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 Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 6:09 am
...Started reading a fic right when an author starts it and you're practically the only one offering support and praise? Then, as the story goes on, it takes so many WTF plot-twists that completely throw you off and leaves a bad taste in your mouth to the point that you're embarrassed that you even invested so much time into the story to begin with?
For example, I started reading a Yu Yu Hakusho fic that was very well-written but wasn't garnering much attention despite this fact and that it had a well-rounded main character with a nice dialogue flow to boot. I reviewed every chapter, added the story to my alert list, and was a loyal reader up until the point where the author began revealing that the main (original) character was related to basically every canon character and that the OC was the extremely powerful princess of the Demon World.
This plot-twist gained the author many new readers, followers, favorites, and reviews, but it left me feeling a bit embarrassed to have even read the story because of such absurd twists. I know that might sound silly to some people, though, since authors do not have to bend to the will of their readers and can do whatever they please with their stories- trust me, I know that.
Has this happened to you before?
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Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 9:04 am
Yes. This used to happen to me all the time back when I was a member of the Inuyasha fandom and a shipper of Sesshomaru/Kagura and Sesshomaru/adult!Rin. Back then, when the series was still being shown on Adult Swim there was a new fic being posted every night so you could swoop in and pick one up right at the start and often times you were the only reviewer because everyone else was to busy with all the other stories that were being posted every day.
But after a few chapters, things would start to get weird. Either the author would stray out of the established laws of the Inuyasha world, or splice in elements from other fandoms that just didn't fit and seemed so out of place. (Like having Rin be the reincarnation of the Moon Princess for no justifiable reason. Or one time Sesshomaru become a ******** mech pilot! WTF!?) And when that would happen I'd feel really weird about having been their first reader. I was really excited and positive about their story when they first started, but once things got weird I just wanted to hide my signed reviews under a paper bag.
Nowadays, I wait until there are at least three chapters already posted and it has a decent enough number of reviews to give an accurate idea of what's going on before I start a new story. The only exception to this being if the story is posted by an author that I already know writes things that I love.
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Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 10:03 am
I can't say that I have. The fandoms that I frequent have been going for a while so new ones get buried amongst the sea of longer standing ones. Now I HAVE plenty of times come across fanfics where I started out interested at first and then as I go further into the list of chapters, I stop reading the story because things took a turn south.
I'm trying to star reading fanfics that have less reviews (provided the summary catches my attention) because I strongly feel, how can I expect people to read my fanfiction if I won't even read others with little reviews?
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Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 9:31 pm
Night Kunoichi I can't say that I have. The fandoms that I frequent have been going for a while so new ones get buried amongst the sea of longer standing ones. Now I HAVE plenty of times come across fanfics where I started out interested at first and then as I go further into the list of chapters, I stop reading the story because things took a turn south. I'm trying to star reading fanfics that have less reviews (provided the summary catches my attention) because I strongly feel, how can I expect people to read my fanfiction if I won't even read others with little reviews? Yes, I've never really been one to read a story based on how many reviews it has since I've found some hidden gems that way. And sometimes stories with loads of reviews are... lacking in other areas. Besides, like you said, I wouldn't want a potential reader to completely write-off my story because it doesn't have X amount of reviews to deem it worthy of their viewing pleasure, so why would I do it to another author?
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Posted: Fri May 16, 2014 9:54 pm
Renkon Root Yes. This used to happen to me all the time back when I was a member of the Inuyasha fandom and a shipper of Sesshomaru/Kagura and Sesshomaru/adult!Rin. Back then, when the series was still being shown on Adult Swim there was a new fic being posted every night so you could swoop in and pick one up right at the start and often times you were the only reviewer because everyone else was to busy with all the other stories that were being posted every day. But after a few chapters, things would start to get weird. Either the author would stray out of the established laws of the Inuyasha world, or splice in elements from other fandoms that just didn't fit and seemed so out of place. (Like having Rin be the reincarnation of the Moon Princess for no justifiable reason. Or one time Sesshomaru become a ******** mech pilot! WTF!?) And when that would happen I'd feel really weird about having been their first reader. I was really excited and positive about their story when they first started, but once things got weird I just wanted to hide my signed reviews under a paper bag. Nowadays, I wait until there are at least three chapters already posted and it has a decent enough number of reviews to give an accurate idea of what's going on before I start a new story. The only exception to this being if the story is posted by an author that I already know writes things that I love. Yes, the guilt and shame. Also, the weird feeling of betrayal. For me it was more of a feeling of "After all this time... This is what you do?" since the story I mentioned got weird at about chapter ten and then it all just rapidly fell to pieces one chapter after another. It would've been all right ( I would've been all right) if the bizarre plot-twist ended at chapter ten with her being related to one of the main characters (which is a common method I see authors use when they're trying to connect an OC to the canon characters). Now I'm also a little leery when I start reading a new fic. I don't go crazy with the praise just in case I feel the need to save face if the story goes to hell (awful, I know), but I'll still follow if it truly interests me, and I'll always review as a common courtesy even if I don't end up following. P.S. That Sesshomaru mech pilot bit made me choke on my coffee.
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Posted: Sat May 17, 2014 10:34 am
Violent Crow Night Kunoichi I can't say that I have. The fandoms that I frequent have been going for a while so new ones get buried amongst the sea of longer standing ones. Now I HAVE plenty of times come across fanfics where I started out interested at first and then as I go further into the list of chapters, I stop reading the story because things took a turn south. I'm trying to star reading fanfics that have less reviews (provided the summary catches my attention) because I strongly feel, how can I expect people to read my fanfiction if I won't even read others with little reviews? Yes, I've never really been one to read a story based on how many reviews it has since I've found some hidden gems that way. And sometimes stories with loads of reviews are... lacking in other areas. Besides, like you said, I wouldn't want a potential reader to completely write-off my story because it doesn't have X amount of reviews to deem it worthy of their viewing pleasure, so why would I do it to another author? Yeah I've found some stories that are loaded with reviews but when I read them they are riddled with cliches and the writing is sub par. But when I first started my FFnet navigations, I came across many more that had few reviews that were that way for good reason and I would get so frustrated. xD However I feel like I now can identify those kinds easier.
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Posted: Sat May 17, 2014 9:44 pm
Night Kunoichi Violent Crow Night Kunoichi I can't say that I have. The fandoms that I frequent have been going for a while so new ones get buried amongst the sea of longer standing ones. Now I HAVE plenty of times come across fanfics where I started out interested at first and then as I go further into the list of chapters, I stop reading the story because things took a turn south. I'm trying to star reading fanfics that have less reviews (provided the summary catches my attention) because I strongly feel, how can I expect people to read my fanfiction if I won't even read others with little reviews? Yes, I've never really been one to read a story based on how many reviews it has since I've found some hidden gems that way. And sometimes stories with loads of reviews are... lacking in other areas. Besides, like you said, I wouldn't want a potential reader to completely write-off my story because it doesn't have X amount of reviews to deem it worthy of their viewing pleasure, so why would I do it to another author? Yeah I've found some stories that are loaded with reviews but when I read them they are riddled with cliches and the writing is sub par. But when I first started my FFnet navigations, I came across many more that had few reviews that were that way for good reason and I would get so frustrated. xD However I feel like I now can identify those kinds easier. I have some ideas, but do you mind telling me how you identify those types of bad fics? I have a feeling that this will be amusing. emotion_dowant
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Posted: Sat May 17, 2014 10:04 pm
Violent Crow Night Kunoichi Violent Crow Night Kunoichi I can't say that I have. The fandoms that I frequent have been going for a while so new ones get buried amongst the sea of longer standing ones. Now I HAVE plenty of times come across fanfics where I started out interested at first and then as I go further into the list of chapters, I stop reading the story because things took a turn south. I'm trying to star reading fanfics that have less reviews (provided the summary catches my attention) because I strongly feel, how can I expect people to read my fanfiction if I won't even read others with little reviews? Yes, I've never really been one to read a story based on how many reviews it has since I've found some hidden gems that way. And sometimes stories with loads of reviews are... lacking in other areas. Besides, like you said, I wouldn't want a potential reader to completely write-off my story because it doesn't have X amount of reviews to deem it worthy of their viewing pleasure, so why would I do it to another author? Yeah I've found some stories that are loaded with reviews but when I read them they are riddled with cliches and the writing is sub par. But when I first started my FFnet navigations, I came across many more that had few reviews that were that way for good reason and I would get so frustrated. xD However I feel like I now can identify those kinds easier. I have some ideas, but do you mind telling me how you identify those types of bad fics? I have a feeling that this will be amusing. emotion_dowant A good start is when they say, "Sorry I suk at summerys"
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Posted: Sat May 17, 2014 11:04 pm
Night Kunoichi Violent Crow Night Kunoichi Yeah I've found some stories that are loaded with reviews but when I read them they are riddled with cliches and the writing is sub par. But when I first started my FFnet navigations, I came across many more that had few reviews that were that way for good reason and I would get so frustrated. xD However I feel like I now can identify those kinds easier. I have some ideas, but do you mind telling me how you identify those types of bad fics? I have a feeling that this will be amusing. emotion_dowant A good start is when they say, "Sorry I suk at summerys" Oh my gosh... No... I don't even know what to say to that, Kunoichi.
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Posted: Sun May 18, 2014 12:08 am
Violent Crow Night Kunoichi Violent Crow Night Kunoichi Yeah I've found some stories that are loaded with reviews but when I read them they are riddled with cliches and the writing is sub par. But when I first started my FFnet navigations, I came across many more that had few reviews that were that way for good reason and I would get so frustrated. xD However I feel like I now can identify those kinds easier. I have some ideas, but do you mind telling me how you identify those types of bad fics? I have a feeling that this will be amusing. emotion_dowant A good start is when they say, "Sorry I suk at summerys" Oh my gosh... No... I don't even know what to say to that, Kunoichi. Haha I shocked you did I? xD Or how about when they end the summary with the cliche and overly used question "Will love blossom?"
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Posted: Sun May 18, 2014 12:09 am
Night Kunoichi Haha I shocked you did I? xD Or how about when they end the summary with the cliche and overly used question "Will love blossom?" No! Stop! Forget I asked! burning_eyes
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Posted: Sun May 18, 2014 12:17 am
Violent Crow Night Kunoichi Haha I shocked you did I? xD Or how about when they end the summary with the cliche and overly used question "Will love blossom?" No! Stop! Forget I asked! burning_eyes Be happy. I am too tired to think of more right now! razz
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Posted: Sun May 18, 2014 9:48 am
Night Kunoichi Violent Crow Night Kunoichi Haha I shocked you did I? xD Or how about when they end the summary with the cliche and overly used question "Will love blossom?" No! Stop! Forget I asked! burning_eyes Be happy. I am too tired to think of more right now! razz I am happy! But you really have never experienced what the topic of this thread is all about? Wow, you're really lucky. xp I mean, it's not as though it's the end of the world when it happens to you, but it is rather odd and flustering. Then again, it happened when I was younger so I didn't know how to deal with it. I wanted to post a review questioning the author's unrealistic choice of bloodlines and strange option of having rape start a "meaningful" relationship with another canon character, but instead I just un-followed and completely dropped the story.
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Posted: Wed May 21, 2014 3:01 pm
Hmmm, I've run into a few of those. Especially in the really popular, constant-updating fandoms *cough*Naruto*cough*. I was never a big "supporter" type (the kind that encouraged the author a lot) unless the story was good. There were times (when I was green behind the ears and new to fanfiction.net (quizilla was like...training wheels)) when I would click on a story and it enraptured me, and then the author just throws in a random lime or lemon and the plot got cliche real fast. There was this one KHR fic where fem!Tsuna was awesome. Then the author had all of the characters unrealistically try to kill and betray Tsuna, and as they're beating her up they regret their actions and-oh gosh it was a cluster of drama and a horror to read. I just dropped the story flat.
Some tips to avoid the typical cliche stories?
Avoid "I suck at summaries" unless they do an almost decent job (then give them a chance).
Summaries that ask typical questions like "will love blossom" or even "what will happen?" (Oh, I can just go on a rant about how much of a turn-off those summaries are)- beware of middle school writing. If the questions are the characters themselves asking a question, it could actually be interesting.
Be wary of pregnancy and child stories. Some are cute and well written.... others will make you cringe.
I only follow stories and don't really follow authors or fav them until I've read stories from beginning to end and avoid reviewing unless I got something positive or helpful to say.
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Posted: Fri May 23, 2014 9:41 am
Akizora-Namikaze Hmmm, I've run into a few of those. Especially in the really popular, constant-updating fandoms *cough*Naruto*cough*. I was never a big "supporter" type (the kind that encouraged the author a lot) unless the story was good. There were times (when I was green behind the ears and new to fanfiction.net (quizilla was like...training wheels)) when I would click on a story and it enraptured me, and then the author just throws in a random lime or lemon and the plot got cliche real fast. There was this one KHR fic where fem!Tsuna was awesome. Then the author had all of the characters unrealistically try to kill and betray Tsuna, and as they're beating her up they regret their actions and-oh gosh it was a cluster of drama and a horror to read. I just dropped the story flat.
Some tips to avoid the typical cliche stories?
Avoid "I suck at summaries" unless they do an almost decent job (then give them a chance).
Summaries that ask typical questions like "will love blossom" or even "what will happen?" (Oh, I can just go on a rant about how much of a turn-off those summaries are)- beware of middle school writing. If the questions are the characters themselves asking a question, it could actually be interesting.
Be wary of pregnancy and child stories. Some are cute and well written.... others will make you cringe.
I only follow stories and don't really follow authors or fav them until I've read stories from beginning to end and avoid reviewing unless I got something positive or helpful to say. Thank you for the advice! Yes, I've noticed a lot of summaries with those cliche questions...
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