10369 réponses à ce sujet

[mousestalker]

DreGregoire wrote...

??? How can you spell Lose wrong? LOL

Loose. It's mis-spelled. all. the. time.

You kids get off of my grass! No tricycles!

[LupusYondergirl]

For me it's your/you're, their/they're/there or its/it's

[DreGregoire]

For my part I hate when I'm typing and I write the instead of there or there instead of the or you instead of your. I don't let technical mistakes destroy a story for me on fanfiction. Sure I could spend hours picking apart sentence structure and spelling errors, but I won't. Now if a book is published and you know they had editors then I would be disappointed. Spelling errors happen people mix up words. Not everybody is an english major and many people have disabilities when it comes to recall. That doesn't mean they shouldn't enjoy writing fanfiction. So I refuse to make anybody feel as if their story isn't worth a read because of errors in grammar, spelling, or sentence structure.

[tartmuse]

Reika wrote...

So what do you do when you have a constant reviewer and you go to check out their story, but it just leaves you cold? Technically the writing was excellent, but the way they wrote up the characters you don't recognize the NPCs and the main character is beyond obnoxious?

I'm trying to think of something polite to say.

If you feel obligated to review, you could always talk about their -technical- writing skills.  You don't have to cover plot or characters in a review, especially if they're a point of contention.  If the writing was excellent in that the prose was crisp, clear, and concise, then mention that.  A great story and an awesome cast can be bogged down by needless words.  If you find yourself wanting to go into specifics, maybe you can talk about their descriptive imagery?  

[Sarah1281]

LupusYondergirl wrote...
 (only finding the time to post now since I finished my paper comparing Raskolnikov and Svidirgailov in Crime and Punishment took less time than I expected. And if I try and nap in the library now I'll miss my 2:30 class.  I'm actually the kind of tired where my EYES hurt.  How does that even happen?  Ugh.)

See, that's generally when I give up and go to sleep on days I don't have school. Other indicators of tiredness are frankly lost on me.

I understand what you mean about expectations of reviews. I have two people in particular who review most of my DA things and I already read their things as well so since I'm reading theirs anyway and they keep reviewing mine, I feel bad if I don't review at least most chapters. And then there are stories that I love but I'm pretty much the only reviewer so I feel obligated to keep reviewing every single chapter because nobody else is and not getting any reviews really sucks.

icey_cold wrote...

Reika wrote...

So what do you do when you have a constant reviewer and you go to check out their story, but it just leaves you cold? Technically the writing was excellent, but the way they wrote up the characters you don't recognize the NPCs and the main character is beyond obnoxious?

I'm trying to think of something polite to say.

If you feel obligated to review, you could always talk about their -technical- writing skills.  You don't have to cover plot or characters in a review, especially if they're a point of contention.  If the writing was excellent in that the prose was crisp, clear, and concise, then mention that.  A great story and an awesome cast can be bogged down by needless words.  If you find yourself wanting to go into specifics, maybe you can talk about their descriptive imagery?  

Oh, I do things like that all the time. I just ramble on about what the chapter was about without even mentioning if I liked it sometimes and then people go 'OMG, great review!'

[tartmuse]

Probably because they assumed that their chapter inspired something within you!

[nefand]

mousestalker wrote...

DreGregoire wrote...

??? How can you spell Lose wrong? LOL

Loose. It's mis-spelled. all. the. time.

You kids get off of my grass! No tricycles!

And what's even worse is that it's one of those typos that spellcheck won't even catch.

I keep a copy of the current chapter in Document Manager for a few days post-publication, because I will reread it several times after it goes up and invariably I catch at least one typo.  So I'll edit the stupid master, then swap the chapter out.

For the record, anybody reading my stuff is welcome to PM me if you spot a typo... I WILL fix it.  Goodness knows I'm probably chasing off enough readers between my long post intervals and lack of front-loaded Alistair-humping; the last thing I want to do is have them drift away because of misspelled words, too.

[nefand]

One thing that annoyed me in Origins was the lack of consequences for the Warden's attitude or behaviour, beyond approval loss with your companions.

I do agree with this statement; the game was woefully lacking in any meaningful consequences for player actions with the notable exception of the Landsmeet.

Kill Isolde or Conor, and Eamon is sort of 'meh' about it.

Kill Brother Genitivi, and there are NO repurcussions from the Chantry.

Go around doing the Mage Collective's tasks, and no apostates come gunning for you and there's no nastygram from the Circle of Magi, or investigation by Templars.  Eliminate all the mages in the Tower and everybody just sort of goes 'oh well' and you get Templars.  Even when you kill Loghain, Ferelden moves right ahead with the power struggle.  Avernus' potion?  Yeah, no negatives there from either drinking it or meaningful scolding even from you companions.

It's like one big 'oh, well that was interesting... NEXT!'

As for the rest, well... this is the beauty of fan fiction:  There are 3000+ stories in the DA subcategory alone, which means that there's bound to be something to tickle the reader's fancy.

People don't get paid to write fan fiction, they do it as a hobby; to in my PoV, to **** about someone's story is really asinine, and to do it without even signing the review or to do in such a way as to be entirely unconstructive is a waste of everybody's time and energy, and serves no purpose in the world other than to be hurtful.

Now, admittedly, I'm doubly biased on this issue; first, I'm close to Meri's project since I'm helping her by serving as beta, and do what I can to help guide the "word salad" as she calls it.  I actually enjoy it, because it presents a really interesting challenge for me to work with someone halfway around the world (which is WAY cool) and get to teach the nuances of the english language to someone who is genuinely interested in learning.

That's incredibly rewarding, really.

Second, I was on the receiving end of unconstructive commentary after my last chapter of EoG went up, and I'd be lying if I tried to say it didn't still chap my rear a bit; it does, and I've lost several weeks of writing time on ch 22 because of it (well, and because I was so sick for a week I could hardly breath). 

It's downright hurtful when the only thing somebody does is type a nice long paragraph about how they thing your story stucks, and your writing sucks, and your characters suck... and you're sitting there, staring at the screen and wondering, who the hell are you and where did this come from?  (All I can say is thank the Maker for MY beta and my fiance, b/c without them I would have taken EoG underground until the damn thing is finished, instead of continuing to publish a chapter at a time.)

Concrit is one thing, and it is delivered with an expectation of "Here is the problem as I see it" and "This is why," and "here what I suggest you do to improve what I perceive is a problem," thus initiating a dialogue with the writer to help them get better at the Art of Writing.  I value concrit, because I want to improve my craft and I know that I have weak spots in story development.

But to deliver criticism in such a way that 1) the author can't reach out to you to followup and discuss the points you've made, and 2) said criticism is delivered with just the "here is the problem" portion and not any explanation about why or suggestions for improvement, is not criticism that is intended to be helpful.  It is intended to be hurtful, and as such has no place whatsoever in FF review system.

You didn't pay for the FF content, and nobody is forcing you to read it.  If you can't say something nice about the story, or encourage the author in some way, then kindly STFU and move on to another story.

Therein lies the crux of my concern.

[Sandtigress]

Because it's relevant and highly amusing, we were discussing scientific journal article publishing at lab meeting last week (I'm a recently finished Genetics grad student and still participate in the group meetings of four combined research labs) and one of the professors made the following comment:

"One out of three reviewers is going to give you the critique on the paper that he wanted to read, and the entire critique will be "Why didn't you write the paper I wanted you to write?"

Seems like reviewers of all sorts do it, huh? 

[Reika]

Lol Sandtigress, it does indeed. And that's what I was trying to avoid on my review of the other story.



I know the reviewer wasn't expecting me to read and review their story, but I thought that since said person was taking the time to read my fiction and leave comments, that I'd do the same courtesy. Unfortunately the way they saw the characters was a very different viewpoint from mine.

[sabreene]

Reika wrote...

Lol Sandtigress, it does indeed. And that's what I was trying to avoid on my review of the other story.

I know the reviewer wasn't expecting me to read and review their story, but I thought that since said person was taking the time to read my fiction and leave comments, that I'd do the same courtesy. Unfortunately the way they saw the characters was a very different viewpoint from mine.

If you didn't like the story and are just trying to wrack your brain for something to say out of obligation -- I wouldn't say anything. I know I wouldn't want someone giving me a positve review if really they didn't like it at all. If you just didn't like the direction, but thought it was well-written, you could say that.

Also, if it's who I think it is -- she reads & reviews so many stories & chapters soo quickly, I doubt she expects everyone to read and review in return. I would just give her a heartfelt thank-you, because that's true to how you feel. If it's not that person, then disregard the above

[Merilsell]

nefand wrote...

Now, admittedly, I'm doubly biased on this issue; first, I'm close to Meri's project since I'm helping her by serving as beta, and do what I can to help guide the "word salad" as she calls it.  I actually enjoy it, because it presents a really interesting challenge for me to work with someone halfway around the world (which is WAY cool) and get to teach the nuances of the english language to someone who is genuinely interested in learning.

That's incredibly rewarding, really.

Aww thanks. *hug* <3

And I have to say that I'm grateful for all the time you take for helping me. You hadn't to do this when the other beta left me in the cold but eventually I'm glad you did.[smilie]../../../images/forum/emoticons/love.png[/smilie]Also I don't want to miss the insightful discussions and text-walls resulting out of it anymore.

Heh, and I name it word salad btw, because there are days when I stare at my written chapters and ask myself" hell is that even remotely english? Lol ...oh well the joy of being a foreigner handling a second language, I guess. Yet I love the challenge it brings with it, because I love to learn, improve and not at least the english language.  I want to hug and heart it.

I treally found it unfair how the said reviewer completely disregarded the
way how you have built up the story and how much effort you actually have put into it to make it work. It is not an in your face romance,
tis true. And I outright love your story for that fact.

As for the rest, I second what you have said.

I love to get concrit, because it helps me to improve. but it has to have something I can work with within. Simply slamming me such BS down, ISN'T..period.

Yes, I'm aware that not everyone will like the story...--no correction- I know it because....HELL I'm writing a MAHARIEL story after all. With no Alistair instant humping on top of that. My Warden is also not the typical ray of sunshine- let's rescue every kitten and all together hold hands then- grinning type, so yeah.  I like it complicated *shrug*

Which is totally an okay fact on my part, really. TBH It would be creepy if everyone would be just gushing over my story.

However if someone is just pressing the review button to **** around in a most unhelpful way.... then is the only thing  I can say: MOVE ON TO ANOTHER STORY AND STOP WASTING MY TIME! K BAI THX. <_<

[/rambling]

Modifié par Merilsell, 27 octobre 2010 - 02:12 .

[Reika]

sabreene wrote...

If you didn't like the story and are just trying to wrack your brain for something to say out of obligation -- I wouldn't say anything. I know I wouldn't want someone giving me a positve review if really they didn't like it at all. If you just didn't like the direction, but thought it was well-written, you could say that.

Also, if it's who I think it is -- she reads & reviews so many stories & chapters soo quickly, I doubt she expects everyone to read and review in return. I would just give her a heartfelt thank-you, because that's true to how you feel. If it's not that person, then disregard the above

Yeah, it is who you think it is. I do thank her for each review, but I was just curious about what she wrote. And felt really bad at wanting to throttle her main character.

[Miri1984]

Um, yes. I tried to read hers as well but lost interest almost immediately. So I say thanks and move straight along.

[Reika]

Miri1984 wrote...

Um, yes. I tried to read hers as well but lost interest almost immediately. So I say thanks and move straight along.

Glad I'm not the only one then. I just thought I was much more curmudgeonly than I realized. 

So Miri, when is Aedan going to finally get his ass kicked in Shades of Grey?

[LupusYondergirl]

I'm dying to know who...

<- nosy

[Reika]

LupusYondergirl wrote...

I'm dying to know who...
<- nosy

??

[mousestalker]

Take it to PM's please. If it's me I don't want to know and if it is someone else, then they very likely post or lurk here. Feelings would get hurt needlessly. Far better to use PM's and email for that sort of thing.

[Reika]

Ah, I totally missed what Lupus meant. Yes, I'll PM it.

[LupusYondergirl]

Pay no mind to me, I'm being obnoxious and brain dead. It was a rude thing to ask on the board.

[Sarah1281]

mousestalker wrote...

Take it to PM's please. If it's me I don't want to know and if it is someone else, then they very likely post or lurk here. Feelings would get hurt needlessly. Far better to use PM's and email for that sort of thing.

We've already been given enough information to figure out who it is already though...

[Merilsell]

That is true. Well let's just hope she doesn't now about BSN

[Reika]

Totally my bad for starting up that line.

[DreGregoire]

I wish I had more hours in the day so I could play dragon age, write fanfiction, and read fanfiction more. LOL. Dang reallife! I'm going out of state in a couple of days, so I can't *gasp* play dragon age. I could write and read dragon age fanfiction though... wait... I won't have time for that. *sighs*

My muse has deserted me somewhat lately anyways so a break can't hurt

Modifié par DreGregoire, 27 octobre 2010 - 04:33 .

[Raonar]

Okay, so I just a short while ago posted one of the more complicated chapters of my fanfiction and SOMEHOW managed to pull off something unusual.

Basically, one of the main characters, the second lead character that is, was just revealed to have likely done something in the past that could label him an insane murderer.

And I had to get my readers to sympathize with him without actually explaining or offerig even ONE detail about what had happened. Secondly, the one in question was, most of the time, in a very compromising posture (bloodied hands, among other things). Oh, and the only hints that I offered for the idea that whatever he had done came with mitigating circumstances were assumptions made by another character.

And it seems that I actually pulled it off.

Which is a bit... disconcerting.

Modifié par Raonar, 27 octobre 2010 - 05:53 .