Guest TheAdrians Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 Another of those writing rants. So...You write a fic and because it's kind of an important fic to you, you obsess about all the details and research all the elements that you introduce to the readers. Say, for example, one of those elements is a disease, like...sickle-cell anemia. Say that one of your young characters has it and dies due to complications caused by it. Say also that this character is white. Now, while checking your reviews you come across a review like this: "I love your story, but sickle-cell anemia only appears in African Americans and the character is white." How do you communitcate how very wrong a person is without insulting them? Because honestly, we love our readers. But we deeply, deeply hate it when people tell us we're wrong about things that we KNOW we're not wrong about. An anthropology professor of ours- who happens to be Lithuanian and INCREDIBLY white has sickle-cell as does her VERY Lithuanian, VERY white mother. Sickle-cell anemia is more PREVALENT in African Americans, but is certainly not limited to them alone. It's ridiculous! Just ridiculous! Maybe we're taking this too seriously and maybe we're just jerks...but we get hung up for days when people get smart with us and try to point out faults in things that they obviously don't know very much about...that and we've taken the time to research and ask opinions of people so that we wouldn't HAVE to deal with stuff like this. We were ranting to our friends and one of them said "A little knowledge is dangerous..." Very, very true. We're curious as to what everyone else thinks...and not just about this, maybe about your own moments of deep, seething hatred. And we could use some advice on how to be as ridiculously tactful as possible when replying to this review. Thanks! -T.A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokiden Posted January 21, 2008 Report Share Posted January 21, 2008 Another of those writing rants.So...You write a fic and because it's kind of an important fic to you, you obsess about all the details and research all the elements that you introduce to the readers. Say, for example, one of those elements is a disease, like...sickle-cell anemia. Say that one of your young characters has it and dies due to complications caused by it. Say also that this character is white. Now, while checking your reviews you come across a review like this: "I love your story, but sickle-cell anemia only appears in African Americans and the character is white." How do you communitcate how very wrong a person is without insulting them? Because honestly, we love our readers. But we deeply, deeply hate it when people tell us we're wrong about things that we KNOW we're not wrong about. An anthropology professor of ours- who happens to be Lithuanian and INCREDIBLY white has sickle-cell as does her VERY Lithuanian, VERY white mother. Sickle-cell anemia is more PREVALENT in African Americans, but is certainly not limited to them alone. It's ridiculous! Just ridiculous! Maybe we're taking this too seriously and maybe we're just jerks...but we get hung up for days when people get smart with us and try to point out faults in things that they obviously don't know very much about...that and we've taken the time to research and ask opinions of people so that we wouldn't HAVE to deal with stuff like this. We were ranting to our friends and one of them said "A little knowledge is dangerous..." Very, very true. We're curious as to what everyone else thinks...and not just about this, maybe about your own moments of deep, seething hatred. And we could use some advice on how to be as ridiculously tactful as possible when replying to this review. Thanks! -T.A. My thing that raises my hackles is people ragging on me about writing characters "out of character" in fan-fiction. It's my fiction, I'm trying to tell you something, please just LISTEN. I'm a writer (I hope), not a catering service! That said...I wonder if it pisses you off so much, because maybe it makes you feel misunderstood. You'd rather readers said "Gee, TheAdrians really researched this well, and I know TheAdrians is really smart and wouldn't do this without a good reason, let me read on with an open mind!" Anyway...that's kind of how I feel about such things. "I'm trying to talk to you here!" Anyway...I find that the best response to such comments is to be very genial and openhearted about it. Sometimes I joke, but I think that tends to give readers the impression I'm not willing to listen to their criticism, so I'm trying to back off of that. So, to this one, I would say "Actually, sickle-cell anemia occurs in xyz populations at abc rate. If you want more info, check out this link!" Usually, if I treat people with kindness, they eventually return it, and I eventually get the kind of recognition that I like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RikuDrak Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 We're curious as to what everyone else thinks...and not just about this, maybe about your own moments of deep, seething hatred.And we could use some advice on how to be as ridiculously tactful as possible when replying to this review. Thanks! -T.A. To be honest, I'd just leave them a link to an information source that clarifies it all. No other comment needed. I've never had this problem myself, so I can't say what has happened to me in the past, but I think you should simply give them educational material and move on. Don't say anything over nice, nor throw off their sense of dignity with a comment that says "you don't know anything" even if they really don't. My thing that raises my hackles is people ragging on me about writing characters "out of character" in fan-fiction. It's my fiction, I'm trying to tell you something, please just LISTEN. I'm a writer (I hope), not a catering service! I'm one of those people and it's not because I, and most likely any other person that tells you this, is saying it just to get on your nerves or give you a hard time or anything. It's because you are writing a story with already made characters, meaning there are things they can and cannot do. Like fanart, there are certain specific ways a character is supposed to look. And anyway, I hope you realize part of being a writer (at least one that publishes things in public domain) is a catering service. You're not just entertaining yourself, you're entertaining a reader. Sorry about that, but what raises my hackles are OOC fanfiction and people who try and defend writing OOC fanfiction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zyx Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 I bitch about everyone bitching about me, I don't discriminate between bitchings about my story and bitchings about other things. But I'd like to know what's up with the "We" XD 'casue if you just say "we" when it's actually "I" that's pretty cool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RikuDrak Posted January 22, 2008 Report Share Posted January 22, 2008 But I'd like to know what's up with the "We" XD'casue if you just say "we" when it's actually "I" that's pretty cool I assumed there were two or more people using the same forum and/or fanfiction account Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheAdrians Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 I assumed there were two or more people using the same forum and/or fanfiction account Ahh...no. Not at all. Just one person. And thank you for your feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost_Soul Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 (edited) I know how you feel TheAdrians. I have problems like that to but its not on AFF... yet. If you have someone do that to you then tell them to state their acertations. Have them show where they get their info from. And no, wiki isn't a good source! But yeah, that's how I would do it. Hope this helps. Edited January 23, 2008 by Lost_Soul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheAdrians Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 That said...I wonder if it pisses you off so much, because maybe it makes you feel misunderstood. You'd rather readers said "Gee, The Adrians really researched this well, and I know The Adrians is really smart and wouldn't do this without a good reason, let me read on with an open mind!" Anyway...that's kind of how I feel about such things. "I'm trying to talk to you here!" Yeah, it really does feel that way. When we read fics that incorporate outside elements, we aren't looking to poke holes. We assume that every author has done their research and if something looks ridiculously wrong, we check. We just aren't the type to go about telling the author what we found- mostly because we feel like we're undermining their authority or being condescending. Writing a good fanfic is no easy task. You really can't just poof one into existance. It isn't just sitting down and writing something using character names. You have to really research a fandom- read or watch the official stuff, read as many fanfics as you can, then research all your own outside elements before you make anything worth reading. In some ways, fan fiction is harder to write than original work. About OOC stuff...We've never had one of those situations arise, but we're obsessive in our research and planning. Honestly, the mark of a good fan fic author is making readers believe, if not get psyched about a situation/action/outfit/person that they thought they could never see a character in/doing/wearing/with. When people are very vehement about a fandom- like us with Red Dragon- they tend to get rather uptight about OOC. *shrug* Levels of acceptable OOC are relative and vary from person to person... What can you do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheAdrians Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 To be honest, I'd just leave them a link to an information source that clarifies it all. No other comment needed. I've never had this problem myself, so I can't say what has happened to me in the past, but I think you should simply give them educational material and move on. Don't say anything over nice, nor throw off their sense of dignity with a comment that says "you don't know anything" even if they really don't. Yeah, we don't want to sound condescending...even though we're rather peeved. We guess we'll start looking for a few good websites about sickle-cell... We asked about how to be tactful with this because we felt like it was an insult to our intelligence and we don't want to insult their intelligence in return, you know? Thank you again for your feedback! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zyx Posted January 23, 2008 Report Share Posted January 23, 2008 We're your biggest fan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheAdrians Posted January 24, 2008 Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 We're your biggest fan! XD Thanks so much. Do you really read TLT?! We have our fair share of hits but we've never actually talked to anyone who reads it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinigamiinochi Posted January 24, 2008 Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 unfortunately, I know exactly what you're talking about. I was writing a fic about twins where one has brown hair and the other is blonde. I had a reader respond that they were twins, but weren't identical and that I should have some sort of detailed explanation in my fic about why that was. Well, I honestly thought that I didn't need to waste time and paper space remarking on something that should be common sense. I honestly thought that my readers would be intelligent enough to realize that, if you have twins, but they don't look alike, that simply means that they are fraternal. Sigh. About the enemia thing, I wouldn't be as mad, because even television gets it screwed up. (not a good thing at all *shakes head* in a society where a majority of people watch tv, at least get the facts straight!) I was watching the 4400 and a white, female character discovered that her unborn baby had the trait for the enemia and so they said that the father had to be black. I was sitting there thinking, 'this show prides itself on some scientific fact as a science fiction show, yet they get something so simple wrong?!' Still it's annoying getting reviews like that and I sometimes think that they ask dumb questions just to shoot you down, the questions are that dumb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokiden Posted January 24, 2008 Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 I'm one of those people and it's not because I, and most likely any other person that tells you this, is saying it just to get on your nerves or give you a hard time or anything. It's because you are writing a story with already made characters, meaning there are things they can and cannot do. Like fanart, there are certain specific ways a character is supposed to look. And anyway, I hope you realize part of being a writer (at least one that publishes things in public domain) is a catering service. You're not just entertaining yourself, you're entertaining a reader.Sorry about that, but what raises my hackles are OOC fanfiction and people who try and defend writing OOC fanfiction. There are no things a character can and cannot do--it's just your preference that they act "within character" as you see it. If an author chooses to push the boundaries of the character, there is probably something they're trying to convey by doing so. It might be fun to try to figure out what that is. I think there's a difference between setting out to entertain and please readers and catering to them. The reader can't order up what they like--they can only read what the author has written and like it or not like it. Of course the feedback that your fiction wasn't liked for a specific reason is very helpful. But I can't respect readers who dislike something just because a character surprised them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Zyx Posted January 24, 2008 Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 XD Thanks so much. Do you really read TLT?! We have our fair share of hits but we've never actually talked to anyone who reads it... No, sorry!!! I was just referring to the fact to talk about yourself in "we" it's awesome EDIT: I felt bad so I clicked to your author's page but I'm not into m/m Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RikuDrak Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 There are no things a character can and cannot do--it's just your preference that they act "within character" as you see it. If an author chooses to push the boundaries of the character, there is probably something they're trying to convey by doing so. It might be fun to try to figure out what that is.I think there's a difference between setting out to entertain and please readers and catering to them. The reader can't order up what they like--they can only read what the author has written and like it or not like it. Of course the feedback that your fiction wasn't liked for a specific reason is very helpful. But I can't respect readers who dislike something just because a character surprised them. There are things a character can and cannot do, unless they are ungodly shallow. Just because the original series or whatever the character comes from may not exclusively present you with how they would react in every conceivable situation doesn't mean they don't have their limits. If an author chooses to push a character's boundaries, they ought to stop stepping on the toes of the original creator and make their own character to fiddle with. I don't dislike OOC fanfiction because I never try to figure out what they are trying to convey is, I dislike it because it impedes on someone else's creation and most of the time the only "deepness" to pushing characters over boundaries is to live out some rather silly fantasy that shouldn't be published on the internet. No, the reader's can't tell an author what to write about, but if a writer is going to publish their writing in public domain they should remember that this is for other people to read and enjoy, not just themselves. Therefore it should be engaging and contain at least some of the normal formulas for stories. Self insertion mary sue fanfictions are a good example of both things I've said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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