Suethors! *rolls eyes*
Anyone remember a fic called The Adventure Begins?
Well, I've had some recent correspondence with the author, Ella Ynrihan, of this fic, and this is how it went.
My review:
"If you do not like it, DO NOT review!"
I'm sorry, but that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Obviously it is not nice when people criticise your work, but I have to say that Dacen Jace has a good point. Your character is a BLATANT Mary Sue. This is of course not to say that you are a bad writer or stupid person, or that you should give up writing, you just need more experience.
The people who review your story negatively are right when they say that the canon characters are hideously OOC. What they mean by this, I think, is that you don't take enough care to explore how the characters might think and act in different situations. Jack, for instance, only seem to act stereotypically by calling everyone "luv" all the time and, frankly, the way your oc bosses him around is very annoying. Jack is NOT stupid, he is just very good at pretending to be stupid, so that people will be less suspicious of him.
Norrington is rather OOC as well, partly because he is stereotypically described as the "bad guy" (when, in fact, he is NOT a bad guy, he just does what he does because he thinks it is the right thing to do), and partly because you never properly explain his reasons for being attracted to your oc.
Your oc's tendency to steal lines from other characters is also rather irritating. It makes it next to impossible for readers to get a proper insight into your oc's psyche and why she is the way she is. Try inventing new lines for your oc from now on, and try to think of reasons for why she might say the things she says. You'll have fun doing it, I promise.
There's still potential in this story, but in order to improve you need to start listening to your reviewers - ALL of them. You can't just ignore someone's comments just becasue you don't want to hear anything negative about your work, that's just childish. Completely mindless reviews like "OMG I love it, this story rox please update soon PLEASE!1!ONE!!" is always a nice ego-boost, but it's the constructive (and sometimes harsh) reviews that are of REAL value to you.
It's never fun when reviewers mock your work, but mocking them in return (or otherwise disregarding comments that you don't appreciate) is just pointless and immature. Instead, try and think of WHY someone might have criticised you, whether there's any truth in their criticism, and whether you can use it constructively to improve your story. That way, not only will you improve your writing, you will also come across as the BIGGER PERSON by ostensibly not letting negative reviews upset you.
And, in all honesty, so far Dacen Jace's review is probably one of the most helpful reviews you've received.
~miss swoon
The author's reply:
Nice you're trying to help, but you don't even have any stories posted. I write
my stories my way and that's the way it is. Notice that only you and one other
person don't like this story out of so many reviews. Give me a break, okay. It's
freedom of speech on this site and I write how I like. If you don't like it
don't review. Simple rule. Maybe you ought to follow it.
-Ella-
PS You're blocked, so don't even try to respond.
My reply:
Believe it or not, I was only trying to help, not offend.
I don't know if you read all of my review (it was pretty long), but I DID SAY that your story has POTENTIAL, so don't give up on it.
It's true that I have no stories posted myself, but I am an experienced reader, so I know what I want and I can tell when a story needs improvement.
I'm mystified. You say there's "freedom of speech" on this site, yet you refuse to let people say what they think of your story? Seems rather hypocritical to me.
I fully expect you to delete this review (probably without even reading it through), by the way.
~miss swoon
The author's reply:
It's amazing how sadly pathetic you are. Most people like you give up after I block them. Tip: Give up already. I control what goes on my story, not people with pathetic attempts to sway me, I must admit you are persistent. Stop bothering me or I will report you.
I left a review for her fic in response to a tendency of hers to delete and/or ignore and/or lash out at negative reviews (even constructive ones!) in her author's notes. Obviously my attempt at being honest with her about this issue yet constructive and helpful failed miserably.
If I ever felt the slighest pang of guilt for sporking this girl's fic, I certainly don't anymore!
~miss swoon
Well, I've had some recent correspondence with the author, Ella Ynrihan, of this fic, and this is how it went.
My review:
"If you do not like it, DO NOT review!"
I'm sorry, but that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Obviously it is not nice when people criticise your work, but I have to say that Dacen Jace has a good point. Your character is a BLATANT Mary Sue. This is of course not to say that you are a bad writer or stupid person, or that you should give up writing, you just need more experience.
The people who review your story negatively are right when they say that the canon characters are hideously OOC. What they mean by this, I think, is that you don't take enough care to explore how the characters might think and act in different situations. Jack, for instance, only seem to act stereotypically by calling everyone "luv" all the time and, frankly, the way your oc bosses him around is very annoying. Jack is NOT stupid, he is just very good at pretending to be stupid, so that people will be less suspicious of him.
Norrington is rather OOC as well, partly because he is stereotypically described as the "bad guy" (when, in fact, he is NOT a bad guy, he just does what he does because he thinks it is the right thing to do), and partly because you never properly explain his reasons for being attracted to your oc.
Your oc's tendency to steal lines from other characters is also rather irritating. It makes it next to impossible for readers to get a proper insight into your oc's psyche and why she is the way she is. Try inventing new lines for your oc from now on, and try to think of reasons for why she might say the things she says. You'll have fun doing it, I promise.
There's still potential in this story, but in order to improve you need to start listening to your reviewers - ALL of them. You can't just ignore someone's comments just becasue you don't want to hear anything negative about your work, that's just childish. Completely mindless reviews like "OMG I love it, this story rox please update soon PLEASE!1!ONE!!" is always a nice ego-boost, but it's the constructive (and sometimes harsh) reviews that are of REAL value to you.
It's never fun when reviewers mock your work, but mocking them in return (or otherwise disregarding comments that you don't appreciate) is just pointless and immature. Instead, try and think of WHY someone might have criticised you, whether there's any truth in their criticism, and whether you can use it constructively to improve your story. That way, not only will you improve your writing, you will also come across as the BIGGER PERSON by ostensibly not letting negative reviews upset you.
And, in all honesty, so far Dacen Jace's review is probably one of the most helpful reviews you've received.
~miss swoon
The author's reply:
Nice you're trying to help, but you don't even have any stories posted. I write
my stories my way and that's the way it is. Notice that only you and one other
person don't like this story out of so many reviews. Give me a break, okay. It's
freedom of speech on this site and I write how I like. If you don't like it
don't review. Simple rule. Maybe you ought to follow it.
-Ella-
PS You're blocked, so don't even try to respond.
My reply:
Believe it or not, I was only trying to help, not offend.
I don't know if you read all of my review (it was pretty long), but I DID SAY that your story has POTENTIAL, so don't give up on it.
It's true that I have no stories posted myself, but I am an experienced reader, so I know what I want and I can tell when a story needs improvement.
I'm mystified. You say there's "freedom of speech" on this site, yet you refuse to let people say what they think of your story? Seems rather hypocritical to me.
I fully expect you to delete this review (probably without even reading it through), by the way.
~miss swoon
The author's reply:
It's amazing how sadly pathetic you are. Most people like you give up after I block them. Tip: Give up already. I control what goes on my story, not people with pathetic attempts to sway me, I must admit you are persistent. Stop bothering me or I will report you.
I left a review for her fic in response to a tendency of hers to delete and/or ignore and/or lash out at negative reviews (even constructive ones!) in her author's notes. Obviously my attempt at being honest with her about this issue yet constructive and helpful failed miserably.
If I ever felt the slighest pang of guilt for sporking this girl's fic, I certainly don't anymore!
~miss swoon