(no subject)
Jun. 18th, 2004 01:09 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elucrehMyf just left me a review for DC that made me squee, and in general (sparked by Kele's entries on this topic) I've been thinking about reviews/reviewers lately. Of course, my thoughts are very different from hers because, duh, Kele=major goddess and Lu=small humble acolyte.
The thing about my fics is, they're not huge anywhere, or especially popular; in fact, people who don't know me personally probably wouldn't recognise my name. And this is good and proper because--I am not that good. I write fluff, which follows rather predictable lines because it follows what comes from the book, and although I try to give it an original spin it isn't really anything special. Even DC, my best piece, which is quite original and unique and not at all fluffy, is not very well known.
I am grateful for every single review, even the stupid ones because they drive my numbers up. And higher numbers of reviews mean that more people might be likely to try my story. And the real reviews, constructive comments from people who really read it and thought it was worth reviewing, I adore. Pauline, my favorite reviewer, gives me meaty reviews that I want to fall upon her neck weeping in gratitude for.
But in particular I wanted to talk about my DC reviews. This is Myf's: Ew, that was nasty. In a very good, but highly disturbing way. I love the utter madness within. And I really like the name Doran.
I have to say the overabundance of ellipses were a bit annoying, especially placed after a question mark. Plus, there\'s some formatting problem too - many of the ellipses were followed by a full stop/period, which they don\'t need.
Thanks for that - it was chilling. I hate his utter casualness, his flippancy about the whole thing. And I particularly didn\'t like the detail about the colour of Remus\' blood.
(er - it\'s so hard to critique a fic I loved but hated - when I say I didn\'t like something, it\'s probably because it was written so well, and consequently freaked me out. )
Leaving out the ellipses were meant to indicate someone else talking, the natural fall and flow of conversation. As for the fourth full stop, I get told to do it one way, then another, and finally stuck with what Zsenya told me despite the fact that it goes against what I was taught because, well, she is the mighty headmistress., which I really do like to hear in case I'm doing it wrong, this review is just right, and very like the other reviews I've recieved for this story. On DC I get almost exclusively quality reviews, because in order to dig up DC you have to be enough of a fanatic to be interested in weird points of view or be obsessed with Lupin, in which case you are probably obsessed enough to really think about what you say in a review.
However--and if this is not so, please do not destroy my precious little vanities and illusions about my baby--I like to pretend that it is also because of the power in it, because of the way it makes you think. It is disturbing, on lots of levels, but it's meant to be. It stirs up strong emotions and considerations. You can't have an uncomplicated reaction to it (unless (I tell myself) you are blindingly stupid).
So this was my blethering for tonight. It is now an obscene hour of the morning--I was out later than usual watching Oscar (which all people with any kind of a sense of humor adore, if you haven't seen it go rent it NOW)--and I have work early tomorrow, but I was in a blethering mood.
Pardon my spam, darling people. Good night.
The thing about my fics is, they're not huge anywhere, or especially popular; in fact, people who don't know me personally probably wouldn't recognise my name. And this is good and proper because--I am not that good. I write fluff, which follows rather predictable lines because it follows what comes from the book, and although I try to give it an original spin it isn't really anything special. Even DC, my best piece, which is quite original and unique and not at all fluffy, is not very well known.
I am grateful for every single review, even the stupid ones because they drive my numbers up. And higher numbers of reviews mean that more people might be likely to try my story. And the real reviews, constructive comments from people who really read it and thought it was worth reviewing, I adore. Pauline, my favorite reviewer, gives me meaty reviews that I want to fall upon her neck weeping in gratitude for.
But in particular I wanted to talk about my DC reviews. This is Myf's: Ew, that was nasty. In a very good, but highly disturbing way. I love the utter madness within. And I really like the name Doran.
I have to say the overabundance of ellipses were a bit annoying, especially placed after a question mark. Plus, there\'s some formatting problem too - many of the ellipses were followed by a full stop/period, which they don\'t need.
Thanks for that - it was chilling. I hate his utter casualness, his flippancy about the whole thing. And I particularly didn\'t like the detail about the colour of Remus\' blood.
(er - it\'s so hard to critique a fic I loved but hated - when I say I didn\'t like something, it\'s probably because it was written so well, and consequently freaked me out. )
Leaving out the ellipses were meant to indicate someone else talking, the natural fall and flow of conversation. As for the fourth full stop, I get told to do it one way, then another, and finally stuck with what Zsenya told me despite the fact that it goes against what I was taught because, well, she is the mighty headmistress., which I really do like to hear in case I'm doing it wrong, this review is just right, and very like the other reviews I've recieved for this story. On DC I get almost exclusively quality reviews, because in order to dig up DC you have to be enough of a fanatic to be interested in weird points of view or be obsessed with Lupin, in which case you are probably obsessed enough to really think about what you say in a review.
However--and if this is not so, please do not destroy my precious little vanities and illusions about my baby--I like to pretend that it is also because of the power in it, because of the way it makes you think. It is disturbing, on lots of levels, but it's meant to be. It stirs up strong emotions and considerations. You can't have an uncomplicated reaction to it (unless (I tell myself) you are blindingly stupid).
So this was my blethering for tonight. It is now an obscene hour of the morning--I was out later than usual watching Oscar (which all people with any kind of a sense of humor adore, if you haven't seen it go rent it NOW)--and I have work early tomorrow, but I was in a blethering mood.
Pardon my spam, darling people. Good night.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2004-06-18 02:00 am (UTC)Hey, I hope you're not too upset at our going to the Wildes' without you. I would have preferred it with really, but it was an utterly random act performed because we realized the chances of filming tonight were nil.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-01 09:36 pm (UTC)Heh, glad you liked the review. I really, really dislike leaving 'OMG i loved it squee!' reviews, and I usually think that if something is worth reviewing, it's worth having a think about it first. So I look at what I loved, what I didn't love, what didn't seem to be working and (especially for this fic) what disturbed me. And I told you about them.
It's not that hard, is it? I wonder why more people don't get it. Reviewing is easy. And it makes people happy. Not exactly rocket science.
But, you see, I've resigned myself to being a fandom parasite, so I had better repay those who entertain me in some form or another.
:) I did like the fic, in case you'd forgotten. And fair enough on the punctuation points, btw. The bit about the ellipses - that was purely subjective. They did what they were meant to do quite effectively (speech cadences etc) but they weren't entirely My Cup Of Tea. Which is entirely my problem, not yours.
:)
(no subject)
Date: 2004-07-01 10:11 pm (UTC)I did love your review, and I do love all the people who really think about it. It makes me wear big cheesy grins. ^_^