Stuff I found on the interwebz

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As an illustration of why you shouldn't ask professional writers to read your stuff, this is really only halfway relevant to fanfic, but there are just so many bits that I want to quote and say "Word!" Plus, it's just an interesting post: "I Will Not Read Your F**king Script." Relevant excerpts under the cut.

It rarely takes more than a page to recognize that you're in the presence of someone who can write, but it only takes a sentence to know you're dealing with someone who can't.

This I have found to be very true.

And the truth is, saying something positive about this thing would be the nastiest, meanest and most dishonest thing I could do.

I cringe every time I see truly awful fics get great reviews, for just this reason - it's completely misleading. Oh, maybe the person leaving the review honestly thinks it's great, but they're probably no more knowledgeable about writing than the author. It makes authors think they're better than they are, and makes them even more resistant to well-deserved criticism. And it just perpetuates the cycle of crap, because bad writers encourage each other to write more bad fic, instead of it being pointed out to them (gently) that they suck and are in painful need of a writing class. Of course, when you try to give them honest advice...

He was frustrated by the responses he'd gotten from friends, because he felt they were going easy on him, and he wanted real criticism. They never do, of course. What they want is a few tough notes to give the illusion of honesty, and then some pats on the head. What they want--always--is encouragement, even when they shouldn't get any.

And that right there is why constructive criticism is poorly received 90% of the time. It's also probably why my betaing style pisses off so many new writers. ;)

The main point I made was that he'd fallen prey to a fallacy that nails a lot of first timers. He was way more interested in telling his one story than in being a writer. It was like buying all the parts to a car and starting to build it before learning the basics of auto mechanics. You'll learn a lot along the way, I said, but you'll never have a car that runs.

If this doesn't describe at least half the beginning writers in fandom, I don't know what does.

Comments

[urania-calliope.livejournal.com]

I love getting stomped on in reviews because I firmly believe I suck at writing and I really do want to be at least halfway decent.

Great link!

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LOL, that's an excellent attitude. :) But do you find many people willing to do the stomping?

[urania-calliope.livejournal.com]

No unfortunately. :(

I did recently get myself a beta for a longish fanfiction I'm working on that really let me have it! Awesome!

Good betas aren't mean they're honest, sometimes pride stops us from seeing that I think.

I would love to have more betas go at my stuff but 99% of time that I've managed to get myself one the feedback I've gotten has generally been: "Oooh, that was great!" Which is nice, who doesn't love a confidence booster? But I know there must have been at least one or two things in there I could've changed for the better.

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Yeah - I have had many betas, and my experiences with them run the gamut. If you get a good one, cling! Do not let them go! lol

And I am always a little suspicious of a beta who doesn't give me ANY negative comments or criticisms. You're telling me that this fic is so perfect you couldn't find a single thing I could improve? Really? I'd like to think I'm a decent writer, but no one's that good.

Often, that's the sign of a beta who's below your level, which is never good. If you're a stronger writer than your beta, how can you possibly expect them to pick up on things you've missed? A good beta will either be all-around better than you (making it a mentoring sort of thing) or they'll be strong where you're weak and vice versa (making it more of a collaborative partnership).