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reenkaI have a very strange confession to make. I just need to get it off my chest so I never have to writhe in silent nameless discomfort ever again. Yeah, right.
Squeeing, 100%-positive and yet not really -descriptive- rave recs/reviews of fics make me cringe. No, I lie. I hate them. I REALLY HATE THEM A LOT. RAAAAGE. (Ok, no.)
EDIT - to clarify: by "review" I don't mean feedback, I mean it in the "movie review" sense.
Not only that, they make me violently dislike both the reviewer and the fic, even if I -adore- the fic in question. I have to really bite my lip and repeat to myself "I love this fic, I -love- this fic, remember I -love- this fic!" so that I don't just write an anti-rec right back detailing all the flaws I can possibly think of (there are always some! Jeez!). I realize this is easily seen as hypocritical, considering how excited I get over fics. Still, I could -swear- I've never given what I'd consider pat compliments: Oh, this is great, genius, wonderful, beautiful, amazing. I've never called anyone "extremely talented" or even talented. I've never raved about how worthy someone/something is of their popularity or thought any fic -should- be popular as a sign of its greatness. Of course, I'm sort of elitist and snobbish like that :>
I've never guarranteed anyone would have to like a fic. That just -really- pisses me off. How could anyone assume -any- piece of writing is soooo great, -everyone- has to love it? My god, what arrogance! Not only that, it just feels like advertising to me. I hate advertising, in case that isn't clear. I hate it with all the passion of a thousand burning hells. Nothing rubs me the wrong way like a rave review that could easily apply to -any- fic out of hundreds. Saying only nondescript, gushy things about a truly good, visceral piece of writing just... deadens it.
I actually can't stand reading most positive reviews, though I'm almost always highly entertained by negative ones (they're usually funny, at least). The words one uses in response should contain some tiny spark of inspiration, something that is reminiscent of the fic, otherwise the review is pointless because it doesn't actually -say- anything and all I get is "propaganda-propaganda-propaganda-propaganda". And as should be painfully obvious, I reallyreallyreallyreallyreally despise propaganda quite, quite a lot.
So I'm in this weird place where I'm semi-known for recs and reviews and yet I have very little respect for the practice of reccing & reviewing itself as is commonly practiced. In fact, 98% of all blurbs & mini-reviews and such annoy the living daylights out of me, especially if they're of fics I adore. First of all, if you act as if a fic is -perfect-, it takes away from its actual humanity, from its real worth. It's like, you're not using your brain, so why should I believe a word you say in response, and does that mean -I'm- not using my brain in loving it, too?
If I had time, I'd post a mini-list of all my favorite fics and say only critical things of them to show how much I love them. If one doesn't -think- or express one's feelings in any sort of creative manner, one is just a parrot, someone who likes the shiny thing without really being capable of seeing its true beauty. I think to an extent, the readers help define the fic-- that is to say, if brainless zombies like a fic, you wonder how good can it possibly be. On the other hand, if eloquent, thoughtful people like the fic, one feels the worth of the fic itself is thus elevated.
Because of this, I realized I have a creed-- a set of ethics as a reviewer:
- Never use hyperbole-- say how it affects you in the most direct yet descriptive way possible; pretend you're talking to a skeptic if it helps. Said skeptic will laugh every time you use more than one adjective per sentence.
- Never project your own response onto others-- confine yourself to detailing your own thoughts, leave others to form their own opinions; separate your kinks from those of others and keep it in mind when describing the merits of a fic.
- Never push a fic onto others as if it's a drug-- separate your own excitement and your actual full response to the work.
- Objectivity isn't just for dinner anymore: try it, it works! Don't do the writer or the work the disservice of pretending they've attained perfection: there is no need to be negative, but please refrain from overindulging in the "bestseller syndrome", where mass hysteria passes for literary worth. Treat the writer as "a writer", and the work as "a work", as best you can.
*wankwankwankwank*
Squeeing, 100%-positive and yet not really -descriptive- rave recs/reviews of fics make me cringe. No, I lie. I hate them. I REALLY HATE THEM A LOT. RAAAAGE. (Ok, no.)
EDIT - to clarify: by "review" I don't mean feedback, I mean it in the "movie review" sense.
Not only that, they make me violently dislike both the reviewer and the fic, even if I -adore- the fic in question. I have to really bite my lip and repeat to myself "I love this fic, I -love- this fic, remember I -love- this fic!" so that I don't just write an anti-rec right back detailing all the flaws I can possibly think of (there are always some! Jeez!). I realize this is easily seen as hypocritical, considering how excited I get over fics. Still, I could -swear- I've never given what I'd consider pat compliments: Oh, this is great, genius, wonderful, beautiful, amazing. I've never called anyone "extremely talented" or even talented. I've never raved about how worthy someone/something is of their popularity or thought any fic -should- be popular as a sign of its greatness. Of course, I'm sort of elitist and snobbish like that :>
I've never guarranteed anyone would have to like a fic. That just -really- pisses me off. How could anyone assume -any- piece of writing is soooo great, -everyone- has to love it? My god, what arrogance! Not only that, it just feels like advertising to me. I hate advertising, in case that isn't clear. I hate it with all the passion of a thousand burning hells. Nothing rubs me the wrong way like a rave review that could easily apply to -any- fic out of hundreds. Saying only nondescript, gushy things about a truly good, visceral piece of writing just... deadens it.
I actually can't stand reading most positive reviews, though I'm almost always highly entertained by negative ones (they're usually funny, at least). The words one uses in response should contain some tiny spark of inspiration, something that is reminiscent of the fic, otherwise the review is pointless because it doesn't actually -say- anything and all I get is "propaganda-propaganda-propaganda-propaganda". And as should be painfully obvious, I reallyreallyreallyreallyreally despise propaganda quite, quite a lot.
So I'm in this weird place where I'm semi-known for recs and reviews and yet I have very little respect for the practice of reccing & reviewing itself as is commonly practiced. In fact, 98% of all blurbs & mini-reviews and such annoy the living daylights out of me, especially if they're of fics I adore. First of all, if you act as if a fic is -perfect-, it takes away from its actual humanity, from its real worth. It's like, you're not using your brain, so why should I believe a word you say in response, and does that mean -I'm- not using my brain in loving it, too?
If I had time, I'd post a mini-list of all my favorite fics and say only critical things of them to show how much I love them. If one doesn't -think- or express one's feelings in any sort of creative manner, one is just a parrot, someone who likes the shiny thing without really being capable of seeing its true beauty. I think to an extent, the readers help define the fic-- that is to say, if brainless zombies like a fic, you wonder how good can it possibly be. On the other hand, if eloquent, thoughtful people like the fic, one feels the worth of the fic itself is thus elevated.
Because of this, I realized I have a creed-- a set of ethics as a reviewer:
- Never use hyperbole-- say how it affects you in the most direct yet descriptive way possible; pretend you're talking to a skeptic if it helps. Said skeptic will laugh every time you use more than one adjective per sentence.
- Never project your own response onto others-- confine yourself to detailing your own thoughts, leave others to form their own opinions; separate your kinks from those of others and keep it in mind when describing the merits of a fic.
- Never push a fic onto others as if it's a drug-- separate your own excitement and your actual full response to the work.
- Objectivity isn't just for dinner anymore: try it, it works! Don't do the writer or the work the disservice of pretending they've attained perfection: there is no need to be negative, but please refrain from overindulging in the "bestseller syndrome", where mass hysteria passes for literary worth. Treat the writer as "a writer", and the work as "a work", as best you can.
*wankwankwankwank*
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Now i dead from, whatever. :D
Date: 2003-09-30 08:42 pm (UTC)And I'm not talking about elitism, I'm talking about satisfying expectations. The reason I mentioned the Potter Slash Awards was the same reason I mentioned the 'intelligentsia' to begin with--not because I feel excluded, I don't--what I was saying was that the bottom line is that I will never be able to satisfy certain audiences with my writing. I know that and I don't try to. I just write the way I want to, and I write what makes me happy. Why should it be any different with fic reccing?
You talk about aiming for pleasing the people whom I most respect--but many of the writers and reviewers whom I respect very very highly in this fandom barely know me from Adam, and certainly have never read my writing, and aren't liable to pay any attention to my fic recs. At the same time, though I have said I will try to be more categorical with my fic recs in future, I said it primarily out of *affection* for you and Reena, not out of a wish to gratify either of your aesthetic tastes.
Basically, it boils down to this: you would rather I rec things more conscientiously in order to please the people I respect; I would rather I rec things just as spastically as I have always done, in order to please myself.
:)
As for your comments on The Reader, I understand all of them, and am gratified by your feedback. I had specific reasons for using the pacing I chose for the story, and of course the Draco was written specifically with Maya's take on him in mind--he was meant to be noble for her, not anyone else, as you rightly pointed out. I am as always delighted that you would take the time to read anything I wrote, and *please* don't feel bad about saying what you said--I took no offense at all; in fact a part of me is *always* humbled that you don't think my fics are pure trash--let alone that you think I am in any way a decent writer next to yourself and so many others around here whom I admire.
You don't generally have to worry about upsetting me, S. I hold you in deep affection and even deeper respect, as I hope you have figured out by now. :D
Re: Now i dead from, whatever. :D
Date: 2003-10-02 01:18 am (UTC)Okay, so I managed to dig out The Reply That I Spent Half an Hour Trying to Send Yesterday:
...
Well, I don't think we need to run this subject into the ground, but I guess it depends on the point of the rec.
If the point of the rec is to say: I like all these fics, then yes, your strategy works.
If the point of the rec is to link up fics with readers who will approach them with expectations that are appropriate to the author and the fic -- expectations that will allow them to appreciate the fic for what it is and not be frustrated with what it isn't -- then no. I do think it is worth letting the readers know that TTOTSP and All Bets Are Off are entirely different fics within *entirely* different genres of writing. Because right now, your recs don't do that, and that was really all I was asking for.
Because it is a waste of the readers' time and goodwill not to let them know what they are in for. I mean, starting a multi-chaptered fic is a bit of investment, if ultimately the reccer knows it isn't going to pay off for certain kinds of readers.
But I think that may be the reason why we both kind of aren't "getting" the other person's point ... we just see the purpose of recs differently. Does this make sense to you? My own personal stakes are different from yours: I try to represent the fics accurately, and in so doing, I try to straddle the balance between tact and honesty to the best of my ability. But when people say -- as they do, from time to time -- What a crappy fic, you're such an idiot (this is usually my close friends), I just say: Look, I already told you what this fic would be like and you went ahead and read it anyway. So if it doesn't satisfy your crapass artsy ficlet standards, then tough shit. Seriously.
I dunno ... maybe I don't care about appearing intelligent precisely 'cos I have this stupid intellislasher label, which makes NO SENSE given that I write smut and folks like [person who is not on IS archive #1] and [person who is not on IS archive #2] write the most ridiculously pretentious fics that are all section breaks and dictionary definitions and COMPLETELY INCOMPREHENSIBLE and yet everyone applauds them. Whereas they harsh on my sad little Death-Eater orgy fics as eitist, incessantly. Whatever.
So I don't have any investment in appearing "smart" to fandom as either a reccer or a writer. My concerns are just with being fair and honest when I state my opinions of fics, and writing stories that the few folks that I admire will like.
Why the fuck should I care what a bunch of high school students think? My god. And why should you? Anyone who doubts your intellect is a fucktard, Aja. I really mean it. Worry about proving yourself in RL, where it counts.
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