9960 réponses à ce sujet

[MidnightRaith]

Huzzah! I finally got around to starting to review again. Lilitheris, I gave the first of yours, so be on the lookout for that. It is much easier to review based chapters rather than the entire work.

[fluffywalrus]

zapphoman24 wrote...

Hello. I've been working on a fic as well. The link for it is in my sig. Check it out if any of you have time.

Mr.BlazenGlazen wrote...

Hey guys. Just updated my story
with a new chapter. This one was pretty long, and really difficult to
write. Check it out if you got time.

I'll check them out and leave reviews I've got an hour to spare before my roast is ready

[MrStoob]

'ey up all.

Added a second chapter to 'blue' for thems whats interested.

Blue - Chapt 2

[Spartanburger]

You know what? After re-writing this post some umteenth times and being unsatisfied with it, I give up.

I am worried about the importance of one of the characters I'm developing for a fic. If I say why, I have to explain and summarize events that would normally take place over some dozen chapters spaced throughout the fic, ranging from pre-ME1 to post-ME3 and I simply am not going to do that for both spoiler reasons and simple quantity of text reasons.

FML. I feel like I might be biting off more than I can chew.

Modifié par Spartanburger, 31 mai 2012 - 03:03 .

[fluffywalrus]

Well, hard to help with so little details(and I understand why, at least at a base level).
But, I figure

-So long as the character is developed well, from the get go, and is saddled with known characters while the reader gets used to them, I don't see much of a problem.

-Pre-ME1 to Post-ME3 is a long trek, so if this character is something of a main, or recurring one, you'll need the reader to be comfortable with them. And you'll need to be comfortable with the notion that the reader will never like them as much as Garrus/Tali/Chakwas/etc. Personally, I feel more comfortable having OCs as support roles, but I know they can be done as more than that...it just takes damn good writing and good planning, usually. And an eye for making sure the character doesn't get too out of hand. Again, readers care about established characters more than OCs, so the OC's "screen-time" should be equal to or less than the regular Normandy crew when push comes to shove. Or, at least, I think that's the safest bet.

Ultimately, it's your call to pursue it.  I think it can be done. Just, make sure you know what you expect from yourself and what you expect from the readers before going in.

Modifié par fluffywalrus, 31 mai 2012 - 03:21 .

[gearseffect]

MidnightRaith wrote...

Huzzah! I finally got around to starting to review again. Lilitheris, I gave the first of yours, so be on the lookout for that. It is much easier to review based chapters rather than the entire work.

Midnight I gotta tell ya I love feedback on my Fanfics, I mean the more detailed the better, I also love to hear what I could work on to make things better, and if I'm pulling things off that I intend too, I love insightful things that can help me become a far better writer.

What I hate is when someone says this "It was fantastic verry well done" I get a bit miffed at stupid mindless @ss Kissing reviews/feedback like that.

Another thing I'm getting extremly tired of hear is this "Um Only thing I can mention is that there were some spelling errors"

For pets sake I have gotten so many freaking feedbacks that say that sh!t and it's extremly tiring, not to mention the fact that BEFORE I ever publish a chapter I go through it so many god damn times and hunt down any and all the messed up spelling errors I missed.

Hell that is the one part of writing a chapter that takes more time than anything else, I call it "Polishing" Why, well because I know that I tend to have spelling errors it comes from being dyslexic and so I go over it like a mad man before I publish it, then when I get someone who mentions simply that "You have spelling errors" I'm like all mother F*cker" I then go back and try to find all the stupid spelling errors I can in any and all chapers and for some reason I just don't register them.

So When I read this "You have spelling errors" It's starting to bug the hell out of me, instead of mentioning just "You have spelling errors" For pets sake why not type that little bit more and point a few out to me hun?

Also another thing that's bugged me, is when I get people who offer to proof read my stuff and it's like ok yeah that would be great and so I forward them my Chapters and then they avoid getting back to me, it's like they just said it to be kind and it feels like an insult if your going to offer your eyes survices to proof read my stuff then please be willing to do it. Otherwise it just is gonna bug me, that someone offered to do that and it'll feel like it was mearly a way for them to attempt to be nice and never had any intention of doing it.

Sorry for that long rant but as you can tell I'm in a rather b!tch of a mood. Because for the first time in awhile I've gotten feedback from my chapters over on Fanfic.net and what do they both say basicly this "Good, but there are spelling errors"
RGAAAAHHAHAHAH

[MidnightRaith]

gearseffect wrote...

Midnight I gotta tell ya I love feedback on my Fanfics, I mean the more detailed the better, I also love to hear what I could work on to make things better, and if I'm pulling things off that I intend too, I love insightful things that can help me become a far better writer.

What I hate is when someone says this "It was fantastic verry well done" I get a bit miffed at stupid mindless @ss Kissing reviews/feedback like that.

Another thing I'm getting extremly tired of hear is this "Um Only thing I can mention is that there were some spelling errors"

For pets sake I have gotten so many freaking feedbacks that say that sh!t and it's extremly tiring, not to mention the fact that BEFORE I ever publish a chapter I go through it so many god damn times and hunt down any and all the messed up spelling errors I missed.

Hell that is the one part of writing a chapter that takes more time than anything else, I call it "Polishing" Why, well because I know that I tend to have spelling errors it comes from being dyslexic and so I go over it like a mad man before I publish it, then when I get someone who mentions simply that "You have spelling errors" I'm like all mother F*cker" I then go back and try to find all the stupid spelling errors I can in any and all chapers and for some reason I just don't register them.

So When I read this "You have spelling errors" It's starting to bug the hell out of me, instead of mentioning just "You have spelling errors" For pets sake why not type that little bit more and point a few out to me hun?

Also another thing that's bugged me, is when I get people who offer to proof read my stuff and it's like ok yeah that would be great and so I forward them my Chapters and then they avoid getting back to me, it's like they just said it to be kind and it feels like an insult if your going to offer your eyes survices to proof read my stuff then please be willing to do it. Otherwise it just is gonna bug me, that someone offered to do that and it'll feel like it was mearly a way for them to attempt to be nice and never had any intention of doing it.

Sorry for that long rant but as you can tell I'm in a rather b!tch of a mood. Because for the first time in awhile I've gotten feedback from my chapters over on Fanfic.net and what do they both say basicly this "Good, but there are spelling errors"
RGAAAAHHAHAHAH

'Tis an example of how I review things:

First off, characterization. The reason I think this fic shines. You really captured Liara's character and made your Shepard into something that is more than just the BigDamnHero. The reader really gets a sense of how Liara really likes Shep and how hard it is for her sometimes to be just friends. The chemistry they both have throughout the fic and how it evolves is very interesting. 

I have to say that I was surprised at the direction the fic turned. I do like Liara/Shepard fics best, but I went into this knowing that they are friends. Sometimes it's good to get a fic like this for variety. Reading Shepard's thoughts over Thane and Kaidan were actually very interesting. I've never had a Shepard/Thane romance in my games but he is a very interesting character. Kaidan is always my second choice as an LI though. I really didn't see the twist coming and that made it a very pleasant surprise. I liked how you had Shepard come to an epiphany, but struggle to act on it. It made it very realistic.

Your Shepard was fun to read. I like it when authors step away from trying to make their Shepard relatable for everyone. It's fun to read how different people view the Shepard characters. This one is funny and her flaws are interesting. You also incorporated my personal favorite background. Not many authors give Spacers too much attention. Perhaps they don't think it's tragic enough to give proper drama to or something but yours really proves that wrong.

What's unique about the Space background is the fact that it is the only one where Shepard has any immediate family. While, no, there isn't any significant tragedy for authors to write on, it can develop as you did here. The Reaper War is itself a point where Shepard should be worrying about his or her family. Many Spacer fics don't capture that worry or concern well.

However, my only real criticism is how you wrote Shepard in the last few chapters. While I do find her inner-struggle fascinating, I don't think it was the greatest idea to have her shut herself off from everyone around her. She's leading a critical mission to unite the forces of the galaxy. The commanding officer locking herself up in her room has to be counter-productive to morale and doesn't send the greatest message. As an alternative, I would have had her avoiding Liara rather than everyone. However, the fic doesn't suffer much if at all from this overall. It's still a great read and I can't wait for more.

Raith

The above is an example of a fic that I thought was rather good. I didn't have much to say on grammar and such simply because there weren't many mistakes worth mentioning. I think it's very important to tell the writer what they did well and why they did it well. Not something simply like, "OMG, this is great!" That's all well and good and boosts confidence, but it doesn't do much for the writer in terms of improvement. Even praise can help a writer. Then, after I'm done praising (I do that first because I don't want to just go into a review like: "All of this is not good! Fix it!" Tends to start the review off the wrong foot.) I do constructive criticism as you can see in the last paragraph.

I think reviews are very important. Sites like fanfic.net and deviant are really good for feedback. Personally, half the reason I write fanfiction is to get feedback to improve my writing. I'm disappointed that superficial feedback is the norm, rather than the exception. So, I tend to leave reviews that have more meat on them than most, which is the reason I fell out of the habit. Started doing them on the whole work, which is very daunting. I have to remember all sorts of things I wanted to go over with the author and it's just not very efficient. Hopefully, I'll get back into the swing of things now that I do them after each or every other chapter....

Modifié par MidnightRaith, 31 mai 2012 - 05:00 .

[PMC65]

Personally I'm just glad if someone likes what I write and takes the journey with me. That's not to say that I don't like reviews but I know many readers who are uncomfortable writing them. My younger brother is a big reader on FF but he just can't do it. He is not a writer, doesn't critique or want to. He doesn't even review mine but he reads it. That's enough for me. 

If they leave a blip like "great chapter" or a detailed review then I'm grateful. With so much going on in our lives the fact that someone would take time out of theirs to read my scribbles is humbling. If the reader never reviews what I write but follows the story to the end ... Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In regards to the traffic stat thing on FF ... I've looked at it once last summer. Never again. Writing my story has to stay easy and light for me and seeing that people are actually reading it and it was more than I expected ... It was surprising, nice but too much for me. So no stats ... just writing and hoping that others like it at least a little.

[fluffywalrus]

gearseffect wrote...

What I hate is when someone says this "It was fantastic verry well done" I get a bit miffed at stupid mindless @ss Kissing reviews/feedback like that.

Another thing I'm getting extremly tired of hear is this "Um Only thing I can mention is that there were some spelling errors"

Haha, I totally do this a lot.
I try to review each fanfic I read, and I'll be honest, sometimes the author leaves very little room for criticism.

I generally check for a few things:
-Do the characters make sense? If there are OCs, how are they handled?
-How is the pacing of the fic? Is it disjointed, are there moments that are unnecessarily jarring for the wrong reasons? Is there lack of visual separation of events, making it difficult to follow what's going on?
-How is the sentence structure? Do they use acceptable grammar?
-Does the fic accomplish what it sets out to do?

If a story passes those checks, I generally don't know what to say, constructively. Sometimes a fic accomplishes all the above but is only a mediocre or decent story. On that end, the flaw is in the concept of the story, usually, which I can't really be constructive about without challenging the entire notion of it and saying it's boring.

That, and generally when I start reading a fic and I notice a few errors from above, I quit out asap. Sometimes I leave a review, but I don't usually enjoy slogging through fics I don't like reading.

So, I look for things to be constructive about, but generally, a lot of fic writers are good enough that they get the
*Talk about parts of fic I liked, say I thought it was great, that I look forward to more* response. I don't see it as brown-nosing, but more just a person cheering a random stranger on during a marathon.
Especially if their goal was exceedingly simple, like a cute Femshep/Liara or Tali/Mshep (or whatever) one-shot. Those are snippets, usually, not full-out stories, so I generally am very lenient on those. Very little time invested, and they usually play to my simplest interests.

Though usually, if I say there are spelling errors, I'll point them out, because I know I'd want the same done to me.

But yeah, I csn understand if someone got annoyed with reviews that said "hey great work!" if 95%+ of their reviews were those. Some constructive feedback is necessary for me, I know, in order for me to not feel paranoid about the quality of my stuff. But even I don't ever get any that's really constructive, it's still nice to know others are enjoying my writing, because I enjoy writing it.

Modifié par fluffywalrus, 31 mai 2012 - 06:48 .

[MidnightRaith]

I feel like a fic snob sometimes. I just cannot read fics that have poor grammar/bad formatting. I'm not talking about the occasional misspelled word or anything, but rather authors not capitalizing the beginning of a sentence, no comma use and butchering commonly known words. The result is something that is painful for me to read. As far as formatting goes, I cannot read anything with awkward line wrapping. That just gives me a headache.

Honestly, I won't read those fics, let alone review them. I feel that if I'm going to critique your work, then you need to meet me halfway. I don't know if these fics are written by people that are lazy, don't know the language or illiterate, but I can't do your work for you. I understand that not everyone is good at writing, but there's a point where you need to accept that having a beta is not optional for you.

I don't believe that any of this is directed at anyone in this thread. I'm just venting at my top pet peeves with fanfiction writers....

[MrStoob]

Are there still probs with FF docs? It keeps knackering up one line, removing whole words and such like.

[Icyflare]

MidnightRaith wrote...

I feel like a fic snob sometimes. I just cannot read fics that have poor grammar/bad formatting. I'm not talking about the occasional misspelled word or anything, but rather authors not capitalizing the beginning of a sentence, no comma use and butchering commonly known words. The result is something that is painful for me to read. As far as formatting goes, I cannot read anything with awkward line wrapping. That just gives me a headache.

Honestly, I won't read those fics, let alone review them. I feel that if I'm going to critique your work, then you need to meet me halfway. I don't know if these fics are written by people that are lazy, don't know the language or illiterate, but I can't do your work for you. I understand that not everyone is good at writing, but there's a point where you need to accept that having a beta is not optional for you.

I don't believe that any of this is directed at anyone in this thread. I'm just venting at my top pet peeves with fanfiction writers....

You're not the only one. If a fic has more than four obvious errors (grammatical or spelling) in the first three paragraphs, I'm usually gone. There's just never a good way to go about asking if they're familiar with the language since their writing suggests otherwise. That sounds a bit mean, but sometimes there are stories that make me wonder.

As long as we're sharing pet peeves... it's a bit strange, but I can't read stories that don't have variations in their paragraph formatting. Like, if the story's in big blocks of texts (like 10-20 sentences) the entire chapter through, I can't handle that. I just... I just need to get out.

Modifié par Icyflare, 31 mai 2012 - 07:09 .

[MrStoob]

MidnightRaith wrote...

authors not capitalizing the beginning of a sentence

[Mr.BlazenGlazen]

So. I had about 4 reviews just this one day. If any of them happened to come from you guys, thank you very much. I appreciate the feedback.

[gearseffect]

MidnightRaith wrote...

gearseffect wrote...

Midnight I gotta tell ya I love feedback on my Fanfics, I mean the more detailed the better, I also love to hear what I could work on to make things better, and if I'm pulling things off that I intend too, I love insightful things that can help me become a far better writer.

What I hate is when someone says this "It was fantastic verry well done" I get a bit miffed at stupid mindless @ss Kissing reviews/feedback like that.

Another thing I'm getting extremly tired of hear is this "Um Only thing I can mention is that there were some spelling errors"

For pets sake I have gotten so many freaking feedbacks that say that sh!t and it's extremly tiring, not to mention the fact that BEFORE I ever publish a chapter I go through it so many god damn times and hunt down any and all the messed up spelling errors I missed.

Hell that is the one part of writing a chapter that takes more time than anything else, I call it "Polishing" Why, well because I know that I tend to have spelling errors it comes from being dyslexic and so I go over it like a mad man before I publish it, then when I get someone who mentions simply that "You have spelling errors" I'm like all mother F*cker" I then go back and try to find all the stupid spelling errors I can in any and all chapers and for some reason I just don't register them.

So When I read this "You have spelling errors" It's starting to bug the hell out of me, instead of mentioning just "You have spelling errors" For pets sake why not type that little bit more and point a few out to me hun?

Also another thing that's bugged me, is when I get people who offer to proof read my stuff and it's like ok yeah that would be great and so I forward them my Chapters and then they avoid getting back to me, it's like they just said it to be kind and it feels like an insult if your going to offer your eyes survices to proof read my stuff then please be willing to do it. Otherwise it just is gonna bug me, that someone offered to do that and it'll feel like it was mearly a way for them to attempt to be nice and never had any intention of doing it.

Sorry for that long rant but as you can tell I'm in a rather b!tch of a mood. Because for the first time in awhile I've gotten feedback from my chapters over on Fanfic.net and what do they both say basicly this "Good, but there are spelling errors"
RGAAAAHHAHAHAH

'Tis an example of how I review things:

First off, characterization. The reason I think this fic shines. You really captured Liara's character and made your Shepard into something that is more than just the BigDamnHero. The reader really gets a sense of how Liara really likes Shep and how hard it is for her sometimes to be just friends. The chemistry they both have throughout the fic and how it evolves is very interesting. 

I have to say that I was surprised at the direction the fic turned. I do like Liara/Shepard fics best, but I went into this knowing that they are friends. Sometimes it's good to get a fic like this for variety. Reading Shepard's thoughts over Thane and Kaidan were actually very interesting. I've never had a Shepard/Thane romance in my games but he is a very interesting character. Kaidan is always my second choice as an LI though. I really didn't see the twist coming and that made it a very pleasant surprise. I liked how you had Shepard come to an epiphany, but struggle to act on it. It made it very realistic.

Your Shepard was fun to read. I like it when authors step away from trying to make their Shepard relatable for everyone. It's fun to read how different people view the Shepard characters. This one is funny and her flaws are interesting. You also incorporated my personal favorite background. Not many authors give Spacers too much attention. Perhaps they don't think it's tragic enough to give proper drama to or something but yours really proves that wrong.

What's unique about the Space background is the fact that it is the only one where Shepard has any immediate family. While, no, there isn't any significant tragedy for authors to write on, it can develop as you did here. The Reaper War is itself a point where Shepard should be worrying about his or her family. Many Spacer fics don't capture that worry or concern well.

However, my only real criticism is how you wrote Shepard in the last few chapters. While I do find her inner-struggle fascinating, I don't think it was the greatest idea to have her shut herself off from everyone around her. She's leading a critical mission to unite the forces of the galaxy. The commanding officer locking herself up in her room has to be counter-productive to morale and doesn't send the greatest message. As an alternative, I would have had her avoiding Liara rather than everyone. However, the fic doesn't suffer much if at all from this overall. It's still a great read and I can't wait for more.

Raith

The above is an example of a fic that I thought was rather good. I didn't have much to say on grammar and such simply because there weren't many mistakes worth mentioning. I think it's very important to tell the writer what they did well and why they did it well. Not something simply like, "OMG, this is great!" That's all well and good and boosts confidence, but it doesn't do much for the writer in terms of improvement. Even praise can help a writer. Then, after I'm done praising (I do that first because I don't want to just go into a review like: "All of this is not good! Fix it!" Tends to start the review off the wrong foot.) I do constructive criticism as you can see in the last paragraph.

I think reviews are very important. Sites like fanfic.net and deviant are really good for feedback. Personally, half the reason I write fanfiction is to get feedback to improve my writing. I'm disappointed that superficial feedback is the norm, rather than the exception. So, I tend to leave reviews that have more meat on them than most, which is the reason I fell out of the habit. Started doing them on the whole work, which is very daunting. I have to remember all sorts of things I wanted to go over with the author and it's just not very efficient. Hopefully, I'll get back into the swing of things now that I do them after each or every other chapter....

Holy cow Midnight I think after reading this, your review system and stand point is much like my own.  I try and review stories like that too. It irks me when I get some simpleton review and saddly I get more of them than any other one.

I agree with you on the praise thing, however when I get reviews or more like comments that say simply "OMG that was great" I feel I don't know empty maybe when I read those comments I'm like umm yeah "why did you even waste your time typing that"

Hell with your review system being so grand I think I'm off to go read some Fanfics and review them;)

[PMC65]

MidnightRaith - So you aren't an ee cummings fan?

I understand having things that are turn offs as a reader because I'll stop reading a story if ...

1) The author hates a character and it shows ... I call them poison pen fics.

2) Shepard is brooding, angry, dark or a sociopath ... Not only would I not follow this character into hell but I'm not going to spend valuable time reading about a character that I don't like.

3) Sex just for sex sake ... It needs to have purpose.

4) Needless violence ... like sex it must be part of the story and not just Shepard punching someone to show how tough (s)he is.

5) A Shepard that has a life so tortured that the Passion of the Christ would be a holiday trip for him/her. Does Shepard really need to be brutalized all his/her life?  

Now, there are many people that love the stuff above in their stories and I'm not saying any of it is wrong. It's just not what I want to read myself. A misspelled word I can overlook ... *Shepard punching out an Alliance soldier on his ship for talking mean to Liara? Done with story.

* This scene was made up by me so if anybody did write that ... sorry. 

Modifié par PMC65, 31 mai 2012 - 07:35 .

[gearseffect]

@fluffywalrus I agree with ya, even if there isn't much I can offer for constructive criticism, I feel I at least need to do a deep well written and thought out review and point things out that I enjoyed. I mean the author did put so much of their time and effort into making this that they certainly deserve some nice well thought out and in-deapth reviews.

What really bothers me most about the stupid reviews I get is that at the very begining of each chapter I do an "Author's Notes" thing where I explain certain things I had hoped to acomplish, certain undertones I was going for, a new twist in how I wrote the chapter.

I also stated many times that I have an overall plot and that my ongoings have been planed out with a begining, middle, and an ending, I have plot points that I'm building upon, which I also make note of at times in my notes.

So I give apple stuff in my author's notes for people to let me know if I did something well, or if I got the desired emotional scene I had been hoping for, if my charactizion of Samara is a bit off, god do I agonize writing her.

I mean really I go the extra mile and provide things for people to let me know about in their reviews that I'd like to hear about and I have only ever had maybe 2 reviews that have done that for me.


I'm a bit of a prefectionist and I really put so much into my fics and have gotten so little of value in return and now with all these posts in here I'm getting a bit paranoid that maybe no one reads my fics because they suck or I don't, but I'm now tottally freaking the hell out, and what not.

I'm now like freaking out that my fanfics don't work for you all or you can't read them or I don't I am flipping out right now man. Holy cow the lack of true feedback has been bothering me, and now I'm starting to wonder if it's because I am a sh!tty moran idoit illitarte dumb f*ck who would be better off not writing because I suck at life and suck at writing.

I should tottaly get out of here before I start acting more like a total insacure moran, which well hell when your parents constently tell you your a moran who will never amount to anything well it tends to do sh!t to ya.

Oh cr@p umm I just saw PMC65 post, umm I kinda want to know now if you don't like the feel of my fanfic "Breaking Points" and is it got too much of a dark undertone, and if my Shep's past falls under your thing about Passion of the Christ, because I mean I have my Shep's background as Mindoir and Akuze, and I really haven't go into much detail about those things but I did in Chapter 1 of Breaking Points I did mention that my Shep used to take comfort in the fact that none of those things ever broke him. Heh see titlle "Breaking Points" hint hint somethings gonna go done but will it be able to break him?

Well you'll just have to see when I get there, but I do got stuff planed out.

Modifié par gearseffect, 31 mai 2012 - 08:04 .

[MrStoob]

@Gears:

In your stories, Samara has that 'detection' ability when resting. Is that of your own creation or part of some lore?

If the former, how would feel about me including it in any of my tales? I sort of have an idea for a Samara/Shep tale based around it.

[gearseffect]

Haha MrStoob that Samara detection thing, was my own devious idea. I came up with it when I was thinking how long she'd spent alone and that she'd need to be able to react fast enough. So I came up with it as maybe something that all Justicars have to develop.

And I would be honored if you used it. I also have some planes in the upcoming chapters of Awakening to take the liberty of exploring some of what the the training and conditioning to become a Justicar is like.

I've been really enjoying planing that stuff out so far, and it's been fun. It was one of those weird deals that once I started writing for Samara it was like whoaa wait a minute this is one tough chick that has been surviving on her own for quote some time, you can't go soft in that sort of work, and you really have to be able to endure any situation you come across, no matter how bad the odds are against one Justicar. Maybe I just dropped more info into what's to come then I intended or did I intend that
*rubs hands evilly*

[MrStoob]

gearseffect wrote...

Haha MrStoob that Samara detection thing, was my own devious idea. I came up with it when I was thinking how long she'd spent alone and that she'd need to be able to react fast enough. So I came up with it as maybe something that all Justicars have to develop.

And I would be honored if you used it. I also have some planes in the upcoming chapters of Awakening to take the liberty of exploring some of what the the training and conditioning to become a Justicar is like.

I've been really enjoying planing that stuff out so far, and it's been fun. It was one of those weird deals that once I started writing for Samara it was like whoaa wait a minute this is one tough chick that has been surviving on her own for quote some time, you can't go soft in that sort of work, and you really have to be able to endure any situation you come across, no matter how bad the odds are against one Justicar. Maybe I just dropped more info into what's to come then I intended or did I intend that
*rubs hands evilly*

Thanks.  

I'm away for a few days so unfortunately, won't be able to start that one yet.  Hopefully time away from the old PC will give me time to come up with something intereting.  I've ended up 'riffing' my stories similar to how I write music.  I'll have an idea, get some basics down, then just let whatever occurs to me come out in an organic kind of way.  But maybe some more considered forethought is required.

Yea the Samara thing worked really well.  It mirrors how she rests in the Obs deck in ME2 and how she reacts each time Shep enters.

Modifié par MrStoob, 31 mai 2012 - 08:53 .

[fluffywalrus]

gearseffect wrote...

@fluffywalrus I agree with ya, even if there isn't much I can offer for constructive criticism, I feel I at least need to do a deep well written and thought out review and point things out that I enjoyed. I mean the author did put so much of their time and effort into making this that they certainly deserve some nice well thought out and in-deapth reviews.

What really bothers me most about the stupid reviews I get is that at the very beginning of each chapter I do an "Author's Notes" thing where I explain certain things I had hoped to accomplish, certain undertones I was going for, a new twist in how I wrote the chapter.

So I give ample stuff in my author's notes for people to let me know if I did something well, or if I got the desired emotional scene I had been hoping for, if my characterization of Samara is a bit off, god do I agonize writing her.

I mean really I go the extra mile and provide things for people to let me know about in their reviews that I'd like to hear about and I have only ever had maybe 2 reviews that have done that for me.


I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I really put so much into my fics and have gotten so little of value in return and now with all these posts in here I'm getting a bit paranoid that maybe no one reads my fics because they suck or I don't, but I'm now totally freaking the hell out, and what not.

I'm now like freaking out that my fanfics don't work for you all or you can't read them or I don't I am flipping out right now man. Holy cow the lack of true feedback has been bothering me, and now I'm starting to wonder if it's because I am a sh!tty moron idiot illiterate dumb f*ck who would be better off not writing because I suck at life and suck at writing.

Ah, ok. More or less, most authors don't really elaborate on their goals in notes. I usually have to decipher them through the story. Notes such as that would usually allow more room to discuss whether you hit the marks you were aiming for. It would provide direct goals.

Try not to be paranoid about your writing. I get that way sometimes too, but I keep drilling it into my mind that I'm doing this because it's fun and because I feel I need to do it, anyway. I usually don't care about feedback too much unless I'm getting pure silence. I like to think that others might like reading my story, and if that's not happening I get a bit paranoid and start second-guessing myself. But in the end, if you're getting regular visitors and the odd review here and there, then you're likely on a good track.

Some people just don't like reviewing. And it can be easy to take lack of feedback to heart, but it's not worth it. Not sure that's any consolation, but I learned a while ago that what matters is if you enjoy what you do. People will read your fics, and most won't say anything, but that doesn't mean they don't have anything to say about it. It sucks being left out in the dark sometimes, but in the end, regular readers = people enjoying your work.  Even if it's 2 or 3 regulars.

Anywho,
If I can find the time tomorrow afternoon or early evening, I'll browse through your fics and leave some feedback. I'm a...very fast reader, so I should be able to fit it in

Oh cr@p umm I just saw PMC65 post, umm I kinda want to know now if you don't like the feel of my fanfic "Breaking Points" and is it got too much of a dark undertone, and if my Shep's past falls under your thing about Passion of the Christ, because I mean I have my Shep's background as Mindoir and Akuze, and I really haven't go into much detail about those things but I did in Chapter 1 of Breaking Points I did mention that my Shep used to take comfort in the fact that none of those things ever broke him. Heh see titlle "Breaking Points" hint hint somethings gonna go done but will it be able to break him?

Well you'll just have to see when I get there, but I do got stuff planned out.

I think mixing the templates for tragic origins isn't necessarily one of those "unecessarily torturous lives" or whatnot. Shep gets put through the ringer a lot in the games, and it's assumed in many of the origins that he/she may have an arduous military career prior to ME1. THose are often tragic in nature, but they're known variables.

A torturous existence could include a lot of terrible things. Especially if it's in excess and ultimately drained of meaning. For instance, I have read some really bad fics in my day where characters are raped numerous times across the span of the story. Well, by numerous, I mean two times, because that's as far as I'll go. I hate reading about rape, it's triggering, but I can understand it being part of a character's history. There is never a need for a second rape of the same character in a story. Perhaps a character speaking of being raped numerous times, but never EVER two scenes describing the violence.  That's torturous and meaningless.

Another thing is torture, obviously. Now, I am not opposed to utilizing some methods of torture if they serve a purpose. But they need to serve a purpose, and they should only be shown to the reader rarely...mostly inferred after the initial bout.

Generally, if your Shep would struggle to find good moments in his/her life, then their life is too torturous. Most people have plenty of good memories. Narratively, those good events apply a really nice contrast to bad events, meaningyou don't need to do such bad things to your Shep(or any other character) in order to evoke the same feeling.

As for pet peeves, I'll add that I hate hate hate fics where characters are meaninglessly captured or held hostage repeatedly, solely to reinforce how worried a pair of characters are for each other, and how much they love each other. The princess in a castle cliche is so loathsome that every time I encounter it, I'm pretty sure I start squirting blood from my eyes, and I usually wake up passed out on the floor a few hours later. It's a bad time, and if I get suckered into a seemingly good fic and they pull this card (repeated captures), I will blood rage headbutt the nearest head-level object I can find. *Krogan-Smash*

So, uh, yeah. That and blatantly writing beloved characters OOC.

[MrStoob]

Gah! This is doing my head in now. I've re-uploaded and re-edited a doc several times now on FF, and the same section keeps ****ing up. It'll annoy the crap out of me thinking of anyone getting to that bit and thinking "WTF? This sentence makes no sense."

[fluffywalrus]

MrStoob wrote...

Gah! This is doing my head in now. I've re-uploaded and re-edited a doc several times now on FF, and the same section keeps ****ing up. It'll annoy the crap out of me thinking of anyone getting to that bit and thinking "WTF? This sentence makes no sense."

Are you using the symbol - ?
Because I've had bad results using it. When I have, it has removed the - as well as numerous characters afterward, causing sentences to fall into disarray.

Also, on an unrelated note, has anyone noticed that adding the long section breaks in FF.net's editor adds a bunch of words to your total?
Or, at least, a few of them increased my word count by like, 150-200, I think..

Modifié par fluffywalrus, 31 mai 2012 - 09:13 .

[MrStoob]

fluffywalrus wrote...

MrStoob wrote...

Gah! This is doing my head in now. I've re-uploaded and re-edited a doc several times now on FF, and the same section keeps ****ing up. It'll annoy the crap out of me thinking of anyone getting to that bit and thinking "WTF? This sentence makes no sense."

Are you using the symbol - ?
Because I've had bad results using it. When I have, it has removed the - as well as numerous characters afterward, causing sentences to fall into disarray.

Not a -, it's just a full stop followed by a double space in an otherwise normal paragraph.  I use them throughout so dunno why it's having a fit on this bit.  

*stands up*
My name is MrStoob, and I am a double spacer.

Modifié par MrStoob, 31 mai 2012 - 09:15 .

[MrStoob]

And yea, I used their doc editor and it added around that many words. Odd. What ARE they doing atm?