Just a Quick Inquiry...

[kriadydragon]

Yes, another curiosity moment.

Have any of you fanfic writers ever gotten into an argument - polite or otherwise - with a reviewer? Had to defend your story or tell them to just plain leave you alone? Or, maybe, in the throes of trying to defend your story, realized that they may have a point? I haven't experienced this myself or anything (not counting the times I've asked people to please be more polite about how they review), I'm just wondering.

Comments

[negolith2.livejournal.com]

Not yet, but I'm fairly new to the fanfic scene. =^.^=

However, the workshop classes I had in college.... Man o man o man. Creative Writing 301 was HELL. People would hear the word 'fantasy' and it was like open season. And they'd nitpick the stupidist things. One person even said, "If this is another world, why are they speaking English?" Ummmmm, because it's the only language I know?

I hated that class. The prof would ream my butt on every thing I turned in - pure destructive criticism - and I know I wasn't being overly sensitive. People would come up to me after class and pat me on the shoulder and say, "I liked your story." Still have no bloidy idea how I got an A from him.... Grrrr. Not fun. Almost made me quit writing.

[karri-kln1671.livejournal.com]

Yuppers, I have. Sometimes I see their point, sometimes I see they missed mine.

[bratfarrar]

Once, sort of. It wasn't really about the story itself--just a particular action done by a character. Something along the lines of "If Y was a good parent, they would do Z instead of what you had them do." Which I denied, because Z would have been utterly wrong for the characters involved, and that was the end of the matter.

Although I did spend the next day or so expecting a scorching reply.

gotten into an argument - polite or otherwise

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

Yes, it is why I no longer write.
I just don't need that kind of ordeal in my life,
which is already complicated......
I wrote in LOTR, not SGA...
The foundation of my story was based on a rather vivid dream I had....
I return to it once in awhile, but have not added to it.
I know one writer, in another area, who has pulled all of her ff,
which is very good, because she just doesn't want to deal with it
any longer.
I don't understand the kind of mentality that takes pleasure
in destroying another person's work.........
If you don't like it, then don't leave a comment, just move on....

[ninja007.livejournal.com]

One reviewer verbally smacked me like a 'hit and run'. She was overly critical about one point, while putting down the whole fic for that one point. It was a Farscape AU fic I wrote. They never responded to my reply. Just left it hangin' in the wind...

The experience stayed with me...

[radioshack84.livejournal.com]

I've never really gotten into an argument with a reviewer, but my stance on reviews is that if the reviewer has a good point (even in the midst of a bit of a rant) I'll take it into consideration. If they are just ranting at me for the sake of being a jerk, I will probably ignore them.

My biggest worry when writing fanfic is that I'll inadvertently write a part of a story that's too similar to someone else's and they'll read it and get mad at me for it. Sometimes a line or a scene from a story I've read will get so stuck in the back of my mind that it will try to insert itself into something I'm writing, even if my plot is entirely different. I've actually spent entire evenings re-reading old fic to make sure I haven't accidentally duplicated. So far I haven't to my knowledge...I hope! :)

This can get especially bothersome when writing whump-fic, because while there are a lot of ways to whump someone, you inevitably get some repetition of injuries (concussions, broken ribs, etc.) and I'm one of those addicts who has read nearly the entirety of FF.net's stuff...so it's not exactly easy to remember which fic I read something in even if I think I saw it before. But anyway, I'm kinda off-topic so I digress. :)

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Of all the genres, Sci-fi/fantasy does get the harshest reactions. For my final writing class in college - a one-on-one tutorial with an actual published author, we were told that we couldn't submit fantasy (school policy). But the teacher was nice and looked over a chapter of a story I did, anyways.

In a class before that one, though, another student did a sci-fi that was very interesting and, like with you, people nit-picked over the dumbest stuff. They weren't harsh or anything, but the things that boggled them were, to me, things that totally made sense.

Sci-fi and fantasy is an acquired taste. Sadly, those who can't acquire it, instead, deem it as ridiculous and pointless.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

That's always the part that furstrates me - figuring out if the reader missed your point, or if you're the one who missed something. It's why I'm always iffy about constructive criticism concerning the plot, as it's hard to say whether the one critiquing has a point, or if it's all a matter of different perspectives.

Although if more than one person ends up confused about something, then it's pretty clear ;)

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

I recieved a similar remark today, but didn't consider my response as defending the story, but more as clearing things up since I felt the reviewer was stating personal opinions and feelings concerning the things I'd had happen in the fic more than pointing out flaws.

There does come a point where you have to say - more to yourself, it seems, than to your readers - that "I know what I was doing." I felt quite secure with what I had happen in the story, so was able to explain easily why I did what I did.

But, yeah, you do kind of expect a counter-point response, wether a burn or polite.

Re: gotten into an argument - polite or otherwise

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

If you don't like it, then don't leave a comment, just move on....

Exactly. What people really need to get, though, is that there's a big difference between criticising a work and critiquing a work (and I've done a ton of meta on this.) When you critique, you mention the good - praise what works - and when you tackle what doesn't work, you do so as politely and with as much understanding as possible.

Some days I do understand some readers' frustrations - Mary Sue dominated fic, bad spelling, bad grammer, undeveloped plots or uncomfortable flow - but telling someone that their story sucks isn't going to change anything. Saying, instead "You have an interesting idea, but need to clean up your spelling some, and get to know the characters a little better as they seem a bit OOC" will.

At the same time, writers need to listen when they do recive polite critiques. Although I will agree that it can be difficult as there are some instances when it's nothing more than a matter of differing perspectives.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Heh, I've been bugged by tiny little scenes, actions or images in a story, but I won't say anything because it's personal, not something the writer needs to fix.

I think the worst is when you "can't" respond - when people leave anonymous reviews, forcing you to respond on the story itself. I "hate" that! And, yeah, they never respond back.

And, yes, it does stick with you. Personally, though, I actually find it helpful. After all, I'll be dealing with the same or worse when published, so better to get a thick-skin now via a fun hobby than risk getting discouraged from the thing I love that's also my career.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

My biggest worry when writing fanfic is that I'll inadvertently write a part of a story that's too similar to someone else's and they'll read it and get mad at me for it.

Heh, some may not think it but that is an issue. I actually knew someone in another fandom who accused another author of stealing her idea. But when I checked the story out, it wasn't that the other author had taken the first author's idea, it was just that they had similar things happening (both involved a female seriel killer, but other than that the two stories were totally different.)

since then, it's something I worry about myself. I'll even go so far as to warn other authors that I'm about to write something that might seem similar to their story, but promise that the idea came to me before I read their story. So far, the author's I've talked to have been nothing but understanding.

As for expanding your whump horizons, remember - it's not the injuries, but the whump that leads to the injuries that matters. The injuries I give to poor Shep tend to be the same (illness, broken ribs, arm, collarbone, etc.) but how he sustained those injuries are always different (beatings explosions, long-term abuse, etc.) I also suggest looking up stuff on line - in medical journals and what-not; seek out diseases that aren't well known, or make up a disease if it's sci-fi (in SGA, they are in another galaxy, after all.)

[imbecamiel.livejournal.com]

I haven't myself (I'm not real prolific, and don't often get much feedback), but my poor sister has. On her most recent long LOTR story she had an awful time with one particular reviewer...

This girl reviewed almost every chapter (the story was about 40 chapters long), writing long, long reviews, and sometimes sent extra e-mails in-between chapters. It almost made it more difficult that she wasn't actually flaming, but seriously thought she was being very helpful. However, she was totally convinced that everything she said was The Right Way of doing it... no matter what the subject, or how often the reasons it was done differently were explained to her.

There were the horses - apparently not accurate enough for her (despite the fact that my sis specified this was fanfiction, so she did some research but wasn't going to put years into it). She insisted that my sis really should read several books on horse psychology... And she'd critique the writing - everything about it, despite being told several times that yes, she'd done it that way intentionally, to produce a certain effect, or that she had a different perspective on certain characters, etc. Rather made things worse that she couldn't even spell the characters' names right in her reviews. And she totally did not get sarcasm - so, for instance, when there would be a line about the bad guys kindly helping him get down the stairs faster, she would say that made no sense, they weren't being helpful, they pushed him down the stairs! She wasn't a native English speaker, so I have to give her some mercy for not always getting things. But still - I would think not being a native speaker might've made her a bit more hesitant about giving such extensive and adamant advice and "correction". :P

Even knowing this girl was way off-base most of the time (and that the rest was the occasional matter of opinion that could've been right either way), having so much constant negativity really wore on my sis, to the point where after finishing posting the story she couldn't write anything, fanfic or original, for about six months. She's finally started up again, and very happy to be back to writing - but I think it'll be a bit before she's willing to post anything long.

there's a big difference between criticising a work and critiquing a work

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

Absolutely
I was taken to task because I had the affront to write a story, which
was LOTR AU. They did not like the basis for my story 'because that is not the way Fellowship of the Ring ended'
**coughs**
My first thoughts were of Jackson who rewrote the Tolkien books so they
would fit better on the big screen......
Basically, they clawed their way through my story, not for Mary Sue,
bad spelling, bad grammar, etc., but because my storyline was not in keeping with THEIR idea of what it should have been.
I always write some sort of review for pieces I read on ff.net, and
for other communities. I feel that if that writer took the time
to write the piece, and I have read it, then it seems only right for me to provide some feedback. But in none of my reviews have I attacked based solely on my personal ideas of what they should have written, instead of what they wrote....
I would have welcomed a polite critique. To this day, I have no idea
what was so offensive. I wish now I had ignored them and forged ahead on behalf of those who asked how soon there would be more.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

I had someone hound me about spelling corrections for a while, even prodding me to get a beta, saying I had no excuse for the story not to be beta'd and so on. It drove me nuts, but after a few responses they finally stopped.

They may have had a point about using a beta, but I'm not one who takes being told what to do lightly, and some days I'd rather just post a story and get it over with (one-shots especially) - lingering spelling errors or not - than wait for a story to be beta'd. And the only stories I have beta'd are those that either end up longer than intended or I'm emotionally invested in. Other than that, it's fanfiction, something I do for fun, something that I'm not making money off of, so I'm not going to put as much time an energy into it like with original fic unless, again, I'm emotionally invested.

Anways *sets rambling aside.* I kind of know how your sister feels as that particular reviewer plus other reviews recieved were making me feel like crap about my story. Fanfiction certainly does either make or break you, help you develope a thick skin or chase you off. I honestly think that if it wasn't for my rather vicious stubborn streak, I would have been chased off long ago (albeit for various reasons, not just crappy critiques.) I will admit to having self-conscious issues, and the little stuff can drive me crazy. I'll agnonize over certain reviews before finally either taking them into consideration or dismissing them.

I think your sister's situation is a good example of when to completely ingore a reviewer and their reviews - don't read them, don't respond to them, and if you get e-mails from the person, delete them (or read what they have to say, and if it starts out as another long-winded critique, then delete.) You can't let people turn what you love into a nightmare.

reviewed almost every chapter (the story was about 40 chapters long)

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

Let's hear it for ff.net where she would have had only one shot,
not forty.
LOL

[radioshack84.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, I am a frequent visitor of the online medical sites, and the majority of my fic is for SGA, so I can generally come up with plenty different ways to whump, but I still worry for the exact reason you mentioned.

Hmm...made-up Pegasus disease...I'll have to see if I can work that into my next fic. I've kinda been wanting to do more of an illness rather than injury story (though the one I'm currently working on is sort of a combination of both), so we'll see what happens! :)

help you develope a thick skin or chase you off

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

It was not so much a matter of being thin skinned as it was no longer
willing to dignify horse shit.....I have always made it a practice
in my life to do that, and ff was just one more area to apply it.

[ninja007.livejournal.com]

I just had an anonymous hit and run on my live journal. It wasn't harsh, but it was in answer to my rant. I never thought anyone was actually really my journal! No one has in the past...

It just hits me as WTF???

[fitzwiggity.livejournal.com]

There were a few people who critized my fanfics. Not many, however were as bad as one of the reviewers when I first started writing stargate atlantis fanfiction, back when I was in junior high. It surprised me, because even though I expected someone to object to the way I write, I didn't expect them to object so strongly. Course, I found out later that she/he was making everyone furious and she/he got kicked off the board, thanks to all my other reviewers and everyone else she/he pissed off. :)

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

That's good. You don't often hear about the flamers getting banned, and some of them are incredibly, immaturely, vicious.

[ranlynn.livejournal.com]

I only dabble a little bit with the writing side of fanfic (nothing in SGA yet), mostly I'm a reader. Some of my daggle got flamed once but I ignored it. I did sort of did get into once with an author though a few years ago.

I had sent her a, while not an unconditional *Your're the Greatest!!*, what I thought was some balanced, polite feedback & some suggestions of what I'd like to see in future stories. Ya know, the usual thing.

What I got back from her was a message telling me I was nuts, had a problem confusing fiction with reality and what kind of education did I have that I thought I was qualified to even *dare* send her a review anyway.

Unfortunately I got the message during a rather extreme bought of PMS & shot back a reply that was less than, well...nice.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

That's why I'm so reluctant about giving in-depth critiques, or even doing something as small as stating a difference of opinion. Either what I say will be misinterpreted, or I'd missed something in the initial reading that will make me sound incompetent.

I, personally, do try to take into consideration any critiques people have to give... after the initial annoyance, of course (which I never act upon) ;). The only feedback that annoys me is when people tell me how to spell (they're, their, there - I know the difference, I just tend to get them mixed up now and then, and being similar in sound, they're easy to miss. Yet people still feel the need to point them out down to telling be how to spell them. Makes me want to rip my hair out.)

[ranlynn.livejournal.com]

Yep, nit-pickers can be a pain. The few things I've written I checked at least 3 times & there are still mistakes. It just happens sometimes, especially if you type them up at 3am in the morning. ;)

The only time I mention spelling in feedback is when *literaly* almost every other word in the fic is mis-spelled.