okay... huh?

POSTED BY: LJC
UPDATED: Thursday, June 5, 2003 08:51
VIEWED: 5320
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LJC

Wednesday, June 4, 2003 4:37 PM

GINOBIFFARONI Keep at it! Can't wait to see what you've got, when you finally do post :)

--
Some take the high road. Some take the low road.
And some just go screaming down the highway, dropping flaming bits of wreckage.

CHRISTHECYNIC

Wednesday, June 4, 2003 6:24 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by LJC:
Keep at it! Can't wait to see what you've got, when you finally do post :)

--
Some take the high road. Some take the low road.
And some just go screaming down the highway, dropping flaming bits of wreckage.

Who was this said to?

LJC

Wednesday, June 4, 2003 6:48 PM

That was for GINOBIFFARONI. Sorry about that--I forget it doesn't include links back to the original post. I get all my boards confused...

--
Some take the high road. Some take the low road.
And some just go screaming down the highway, dropping flaming bits of wreckage.

SARAHETC

Wednesday, June 4, 2003 7:53 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by LJC:
SARAHETC When you get a notification via email that doesn't come with a link to a comment, then that means someone's rated it without leaving a comment. If you know what the rating was, you can do the maths to see how the number changed..

I've never gotten one of those, I don't think. I guess the only people rating are the ones leaving comments. Most people probably just think, "Well, that was some halfway entertaining Wash. Next?"

Also, I'm awful at math, so I suspect I wouldn't know what to do anyway.

Sorry, too, that someone's being an ass about things. There have been some genuinely poorly written stories posted and yours ain't them. Or maybe somebody feels entitled to constantly new content and is on top of the Friday fic and trying to "punish" you. Now I'm just making stuff up, really.

Sarah

I'm a dying breed who still believes, haunted by American dreams. ---Neko Case

LJC

Wednesday, June 4, 2003 9:00 PM

Archer I think I was just so surprised because, on the whole, almost none of the Browncoats I've met thus far strike me as the petty cowardly type. Just the opposite--I've made some fantastic friends in "Firefly" fandom on TWoP, the FOX board, and here.

--
Some take the high road. Some take the low road.
And some just go screaming down the highway, dropping flaming bits of wreckage.

LORA

Wednesday, June 4, 2003 9:44 PM

LJC, I have read alot of your stuff, mostly archived elsewhere, and there's only one reason I know I have read your stories: I liked them and tried to remember the author's tag. I don't often rate or comment on fiction posted here (I tend to be in either the "ooh, write more" or "well written but... Don't. Kill. My. Captain! " mode).

IMHO, someone who thinks it's fun to post weird and hurtful posts (remember the one who posted the "firefly back on next week" thread as a joke?) is harassing you for no good reason because he (or she) knows you care.

Extreme ratings definitely should come with a serious comment to be taken to heart.

Keep writing. We'll keep reading.

"Is there any way I'm gonna get out of this with honor and dignity?" Zoe, War Stories

DEFENDER82

Thursday, June 5, 2003 12:32 AM

Weighing in late here. While I don't always negatively rate a poor piece, if I leave a poor rating I will comment. Conversely if the piece is good I think it is important to give positive feedback, if only to selfishly keep a good writer producing for my own enjoyment.

I have attended NITA seminars of several days in length to learn haw to positivley criticize to effect change and reinforce positive performance and here are a few suggestions.

1. Be positive first, say at least one good concrete thing about the piece before you criticze. It will prevent knee jerk defensiveness.

2.Be concrete. Specify the problem. A vague comment like "grammar needs work" is not as helpful as something like "the use of dialect in exposition is frowned on and slows the reader down.

3.Suggest a solution. Again be specific.

4. Nobone can process more that 2 or 3 critical points on any piece [unles you are beta reading then line by line corrections are not only appropriate, they are mandatory.] After that the defensiveness quotient is so high no info is being processed.

5. End with another, different positive aspect of the piece. Again be concrete.

These tecniques have worked very well for me for many years in critiquing live trial performances even delivered in person. I hardly ever have anyone run weeping from the room :) Most people want to get better at their craft, even if it is an avocation, rather than a vocation, they will respond poitively.

ARCHER

Thursday, June 5, 2003 8:51 AM

I just wanted to enthusiastically second Defender's comments on editing. I really love that formula for critique... think I'll copy and save it.

A lot of folks doing fanfic are making their very first forays into writing. Most of my first stuff will never see the light of day (and believe me, that's a display of mercy on my part.)* and when I finally got the courage to put stuff out to my friends a few years ago, I was walking on pins and needles.

But you get comfortable with it after a while. These days, I figure that if I'm happy with it, I'll throw it out there and see what happens. I'll happily take praise and seriously look at critisism. If somebody has a technical point that I've screwed up, I definitely want to hear about it so I can correct it.

And those who want to just snipe or say "You suck." I don't pay any mind to at all. Ain't never figured everybody in the whole wide world was gonna like me or what I do anyway, and if that's all they gotta say, screw 'em.

* Was cleaning out my bedroom at my parents house a few years back, came across an atrocity that I actually typed up on a manual typewriter. Chunk! Into the trash with that. Any manuscript that has the sentence "He had a deep voice, like Keanu Reeves." deserves a summary execution.

There ain't nothin' I can't overcome or come to know. So lay your heavy load down on me, strip everything I have away. I am not your prisoner, I am not afraid.

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