should I keep writing?

sorry about making two threads in a row, but I wanted to know if you people think I should keep writing or not. I have not gotten one positive review, even if the positive part was in a regular criticism. Be honest.

You have to be patient when wanting to receive reviews. Keep on writing so that people know that you're motivated to get better. If you just write one chapter and just let it sit, people most likely are going think you're the type of writer who floods the board with unfinished fics.

EDIT: Dude! You have like two reviews! You oughta be happy as hell!

EDIT AGAIN: And don't expect reviews on your first day releasing your fic, dude.

You know what the secret is to getting positive reviews? Getting better.

You know what the secret is to getting better? Getting negative reviews.

That is, if you stop writing, you'll never get better, and you won't get a positive review either way. If you keep practicing and actually listen to the advice that constructive criticism usually offers, you'll eventually get a positive review.

Everyone sucks as a beginner. It's the truth, but it doesn't mean you should shield yourself from those negative reviews. If you don't get them, you won't have someone to point out what you need to work on, and if you don't know what you need to work on, how do you expect to improve?

So, to be blunt, you're going to have to deal with it for awhile. Everyone gets negative reviews. I got negative reviews. I still get negative reviews. But I still keep writing because it's something I like doing and something I want to improve on. Or, if you'd like a better perspective, think of it like this: if you want to win a talent show, you're going to have to enter. If you don't enter, then your chances of winning will always be nonexistent.

Understand what I mean?

Yeah dude. Jax can explain better than I can. I mean look at my first chapter of my fic compared to my most recent chapter. I've gotten extremely better in a matter of a few months. You have to determine and push yourself to keep writing.

Don't give up man! If this is something you really like doing, continue with it. If you are just a beginner there is no reason to give up. Even if you have been doing this or several years, you still might not yet be perfect. You just need to try harder and write more stories. Try to spend more time thinking over each story. Think how each one will be executed and how the story will go along. Only practice makes perfect and you'll never be a good writer of you quit. So seriously, dude, don't quit. o.o''

EDIT: Jax beat me to the post, just listen to him. o.o

I was originally the first poster on this thread, but my computer screwed up.

Anyway, don't get discouraged by reviews. You sohuld just take the advice given to you and apply it into your writing.

And Jax pretty much covered my rant. So I guess I'll shut up.

Do you understand how lucky you are to get any reviews? I could go down the front page of the fanfic section and probably pull at least five fics that haven't gotten a single review in weeks, or even months. Heck, I went about six months without a single response in one of my own fics.

Dude...unless you're committed, you aren't going to get anywhere with your writing. Come Hell or high water, you're just going to have to keep plugging away. People may tell you that there are problems with your fic, but at least they are paying attention to you, and that means they care enough about what you are doing to take time out of their lives to help you. It may sound harsh; it may even sound downright hostile, but believe me when I say it's for your own good. You will get better if you follow good advice (even if it's painful to do so), and eventually you will get that one review where the person goes "this is unbelievable! I was completely captivated, and I didn't notice any mistakes."

However, it will take time to get to that point. Don't quit on the very first day you do something: that's what losers do. If me saying that pisses you off, then good. Use that anger to write better. Show us what you've got.

Let me tell you something very, very honest: NOBODY, unless they have tons of previous experience in different kinds of writing, is going to be perfect with their first Pokemon fanfiction. Nobody. Not me. Not a commonly-recognized fanfiction author. Nobody.

You can't just post your first fic and expect people to think it's great, especially not on a "professional" forum like this one. In fact, no matter how long you've been writing and no matter how good you think you are, you can't expect absolutely no constructive critisism whatsoever. I don't care if you are a Pokemon fan who just learned how to write or the author of a bestselling book. There will always be flaws, and it is up to you and your loyal reviewers to exploit those flaws, give you advice on how to fix them, and help you on the way to becoming the best writer you can be.

We do not want you to quit writing! Get that out of your head, for goodness sake! We love to see new writers come to this forum and present us with their ideas in the forms of new fics! You know why? Because we get to be a part of helping them get better. Fanfiction is a great kind of writing because people will assist you with it and give you clear, direct advice. It's almost a different way of learning.

Remember me saying if we were trying to be mean, we would flame you and not give you advice? The same applies here. If we wanted you to quit writing, if we wanted to insult you, or if we wanted you to give up, we would not be providing you with these kinds of constructive-critisism reviews.

It's exactly the opposite of the way you see it, my friend (well, if you're okay with me calling you "friend"... :P). Contructive Critisism isn't our way of telling you to quit writing. It's our way of encouraging you to write more. We want you to feel like you need to fix the problems we've mentioned for you, not simply quit and leave forum. That way, we will all be able to enjoy your fic that much more, and you will mature into a much better writer.

If you still are not convinced, think of it this way. What if you were in school, and you had a serious problem in Math. (I'm not implying that you do, of course, but I'm thinking this might be a good example) Say, to keep it simple, you did not know how to divide properly at all. The problem is, you aren't aware you have this issue, and think that you are dividing just fine. Which would you prefer your teacher to do: Say nothing and if you ask tell you there is no problem with your math skills, or discuss it with you and point out what troubles you have along with how to improve.

Now, of course, if this teacher said nothing and let you be, you would likely fail the grade for not having an important Math skill. However, if the teacher told you what was wrong, eventually you would feel compelled to fix the problem, and then you would learn to divide just as well as anyone else. This is like your situation. If we said nothing about your problems, you would never improve, and no one would actually enjoy your fics. See where I'm going?

*clears throat* Phew... Well, I must apologize for such a wall of text, but I really don't want to see you give up, and I'm sure no one else does either. I want you to know that was as honest and sincere as I could be, so I hope it actually helps.

Oh yeah, and if you still have doubts, see how many people are replying to this? Notice how nobody is telling you to give up? That's what I mean by "nobody wants you to quit". Keep writing! There's no reason for you to quit now!

Poster above speaks some very wise words indeed.

All-in-all, don't give up because of what others may say. Show those who give you constructive criticism that you can improve your writing skills.

Why would you WANT to give up?
You write for FUN, don't you?

Well, I've only gotten 2 reviews from people I haven't talked to and know...
And I advertise it EVERYWHERE!!! GRRRR...
But, keep writing for the sake of writing...xD

thanks

Thank you all, I see now what you mean. I should have just stopped whining and realized that negative comments make me better. I am done whining.

EDIT: July first, why is this not closed?

SupahFunk said:

Thank you all, I see now what you mean. I should have just stopped whining and realized that negative comments make me better. I am done whining.

EDIT: July first, why is this not closed?

Click to expand...

We don't close threads once they don't get any replies. Besides, it's only been a week-ish since the last reply. I don't see any point on closing this.

But since you asked for it to be closed, SupahFunk, since it served the purpose that you needed it for...