'love them or hate them' type. And, for example, in people where I see intelligence and bravery, someone else sees pretension and arrogance.

Naturally. Same here. I just wind up writing it the way I like it. XD And I read people who at least are on the same level playing field that I'm on. If it's too different, I'm out.

Right -- I can read variations on fic, but I have a fairly narrow threshold of what I feel is 'in-character' and if it doesn't feel in-character, I'm not interested in reading it, because I want to read about these characters that I love, not some random people who happen to have their names.

Omg. I so totally know how you feel. I once crushed on one of my co-workers for a little while, before it luckily faded away. But having a friendship versus sexual thing is very sticky. I've been in a relationship that emotionally was more intense than any romantic relationship, but we never actually had sex. Came close, though. Too many weird friendship type barriers for us.

Well, the whole 'friendship' thing is something that I'm still working on, to be honest. I'm not terribly experienced at it. And to then spend a lot of time with someone who is, by nature, very tactile (and I'm so very not -- I can feel uncomfortable hugging my mom.). Well, it's confusing. The physical/emotional divide for me is not as clear as it could be.

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

And, for example, in people where I see intelligence and bravery, someone else sees pretension and arrogance.

Yeah, same here. A particularly nasty troll flamed one of my good friends, and I'm still pissed, even though it wasn't directed at me. The assumptions people make, just because someone expresses an opinion is what pisses me off about fandom. And one thing I'm especially annoyed with lately in the SW fandom is how expression of an opinion, a peeve, or a rant somehow equals being pretentious. It makes my face go desky.

I can read variations on fic, but I have a fairly narrow threshold of what I feel is 'in-character' and if it doesn't feel in-character, I'm not interested in reading it, because I want to read about these characters that I love, not some random people who happen to have their names.

Word. I've been turned off from well-written fics before, because I wtf'ing all through the characterization and dialogue. Characterization is the most important thing to me. You can fuck up how to spell the Death Star, and I'll get over it. If you fuck up Obi-Wan or Anakin, I'm out. Granted, it's all in my head, and I'm not saying right -- but it's all subjective perception.

Well, the whole 'friendship' thing is something that I'm still working on, to be honest.

Luckily, my friendship with the girl I crushed on was completely not physical, so i didn't have your confusion. I had that with my ex, because we were very tactile and very emotionally intense (like Anakin/Obi-Wan co-dependent intense, complete with nasty break-up -- had I a lightsaber, she so would have been delimbed). I'm not normally a tactile person, either, so if you have me being cuddly, J. is going to be one confused bunny.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

And one thing I'm especially annoyed with lately in the SW fandom is how expression of an opinion, a peeve, or a rant somehow equals being pretentious. It makes my face go desky.

That is frustrating. Personally, I seem to slip under the radar of wanky people, possibly because I always try to be diplomatic in the extreme (Because being emotional and letting people get to me makes me feel like I'm weak. Ah, issues.), possibly because I'm just not interesting enough. Some people are just lightning rods, while other people aren't. I've only had problems on lj with one other person, which is a pretty good ratio.

Word. I've been turned off from well-written fics before, because I wtf'ing all through the characterization and dialogue. Characterization is the most important thing to me. You can fuck up how to spell the Death Star, and I'll get over it. If you fuck up Obi-Wan or Anakin, I'm out. Granted, it's all in my head, and I'm not saying right -- but it's all subjective perception.

*tries to picture a misspelling of Death Star*

My brain hurts now.

But yes, I agree totally.

Luckily, my friendship with the girl I crushed on was completely not physical, so i didn't have your confusion. I had that with my ex, because we were very tactile and very emotionally intense (like Anakin/Obi-Wan co-dependent intense, complete with nasty break-up -- had I a lightsaber, she so would have been delimbed). I'm not normally a tactile person, either, so if you have me being cuddly, J. is going to be one confused bunny.

Wow, that's pretty intense, yo.

Up to now, I've managed to avoid deep emotional relationships. I'm still trying very hard to, actually. Because, well, they terrify me (my parents had a truly nasty divorce). That may be part of why I'm so drawn to those intense dynamic in so many different couples. Because that edge is fascinating to me because there are a lot of ways that I don't understand it. So, I keep approaching it from different directions, asking, "this is how these characters respond, what does that say about the situation?".

[imadra-blue.livejournal.com]

Personally, I seem to slip under the radar of wanky people, possibly because I always try to be diplomatic in the extreme

Oh, how I wish I could like you. I can't keep my motuh shut. Something pisses me off, I say something about it. I wish I could just slip under the radar and nobody would refer to me as the opinionated bitch I really am, but I can't seem to avoid it...

Because that edge is fascinating to me because there are a lot of ways that I don't understand it.

I can totally see that. Having been in such an intense relationship, my interest is a bit more intense. It's almost at points like I'm replaying bits of my own life, and because I ultimately see happy endings (evne in Ani/Obi, in RotJ), it gets to turn out better than my life. I dunno. I think I'm weird. Your way probably works better, you ask more questions.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Oh, how I wish I could like you. I can't keep my motuh shut. Something pisses me off, I say something about it. I wish I could just slip under the radar and nobody would refer to me as the opinionated bitch I really am, but I can't seem to avoid it...

Whereas I'm over here, admiring the hell out of the people who aren't afraid to say something without sugarcoating it twenty ways to Wednesday. I have a lot of very outspoken and opinionated people on my flist that I respect very highly.

I can totally see that. Having been in such an intense relationship, my interest is a bit more intense. It's almost at points like I'm replaying bits of my own life, and because I ultimately see happy endings (evne in Ani/Obi, in RotJ), it gets to turn out better than my life. I dunno. I think I'm weird. Your way probably works better, you ask more questions.

My way is less brave, in many ways. I ask the questions because the idea of gaining the experience the hard way terrifies me. I have something of a safe distance from the intensity of it all. And even then, I never feel safe enough. I'm constantly caught between trying to pull away from emotional situations, in fear, and trying to get closer, in fascination.

[emo-woman.livejournal.com]

Well-written and wonderfully expressive. I think all of us who write struggle with this paradox. I, like you, want to know what works and what doesn't for readers. At the same time, the pain when something doesn't work is hard to overcome.

Thanks for writing this. :)

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

You're welcome.

Well-written and wonderfully expressive. I think all of us who write struggle with this paradox. I, like you, want to know what works and what doesn't for readers. At the same time, the pain when something doesn't work is hard to overcome.

It is a paradox. I want honesty, but I want to be a good enough writer that I honestly only get positive feedback. Perfection is impossible, but better is within reach, so that's what I strive for.

[treetracer]

Mind if I plagarise quote your second paragraph in my LJ? It's so dead-on about how I feel on the subject.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Feel free! I would be honored.

[owl]

Word. I like it if people tell me if they're critting me somewhere I wouldn't otherwise see, but I do concede that they have a right not to.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Exactly. I would adore it if I were always told about discussions or recs of my stories.

Though there is a certain amount of surprised joy in stumbling across a story rec -- it adds a measure of certainty to the feedback, because they didn't know that I'd be seeing it. I don't have my normal anxious thought of "what if they're saying they like my stuff because they're on my flist?", which is impossible to fight against.

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

I've recommended your Star Wars fiction to two of my live journal friends. I assure you I didn't do this because I'm on your flist, but because I enjoyed them so much and wanted to spread my enjoyment. :-)

About reviewing stories in general:
I've noticed that I usually review stories I enjoy. In this case, I also find it easier to specify what I like and what I don't like and give balanced feedback.

Occasionally, I stumble over stories that are so horrible bad that I don't see any point in leaving feedback. If an author obviously doesn't care about characterization, grammar or spelling - e.g. I'm traumatized by all the versions I read for "Anakin" or "Hermione", "anikan" or "hermoine" come to mind - then I don't care about leaving feedback. All I could write is: "Yu suX!!!11!"

The third category of stories for me is stories where you can see the author worked hard and does have talent, but some things could be improved. That's an occasion where I try to leave detailed feedback so it's actually helpful.

Oh, and then there are authors who have already received 200 comments or more for their stories - even though they only posted 12 hours ago. :-) If I can't add something new, I very often won't leave feedback for these stories. Perhaps that's wrong, but I don't have an endless amount of time and rather save my feedback time for authors who are less well known.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

I've recommended your Star Wars fiction to two of my live journal friends. I assure you I didn't do this because I'm on your flist, but because I enjoyed them so much and wanted to spread my enjoyment.

Thank you. It really is wonderful to have so many people enjoying my fic. That my versions of the character feel like they ring true to canon.

Oh, and then there are authors who have already received 200 comments or more for their stories - even though they only posted 12 hours ago. :-) If I can't add something new, I very often won't leave feedback for these stories. Perhaps that's wrong, but I don't have an endless amount of time and rather save my feedback time for authors who are less well known.

I do the same thing regarding authors that already get tons of feedback, so I definitely understand.

[ehann.livejournal.com]

My God, you are so remarkably...sane, about this issue. It's delighfully refreshing. One of many reasons why you ROCK. :)

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Hee. Now I'm longing to make an icon that says, "remarkably sane" over some appropriate image. Hmm. Must consider this carefully.

And thank you.

[trepkos.livejournal.com]

You could use Rimmer!
Doing the Double Rimmer salute, or with the gingham and Mr Flibble...

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Hee! That would be amusing.

[trepkos.livejournal.com]

I don't believe that readers (or any consumers of public media) require permission to speak about something that has been publicly released in any form, web or otherwise.


Absolutely - I can't believe anyone's suggesting otherwise, apart from, say, a Fascist dictatorship...

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Fandom is an interesting place.

Apparently, the line of thought is that paid authors get compensation for their writing and that's why it's okay to discuss their work freely. Some people also seem to believe that paid authors don't care, in which case, they need to look up the example of Anne Rice, who recently went off on her fans for not understanding her work. It was on fandom_wank and everything.

It's the Culture of Nice, as some people put it. "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Which is... nice and all, but hardly helpful and as a serious writer, helpful is better than nice. Even if helpful makes me cry (it hasn't yet, but the possibility exists, and that certainly shouldn't stop anyone from being honest about their opinions).

[trepkos.livejournal.com]

"If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."

A reasonable rule to follow if you're at a tea party, but not very useful otherwise.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly.

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

Not only did Anne go off on her fans on Amazon, but now she has actively taken to trolling lit blogs for mentions of her new book, and is responding to posts that criticise it. I know two people who have received comments from her, including one brilliant one in which she insisted that her story of Jesus' childhood was told "in his own words"...

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Wow, that is... wow. I am left speechless. She's reaching Tom Cruise-ish levels of "did they just do that?".

[kyuuketsukirui.livejournal.com]

LOL! Totally! Anne/Tom OTP.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

Oh, wow, the horrible mental images. I may be permanently scarred. Just imagining their povs intersecting and becoming a more powerful mutuant pov that encompasses scientology and vampires and Jesus... dude. Scary.

[nebularific]

I don't have much to say except that I agree with you.

if you are moved by my fiction on a level deep enough to comment on it, please don't feel that you need to sugarcoat your words. I can take the truth.

I'd love to say this. I want to say this. I'm just not sure if it's true.

I've never gotten a lot of feedback on anything I've written except a my latest effort which was for SGA_flashfic. Even then, I don't think any of the comments I received were criticism. In fact, I don't think I've ever really received any concrit. (Though most of my other fic is at ff.net, so this isn't really a big surprise.) The only helpful review of a fic that I can remember receiving was one for a SG-1 zine fic that I finished at the last minute, right before the deadline, and I only got the feedback then because I had my mother beta it. (She wasn't a fan though, and half of her critique was 'What does this acronym mean?')

So I'd like to say that I can take it, that any feedback is good feedback, but I really don't know if that would be the truth or not.

I for one would love to know if any of my fics are ever recced or discussed in any manner, because that would mean that people had read them. (Said 'zine fic only ever received one comment to my knowledge, and it was only a brief sentence or two to the effect of 'that was funny'. It was from a person who was talking about the 'zine as a whole and the fb was fwd to me by the editor.)

*Looks up* Eeep! Sorry! That was a bit ranty.

[nebularific]

Gosh, I need to learn to punctuate. Sorry!

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

So I'd like to say that I can take it, that any feedback is good feedback, but I really don't know if that would be the truth or not.

It really is hard to know what you'd do in a situation that you haven't been in (which is why I didn't take part in this discussion the last time it happened, which was almost a year ago, I think, though maybe that's wishful thinking). It's only recently that I've started to get that kind of feedback, so it's only recently that I know how it makes me feel.

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

What a great discussion here. I think you have brought up some seriously valid points here.

If we take fanfic as any other kind of fic, then I see no difference. We criticize movies, books, tv all the time. How should fanfic be different?

As a writer myself, while it can sometimes be hurtful--mostly to my pride, to hear someone criticize my work, I would say that most of the constructive criticism actually improves writing. And doesn't that make things better for the writer and reader in the end?

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

As a writer myself, while it can sometimes be hurtful--mostly to my pride, to hear someone criticize my work, I would say that most of the constructive criticism actually improves writing. And doesn't that make things better for the writer and reader in the end?

Yes, exactly. I want to be a better writer and that means being able to communicate with my readers as accurately as possible. So if I'm not getting through, then I want to know, so that I can refine my technique.