Fan Fic Reviewing Advice

A problem with the fanfic community...?

I'm assuming this topic might be closed, but I was looking through many of the fanfics around here and looking at other people's replies to them. I'm not going to mention any specific stories or names, but most are like...

"Wow, nice fic, can't wait for more!"

"Great fic!"

"You're an awesome writer! Can't wait to see what happens next!"

And these types of replies may come after a fic with obvious grammatical errors, story structure, plot holes, and the what-not. >.>;; Yeah, there may be the occasional suggestion, but these so-called "reviews" are about as weak as a Level 1 Magikarp.

Now, I know sugar-coated reviews are nice and yummy, but how do you expect to get better when you don't know what's wrong with your fic? Nobody's perfect, of course. But don't get me wrong, there are a lot of excellent fanfics out there, and it would be hard to place a finger on what's wrong with them. However, some fics are in need of constructive criticism, in order to make them better, as well as their writers.

You're probably telling me, "Geez, don't take it too seriously. They're only Pokemon fanfiction." But if you're taking it seriously enough to post it on a message board, let alone even write it in the first place, then you probably want to receive serious response. Also, if you want to pursue writing as a serious career, you'll want to learn how to get better. It'll also help you in school when you have to write reports and/or stories. :D

However, I've seen concrit gone wrong at times. Some people pick out the most silliest excuses for an error and blow it to enormous proportions. And then there are those who just downright dislike a fic because of their personal preferences. It'll be hard to pick out the good advice from the bad, and if people are sensitive, they just might get their self-esteem hurt by the bad advice. And speaking of sensitive people, some may be hurt by good advice, and may just want to halt their fanfic because of the criticism received. They may not want to work harder on their fic. I've seen it happen.

Basically, I'm trying to vie for more constructive and comprehensive fanfic reviews, that's all. *points at Shadow's fanfic rules sticky* It may be a bit of work, but it'll be good for the community. Not all of it is picking out problems, you can say what you liked about it and some plausible suggestions.

But also, there's another problem. Some fics aren't even getting any notice at all. I know it may be because of personal preference (or sheer laziness to read a long fic ^^;), but as a community, we should work together to give advice to each other and improve our works together. And that Level 1 Magikarp I mentioned at the beginning? Yup, it has the capability to evolve into a powerful Gyarados. I hope for the same to happen with our fanfics and reviews. (Heh, I just had to have some sort of symbolism chucked in there.) ^_~

So...yeah. Who here would like some more serious reviews on their work? And who here would like to start getting serious while making reviews? What do you think?

(Oh, and please don't ignore my comments because I'm a "newbie" here. I'm a longtime writer, as well as a former fanfic forum mod at a certain Pokemon forum.)


...for some strange reason I feel that I will be flamed for this...oh well!

Well, you are right that a balance must be obtained. I usually do not criticize grammatical/mechanical/spelling errors if they are not excessive.

As a general criticism, avoid long strings of adjectives and long strings of "one line" dialogues. Those are the #1 mistakes of many inexperienced fanfiction writers.

When I write fanfiction, I always go over it again every couple months, expanding or condensing and adding detail to hone a "good" story into a "great" story. I encourage all to do this if you already don't.

RIFTED is right. If we want quality products, we have to ask them of the writers. And we should read the other fanfics. Hey, I'm guilty of reading and rating only AAML/AAMRN fics. But as RIFTED said, we should support and encourage all genres and their writers.

I'm grateful that people actually looked at my super-long post. ^^;

And sure, Shadow, you may edit and sticky it. :D

everyone should review and read fanfics... my fanfics for example. I spend so much time writing and almost no one (except my friends) read it...

everyone should review and read fanfics... my fanfics for example. I spend so much time writing and almost no one (except my friends) read it...

Click to expand...

I'm a newbie at MAKING fan fics but i've always been a reader. The things that attract people the most is:
1. A catchy title
2. High rating
3. One of those x-chip ratings like: PG-13 for violence etc.
4.The words Parental Supervison is Advised (If you ahve enought space after title)
Those actually grab my attention.

I also like Fics with a cool title, because that's the thing you look at when you get to the fanfic section.

Well, I've only been writing fanfics for a few months, but I'll admit it plainly: I am a very tough rater. I dunno, while I agree with you that people should not take small errors and just make them big... I do that to an extent EXCEPT that I don't make a big deal in rating. Often, except fro seriously bad fics, the more I write in criticism, the better. I can't be bothered to write complex reviews for people who aren't worth the effort. People who do put in the effort though, I tend to write lots in criticism. However, the difference is that in the actualy rating, I don't make a big deal of it. I may take a quarter of a mark away for a half a page criticism on a point (a little over-exxageration, but u get the point). I just felt I had to point that out, because I've been accused of making too much of small things before; but really, IMHO, many authors can't take criticism. If they see a lot of it, like I tend to write, they see bad written in big fat red pen on their face. Sometimes it just gets ridiculous. I guess what I'm saying is, be careful, and do take into account the person who rates, because everyone rates differently. I simply tend to rate very strictly (like, 8 is a pretty good mark XD)

In reading and reviewing fanfics, it's best to finish the fanfic first before stop reading it... it's kind of sad since I look at people in the "Currently active users" look at one fanfic for 5 minutes and soon, they just disappear...kind of sad since some people read my fanfics and just leave. The same goes for good fanfics. T_T