About the giving of Good Feedback - a reader's point of view
In my first post I wrote that I got this account to give feedback and how bad I felt that I hadn’t done that earlier. Well, about two hours later, I stumbled over several posts about the topic, written by some of my idols ( fluterbev here, with answers by
alyburns here,
princessofg here and
starwatcher307 here).
"Good Feedback - the mystery”. What do authors want, why do the want it? Just what exactly IS good feedback and why aren’t people giving more of it? I'm not a writer and I haven't been actively involved in any meta discussions (yet), so I can only focus on one point of the whole debate: "What do writers want and why are readers not giving more of it?" Here are my personal experiences (and maybe an explanation) ...
Oh boy, how often have I thought about "good feedback"? So many times, after I had finished a great story, cowering in front of the computer with this fangirlish humming in my stomach, knowing that the author had captured the core being of the pairing or had written a perfect piece of smut…. I tore my aching eyes away from the screen (mostly early in the morning; I like to read everything in one sitting) and … was speechless. Honest to god, completely out of words. What can you say about a perfect story - written by a genius - that can be even remotely close to its greatness. But it still is a human impulse to show affection.
Seriously, I think that fanfic writer and fanfic reader have a symbiotic relationship. The source is like the earth that nourishes both of us, the writer uses their imagination and talent like virtual sunlight to create something energetic and emotional (and even dark!fic or angst is energetic in nature as it causes reaction) and the reader receives that energy and gives it back in form of feedback to keep the writer's imagination happy and healthy. Everyone profits. In theory.
But how does it work in real/online life?
So… on archives that give feedback via outlook (like 852 prospect) I’m lost. My computer hates outlook for some weird reasons and crashes every time I try to open it. I have no urge to use outlook anyway, so I can’t be bothered to fix it. However, if I truly love the story, I’ll try to find the writer on one of the journals (hooray Google!) and stalk their journals, see if they’re still active in the fandom, what else they have written and so on…
… which leads to the next problem. Do you have any idea how intimidating you guys can be? How funny and smart and just generally admirable? I know I’m pretty much crawling right now, but hey! That’s how it is… And the poor reader sits in front of the “Leave a comment” box and despairs, because they want to express their undying love for something you created and how can you express undying love without sounding like a complete idiot? “Squee”??? I am convinced that many readers don't give feedback because they have troubles finding the right words. There's also this fangirl language with all the squees and "yummy goodness" and if you're new to fanfiction that can easily scare you away. After all, everyone wants to belong to the group; in that respect there's no difference between LJ and the first grade, only here the cool kids write smut and the reader stammers and watches longingly from the distance.
It took my half a year to write my first anonymous review and I haven’t been around long enough to speak Fangirl fluently. Hell, I have enough problems with trying to hide that English isn’t my first language (and I strongly suspect I’m not doing a good job in that department but end up sounding like a whiny idiot....)
I want to leave feedback, and I want to leave good feedback. Literature appreciation class all the years in school has definitely left its mark. I want to tell you how much I loved the flow, the characterisations, tone, mood, plot … and the “feel”. A quick "thank you, loved it" just doesn't feel right. You guys are the best and deserve the best in return for the joy you bring.
What makes really really good feedback? Length? Giving details or favourite lines? Do you mind if it sounds like written by a hyper 5-year old?
Please, tell me!
alyburns here,
princessofg here and
starwatcher307 here).
"Good Feedback - the mystery”. What do authors want, why do the want it? Just what exactly IS good feedback and why aren’t people giving more of it? I'm not a writer and I haven't been actively involved in any meta discussions (yet), so I can only focus on one point of the whole debate: "What do writers want and why are readers not giving more of it?" Here are my personal experiences (and maybe an explanation) ...
Oh boy, how often have I thought about "good feedback"? So many times, after I had finished a great story, cowering in front of the computer with this fangirlish humming in my stomach, knowing that the author had captured the core being of the pairing or had written a perfect piece of smut…. I tore my aching eyes away from the screen (mostly early in the morning; I like to read everything in one sitting) and … was speechless. Honest to god, completely out of words. What can you say about a perfect story - written by a genius - that can be even remotely close to its greatness. But it still is a human impulse to show affection.
Seriously, I think that fanfic writer and fanfic reader have a symbiotic relationship. The source is like the earth that nourishes both of us, the writer uses their imagination and talent like virtual sunlight to create something energetic and emotional (and even dark!fic or angst is energetic in nature as it causes reaction) and the reader receives that energy and gives it back in form of feedback to keep the writer's imagination happy and healthy. Everyone profits. In theory.
But how does it work in real/online life?
So… on archives that give feedback via outlook (like 852 prospect) I’m lost. My computer hates outlook for some weird reasons and crashes every time I try to open it. I have no urge to use outlook anyway, so I can’t be bothered to fix it. However, if I truly love the story, I’ll try to find the writer on one of the journals (hooray Google!) and stalk their journals, see if they’re still active in the fandom, what else they have written and so on…
… which leads to the next problem. Do you have any idea how intimidating you guys can be? How funny and smart and just generally admirable? I know I’m pretty much crawling right now, but hey! That’s how it is… And the poor reader sits in front of the “Leave a comment” box and despairs, because they want to express their undying love for something you created and how can you express undying love without sounding like a complete idiot? “Squee”??? I am convinced that many readers don't give feedback because they have troubles finding the right words. There's also this fangirl language with all the squees and "yummy goodness" and if you're new to fanfiction that can easily scare you away. After all, everyone wants to belong to the group; in that respect there's no difference between LJ and the first grade, only here the cool kids write smut and the reader stammers and watches longingly from the distance.
It took my half a year to write my first anonymous review and I haven’t been around long enough to speak Fangirl fluently. Hell, I have enough problems with trying to hide that English isn’t my first language (and I strongly suspect I’m not doing a good job in that department but end up sounding like a whiny idiot....)
I want to leave feedback, and I want to leave good feedback. Literature appreciation class all the years in school has definitely left its mark. I want to tell you how much I loved the flow, the characterisations, tone, mood, plot … and the “feel”. A quick "thank you, loved it" just doesn't feel right. You guys are the best and deserve the best in return for the joy you bring.
What makes really really good feedback? Length? Giving details or favourite lines? Do you mind if it sounds like written by a hyper 5-year old?
Please, tell me!