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I'd like to hear everyone's opinions on readers who don't comment on threads.
Now, I cannot be a hypocrite, because when I do read another fanfiction, I hardly ever post. This is, however, simply because I'm not a great reviewer. I don't want to comment on someone's work if I don't have anything constructive for them. If it's not worth posting, I won't post.
We then come to the other end of the stick, however, and needless to say, everybody has these. You have a story posted, and you see plenty of views, but no reviews. This can be disheartening, but at least you still know somebody is reading it.
What are your opinions on this? Do you prefer to have mindless "Omg, great story!" or constructive comments that tell you how to improve on things?
I can relate to that. I have a decent amount of views, but I wish for more reviews (most of the posts on my story are mine!) so I know what they truly think and what I can improve on.
I'm always the silent reader. If i need to tell you something, it'll be through pms or visitor message, never from posting unless, it's something about being removed from pm list or something.
I'd like to hear everyone's opinions on readers who don't comment on threads.
Now, I cannot be a hypocrite, because when I do read another fanfiction, I hardly ever post. This is, however, simply because I'm not a great reviewer. I don't want to comment on someone's work if I don't have anything constructive for them. If it's not worth posting, I won't post.
We then come to the other end of the stick, however, and needless to say, everybody has these. You have a story posted, and you see plenty of views, but no reviews. This can be disheartening, but at least you still know somebody is reading it.
What are your opinions on this? Do you prefer to have mindless "Omg, great story!" or constructive comments that tell you how to improve on things?
I personally would like everyone to post something, even if it was 'good story'. It drives me insane when I post something (which I hardly do) and it gets like 50 viewers and NO comments. lol, me and my OCD....
"OMG great story!!!"s are fun to have, if only to show that someone besides me actually likes what I've written. For all I know, my views could be people glancing at the first post, getting bored, and clicking away (hopefully not...)
But I'd much rather get (constructive) criticisms. I know I can keep me entertained--I'm not worried about that. Ideally, though, someone who isn't can tell me why. And I might even change something.
I actually don't read that many fics, simply because I don't have the complete patience to go through the entire chapter, especially when it's not well-written. When I do read it all, I like to review if I'm sure that I know what to say. If I'm real iffy on what to say or put, or whether I should review at all, I just don't.
Now, I'd MUCH rather get no reviews at all than an "omg great story!!!". Because that just makes me feel bad, since I doubt that they have really read it and it's pretty much just spam for my thread. I've only posted one of my works here, and no problems with it since it was a one-shot anyway, but I'm about to post another. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Well, I only play the silent reader when what i wanted to say has been said.
As to what I'd prefer, i'd have to say concrit. or any kinda criticism to be honest. the sole exception is any malicious reply, which tends to be a berserk button for me...
I enjoy the one-liners though. i don't get off on an ego trip on them, but they tell me to keep going, that my work's appreciated and that if i stop, i'll have hell to answer to...
I've wanted guys like Yami Ryu to review my works for ages, but they have not for reasons i see as valid. but i'll keep flowing somehow, as i know some people read my stuff and like it.
Well, i gotta bounce out and back into my fic. It's been too long and i gotta let the fiction world know what's coming next...
I concur with most of the others. I skim through the forums, pick one or two fics to read and then spend my time there, silently increasing their "views#". If I find something in the story that is very fun or that I can relate very well to, then I make myself known by reviewing. Those that become my favourites, I'll stay around and review every once in a while and follow the author's progress or enquiries.
Otherwise, I simply let some people know via PM that I read them.
And yes, more people reading my fics would be something good if it happened. It irks me that, my work being a practise on Pokémon POV, no one among the propbable 50+ individual readers will stop by to tell me if I'm doing good... or bad. In other forums people have reviewed me only when I nag them long enough... but that's not a good strategy to take IMHO.
I'd like to have constructive criticism. I'd like also for people to tell me if my attempts at Pokémon POV feel "Pokémon-ish" enough.
Now, I cannot be a hypocrite, because when I do read another fanfiction, I hardly ever post. This is, however, simply because I'm not a great reviewer. I don't want to comment on someone's work if I don't have anything constructive for them. If it's not worth posting, I won't post.
It sounds like there's some sort of consensus that there can only be two extremes when responding to a fic - mindless praise or a gigantic in-depth review. To say you avoid posting simply because you want to avoid those extremes is ridiculous.
It's not that difficult to reply, not with a meaningless one-liner nor with a detailed review, but something separate unto itself. When you read a book for your leisure, and a friend asks what you thought of it, I'm sure you don't always have that big a struggle telling them briefly what you liked and disliked about the book, if the plot was decent, your favourite character or if you'd recommend it.
I'm currently really enjoying reading The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler. His style is very modern and easy to read, and the dialogue flows really smoothly because he rarely adds "he said/she said." The protagonist, Duddy, is a huge jerk, and though I don't really like him, I still can't help but hope he succeeds and gets his own land. (I'm looking forward to getting through the last thirty pages and finding out what happens.)
Mindless praise? Nope. An in-depth review? Not quite.
How long did it take to read the novel? A few days.
How long did this take to type? Three minutes.
How long did the novel take Richler to write? A few years.
How much effort did he put into it? A lot.
Consider it a moment. The writer of the fic you just read has put at least a couple hours into writing, proofreading, editing, rereading and editing some more to create a piece of writing for you to read and enjoy. You read it, you enjoy it. You move on.
Sure, that's fine if it's a published novel by an acclaimed author read by thousands (book sales are very telling). But a piece of writing by some "nobody" on the internet who prays for one single reader, and will never know if he has a dozen or zero? Someone who would appreciate confirmation that their writing is at least decent and they're doing something right? After they put in all the effort and you were able to enjoy the fruits of their labour for a fraction of the time it took them to create, you just do nothing?
And then one complains when one sees all those thread views but minimal replies. (And one doesn't know if those were readers or someone who clicked, read the first line, then clicked the Back button. I do that.)
A fic response does not need to be mindless praise and it does not have to be a professional review. All it takes is three minutes to type up three lines just to say "this is what I liked, this is what I didn't like," to briefly mention something about one character or one plot point or one line you liked. It tells a writer what they're doing well, what to continue doing, and tells them that yes, someone is reading and someone is enjoying. It's incredibly encouraging.
Give it a try sometime. Three lines, four lines, in five minutes. If you take those couple minutes, your reply won't be mindless, and it will still be helpful without being a crazy review. Who knows? Maybe if you give them to others, others will give them back.
Yes, I'd rather know someone's reading my fic than for them to stay silent, even if it's through mindless praise. I appreciate every one of the people who take the time to read one of the few fics I have followed through and finished and have the common courtesy to tell me so, and I'd like to at the very least know who they are and thank them.
I'm a complete hypocrite when it comes to fanfictions I rarely review because I can't find the time do sit down and really type out my thoughts. You might see me review one in a while, but that's quite rare. I need to work on breaking out of this 'shyness' (if you could call it that).
With my fanfiction, I get hundreds of views, but barely any reviews. But I don't let that get me down too much. For all I know, my viewers could be having the same exact thought process. When I do get a review, I prefer it to be constructive criticism. I want to know what my readers honestly think of my work. Mindless praise might feel nice, but it's really not helping me become a better writer.
Psychic, I wasn't saying I physically cannot be a hypocrite for said reasons, I was saying, I can't be a hypocrite and moan about things, because of those reasons. I was saying that if I did mindlessly moan, it would make me a hypocrite.
Air Dragon, I agree. I've always wanted Yami to review one of my threads, simply because she's one of the most meticulous reviewers I've seen in a while, and it'd help any chapter improve greatly.
Ah, the closet readers. I know they're out there, watching each of us, from their...closets of ninja-ness. -_-
Personally I do have to say I do actually prefer a response rather than silence, even if the response is a small, short one-liner which offers no help or insight. (Within reason, of course. =P) Sure, I prefer constructive crit over the short responses hands down, and I far prefer a few of those over a lot of quick, short responses (not really sure many prefer not wanting to improve in the end, or have a decent response explaining why they thought it was 'OMG funny'), but even now a mere short reply that may have taken the person 5-10-20 seconds to type out excites me, and makes me glad, if that doesn't sound corny. =P Today, in fact, someone sent me a response (a decent one too, mind) via PM, which I woke up to and read briefly in my quick 5-minute spree before leaving the house, and it certainly made for a bright start to my day. =)
Probably none so when I first started out, so to speak - after a bit of waiting, I got my sole review which I got before releasing the next chapter, but I recall being very happy for that one response nonetheless. Yet if you look around many fics go many chapters without a single response. Then come the posts and threads from people new to the scene who wonder if they did something wrong, and if anyone will review or not. Can't say they're not doing that for a reason - I believe what comes with a response to a fic someone's written is the real payoff, which can exceed what was actually said - it shows someone bothered to read the whole thing and give their two cents, and can have quite the effect - give them a shot of confidence, and so forth. Not that it's the same case for everyone, mind, and I don't mind people who just read all that much but I've noticed for many, something is better than nothing at all, and it is nice to know someone is there, after all.
I can't say I've reviewed or read many fics at all for a while, being busy as heck, although I do tend to try to leave a review if I can, sooner or later, of the fics I do read through.
I always review what I read unless there are special circumstances (author is no longer around, fic is really old, I don't have the opportunity to review for whatever other reason). As far as I'm concerned, that's simply a matter of courtesy; I want to know what people who read my work think, no matter what it is, and generally assume other authors think the same.
This really isn't a matter of "Omg, great story!" vs. constructive criticism. You don't need to be good at articulating criticism on a story to know that "Omg, great story!" is not a very insightful comment. It is not that hard to write a serviceable review. You don't need to know anything or have anything particularly critical to say. All you need to do is read the story, pick out particular things you liked or maybe didn't like as much, and write a bit about why you think that could be, in a broad sense. Everybody can do better than "Omg, great story!", and after enjoying what they wrote, the author really deserves to get at least something. "Omg, great story!" is not really anything at all, but a bit of a comment that genuinely shows that you read and took an interest in the work can both be helpful and encouraging.
I've actually had a few closet readers come out and comment on my story. Most of it was mindless praise, but I found one closet reader who has recently come out and actually reviews my story.
Like Iota and Air Dragon, I've wanted Yami Ryu to review my fic. I asked if she still accepted requests for reviews, but alas she does not. In place of her I have the wonderful Air Dragon who helps me as much as he can. There are many other people, but I don't want to ramble on
I am a bit guilty of doing that to some stories on here and other sites, but the reason why is pretty simple; I'm just not good at critiquing stories since I'm better at that with pictures (Even though I'm a writer of course).
Sort of guilty of being a closet reader, though if I like it, I post. Personally, closet readers drive me crazy in a weird way.
eg)My second fanfic has just 4 posts(2 of mine), yet it has 204 views!
