made me cry
i just got the following in response to a review i wrote a while ago -- wow.
Hello,
First of all, I realize how strange a message like this may be. On many
accounts, I have thought of not contacting you at all, but upon realizing that
life is short and this is worth a try (what's there to lose, after all?), I've
decided to send you a PM.
Last year, on April 21, 2010, I received an email from the
http://www.Fanfiction.netsystem which informed me that someone had reviewed
my story, XX title withheld XX. Now I had stopped writing fanfiction for
quite sometime, as it was something I felt I had dabbled in from ages 15-17,
after which I realized I had no idea what I was doing and, at the same time,
my original works were suffering from my lack of diligence and attention.
The review in question, went like this:
"you had picked an appropriate place to stop, the reformation of a killer in
'les mis'.
i truly hope that you are happy, healthy, and successful. i don't care if you
don't finish this (although it is very good), i do care however that you have
quit writing. if anything you do,
if you love to write--it does show after all since you are very good at it and
you're insightful and you add life into your writing, the worlds you create,
and characters--as i was saying, if you love to write, then i hope you would
start writing agaim. i am one to talk, i hadn't drawn anything for thirty
years and only just started again--don't wait thirty years, it would be a
waste."
To be honest with you, although I was touched by your words, they did not
spring me into action right away. I graduated from university in March 2010
and was not prepared for the kind of soul-searching that starting life as a
so-called real adult would require from me. Too, I was writing here and there,
but there was no real sense of discipline.
There is not enough time to delve into the details; suffice it to say that I
went through a lot, including two jobs which made me realize, even more, how
much writing really is the only thing for me. And that is a good, powerful
thought.
But I did print the email with your review, and stuck it on my corkboard, and
read it every now and then.
Since reading that review for the first time, I have entered a writing
workshop, gotten published a couple of times, gotten a new blog, and am now
constantly writing original works. My return to fanfiction, perhaps, is only
an effect of discovering all the new Rurouni Kenshin projects which will be
released on 2012.
Still, I am determined to put my original work first in terms of priorities.
Incidentally, I cannot say what part exactly your review played during this
stretch of time. All I know is that for the record, it served to help and
inspire enough. In the course of many inspirational words, wonderful art, and
good, long conversation with friends, your review was always one of the stars
in a great constellation which convinced/convinces me that I am on the right
path, though it is not an easy one.
So with all my heart, I would like to say thank you for taking the time to
write it and to tell me, though tangentially, something precious about
yourself.
Love always,
XX name withheld XX
PS,
I trust that we will keep my former identity between us (how thoroughly
RuroKen-like!). I hope that all is well with you, epsecially with your own art
:-)
i guess reviews can have an effect =)
Hello,
First of all, I realize how strange a message like this may be. On many
accounts, I have thought of not contacting you at all, but upon realizing that
life is short and this is worth a try (what's there to lose, after all?), I've
decided to send you a PM.
Last year, on April 21, 2010, I received an email from the
http://www.Fanfiction.netsystem which informed me that someone had reviewed
my story, XX title withheld XX. Now I had stopped writing fanfiction for
quite sometime, as it was something I felt I had dabbled in from ages 15-17,
after which I realized I had no idea what I was doing and, at the same time,
my original works were suffering from my lack of diligence and attention.
The review in question, went like this:
"you had picked an appropriate place to stop, the reformation of a killer in
'les mis'.
i truly hope that you are happy, healthy, and successful. i don't care if you
don't finish this (although it is very good), i do care however that you have
quit writing. if anything you do,
if you love to write--it does show after all since you are very good at it and
you're insightful and you add life into your writing, the worlds you create,
and characters--as i was saying, if you love to write, then i hope you would
start writing agaim. i am one to talk, i hadn't drawn anything for thirty
years and only just started again--don't wait thirty years, it would be a
waste."
To be honest with you, although I was touched by your words, they did not
spring me into action right away. I graduated from university in March 2010
and was not prepared for the kind of soul-searching that starting life as a
so-called real adult would require from me. Too, I was writing here and there,
but there was no real sense of discipline.
There is not enough time to delve into the details; suffice it to say that I
went through a lot, including two jobs which made me realize, even more, how
much writing really is the only thing for me. And that is a good, powerful
thought.
But I did print the email with your review, and stuck it on my corkboard, and
read it every now and then.
Since reading that review for the first time, I have entered a writing
workshop, gotten published a couple of times, gotten a new blog, and am now
constantly writing original works. My return to fanfiction, perhaps, is only
an effect of discovering all the new Rurouni Kenshin projects which will be
released on 2012.
Still, I am determined to put my original work first in terms of priorities.
Incidentally, I cannot say what part exactly your review played during this
stretch of time. All I know is that for the record, it served to help and
inspire enough. In the course of many inspirational words, wonderful art, and
good, long conversation with friends, your review was always one of the stars
in a great constellation which convinced/convinces me that I am on the right
path, though it is not an easy one.
So with all my heart, I would like to say thank you for taking the time to
write it and to tell me, though tangentially, something precious about
yourself.
Love always,
XX name withheld XX
PS,
I trust that we will keep my former identity between us (how thoroughly
RuroKen-like!). I hope that all is well with you, epsecially with your own art
:-)
i guess reviews can have an effect =)