Frustration Times 100

[TheBlackadder]

The most disheartening thing since I’ve uploaded my stories is the lack of . . . anything . I can’t tell if people aren’t just interested in the topics the stories are about, the titles aren’t snappy or catching enough, the labels are a turn off (The labels for what’s in the story are kinda harsh if your just going by them. It doesn’t say to what degree the content is, just that it’s in there. It’s a bummer if that’s what’s turning people away!!!), no one can find them, or I just suck as a writer!

My worst fear is the last one, do I completely suck as a writer? Are my stories complete crap? How do I know this if I don’t get any ratings or reviews on them?

Granted, I really only have one posted complete story. The rest are in progress, but still there is a VERY good portion of them up. Two or three of my stories have gotten actual ratings, and one or two reviews, but out of 11 stories . . . . It’s kind of depressing and very self conscious.

~Sigh~ So day by day, I check hoping for something. Wishing I wasn’t such a Feedback whore, but I wish I could at least get something on my finished story “Tortuga: Roses and Thorns”. . . . However it seems to be my least read story.

I think I suck!!!

~Marian The Blackadder~

[greenwizard]

I think it's just really hard to get feedback on this site. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have a few readers who are giving me lots of reviews. But I'll take a look at your story. If it sucks... I'll tell you lol.

[TheBlackadder]

Well some feedback is better then no feed back! LOL! Thanks!

~Marian The Blackadder~

[Guest Savaial]

I am NOT dissing our readers, but it seem to me if there are 1000+ views and 2 reviews, there are some lazy fucking people on the site. Think about it. Even if 700 people just click and decide your fic isn't their cup of tea, there are 300 hundred people who linger, read and go on.

You write your heart out, pour your creativity into something and get...nothing.

People that don't write don't review.

Out of ten people who don't write, one will throw a sentence your way. Sad, but true.

I have written a half a million words and have five reviewers. The average speaks for itself. And I don't write crap.

Bottom line? If it isn't male on male or a one-shot, fuck you.

[TheBlackadder]

It does get discouraging For a while I was posting my stuff on my MySpace blog, but my friends REALLY aren't into reading Fan Fictions . . . or stories period it seems like. So I had hoped that coming over here I might find more readers that would have feedback.

It's not that I'm looking for pats on the head so much as I want to improve my writing, and I want to see if what I write is interesting to other people besides me, ya know? Or if my hobby is just self-indulgence personified.

I realize that a lot of my stories are WIP, but it’s sort of because I’m at the point where I need a little feedback to get past the writers block so I can continue on writing it, maybe even finish it. I hate writers block! It’s the worst disease in the world!

~Marian The Blackadder~

[SkyaraSnow]

I am NOT dissing our readers, but it seem to me if there are 1000+ views and 2 reviews, there are some lazy fucking people on the site. Think about it. Even if 700 people just click and decide your fic isn't their cup of tea, there are 300 hundred people who linger, read and go on.

You write your heart out, pour your creativity into something and get...nothing.

People that don't write don't review.

Out of ten people who don't write, one will throw a sentence your way. Sad, but true.

I have written a half a million words and have five reviewers. The average speaks for itself. And I don't write crap.

Bottom line? If it isn't male on male or a one-shot, fuck you.

I have to disagree with that....I wrote a one-shot, and it only has one review. (Of course....that might be because it was eleven and a half pages long.....)

But it is disheartening to not get any reviews. They do tell us how we're doing. Sometimes I wonder if written work on this site is used for things other than pure enjoyment of the written word.....

[DemonGoddess]

I'm going to add something to this as a reader who rarely reviews. There are many reasons for that, from me. The most important one, is that I'm NOT a writer, so therefore I don't feel it is my PLACE to offer stuff like concrit when it's asked for. As I loathe "update soons" and reviews of that nature, that means I won't leave even something like that.

When I do review, a story REALLY has to get my attention. Otherwise, I don't as I won't have much to say.

[Solaris]

I usually say something along this line: I like what I read, please post another chapter as soon as you are able to or if it is a one-shot story: I really like this one shot. Thanks for posting it.

But I try to leave a review with every story that I read.

Beth

[cu-kid9]

Ah, I'm going through the same thing right now. At first I thought maybe people were just waiting to see where things were going in the story (I know sometimes I won't review a one or two chapter story unless those first chapters are amazing). But, five chapters into it, and I have one review? Grrr! And I had to post a snide A/N note just to get that (well, it wasn't meant to be snide, but I think it may have come off that way ). My whole thought on it is that maybe people just really hate it and are too nice to leave a review saying, "I really hate this." ?? It's true, though, that as a writer it's a little discouraging to not get any kind of response (sometimes I'd kill for just a rating ) .

As a reviewer, I kinda go through cycles. Right now I'm in my review-everything-I-read cycle, even if it isn't that great of a story.

I have to disagree with you, DemonGoddess, about not having anything constructive to offer other writers as a reason not to review. I mean, you still read and still know what kind of elements make a good story, can recognize errors and poor plots. I don't think it takes another writer to critique someone's work. Just being a proficient reader is a good enough qualification, as far as I'm concerned.

[canterro]

I know the pain too

Lately I got two very nice reviews and it was really a wind for my sails... It was unbelievable even for me how the short simple sentence could make me happy and willing to carry on

The problem lies not even in constructive comments but in comments in general. The number of hits means only that, let's say, 1000 people gave the story a shot. But they could just read 10 lines and decide it was boring.

The knowledge of this fact would be really helpful... I could at least think of rewriting the beginning to be more intriguing.

[Guest Tuftiperkys]

For TheBlackadder,

I can only assume that the reason people are so blase in response to your stories is because the pairing doesn't have a wide appeal, as you seem quite eloquent within this thread so I doubt it is your writing ability. I took a look at your AFF author page hoping that I could read your stories and leave some sort of response but unfortunately I don't read any of those pairings and haven't seen most of the movies you write from. Dead sorry about that. You mentioned that some of your stories were WIPs and that that might have something to do with the lack of reviews, but I am more inclined to review a story if it's unfinished so the author knows they have someone behind them, reading, enjoying, and patiently urging them to continue.

I was blown away at the length of some of your stories after receiving minimal or no encouragement. I am much more tempermental and easily distracted so if I don't get any reviews, since I honestly can not figure out which way to go if I don't get them, I write a note at the bottom telling people that's the last chapter due to lack of interest and then hesitant reviewers crawl out of the woodwork. Which is terribly frustrating. My own personal policy is that if I don't get one review for each chapter I write then I discontinue because I don't have the self-motivation to finish a story that is, apparently, no good, not to mention, the patience.

And I have to agree with Savaial, "People that don't write don't review." More often than not the responses I receive are from readers who are also authors themselves. I, personally, as if in repayment to some review god, try to leave my own thoughts, comments, opinions, and encouragement after each individual update of the stories I read. Which aren't many as I am incredibly picky as to my pairing and don't read much fanfiction as it is but the ones I diligently read, I loyally review.

And just to mention something that had me close to pulling out my hair in chunks: I have many open stories at the moment as I am flakey and tend to flit about from idea to idea (which I readily admit) and could not force myself to focus as I couldn't choose which story to update so I posted a questionnaire of sorts asking my readers if they had any input. Within an hour or so I had fifteen reviews on it and only ONE of them was from someone who had ever, at any point in time, reviewed one of my stories. I was glad to know that people were reading but it was so amazingly discouraging that I took it down almost immediately so that I couldn't find out about any more of them. It makes me appreciate people who say, 'I got this account just so I could review this story' (which already leaves me in stomach-burning giggle conniptions) all the more as people who've had them for years remain silent on their thoughts and opinions.

[TheBlackadder]

I know. I had a feeling people went "Norrington? . . .WTF . . . .", “Beckett . . . who the heck was he??.”

I've got a thing for the bad buy/Whipping boy in movies. If you've seen the P.O.T.C. movies you realize that Norrington is never at any point a "Bad Guy" but more the only one who really signifies absolute morals and the law in the first movie, and his character progresses in the second to look at the other side of things . . . . that doesn't work out, in the third movie . . . he finally turns into the guy everyone else wants him to be, just like everyone else acts . . . and he gets Elizabeth's kiss of death (Anyone else notice everyone that chick kissed died? Even Will?) and dies for it? Seriously. He never is officially the bad guy, more like . . . the whipping boy because he follows the rules.

And Beckett . . . well he's just plain out evil personified. Mercer is the same. Beckett plots and schemes, Mercer would slit your throat just as easily and carelessly as look at you. No explanation or deepness there really.

Then I stick in the Original Characters because I don't want to just COMPLETELY rip off the story from the movie. Just use one or two characters, maybe the time and the place and make my own story, ya know? Maybe that's where I’m going wrong. People have NO idea what the heck I’m talking about.

The Patriot Fan Fictions . . . . are from a movie directed by Mel Gibson 8 years ago. I’m not surprised if it’s long since passed from everyone’s memory by now. Once again, centered around the bad guy, cause . . .I’ve got a thing for bad guys. My heart for some reason always goes out to them as getting the short end of the stick and never having their side of the story told.

My only original fiction is my Vampire based on, “Conception”. That one seems kinda popular . . . if I’m reading the hits as interest, it gets more hits then any of my other stories.

That’s another thing, I wonder if my stories get to involved and complicated sometimes? Maybe they drag on to long, or maybe they just don’t seem to interesting . . . .UGH! See what I mean?? The longer I go without feedback . . . . the more insecure I get about my writing LOL.

~Marian The Blackadder~

[DemonGoddess]

haha gotta ask ya cu-kid, have you ever SEEN a review I did?? They're pathetic. Truly.

[Guest Tuftiperkys]

haha gotta ask ya cu-kid, have you ever SEEN a review I did?? They're pathetic. Truly.

I've heard it's the thought that counts. I've gotten some truly pitiful ones but I honestly couldn't care less. It's just fantastic to know that anyone is paying attention. Leave one word, it doesn't matter, I'm sure the author will appreciate it endlessly no matter how many reviews they have. And I find it hard to believe that you leave terrible reviews, you do so well with your responses on here! Haha!

As for not wanting to leave reviews if you didn't like the story, that I get. I am too critical and once I get on a roll, I cannot be stopped. I would leave constructive criticism but I would tear the story down as I did and tell them exactly how to reconstruct. And although I would take that review in stride, I don't care what people leave me, nice or no, as long as it's constructive, I wouldn't expect other people who function like normal human beings to. So if I don't like it, I sit on my hands and clamp my lips.

[Guest Tuftiperkys]

I know. I had a feeling people went "Norrington? . . .WTF . . . .", "Beckett . . . who the heck was he??."

I've got a thing for the bad buy/Whipping boy in movies. If you've seen the P.O.T.C. movies you realize that Norrington is never at any point a "Bad Guy" but more the only one who really signifies absolute morals and the law in the first movie, and his character progresses in the second to look at the other side of things . . . . that doesn't work out, in the third movie . . . he finally turns into the guy everyone else wants him to be, just like everyone else acts . . . and he gets Elizabeth's kiss of death (Anyone else notice everyone that chick kissed died? Even Will?) and dies for it? Seriously. He never is officially the bad guy, more like . . . the whipping boy because he follows the rules.

And Beckett . . . well he's just plain out evil personified. Mercer is the same. Beckett plots and schemes, Mercer would slit your throat just as easily and carelessly as look at you. No explanation or deepness there really.

Then I stick in the Original Characters because I don't want to just COMPLETELY rip off the story from the movie. Just use one or two characters, maybe the time and the place and make my own story, ya know? Maybe that's where I'm going wrong. People have NO idea what the heck I'm talking about.

The Patriot Fan Fictions . . . . are from a movie directed by Mel Gibson 8 years ago. I'm not surprised if it's long since passed from everyone's memory by now. Once again, centered around the bad guy, cause . . .I've got a thing for bad guys. My heart for some reason always goes out to them as getting the short end of the stick and never having their side of the story told.

My only original fiction is my Vampire based on, "Conception". That one seems kinda popular . . . if I'm reading the hits as interest, it gets more hits then any of my other stories.

That's another thing, I wonder if my stories get to involved and complicated sometimes? Maybe they drag on to long, or maybe they just don't seem to interesting . . . .UGH! See what I mean?? The longer I go without feedback . . . . the more insecure I get about my writing LOL.

~Marian The Blackadder~

Sorry, I didn't even see this. Even if your stories are complicated with things like, say, plot, I wouldn't change them. I have three of mine that I really like and that's because I have taken the story in a totally different direction, added in original characters, and basically just twisted everything you ever knew about the main ones. They're some of my least reviewed but I find that those few reviews I do receive on them are so much more satisfying than any of the others I get. But I write in a huge, well read category which is, I'm sure, the only reason they're reviewed because not everyone in Harry Potter is tight-lipped and unopionated.

As for your insecurity it probably is just a lack of widespread appeal. I've only watched 'Pirates,' and surprisingly saw no promise for slash there, and I find slash in everything, and I've heard of the others 'Master & Commander' and 'The Patriot,' but never seen them. You seem quite capable and your ideas are well thought out as you've explained them here so don't doubt your ability.

[cu-kid9]

haha gotta ask ya cu-kid, have you ever SEEN a review I did?? They're pathetic. Truly.

No, I can't say that I've ever read a review you've written. But I still think that you have something to offer! Even if it's just con-crit on grammar/technique with a few, "but it's interesting so far"'s added in there. We're all here as writers and readers, which means we all have some basic knowledge on how these things should work. I'm not trying to push the matter, that's just my opinion.

I would leave constructive criticism but I would tear the story down as I did and tell them exactly how to reconstruct. And although I would take that review in stride, I don't care what people leave me, nice or no, as long as it's constructive, I wouldn't expect other people who function like normal human beings to. So if I don't like it, I sit on my hands and clamp my lips.

As for being too critical...is there such a thing? I'm sure a lot of people here would be happy for someone to point out all the things that they need to work on in order to make their writing better (the whole point, I think, of TheBlackadder posting this). While getting lengthy reviews about how good your story is, with all the things people like, is nice, getting one that actually points out flaws would be so much more helpful. I'm not going to lie and say that if someone did that to something I had written, I wouldn't be upset -after all, it is my baby that they're criticizing. But, after the initial sting, I would probably be grateful that someone took the time and effort to help me. Admittedly, there is a certain amount of tact involved in leaving con-crit, but ultimately I think if you're not making any personal comments about the writer herself/himself, and focus on literary elements, there should be no reason for people to get upset...although, I do find that there are a lot of people on this site (and elsewhere) that think even mentioning grammatical mistakes is a personal insult

That’s another thing, I wonder if my stories get to involved and complicated sometimes? Maybe they drag on to long, or maybe they just don’t seem to interesting . . . .UGH! See what I mean?? The longer I go without feedback . . . . the more insecure I get about my writing LOL.

I feel the same about my original stories -I watch the hit count go up and just wait and wait and wait for someone to review. Sometimes, I just want to post a chapter that is completely off the wall to see if I get someone to at least say "WTF?!?!" Surprisingly (or maybe not), I posted a three chapter fanfic in a fandom and got a ton of hits and more reviews than I have on any of my original stories. Maybe the readers in certain archives are just lazier (or...less zealous) than in others...?

[Guest Tuftiperkys]

"I do find that there are a lot of people on this site (and elsewhere) that think even mentioning grammatical mistakes is a personal insult"

Precisely and I just do not handle that well. Many authors claim they are receptive to constructive criticism while moments later they bite your head off for giving it. While I would like to think that my comments would be appreciated, I know that the sad fact is, most likely, they won't and they'll be construed as a flame or a personal assault. I think we're in the minority here with both accepting and appreciating a constructive review.

"As for being too critical...is there such a thing?"

And yes, I do believe there's such a thing as too critical.

My idea of helping them out would be to rewrite the entire chapter for them. Which is why I Beta.

[TheBlackadder]

I find my biggest ‘oopsy’ nowadays is my spelling and grammar. That’s why I try to check it and recheck it in Word or another program before posting it. However it doesn’t catch the mistakes like past tense, or plural, or even if you used the wrong word as long as it’s spelled correctly. If you are a fast typer who types as quickly as the ideas flow out of your head, you’re bound to get LOTS of mistakes like that. (Speaking of which, I’m still in the market for a beta!! Anyone??)

With Critical Reviews– I find that there are two kinds. The constructive, and the purely EVIL.

Kinda like what Johnny says in the Libertine.

“You must acquire the trick of ignoring those who don’t like you. In my experience, those who don’t like you fall into two categories. The envious and the stupid. The stupid; will like you in five years time. The envious; never.”

I can usually tell the difference between a well thought out Criticism, from someone who is trying to assist me in my quest to better my writing (and make my prose less offensive to the eyes of the reader), and a flat out flamer who just wants to tear someone else down and make them as miserable as they apparently are in their own sad little lives.

I like constructive Criticism; because it has made me a much better writer then I started out to be originally. I won’t lie, I will admit it, I was the biggest, worst Mary Sue in the world when I started out with my first story. (My belief system on Mary Sue’s isn’t a popular one apparently. But I think that those stories are just as entertaining as any other. I’m a web mistress of a Captain Hook fan fiction site and I tell everyone that Mary Sue’s are safe to post there stuff there. They tend to get attacked like raw meat in rabid wolves and that’s not fair. Their writers too!) I had just seen “The Patriot” and boy did Colonel Tavington just steal my heart right away! Granted I didn’t know what a Mary Sue was when I was just starting out. But also my characters all spoke in the same paragraph, each chapter was one HUGE seven page paragraph, the dialogue and the story themselves seemed incredibly . . . grade school level.

But it was my first piece. (I’m rewriting it now, one chapter at a time. It’s a 30 chapter story, I’m up to chapter 20 . . . have it posted! “Piety and Infamy”. The names have been changed to protect just how lame I feel I was at the time of writing it. However I did keep the somewhat pretentious title.) and after serious Criticism, both Constructive and Evil . . . I mean HARSH, HARSH stuff, I started to improve. Like immediately I started to improve.

So hopefully people do want to better their writing enough to at least take the criticism for what it is. An opportunity to make you better as a writer. You don’t always need a pat on the head so much as a good kick in the butt! . . . .although the pats on the head are nice sometimes.

~Marian the Blackadder~

[Guest Monsterking]

I think that there is never enough reviews for anyone that is an author WAAAAAAAAAA!

[maidenhair]

I personally love reviews but have discovered this site is not a good place to get them. But I've got a question for you. To those of you, who like me, love to receive well crafted reviews---how good are you about leaving reviews for other authors? Just curious.

Linda

[Guest Zyx]

like I posted in some other thread: I review about 50% of the stories I read.

And I like all positive reviews, I do not consider "good" a bad review

[bitBlackmage]

I do not review often and when I do I tend to either give small concrit or empty the contents of my head which is a bad scene to behold.

[maidenhair]

I was never good at reviewing until I began posting my own work and realized how important the feedback from the readers could be. Since then, I've really tried to leave reviews on the fics that I read. I, too, like to positive reviews so unless I can be constructive, I still only review those works that I like. I just wondered, if like me, we could all be a little better about leaving reviews?

Linda

[Saitochan]

It's not that I'm looking for pats on the head so much as I want to improve my writing, and I want to see if what I write is interesting to other people besides me, ya know? Or if my hobby is just self-indulgence personified.

~Marian The Blackadder~

Oh man, we're so on the same boat here. But the thing is, since I began writing fanfiction, I haven't gotten as much concrits as I'd like (just two, and from the same reader), but then again, I doubt any of us gets as much reviews as he/she would like, am I right?

As of lately, my stories seem to get less and less attention (to the point of getting as much as 5 hits in a whole week). So, this lack of constructive feedback (or feedback altogether) has got me wondering... why? Is it because I suck at writing? The titles on my stories are not appealing? Or is it the details? I tried changing the details of my main story a few times, but with no result.

I agree with the people who say that people who don't write, don't review, and maybe I'm just naive for expecting solid concrits in the Naruto AFF fandom, but there are a lot of writers in there, right? (Even if most of them only write yaoi... TT_TT).

Anyway... I forgot what I wanted to say... but COME ON READERS! I know it's hard to get off your (our) lazy asses to review someone else's work, but authors post their work here for a reason, to share it with everyone. It's only fair to give a little something back, don't you think?

[hisbabybird]

I was never good at reviewing until I began posting my own work and realized how important the feedback from the readers could be. Since then, I've really tried to leave reviews on the fics that I read. I, too, like to positive reviews so unless I can be constructive, I still only review those works that I like. I just wondered, if like me, we could all be a little better about leaving reviews?

Linda

I totally agree. I've had the same experience, starting off as a reader and then finally posting a couple of my works up -- I never realized how valuable even the shortest review can be for my psyche as a writer. With that said, I'm still guilty of reviewing only a few stories to the many that I read on the site. My goal over the next couple of months is to start R&R'ing way more often. Who knows... maybe the karma will pay off...