I think someone who did have the honest goal of improving young writers would go about it differently. You are right that there's more to it, and it's likely a snobbish, superiority thing. But most of the 'spoofs' are just a reaction to badfic in general, and are not aimed at a particular example (the MST3K of 'Legolas, Back to the Future' being an exception). So there are ways of letting off steam without flaming
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You still can be nice in a review and still offer concrit. Its all about the tone and the way you bring it. Making demands isn't one of them, that's for sure. For me there is a huge difference between acting like a beta and a reviewer. As a beta I am aiming to help the author to improve their skill with what I know and have learnt. Sometimes that is a journey together as well, as a reviewer I tell the writer how the story came across to me (yes this means muting your inner editor) and instead of summing up the typos you can gently say for example: I think it wouldn't hurt if you let someone else go over it. Or: I really loved your fluffy hobbits, to me it seemed that they were so captivated by the moment, that there is no thought for what will happen next (basically expressing why there wasn't a plot to me as a reader, but I still am not passing any judgement). As a writer you constantly grow, when you look back years later you will see the hops of improvement you made, its there! *shuts up now*
But there should be places in the world where people can post whatever they want....and ff.net is one such place. For this reason, I seldom go there without a rec, or unless I've read the author's work elsewhere.
That's me too. I use the site very little these days. I don't even find it particularly rewarding to put my stories up there since I tend to get praise for them but nothing particularly insightful. You wonderful people on LJ have me so spoiled. :)
And you know what? If ff.net was to decide tomorrow that they suddenly want to be a "quality fiction" archive a la HASA and begin requiring peer review of stories, a huge demand would be left unmet, and another "Pit of Voles" would be sure to follow. Or maybe FanLib would become more popular. ;)
Unlike other genres, fanfic is very meticulous about warnings. So, I don't have to read mpregs and rape fics if I don't want to. If a flamer did not heed the warnings...it's their own stupid fault. Usually, a Mary Sue story is recognizable from the description or the first few pages. If
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"...or she secretly likes slash. I wonder?" When Homer attacked one of my slash stories (more than adequately rated and replete with warnings) she made comments which indicated she had, indeed, read the whole thing! Hahaha! If I run across someone describing disembowling of babies I have no problem stopping the story right there. End of problem!
I would not flame a writer, I hope. I might choose not to comment, or rather focus on one thing they did well. Or maybe point out something in the story that 'surprised' me or seemed out of character. But I know how vulnerable it makes you to post work for the world to see, and I would hate to dash the hopes of a beginning writer.I can't see you flaming a writer, especially based on this comment. :) And it's one thing to offer concrit or suggestions--I'll do that sometimes when I know that the writer wants it--and another to tell someone to kill herself to spare the rest of the world the pain of reading her writing
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That's me too. I use the site very little these days. I don't even find it particularly rewarding to put my stories up there since I tend to get praise for them but nothing particularly insightful. You wonderful people on LJ have me so spoiled. :)
And you know what? If ff.net was to decide tomorrow that they suddenly want to be a "quality fiction" archive a la HASA and begin requiring peer review of stories, a huge demand would be left unmet, and another "Pit of Voles" would be sure to follow. Or maybe FanLib would become more popular. ;)
Unlike other genres, fanfic is very meticulous about warnings. So, I don't have to read mpregs and rape fics if I don't want to. If a flamer did not heed the warnings...it's their own stupid fault. Usually, a Mary Sue story is recognizable from the description or the first few pages. If ( ... )
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I would not flame a writer, I hope. I might choose not to comment, or rather focus on one thing they did well. Or maybe point out something in the story that 'surprised' me or seemed out of character. But I know how vulnerable it makes you to post work for the world to see, and I would hate to dash the hopes of a beginning writer.I can't see you flaming a writer, especially based on this comment. :) And it's one thing to offer concrit or suggestions--I'll do that sometimes when I know that the writer wants it--and another to tell someone to kill herself to spare the rest of the world the pain of reading her writing ( ... )
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