Feedback

[sporangia]

I am finding the fannish discussions about story feedback very interesting.  I'm paying attention because I've been a lurker for quite awhile and my excuse has been 'necessary' silence until I get a sense of what fandom is like today.  And since fandom is pretty much the same as in past decades I can no longer keep using that excuse.  The problem is that I still think of fandom as just a few people. And since my  fan-nest came on line with me, I still think of fandom as local, small and face-to-face.  This is a very dangerous illusion considering the immense size of fandom today-- I have no idea who is reading this post or even how many people are active in SGA fandom. 

Trying to get a sense of what to write and what to avoid writing in my journal is a strange compartmentalization process. I waver back and forth between casual and  quasi-formal style depending on whether I'm flocked or not.  

I have always been more comfortable doing artwork than doing writing.   Primarily because artwork is easy and writing is difficult.  The dyslexia makes writing laborious and makes any kind of spontaneous outpouring in words impossible.  I normally run every entry and comment through the spell check at least seven times, sometimes double that, correcting spelling takes twice the amount of time that the original writing takes.  Many of the words I can't spell are so mangled that even spell check doesn't help.   So because my burn-time for commenting is limited  I must ration out who get the comments and that's my dilemma.  Do I skip commenting if the author already has lots of feedback?  I admit to doing that and I feel  what I say isn't important and will just add more confetti into the air.   I mean this only about my comments, not about anyone else's comments.   

What the current discussions have taught me is that even short comments are treasured, and that confetti storms are good.  Most of my early fanworks were done when there were no easy methods for commenting so there wasn't any feedback...... that's why the feedback issue is new to me and  the proper etiquette for commenting isn't always obvious, so I appreciate all the discussion.

I tend to comment on stories that intrigue me, I particularly like experimental styles and unique perspectives.  Since I've been reading fanfiction for forty years I have an appetite for the unusual.  And I must admit to favoring those stories for feedback  I am going to make a better effort to leave more comments everywhere.  Thanks everyone for making we wake up to this.

Comments

Re: Re feedback..

[sporangia.livejournal.com]

I think it is safe to say that just about everyone enjoys a thank you comment for their fan fiction. Where it gets more complicated is the application of constructive criticism (concrit) and the etiquette about when, where and what to say.

I won't make any criticisms of a story I have read on the direct threads associated with that story. I am not comfortable doing that, even if the author is amenable to concrit. If I have anything I consider helpful (always an unknown) to add, I would do it by email. I also would not make any concrit of a story outside of the direct thread. And if I wanted to talk about issues raised in a story, I might do that but I would not reference the story unless the author specifically wanted to have that discussion public.

Because of my long ugly history with dyslexia I have a deep aversion to spelling correction, I have used up my lifetime of restraint with public humiliation toward imperfect grammar and spelling. So I would not appreciate public comments if my spelling or grammar was bad. I know it's bad, my choice is to either not write, and remain silent or post as best I can.

When I post my fan fiction, I will have them betaed to the max. But that is no guarantee that they will be clean enough for the grammar perfectionists.

I readily understand why concrit is traumatic for writers, and I also understand that there are writers who treasure it. I have been giving concrit in a writer's group for several years, so I have thought seriously about what to say, and what not to say, I'm obviously no help on the grammar and spelling side, but I do have strengths in other areas.

One area that hasn't been getting much attention is story analysis, specifically positive story analysis about issues that stories might raise. I prefer neutral discussions an example would be a question like. Why did you choose to write Sheppard as a military brat in your story? What did that interpretation allow you to specifically explore about him that wouldn't have been possible if he was the son of a wealthy family? I am more interested in the author's thinking process then in the rightness or wrongness of the character's background. It fascinates me, and I don't consider these kinds of questions inherently critical. Though I might be deluding myself. The few lucky times I have had these discussions I have been careful to hide them so people who are bored silly by this kind of exchange won't have to wade through them.

Re: Re feedback..

[momcat09.livejournal.com]

It sounds like you have a good strategy going... this way you don't embarrass someone publicly, or set them up for someone else to take potshots at them.

I think you have the sensitivity to tell if someone's just writing for the fun of it and is happy with what they've got, or if they're hardcore and want to get REALLY good at their craft (yes, I said CRAFT... and I meant it, LOL!!)

I know there are communities on LJ that are groups of folks who want to write well and who are there specifically to give and receive constructive commentary on each others' work; the ones I've run across have been pretty general and many of 'em insist on original work, but I'm guessing there are such groups within the fan fiction communities too.

I think that given your extensive knowledge of both fan fiction and writing in general, you would be a welcome addition to any writers' community you wanted to join, hon..