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Should I be worried?
Hi guys. I posted a piece of fanfic on here just before New Year and between posting in other forums I kept checking back to see if anyone had replied. It has got some views to its name, but there has been no critique. The main reason I posted the pieces was for feedback and I'm feeling like it's just being passed over.
I know I've gone with some of the clichés, like starting with the character chooses their first Pokémon and them having an instant bond, but my long term plan is to have the bond change over the course of the story. This won't be a strengthening of the relationship, moreso a change in how they view each other. I don't want to seem like I'm flogging my story so I'll leave you to go and search it out without me advertising it in here, but any response would be welcomed. |
Not every fic gets noticed, so if no one notices yours the best thing to do is write another chapter so it ends up at the top of the list again. You could also try finding someone to beta your story. Most importantly, don't get discouraged. Keep trying, someone will probably notice eventually.
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Thanks for that, I was starting to think that I should give it up as a bad job.
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To answer the original question with an addition, not at all.
Basically -- I'll have to be blunt here, and you'll have to excuse me -- you're not a familiar face. That's one of the problems with writing communities. If you're new, people don't know your writing style, so they'll probably shy away from your story and go towards someone who is recognizable and reliable. For example, TurtleKing updates often, and his chapters are of a decent quality. Hence, he gets a lot of readers and reviewers simply because they know what to expect from him. For another example, icomeanon6 is an active participant in the community itself. Hence, he gets readers because people know him as a member and are curious about his writing. So, a fresh face who hasn't popped up that often around probably will get skipped over for someone else simply because we don't know who you are. Unfortunate, but it happens. *shrug* Maybe review fics and post in the FFL, drop notes about your fic or link it in your sig, and people will start to check out what you have to offer. Also, you may want to consider a couple small bits of stylistic advice: 1. Don't post multiple chapters on the same day, particularly if your chapters are longer than a page. Your readers will need time to take in what you have to say and look at your story, and spacing out your chapters by a couple of days (as in, posting the next one a couple days after your last one) will help keep your story on the first page anyway. Your readers will then not only be less intimidated by the frequency of your updates (as in, go too fast, and they'll think they'll have no time to comment), but they'll also be led to believe you update on a reliable basis (as in, no hiatuses). 2. Paragraph breaks. Your second chapter is a bit difficult to read because there's no line of space between each paragraph (the way you do it in your first chapter). This puts readers off at their first glance because it tends to be seen as a sign of bad writing. (Not saying that you are one. Just saying that people may come to that conclusion, regardless of whether or not it's true.) That and it's just easier to read a fic if you've got that blank space. It helps the reader keep their place in the story, rather than let their eyes wander back to a line they already read. So, yeah. Be patient, be active, and I'd say a beta wouldn't hurt, either. Go with that, and you'll eventually grow a following. |
hey dude I'm the same way. I'm writing a fic of my own and quite frankly it hasn't got many views and virtually no responses. But I keep writing the chapters when I feel like it (which is about every 3 days) because, not only do I love to write, but quite frankly I am in to MY story. As a fellow unoticed new comer, I offer this advice:
Don't write for others. Write for yourself. A little selfish? Maybe, but it definitely feels good to finish a chapter. And when you don't necesarily know what is goin to happen next in your fan fic, it makes it even more enjoyable to look forward to and write that next chapter. |
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Alrighty, first off, no, I don't think you should be too worried. Follow the advice Xanthine gave you, and you should get at least some attention. Post around the general community more, get your name in threads and so on. And, once you put a link to your story in your signature, it's in all of the posts you've ever posted. So your fic will be in more places than just the PFF&P board. Just keep writing. Don't let a lack of readers squash your hopes with the fic. |
Yeah. My first fic, total of 17 chapters long if you count in the prologue and epilogue, got reviews from only four different people before it was locked because someone bumped it. I posted chapter after chapter with no reply to my work whatsoever. At many points, I thought about forgetting the whole thing, abandoning the thread and throwing the fic away as garbage. But I didn't. I kept writing it for myself. And guess what? After finishing it, I got comments from two people that said they were really thankful I finished it and loved the story. So, in the end, I got my reward from all that hard work.
Truth to be told, no-one has ever really criticized that whole fic. I still don't really know if it's garbage or not. Despite all that, it's a finished fic. Who cares if everyone in this world hates it? I finished it, and I feel great for that. Never leave things only half done! Just as Ebon Blade said, write for yourself. On another note, I have to say that even though I'm pretty active around here and have been for several months now, and on top of that I know practically everyone who post in the lounge thread regularly, I still have practically no reviews nor readers at all (at least, if I have readers, they're completely silent ones and never comment anything). So, even if you follow the hints Xanthine gave you, you might not get a horde of reviewers, but don't let that bother you. Most likely, there's still someone who reads it and likes it. As a last note... Do you know which kind of fics are most likely to get comments? First of all, the great ones, and secondly, the awful ones. If your fic starts with a cliché and is in all ways like something people have seen before, the fact they're not commenting might be a good thing, for now. Post more chapters so people know what's good and exceptional about your fic and they will comment and review it. Simple, huh? So, once people know whether your fic's good or bad, they'll start giving you pieces of their mind. On the other hand, if you're a mediocre writer like me, you might never get a lot of reviews. That's just how it works. |
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