Case (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
case) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomsecrets2014-04-15 06:48 pm
case) wrote in fandomsecrets2014-04-15 06:48 pm
[ SECRET POST #2660 ]
⌈ Secret Post #2660 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
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Notes:
Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 048 secrets from Secret Submission Post #380.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
Re: OP
Reviews for ENTIRE BOOKS are not seven hundred words. Thick books!
Listen, maybe it's because I have to critique students' essays for a paycheck: you learn really quickly that too much feedback is just noise. It overwhelms them and often freaks them out. They aren't going to read that as "this person really cares about my writing." They're going to read that as "that place where I 'completely misfired somewhere?' It was apparently so bad this person wrote a really long review because of it!"
You're not helping, dude. I know you mean to.
Re: OP
(Anonymous) 2014-04-16 05:54 am (UTC)(link)Actually, I tend to find the worse offenders are for shorter reviews that are only a hundred words or so long. Often they are also people who ask for reviews and comments. In my mind if someone asks for something and someone does it then you should say thank you.
There have only been a couple of times when I've written a long review and the author didn't respond. One these times, it appeared that the writer had left the fandom.
The other times, the authors have been very happy to receive long reviews and seem to be thrilled that someone has thought so much about something they have spent so much time and love over. Had lots of great conversations that came from these.
Re: OP
Oh Jesus. So you've actually been counting?
You stick to long fics, which are by definition going to have more invested authors who can sink more time in. Ok. Have you not noticed how many secrets on here are about anxiety about how to act in fandom circles, people worried about offending people, people worried the local BNF is going to turn everyone against them.
Your long reviews create obligations--you clearly think that when you write something, you are owed a response. But it's doubtful anyone is asking for reviews that long. When you write 700 fucking words, people are going to freak out and assume that if they don't respond proportionally, you are going to get huffy and perhaps talk to other people about them. i mean, the times you haven't gotten responses--which to most people is just something to shrug over and move on--are memorable! You clearly care a real damn lot about this! You probably come off as kind of aggressive!
Yes, the times people were afraid not to engage with you must have been very fun for you!
Re: OP
You say there are people you can confirm like these long crits--I was skeptical earlier but let's face it, everyone's different. Maybe it makes sense to limit this effort to people who know you? Otherwise it can come off as a bit aggressive.
Example: I'm a history phD student who is mostly friends offline with other history PhD students. This is a really, really writing heavy field, and most of us (at least in my department) are not only aiming to disseminate research but write well.
If I'm giving a friend crit, I'm going to be incisive and go in depth--I'm going to really pick apart sentences and tell them when they aren't working. This is because we have a relationship, so they know I'm easygoing and like them. I would never, ever be as incisive with a stranger--say, someone at a conference--because they do not know me. I might criticize them for their argument, but I'm not going to go in depth about writing unless specifically invited. That just isn't my place, and it's rather presumptive--not to mention possibly insulting--to presume I am.
I realize online writing communities are a bit different, but one's writing is deeply personal. You'll notice I'm pretty damn snarky and abrasive a lot of the time, but I try not to insult someone's writing--only what they're saying. Setting yourself up as an authority to give long crits--as opposed to shorter crits--to a stranger is deeply presumptive. Please be careful about this!
Re: OP
(Anonymous) 2014-04-17 03:55 pm (UTC)(link)Re: OP
Re: OP
(Anonymous) 2014-04-16 06:22 pm (UTC)(link)Yes they are. You are confused. 700 words is only about three paragraphs. Book reviews tend to be about 3000 words.
Re: OP
I'm thinking about the little ones you see in academic journals--not the essay length ones, the blurbs.