Like far too many people on my flist, I haven't been on here for awhile. I still check it daily but I haven't posted in over a month! O.O And while I expected my first post to be about my recent spring break cruise to the Bahamas, something happened this morning that I felt only LJ-ers would understand and appreciate.
If you follow me on twitter or tumblr (or if you saw my one post about it here), you know that I've been completely immersed in the Sherlock fandom since about January. I've yet to write anything for it, but I haven found some really awesome stories and writers, as well as a few not-so-good ones, as happens. One story I've started reading is called
Deleted Memories by this person Zacha on ff.net. While I enjoyed most of her writing, I noticed A LOT of grammar mistakes when reading her story. Now, I normally don't comment on little typing mistakes or little things, but what I noticed with this one was a lot of subject-verb disagreement each chapter on top of the typing mistakes and mistaken word usage. So I commented on it in my first review:
I really like the story you've created for this. The plot is interesting and creative, and I loved that entire section of Sherlock going into his mind palace and "fixing" his own memories. That was really awesome and beautifully described. I could actually picture him walking through the rooms in his head, going into the basement, and everything that followed. Really great! The only thing about this story I'd criticize is the continued grammar mistakes. I try not to be nitpicky about that when reviewing, but it happens quite a lot throughout this story, particularly when it comes to subject-verb tense agreement. And it does kind of pull me out of the story each time it happens. I think you'd benefit from having a beta reader since this is the only thing (that I could see) that affects the quality of your writing. Because otherwise, it really is quite good.
A well-rounded review, no? In the, review reply s/he thanked me for the review and asked me to give some examples from the story to help improve it. I found no trouble with that but did not feel like going back through each chapter trying to find one so in my next review, I mentioned that I had not noticed any in the last update but would let him/her know the next time I did. I also left a quick review about a chapter (which was one in about 4 that was posted at the time) to say:
But I wanted to comment on this chapter because I wanted to point out that Anderson isn't actually an agent. He's a forensics expert, the CSI of the group; so he probably wouldn't be certified in carrying a gun, let alone leading a group of detectives. Still enjoying the story so expect another review (about all your chapter updates) soon!
Now I don't know if me pointing out an OBVIOUS flaw in the story design upset him/her, but this was the review reply I got back that time:
Hi NyteKit, This is a comment on your comments. The one thing I am confident in is science, psychology and several areas where you have commented. Remember it is FANTASY. Several things on the BBC Sherlock would never happen
in real life.
For example, it is VERY unlikely that a detective inspector would carry a gun like he did in one episode. Mycroft's character would never have as much power as the show creators have given him. Another unbelievable episode is about the mind palace episode. Several "mind palace" techniques deal mostly with data retrieval. There is one is specific to math, but none would function in the way they have implied on the show. Therefore, none of the above mentioned is
realistic. Still, I enjoyed every detail of the show because they provided enough reality for me to suspend everything else.
It is creatively very discouraging to be nitpicked without any way to identify specifics therefore, correct.
Therefore, here are guidelines to follow:
I want to hear every word, but please PM me with specific correction or I prefer for you not to do it at all. I regularly reviewed stories and I am respectful enough to follow any instructions given whether or not it is (easy). I smiled when I received this so obviously I am not angry. I am instead curious. Thanks for taking the time to review, please respect my guidelines, and best wishes in college and life.
Now y'all know goodness-well I just wanted to reply to that with a LOOK BITCH. Instead I sent this:
Truthfully, I don't care whether you are angry or not, although you obviously are. I suppose you're not used to receiving a truthful review including criticisms. I suppose you're one of those writers who would just like to hear 'oh everything's great and perfect and don't change anything!' If you'd prefer those, I'll just not comment anymore. Because I only comment on stories and writers who I think are good and/or have the ability to be better.
As for your "knowledge" of science and psychology...I'm not sure what that has to do with my review about Anderson being in forensics or your grammar mistakes. If you care to remember, I commented that I enjoyed your chapters on the mind palace. I thought they were creative and exciting. That is as much a fact as Anderson being a forensics expert and not a detective. That has nothing to do with fantasy or creative license; it's canon. And it's quite unbelievable that he would be leading coppers into anything, which is why I commented on it.
Thirdly, I do not need nor appreciate your "guidelines" for reviewing. Strictly going by our profiles, I have been reading, writing, and reviewing stories quite a bit longer than you have, so I believe I know the technique for leaving appropriate reviews, thank you. And if you paid attention, you would see that everything I noted as a mistake was pointed out easily enough for you to see, with the exception of the subject-verb disagreement. And again if you cared to read, I said I would point it out to you if it happened again. It is not my job to re-read portions of your story just to make you happy, particularly not when you post multiple chapters with each update. You do have the ability to read it over for yourself. But I'll say again, if you prefer reviews that only state the positive without any criticism and, therefore, no chance to improve, I'll leave you to it. I have more respect for the authors I review than that.
Was that an effective bitch slap? Because I sure hope it was, seeing as I couldn't do/say anything in person.