Oh my goodness yes.

[stainless]

All of this. On concrit, and what it is, and why it's a good thing some people want it. (Some people don't. And that's fine. For some, fandom is about low-stress unwinding and having fun, and writing is more something fun to do than something to perfect. Bugging those people with nitpicking isn't cool, because it's not the point of what they're up to. But others, like me, want and strive to improve.)

That's one thing I miss from my original fiction days. In that world, concrit was common. Expected, even.

In this one, I get a lot of squee and occasional wank. Both of these are nonspecific. "This is awesome!" makes my day, and "Her work is dull and boring" makes my day sad... but neither of them tell me what I do wrong or right, what to play up and what to change.

I'd love more concrit, and almost asked for it for Snowflake. Chickened out because some fandom people think it means "I like wank." But real concrit... yeah, I'd like more of it.

And this is probably dooming myself, but those people who said I'm not that good? From the context I saw it in, I think they were most likely wanking, not talking about analyzing my style or my skill. Still, part of me has hoped ever since then that one of them would tell me what s/he finds dull about my writing, if s/he could keep it to "why this story doesn't work for me" rather than "I don't like you."

So, my friends (and my enemies too, if you can keep it civil), what do you think I could improve? What do you think I do well?

Comments

[ultharkitty]

From the context I saw it in, I think they were most likely wanking, not talking about analyzing my style or my skill. Or perhaps saying 'it's not good' when what they really mean was 'it wasn't for me'? But yeah, they were probably just shitstirring.

Interesting points raised there. It took me a while when I first started reading fanfic to work out that some people just plain don't care if their grammar isn't very good, or if their sentences run on or could have been worded more effectively. It still boggles me a little because I also come from an original fiction background - in my writing groups, every compliment or criticism was followed by 'and this is why'. We all strove to do the best we could, and to push the limits of what we could achieve in the hopes we could improve. It's still very alien to me that someone would want to write, even 'just for fun', but wouldn't be concerned about readability or making it the best it could be.

As for concrit for you, we've discussed setting before so I won't mention that suffice to say that, even though you're not that into describing the characters' immediate environments, you do a damned fine job of it, and it's clear how you've improved. I get a far better sense of place from the fics I've read of yours recently (and I will admit I have a lot bookmarked still to read) than your older works.

I need to be reading something right now to give in-depth concrit, but if there's a fic you'd like me to do that for, let me know :) I can't promise promptness unless it's not very long though!

[stainless]

n my writing groups, every compliment or criticism was followed by 'and this is why'. We all strove to do the best we could, and to push the limits of what we could achieve in the hopes we could improve.

Yes, that's the kind of environment I came from, too.

And even if it weren't -- I'm a Decepticon. Ambition is pretty much hard-coded. I don't just want to tell stories. I want to tell the best stories I can tell. And -- it's kind of a forbidden drive in fandom circles -- but I want that to be recognized, too.

even though you're not that into describing the characters' immediate environments, you do a damned fine job of it, and it's clear how you've improved. I get a far better sense of place from the fics I've read of yours recently (and I will admit I have a lot bookmarked still to read) than your older works.

Wow. Thank you very much! That's always hard for me and to hear that I not only do it better than I once did but actually do it impressively means a lot to me.

[thousanth]

I think it's a bit difficult to give concrit on someone's writing when the writing is sound in terms of grammar and spelling. It all comes down to personal preference at the end of the day, and you can't please everyone!

[stainless]

Mm, I'm not sure. You can get grammar and spelling right but mess up characterization, or pace your story too fast or too slow. Or you can not quite remember exactly what happened in the last chapter so what occurs in this one doesn't quite follow the way you hoped. Things like that. Those are the things I wish people would point out to me a little more ruthlessly sometimes, so my work can be the best it can be.