Fan-fic Reviews
Gwydion
Just a random thought I had...
Has anyone ever given thought to reviewing fan-fics posted to
re.arts.anime.creative? I mean, Gods know I could use the feedback on
mine, and I'm pretty sure that the other creators would love to hear
what people think. Any ideas about why nobody has done this?
Gwydion
Come Visit Harry's Homepage-O-Rama:
http://don.skidmore.edu/~domalley
Cpt. C. Nebulart
Gwydion (doma...@skidmore.edu) wrote:
> Just a random thought I had...
>
> Has anyone ever given thought to reviewing fan-fics posted to
> re.arts.anime.creative? I mean, Gods know I could use the feedback on
> mine, and I'm pretty sure that the other creators would love to hear
> what people think. Any ideas about why nobody has done this?
There has been talk about this before, and I would definitely morally support
the person who is willing to take this burden upon him/her.
I think the main reason there's no fanfic reviews is the general lack of care
for the unsung heroes of fanfics, the writers. People read the story,
sometimes send a "nice story, when are you going to continue it" message to
the author, but that's about the extent of feedback you'll ever get.
Personally, I think that's a damn shame. I used to have a "Feedbackware"
notice over my fanfic web page, almost begging for people to send some
feedback to fanfic authors, but since it proved ineffective, I've taken it
down.
If anyone is interested in that notice, I'll post it.
--
- Cpt. C. Nebulart <nebu...@solnoid.xs4all.nl>
Author of Bubble Gum Force, Night Runners, Last War of the Poseidon and more
Coming up soon: Bubble Gum force II, Night Runners II and more Battle Shark!
<A HREF="http://www.anime.net/~nebulart/">Da Page</A>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I got nothing to say I ain't said before/
I bled all I can I won't bleed no more" -- Sisters of Mercy "This corrosion"
AARON JAMES EDWARD PEORI
: Has anyone ever given thought to reviewing fan-fics posted to
: re.arts.anime.creative? I mean, Gods know I could use the feedback on
: mine, and I'm pretty sure that the other creators would love to hear
: what people think. Any ideas about why nobody has done this?
I don't think there's any real newsgroup to post the reviews to...
Fandom is supposed to be the place where they're reviewed but I've never
seen them. My -geuss- is that the fanfics are so multitopical that if one
gives reviews of some of them it will inevitably start up a flame war
over the subject (ie A fanfic about the various Ranma 1/2 relations or
one of the many Dark or Lemon -and combinations thereof- fanfic).
The best way to get feedback is from prereaders. Some groups like
Checkmate studios (run by Jason Heavensrun, his address is available on
his many GRIT posts) will let you send them fanfics and then they'll send
back in depth reviews.
This was posted because there are many other fanfic writers out there who
want to get feedback.
: Gwydion
: Come Visit Harry's Homepage-O-Rama:
: http://don.skidmore.edu/~domalley
-----------
Epsilon
"Oy"
---
Words of Wisdom
Philip Yff
Gwydion wrote:
:>
:> Just a random thought I had...
:>
:> Has anyone ever given thought to reviewing fan-fics posted to
:> re.arts.anime.creative? I mean, Gods know I could use the feedback on
:> mine, and I'm pretty sure that the other creators would love to hear
:> what people think. Any ideas about why nobody has done this?
:> Gwydion
I believe it's in the charter. However, there are certain
practicalities. If you give a balanced review, you point out
both the strengths and the weaknesses. That's always hard in open
forum.
I've got feedback on my feeble creative attempts--both kind and
harsh. I've appreciated both. I suspect that if the commentators
had been posting openly, they would have been more restrained in
both. Consequently, both the good and the bad would be less
valuable.
That's not to say that reviews cannot be done, but it would be
more difficult. Could you really stand to be raked over the
coals before thousands of readers? It would be hard for me and
everyone knows I've got extremely thick skin.
Mata ato de,
Phil Yff
Tenchi
>
> Gwydion (doma...@skidmore.edu) wrote:
> : Just a random thought I had...
>
> : Has anyone ever given thought to reviewing fan-fics posted to
> : re.arts.anime.creative? I mean, Gods know I could use the feedback on
> : mine, and I'm pretty sure that the other creators would love to hear
> : what people think. Any ideas about why nobody has done this?
>
> Fandom is supposed to be the place where they're reviewed but I've never
> seen them. My -geuss- is that the fanfics are so multitopical that if one
> gives reviews of some of them it will inevitably start up a flame war
> over the subject (ie A fanfic about the various Ranma 1/2 relations or
> one of the many Dark or Lemon -and combinations thereof- fanfic).
>
> The best way to get feedback is from prereaders. Some groups like
> Checkmate studios (run by Jason Heavensrun, his address is available on
> his many GRIT posts) will let you send them fanfics and then they'll send
> back in depth reviews.
>
> This was posted because there are many other fanfic writers out there who
> want to get feedback.
>
> Epsilon
>
> "Oy"
> ---
> Words of Wisdom
Definately... I barely get time to read Rec.arts.anime.creative, if
people tossed in reviews and a bunch of flames, and what not. I feel
some people wouldn't post for fear of a bad review, and it would
eventually just get so bad that on a given day, there might be one or
two stories and 50 worthless crap messages. IMO.
Cpt. C. Nebulart
AARON JAMES EDWARD PEORI (ape...@ug.cs.dal.ca) wrote:
> I don't think there's any real newsgroup to post the reviews to...
There is. It's called rec.arts.anime.fandom
> Fandom is supposed to be the place where they're reviewed but I've never
> seen them. My -geuss- is that the fanfics are so multitopical that if one
> gives reviews of some of them it will inevitably start up a flame war
> over the subject (ie A fanfic about the various Ranma 1/2 relations or
> one of the many Dark or Lemon -and combinations thereof- fanfic).
That seems to imply people would be intolerant towards the subject of the
fanfic. But the first thing one should remember with fanfic is that it is just
that, fanfic. One does not have to read it, one does not have to accept any
facts or information presented in such a story.
Of course there will be some flaming, but I think this is something you can
never avoid -- there *are* toes you are going to step on, people *are* going
to be pissed off, heated words *will* fly. This is USENet.
Yet still I think the good outweighs the bad.
> The best way to get feedback is from prereaders. Some groups like
> Checkmate studios (run by Jason Heavensrun, his address is available on
> his many GRIT posts) will let you send them fanfics and then they'll send
> back in depth reviews.
Didn't know this. If this Jason Heavensun person would be willing to take up
the task of creating a fanfic review page/archive I think this would help the
fanfic community immensely.
> This was posted because there are many other fanfic writers out there who
> want to get feedback.
Gotcha. Here's another one of them.
Bryan Ogawa
nebu...@solnoid.xs4all.nl (Cpt. C. Nebulart) writes:
>AARON JAMES EDWARD PEORI (ape...@ug.cs.dal.ca) wrote:
[...]
>> The best way to get feedback is from prereaders. Some groups like
>> Checkmate studios (run by Jason Heavensrun, his address is available on
>> his many GRIT posts) will let you send them fanfics and then they'll send
>> back in depth reviews.
>Didn't know this. If this Jason Heavensun person would be willing to take up
>the task of creating a fanfic review page/archive I think this would help the
>fanfic community immensely.
>> This was posted because there are many other fanfic writers out there who
>> want to get feedback.
>Gotcha. Here's another one of them.
I'm very surprised that the Fanfic Mailing List hasn't been mentioned yet.
To subscribe, send mail to <fanfic-...@fanfic.com> with the word
subscribe in the body of the message.
Admittedly, people have valid complaints about it (too much off-topic
posting, too much Ranma/BGC/Sailor Moon and not much else), but it _is_ a
mailing list devoted to the creation and discussion of fanfic, and as
such, "work in progress" posting is both welcomed and common.
While I'm not sure of the current status, I believe that at one time you
could post messages to the group without being subscribed. If you do so,
however, make it clear that you want replies sent back directly to you.
Another resource to consider, and I, as a reader, would love to see more
non-Ranma stuff.
Someone mentioned the difficulties of posting full-fledged reviews of
work.
I, for one, thought about doing this, but decided would only do so if I
had consulted the author and obtained their permission prior to the
review, with the understanding that I would either post or mail the
review, as good or as bad as it was, BEFORE commencing. I do not want the
stress of upsetting people with critical comments, but I also don't feel
it's fair to post positive reviews and mail negative ones.
Another thing with reviews is that there is more than one type of review.
There are what are called C&C (comments and corrections) on the FFML.
Talking about what flies and what clunks along the ground, often in
specific detail, along with spelling, grammar, and wording corrections and
suggestions. This seems less useful after an author considers the work
"final".
Secondly, there are "movie review" reviews. "If you liked the Kimagure
Orange Road, go read _Kimagure Orange College_--one of the finest
fanfiction continuations of an anime series to date." "_Undocumented
Features_ stands as an unprecedented epic of fanfiction--the story,
detailing centuries' worth of the protagonists' actions, reaches heights
and complexities far outstripping its inital premise--what would happen if
a college student brought Kei and Yuri to life?"
And then, there are reviews which think about and analyze the meaning and
trends in a single work or an author's work (amazing, but true). It seems
like the sort of papers written in English classes (the only person I have
seen do this, Taleswapper, is excellent and worth reading).
I see each of these types distinctly.
The first is meant for the author and for other people who have read the
story already, in unfinished form, to help the author improve his writing
directly. I'd feel very uncomfortable posting something like this to
Usenet--by nature, these tend to be critical and often harshly so--people
sincerely trying to make a thing better are often very frank.
The second is meant for the reader, and not the writer, as a guide: "What
should I read? What's worthy of my time?" In a sense, what the writer
thinks of the review isn't very relevant, except as another voice
recommending (or not recommending) the reading of a work, and one that is
suspect, since people are often less objective about their own work than
the work of others. I think it would be pointless for this type of review
to be sent to the author via private email.
The third is something else, and at least in Taleswapper's case, seems
more a meditation on the work than anything else. It encourages (in my
mind) thought about the work, and possibly even dialog between the
story writer and review writer. I think that either posting or mailing
would be good, but as a selfish bystander, I like to see these posts in
public, because I like reading them.
I think that I feel differently about each of these sorts of reviews,
which is why I separated them.
Do you think I'm making a false separation here? Have I overanalyzed
this?
--
bryan k. ogawa <bko...@primenet.com> <bko...@netvoyage.net>
Kris Overstreet
doma...@skidmore.edu (Gwydion) wrote:
>Just a random thought I had...
>Has anyone ever given thought to reviewing fan-fics posted to
>re.arts.anime.creative? I mean, Gods know I could use the feedback on
>mine, and I'm pretty sure that the other creators would love to hear
>what people think. Any ideas about why nobody has done this?
Simply put, I don't do it because I can't be anything approaching objective
on it. Let's say I tried to review stories: any Robotech, Sailor Moon
(except Dark Kingdom Renegades), or dark Ranma 1/2 stories would
automatically be at an extreme disadvantage, with KOR, DB, and others at a
lesser one- whereas AMG!, UY, TM!, etc. would have an unfair advantage.
And the reason I haven't joined the FFML is that I'm a bit picky about the
kind of stuff I read. With newsgroups I can pick and choose- with a mailing
list, I get _everything._ No thank you.
But then, I'm weird anyway. }:-{D
Redneck
Kris Overstreet, will write for food... | "The universe is already mad.
http://www.txdirect.net/users/redneck | Everything else is redundant."
Member of Eyrie Prod., Unltd. | --- Londo Mollari, BABYLON 5
http://www.eyrie.net/ | ***QUESTION EVERYTHING***