Comments | musesfool: the calliope crashed to the ground

musesfool

the calliope crashed to the ground

Apr 23, 2008 11:11

There's been some talk lately about feedback ( here, here, and here), and I keep kicking this post around in my head, debating whether I really want to get into it again or not. Obviously I decided I did, mostly so I could stop thinking about it and go back to thinking about the stories I want to write ( Read more... )

meta, on feedback

Comments 29

darkluna April 23 2008, 16:58:05 UTC

"But I had 300 hits on that story/vid post/drawing. How come only 30 people said anything?"

Ah ha ha. I would love that ratio of comments to hits. I've never even cracked 2 pages of comments on a posted fic. It probably doesn't help that I wouldn't touch my main fandom's most popular pairing with a 10-foot pole.

I get a bit emo-y sometimes when I put a lot of thought and effort into a story and don't get a lot of feedback. But I use "emo-y" on purpose here, because I know it's bratty of me. Sometimes something that seems less worthy of comment to me will get a relatively high number of 'em. I decided it's a crapshoot what people will feel moved to comment on and what they won't. And like you, I would write what I do anyway. The fact that I have a place to share it at all is gravy, and so is any feedback it gets. I certainly don't feel like anyone owes me anything just 'cause I wrote something.

musesfool April 23 2008, 19:40:07 UTC

I've never even cracked 2 pages of comments on a posted fic

Oh, man, it's such an awesome feeling. I hope you get to experience it. *G*

I decided it's a crapshoot what people will feel moved to comment on and what they won't. And like you, I would write what I do anyway. The fact that I have a place to share it at all is gravy, and so is any feedback it gets

Exactly. Icing. Feedback is icing on the tasty cake of your story. Even if you only get a thin layer of icing, you've still got tasty cake underneath.

Now I want cake.

darkluna April 23 2008, 21:59:55 UTC

Oh, man, it's such an awesome feeling. I hope you get to experience it.

Aw, thanks!

I want cake too now. With lots of icing. ;-)

marinarusalka April 23 2008, 17:00:47 UTC

It seems we need a word for "something you get for free" that doesn't have all the baggage that "gift" seems to have attached to it. Years ago, as a widdle newbie, I made the mistake of saying that fic was a gift, and then had to spend days explaining that no, I wasn't saying that I was a unique and delicate snowflake whose stories were were beautiful, precious things that everyone must adore, I was just saying that nobody has to pay for my stories. (Though how "gift" came to be defined throughout fandom as "beautiful, precious thing that everyone must adore" is a mystery to me. Am I the only person in the world who ever had a closet full of stupid tacky crap that various clueless people have given me as gifts ( ... )

musesfool April 23 2008, 20:00:36 UTC

Well, for me the problem with gift isn't the word necessary but the context in which I saw the argument used - i.e., since fic is a gift (to fandom? to the world?), feedback is thanks for the gift (and thus, on some unarticulated level, owed). (but this is in the context of replying to feedback - since feedback = thanks, authors don't hae to reply because the conversation is over. I think that's supremely dumb, personally, which is why the whole "fic is a gift" thing chaps my ass.)

Fandom is a voluntary activity. We may choose to take on some obligations, such as delivering a story for a fic exchange or following the rules of a community or an archive, but aside from that, I think people should be left to their own devices (and be willing to take the social consequences if acting according to their own devices pisses people off).Absolutely - but sadly, I think it's your last parenthetical statement that most people wish to eschew - they want to do whatever the hell they want and not deal with any consequences whatsoever ( ... )

marinarusalka April 23 2008, 22:04:21 UTC

this is in the context of replying to feedback - since feedback = thanks, authors don't hae to reply because the conversation is over

Hmm, I'd say that once I posted a story and somebody read it, the conversation is already over. Nothing further is owed to anyone. Readers don't owe feedback, writers don't owe responses to feedback. But the "be willing to take the social consequences" principle still applies. Readers who don't feedback have to accept the possibility that their favorite writers might get discouraged and stop writing. Authors who don't respond to feedback have to accept that many readers will consider it rude or alienating and stop commenting.

they want to do whatever the hell they want and not deal with any consequences whatsoever

Unfortunately, that's all too often true.

twistedchick April 23 2008, 17:08:27 UTC

Thank you. You are far more eloquent than I am about certain aspects of fandom that have me damaging the wood paneling with excessive throwing of cheap dishes.

musesfool April 23 2008, 20:00:52 UTC

You're welcome! I'm glad it made sense.

tsuki_no_bara April 23 2008, 17:25:00 UTC

i leave feedback (which a lot of times is basically "i really liked this") because i want to get feedback. it's kind of like karma that way. i write original fic, so my audience is automatically smaller than if i wrote fanfic, but the idea's the same - if you want something from the universe, you give it back as well. (...that sounds kind of hippy-dippy woo-woo, but i hope you get the idea.) i comment on every fic i finish because i know how it feels to be the writer who really desperately wants to know if other people besides her actually liked her story, and the only way you're ever going to know is if someone tells you ( ... )

musesfool April 23 2008, 20:03:53 UTC

i leave feedback (which a lot of times is basically "i really liked this") because i want to get feedback. it's kind of like karma that way.

In the general scheme of things, this is one reason why I do it. It's also why I thank people for giving me feedback.

I don't comment on everything, but if I finished it and enjoyed it, I will probably say something (I very often leave the same kind of "I liked this!" feedback).

but i comment. i gotta give something back, and that's it.

*nod nod*

I think it's an awesome contribution.

inksheddings April 23 2008, 17:52:56 UTC

I have nothing constructive to add, because honestly I am in agreement with you on this. Completely.

I adore feedback, it makes me incredibly happy but I absolutely do not think anyone owes it to me, nor do I owe it to anyone else. Because if I did owe it, then we get to the next question, what kind of feedback do I owe? It could go on and on and on and...I'm stressed out enough as it is. I am going to try damn hard not to stress out over feedback. :P

I personally find 30 to be an awesome number of comments

Hee! Yes, the few times I've gotten enough comments that they all COLLAPSED I've experienced levels of glee I had not known existed. It is satisfying, but I try to keep it in perspective.

musesfool April 23 2008, 20:07:07 UTC

Because if I did owe it, then we get to the next question, what kind of feedback do I owe? It could go on and on and on and...I'm stressed out enough as it is. I am going to try damn hard not to stress out over feedback.

Exactly! When it becomes a chore - this is a hobby and I don't want it to feel like work, not anymore than writing does sometimes - then it's not fun and that is not what I am here for. I am here to enjoy myself, and sometimes the obligations we pile onto ourselves (I must read everything! I must comment on everything! I must write the MOST COMMENTED ON STORY EVER and then I MUST ANSWER EVERY COMMENT) make it into a drudgery.

Hee! Yes, the few times I've gotten enough comments that they all COLLAPSED I've experienced levels of glee I had not known existed. It is satisfying, but I try to keep it in perspective.

I LOVE WHEN THAT HAPPENS!