Fanfiction--Responding to non-complimentary reviews
From time to time, writers of fanfiction get reviews which do not say that the story is great. Some of them are called 'flames' and they generally include telling the author that their writing is so bad that they should despair and jump off a cliff. Others are called constructive criticism, or 'concrit'. This involves telling the author what went wrong in their story, and sometimes, telling the author what needs to be done to improve the story.
The problem with some people is that they can't distinguish between the different types of criticism. I'll try and clarify.
First, answer these questions:
1) Does the review attack you personally (i.e. does it tell you that you have the intelligence of an inbred invertebrate and that someone's testicles can write better than you)?
2) Does the review contain expletives (swear words)?
3) Does the review point out what was wrong specifically (as in show you where exactly you went wrong, and list details which are specific to your story)?
4) Does the review give suggestions about how to improve your story (i.e. give you rewritten bits of your story)?
If you answered yes to question one, but not to any of the others, then the review is a flame.
If you answered yes to question one and two, that is a super-flame.
If you answered yes to any of the questions including question three, then the review is considered concrit, although helpfulness can be debatable.
If you answered yes to question four, then it is a review which is meant to help you improve your story.
Then, if the review which you received is constructive criticism, try to read over your story as if you did not write it. Is the reviewer right? Do you agree with what they said? To what extent do you agree? If a reviewer sends you concrit, it's only polite to write back and thank them for taking the time to consider your story. However, just because they are trying to help doesn't mean that they are right, and if you disagree, you might want to tell them why you disagree, but keep civil. If you don't write back and don't make any changes, the reviewer might think that you have ignored them, and get insulted. Some people are like that; other's aren;t. It's just better to be on the safe side.
If you have been flamed, also read your story as if you did not write it. Is it grammatically correct? Is the spelling correct? Did you use chatspeak? (Chatspeak is passionately flamed by all) Did you do some research about the fandom before writing? Did you do research for things in your story which you don't know much about? If you have an original character, it might be wise to put him/her through a Mary Sue Litmus Test. If your character is a Mary Sue or a Gary Stu (i.e. has no physical flaws, outshines every canon character, has powers which do not belong in that fandom etc.) then that might be why you were flamed. Also check to see that your canon characters are in character. If you write fiction about real live people on Fanfiction.net, then that's probably why you were flamed. Those are not allowed, so it would be best just to delete any stories about real people (i.e. musicians, actors, writers, performers, athletes etc.).
However, do not respond to a flame, whether it is rightly placed or not. There is a flamer called Flame Rising who has a forum called the Fireplace. People who visit his profile with the intention of bawling him out because he flamed their stories are directed to his forum, where they are virtually torn to pieces by other flamers (and seldom Flame Rising himself; he usually just reads and laughs). If you ignore the flame, the flamer usually gets bored and leaves you alone. However, that does not mean you can ignore a rightly placed flame and not improve your story. Just because one flamer leaves you alone does not mean that others will; there are lots of people out there who flame because of the sheer amount of bad fanfiction. There are places where you can ask for advice about writing, and there are some very friendly people out there who are more than willing to help. You want you to grow as a writer, right?
If you would like some advice from me, I would be happy to give some. Just leave me a message in the form of a comment, or go to my profile here and send me a private message (if you happen to be a member of Fanfiction.net).
The problem with some people is that they can't distinguish between the different types of criticism. I'll try and clarify.
First, answer these questions:
1) Does the review attack you personally (i.e. does it tell you that you have the intelligence of an inbred invertebrate and that someone's testicles can write better than you)?
2) Does the review contain expletives (swear words)?
3) Does the review point out what was wrong specifically (as in show you where exactly you went wrong, and list details which are specific to your story)?
4) Does the review give suggestions about how to improve your story (i.e. give you rewritten bits of your story)?
If you answered yes to question one, but not to any of the others, then the review is a flame.
If you answered yes to question one and two, that is a super-flame.
If you answered yes to any of the questions including question three, then the review is considered concrit, although helpfulness can be debatable.
If you answered yes to question four, then it is a review which is meant to help you improve your story.
Then, if the review which you received is constructive criticism, try to read over your story as if you did not write it. Is the reviewer right? Do you agree with what they said? To what extent do you agree? If a reviewer sends you concrit, it's only polite to write back and thank them for taking the time to consider your story. However, just because they are trying to help doesn't mean that they are right, and if you disagree, you might want to tell them why you disagree, but keep civil. If you don't write back and don't make any changes, the reviewer might think that you have ignored them, and get insulted. Some people are like that; other's aren;t. It's just better to be on the safe side.
If you have been flamed, also read your story as if you did not write it. Is it grammatically correct? Is the spelling correct? Did you use chatspeak? (Chatspeak is passionately flamed by all) Did you do some research about the fandom before writing? Did you do research for things in your story which you don't know much about? If you have an original character, it might be wise to put him/her through a Mary Sue Litmus Test. If your character is a Mary Sue or a Gary Stu (i.e. has no physical flaws, outshines every canon character, has powers which do not belong in that fandom etc.) then that might be why you were flamed. Also check to see that your canon characters are in character. If you write fiction about real live people on Fanfiction.net, then that's probably why you were flamed. Those are not allowed, so it would be best just to delete any stories about real people (i.e. musicians, actors, writers, performers, athletes etc.).
However, do not respond to a flame, whether it is rightly placed or not. There is a flamer called Flame Rising who has a forum called the Fireplace. People who visit his profile with the intention of bawling him out because he flamed their stories are directed to his forum, where they are virtually torn to pieces by other flamers (and seldom Flame Rising himself; he usually just reads and laughs). If you ignore the flame, the flamer usually gets bored and leaves you alone. However, that does not mean you can ignore a rightly placed flame and not improve your story. Just because one flamer leaves you alone does not mean that others will; there are lots of people out there who flame because of the sheer amount of bad fanfiction. There are places where you can ask for advice about writing, and there are some very friendly people out there who are more than willing to help. You want you to grow as a writer, right?
If you would like some advice from me, I would be happy to give some. Just leave me a message in the form of a comment, or go to my profile here and send me a private message (if you happen to be a member of Fanfiction.net).