nendil | Ramble, ramble

Okay, so at last, started thinking about the commission again for the first time in months. ^^;;; What I'm here to ask is, can anyone direct me to good pics of Yue from CCS? Full-body would be best. I'd prefer anime pics, but manga will do. Elwen, I'm looking at your sister =P

On a separate topic. I wonder why the best authors on FF.net get the least reviews? I mean, there's the obvious "FF.net is a pile of [insert your creative descriptions here] not worthy of any respecting author/reader's time" sentiment, but the place isn't entirely inept. Yet, unless they write a running serial novel and rack up the chapters (and readers), it's just so lonely. You'd think a well-written story would stand out that much more in that archive of 90% junk, and people would WANT to read and review them, right?

Case in point: I present a couple of my favorite authors in terms of writing skill: Flarn (aside from the long and quite great Slayers fic, her most recent publication = no feedback) and pradaloz (great imagery, but look at those single digits.) And I know it's not like I'm doing my part to contribute, but I not-review everyone equally =P and at least I'm giving them a tiny bit of publicity here. ^^;; But I mean, is it the summary? I don't think that makes a significant difference. Is it the length? I admit I do pre-judge quality by word-count-to-chapter ratio, but there's all kinds of variety in my listed examples. Is it the single-chapters? My single chapter story that's not even finished has gotten more reviews than these prolific authors, and it's certainly nowhere as good...

(Yes, the not-very-secret's out now. I haven't publicized it because I'm still quite a ways from producing the finished work, for what little it's worth. But you won't have trouble finding it.)

Still waiting for mom to go to bed and leave me to draw in peace...

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It is depressing how bad authors get more reviews than good authors, isn't it? Ah well, at least the reviews good authors get tend be spelled well. Better than others, anyway.

And by the way, your single chapter story that's not even finished is quite good. I think I reviewed it, actually, just not with my super-caduper new pen name.

dolphincheddar

Yes, you did review. Thanks muchly. =)

As for the well-written reviews... I got one (wiped out in FF.net's little glitch) that said merely "So far, so good." Well, uh, that's encouraging, I guess... =D

Actually wrote a bunch today. The end of the road looking not quite so distant...

When you say "least reviews", does that mean the bad fics get more? I haven't seen much with a reviews-to-chapter ratio of more than about eight. Although for the most part, it seems like my favorite author Athena (http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=7405) gets quite a few. But I think that might be because she's probably built up a huge readership across not just multiple chapters but multiple stories.

I think there are a lot of factors, though. I usually don't write reviews because I can't think of anything more to say than, "Wow, that was good," and I don't feel like that would help any. But if something's not-quite-perfect, so to speak, I might leave some constructive criticism. So I dunno. In general I don't read one-shot stories anyway unless it's a character I really like in a really interesting situation, like Leon fics.

Oh well, who knows how these things work? I'm always confused about the way my creations are received. So many times people react completely differently from how I expect.

Yeah, okay, enough babbling.

- Elwen

First of all since you're probably wondering "who the hell is this and how did she get here?": I was browsing member sites from the LoZ fanfic mailing list and found myself here.

Second: thanks so much for the kind words about my fic! Gives me a happy.

Third: I took a wild guess at what your FFN penname might be, and I do believe I've found that "single chapter story that's not even finished." If I'm right, then you shouldn't be knocking it! It's a lovely piece of work that hit me right in the (admitedly tiny) romantic part of my soul. It was touching and very well-written, and you've got to share it with the list! (Although she's offline for the summer, I bet

lauraceleste would really love your story; she's a big fan of fics that focus on L/Z romance. I'll have to make sure she finds your story, if she hasn't already.) Wonderful, wonderful job! And, honestly? I can't write romance like that. If I don't fall back on my humor or cynicism crutches, I can't write anything remotely romantic. Touching, sweet romance is utterly beyond me. So color me impressed.

Finally: reviews on FFN. I think there's a combination of reasons why a particular story may or may not have a lot of reviews. The quality of the fic itself is a factor; for the most part, the extremely well-written fics are going to attract notice. The nature of the fandom is another; fics that appeal to the broadest number of fans will attract a lot of rave reviews, too. The two aren't mutually exclusive--I don't want to invoke the lowest common denominator--there are a lot of good quality fics that get a lot of reviews. I think, though, that those fics that appeal to the nature of the fandom will get more notice. (Yeah, I know, I'm stating the obvious.) I know that I'm off in my own little weird universe with my fic, and I tend not to stick to some of the fanon conventions when it comes to characterization (esp. Link characterization). That's not to say that I'm doing anything wrong or that I'm doing something wonderfully inventive and daring (my ego may be huge, but it's not *that* huge). It's simply that most LoZ fans who run across my stuff probably don't like it, and the writing isn't so fantastic that they're forced to like it anyway. ;-) There's also the reviews-for-reviews factor. Reviewing other people's fic is a *great* way to get them to review yours. There are many of us, though, who are too darn lazy to go out looking for and reviewing other peoples fic. I should review more than I do, but...eh. Lazy.

I'll quit with the spamming of your LJ in a sec, but first I gotta say that if I could draw as well as you, I'd probably never get around to writing again. I love your fanart, and I suppose you can guess which piece warms my little smut-happy heart the most. Verrry nice. ;-)

Aw thanks =) I guess I will be making a mention on the list when I finally finish the durn thing. It's just, I didn't know how much of a place this mushiness had on the list, what with everyone's epic storylines and character analyses and clever ideas. ^^;

Good point about the nature of the fandom. I think that explains more about why novel-length Zelda fics get the reviews, too, since the original medium was about adventuring above all. But, I sure don't think reviews have to be only used for complements... if I read your fics and didn't like something about it (and if I were one to review in the first place ^^;) I would be MORE likely to comment on the unusual stuff. Oh well.

As for the drawing-ness, who says I *have* time to write? That's why that one story's taking me six months to finish. ^^;;

(I thought you might like that pic. I actually did it partly with the mood of "Nothing to Give" in mind. Yay inspiration. ;) )

You should definitely wait to post your story to the list until you feel comfortable doing so, but please don't shy away from posting because you think we might not like it! There are quite a few members who have a big soft spot for mushiness (it's a very ill-kept secret that I'm one of them), and even if there weren't, the ML is sorely in need of some genre diversity.

I'm glad to hear "Nothing to Give" was something of an inspiration. It's funny, really, since a lot of my inspiration for fic comes from fanart. I guess artists and writers have something of a inspiration circle going on.

Wow...I didn't really think FF.net is that bad...I mean yes, there are terrible authors who get more reviews then the good ones...but maybe that's because people commonly like to complain more than they like to compliment?? It is lonely though...you're right on that..it seems that the more you write *and the longer you are a member* the more reviews you get...but thats not entirely true. I have written some long ones, yet I continue to lack readers...a few tell me I'm good, but ... oh lets not get into me now. And I'm not sure if I caught that 100% right, but it seems you are not liking fanfics that are short?? (most of mine are *whimper*) That is *no offense* very criticizing...I mean, I have read plenty of great fics that are only a few chapters long. I don't know really, I have a horrible habit to stick to one story *HP* I wont even look at any from another topic. *feels highly stupid* I think I should just shut up now? Yeah, that sounds like a good idea...

Okie...I couldn't do it...quote *by you* I do pre-judge quality by word-count-to-chapter ratio* end of quote. Okie...pre-judge...yes, and I'd say you need to not do that...so here's a deal *Why am I doing this?* I read fics other than HP and you stop "Pre-judging" people's fics as much, okie??

Not that any of this has made sense..but to me it did so..umm..im just going to shut up *My intial plan!!* and buh byez!! (did I not mention I write fics?? yes, sadly they are only HP, but if you like that, read mine!! my pen name = Airegreenleaf) now I believe I need to shut up!!

Oh, dear, I'm not saying that if you don't meet a certain "quota" or something I'll never give your story a chance. And it's not like I don't like concise, clever stories over long rambly ones. But if I see a story with a promising plot but only has, like, 700 words between 3 chapters, then it makes me suspect the author's not putting in as much effort as he/she could have. Again, this is just one of the rough guidelines I use to screen my fics, and I'm hardly strict on it, really.

As for the "deal", I don't think anything of the sort is necessary. I have no desire to make you read non-HP fics against your will. You should read whatever interests you, 'cause otherwise what would be the point?

Well, this entry has gotten more than its share of commenting already. If you want to discuss more about this topic or your fics (I'm taking a look at them), feel free to e-mail me. =)

Ramble, ramble

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I totally agree...

Re: I totally agree...