On Fri, 23 Aug 1996 Slashtooth@EVnet.com wrote:
There was a letter in my mailbox this day, that stated, bluntly, that
unless everybody knew your works, or you were an excellent author right
from the bat, that your stories would get no C&C.
[...]
I'm trying to comment on people's fics, but realize that for me,
commenting requires work, which means that you must first overcome my
laziness. It's nothing personal--I barely comment on fics I really
feel strongly about, partially because I tend to be rather
perfectionistic about my commentary. However, I'm going to be trying
to comment more on fics.
Realize that I probably read 60% or more of the fics posted, and I'm
probably commenting on about 0.5% of them. I'm trying to improve,
though, since it's (hopefully) valuable for you, and since it's
valuable for me to think about what makes writing work (as well as
helping my writing, too).
I do not want to start another thread of spam based on this, I just
want an answer. Is this ML truly for all authors, or just the few that
are very well known?
I think it's really for everyone. It's just that some people get
commentary more easily than others.
My unstudied opinion is that the following things all improve your
chances of commentary. Realize that not all of these things are under
your control, and that there are no hard and fast rules, and that this
is an UNSTUDIED opinion. It's worth about 5 cents.
1. A big name. This helps because people are more likely to read
your work if they know who you are AND they liked something you wrote
before. Obviously, they won't have liked anything you wrote before
they've never read anything you've written before. Of course, if
they've read something you've written and they really disliked it,
this factor works AGAINST you.
2. Non-lemon fic. Some people don't read lemon, or at least try to
resist the temptation to (e.g. me).
3. Non-"avatar/self-insertion/otaku-wish-fulfillment" fic. Some
people count this genre as one, two, or even three strikes against.
Me, I like it. Some people even consider any character that is not
ABSOLUTELY GERMANE to the story to fit in to this category.
4. Source material people are familiar with. Ranma, Sailor Moon, and
BGC all score better on this list for this reason. Personally, I wish
for more non-"Big 3" fiction on the list, but it's harder to write
fanfic that is accessible to people who've never seen the source
material.
5. Controversy. Take a strong, radical stand in your fan-fiction,
and watch the reactions roll in (imagine a fic pairing Ranma with
Cologne, for example). No one said the reactions would be
positive. :) A real example is Richard Lawson's _Appearances_ -- it
leaves enough of an impression to make commentary easy.
6. Sadfic/Darkfic. This is mostly a corollary to 5, but I think it's
easier for serious material to produce strong reactions in readers.
>From this perspective, let me pontificate on your story:
1. I don't remember reading anything by you except for your latest.
You can't change that except by writing more. :)
2. No lemon so far, fine by me.
3. Your fic seems to be "self-insertion" in nature. I don't mind,
but I've seen a lot of this genre, and this makes it less likely I'll
comment unless there's something that "catches my eye". In Ranma
wish-fulfillment, the only thing that's ever _really_ caught my eye
was Twisted-Path, although some of the more recent ones from the list
(mostly humorous/parody ones) are intriguing, because they're
different. I am fond of different.
4. Ranma--no problem there.
5. I don't remember anything that really struck me about your fic,
and I think that's a negative. I'd encourage you to find a "hook"
that will make you stand out. It's not necessary--in many ways,
Twisted Path is YASIF, but with excellent execution and good humor.
6. Your story doesn't seem to be sadfic/darkfic. No problem, but
less controversy.
This is probably the sharpest commentary I've made, and I hope that I
haven't offended you by what I've said. I'll probably run through
your fics again, more carefully, and try to fire off a short
review--I'm trying to be more reliable about that.
I'm open to any comments you have on this commentary, as well.
--
Slashtooth@evnet.com
Remeber, No matter where you go, there you are. - Buckaroo Banzai
Applicant to the Holy Order of Ukyo
Member, Okonomiyaki's Anonymous.
Maker of Ryogaese maps - Everything's on 'em, somewhere.
bryan k ogawa <bkogawa@primenet.com> http://www.primenet.com/~bkogawa/