A Writer's Thanks

[Starlight Aurate]

I don't know if I'm allowed to do this, but since I haven't been on here or done anything here in several months, I figured that this is worth the ban/infraction/whatever you do these days.

I just want to say: Thank you. Thank you for everything you do here, for the written works you present, for the critiques and reviews you offer, for the help you give, for the inspiration you provide. What you do is wonderful, and I am completely overcome with gratitude for the generous and benign members of this forum.

Why do I say this? Two months ago, I took a college exam in English Language and Composition, and recently got my score back and saw that I had achieved the highest score possible. Apparently, my comprehension and writing style that I use in my essays found favor with my scorers, and I know that I would not have developed the personality that comes through my written words without the help from the members here on this forum.

These online places where anyone can become an author, get help, give critique, review, and learn to write is wonderful. What you do is wonderful, and I cannot express the gratitude I have for each and every one of you. I know that I have given this forum little in the ways of original works or reviews, but what I have learned from others has proven invaluable. I would especially like to thank Silawen and Breezy (I think they're both gone now, but they deserve my thanks regardless) for the great assistance and knowledge they have shared with me to become the (apparently capable) writer that I am today. Thanks to all the members, for their participation and advice; thanks to all the mods, for the work they do and order they keep this place in; and thanks to you. You, who sits there and thinks I don't know who you are, who may never have posted or read or reviewed here, I thank you for reading this. Keep being who you are and doing what you do.

In spite of the negativity that may have pervaded/still occurs in this place, know that this is great, and that even though many may do what they do here out of enjoyment, the real-world skills that grow from this are essential and priceless.

Once again, I thank all of you, and I wish the best for each and every one of you.

By the way, if this is against the rules, I'm sorry, but I just felt like this really needed to be said.

 

[Kutie Pie]

I don't know why, but I think a thread where a writer gives thanks is a nice way to show appreciation. We all have/had different experiences that made us the writers we are to this day. So to make a message of thanks for others to see should be a neat idea, even if it's against the rules. So I might as well contribute.

A little background history: I have been writing ever since I could hold a pencil. It wasn't much, but I wrote. When I discovered our computer had a Microsoft Word, I got right to practicing how to use a keyboard. I wrote mostly nonsense before I got the idea to write down my favorite episodes or movies basically word-for-word. That continued for a while until I came up with an "original" story about hamsters. (Yeah, you can guess where the inspiration came from.) Mom actually liked the idea, and encouraged me to write. I did for a while, even after my brother deleted half (if not all) of the document. It was then I learned the importance of floppy disks, and they were the most awesome thing in existence. So I filled them up.

I didn't realize this then until I found this website when I was thirteen, but I actually have read and written fan fiction about a couple of years prior to learning about what it is. I used to go on this website that surprisingly still exists called Michael's Favorites. One of my favorite sections of that website was about Cardcaptors, and it included fan fiction. I read almost all of them, and I really wanted to write my own Cardcaptors story. But, as it was habit, I tried to write out the whole series, and attempted to make up scenarios for the Clow Cards I had never seen once I got the Clow Book from Toys 'R' Us. Yeah, I ended up inserting my friends and myself into it eventually, but up until that point, I tried to keep it strictly toward how the show was. And I had fun with it.

Then I discovered Serebii, and found the fan fiction section. I didn't read every single story, but I read a lot, and surprise, I wanted to write my own Pokémon story. So I wrote mostly one-shots/song-fic one-shots, but I didn't show them to anyone. Once I became a member on here, I had the opportunity to show off my work. And so I did. I was apparently a good writer even back in the day, and that boosted my confidence in writing. I could name usernames of those who read my stories and reviewed, but there's quite a list, and about 90% of them are now gone--abouts. (About a big majority of that 90% left Serebii around the time of my year-long AWOL some years back, actually.) However, even though my old readers were now gone, I knew there would be new readers. So I kept writing. I got reviews, critiques from both sides. You know, one of the best things about Serebii is that when you get critiques, if they're being critical about the story, they go into depth and detail about what exactly is wrong. I don't remember ever getting told from someone here to give up (Yami Ryu passed me by, guess she thought I was too decent for a harsh critique or something), and I really appreciated those comments. I was able to learn what I was doing wrong, and refrained from repeating those mistakes.

A little fact--because of my love of writing stories, I took up a typing class in junior high that was for half a semester, and I was a very quick learner. I would be the first one finished with my exercises, and my peers would just stare at me. I was really proud to learn how to use a keyboard properly, and though it's contributed to my then-excellent penmanship to falter and become almost chicken scratch to this day (though I write in cursive out of habit, so...), I don't regret taking that class.

Also, in junior high, because I wrote stories a lot and got those critiques, that combined with writing compositions in English class weekly helped me become one of the best composition writers in the class, to the point my teacher praised my work. I think he wanted to keep it as an example, but I chose to take it home so I could write it and present it to Serebii because it was Pokémon fan fiction. I... kinda regret that now xD. It's the dumbest, most crackish piece of writing I've ever written. It's the old shame to end all old shames of mine.

*cough*

So anyhoo, of all the seven-plus years I've written for this site, and other sites over time, I truly am thankful for everything the Serebii fan fiction community did and still does (because even good writers still make mistakes). I suppose it helped I didn't give up writing and was determined enough to keep going, but it was those critiques that helped me along. In all of the English classes I've been in, there has not been one essay, not one short story/poem that the teacher didn't like because of how well-written it was. That praise may have kinda made me a bit egotistical to the point I give people my age looks of disappointment when I see their spelling mistakes or grammatical errors, but I do try my best to tell myself, "They don't have the experience." Even then, it's still pretty sad to see. If I had the time, I could tutor people in real life on how to write, yet I somehow always set aside time giving tips and help to those who are online, which either is or isn't a good thing... I don't know...

And actually, I think it's because of the critiques I've gotten that I decided to help other writers. Sure, I've gotten a bit harsh at times... I'm not going to deny that and it's because of that that I've kinda stayed away from this side of the fan fiction section, but I really do want to see up-coming writers get better, and I have to give them that push if no one else is going to. My message in those critical reviews is not telling the writer to stop writing, but to repair it and realize their mistakes so they don't do it again. Some haven't listened, but others have, and they've all at some point or another come back and sent a message saying how much it meant for them, and they made that effort from then-on to be a better writer. And so far, they've kept that up, and I'm proud of them. Even though I may not always read their stories or leave reviews, I know improvement when I see it.

So here's a salute from a writer to hard-working writers, readers, and reviewers alike. Here's to those who will get their names out there and write stories the world desperately needs on their shelves. Write the next Harry Potter, or Lord of the Rings, or Fahrenheit 451, or War and Peace (or any other classic you can think of) in our lifetime. The literacy world will thank you for it.

 

[Praxiteles]

Yes. This forum got me to start writing seriously when I was eleven years old. It might not have looked serious then, but now I know. This is where I learned everything about technique, and had my writing regularly read and critiqued for five years. It's the place I go to when I want to talk writing, or show something I've made. Thanks everyone for your incredible honesty, and the sincerity you talk craft with.