Question

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

This is for anyone who writes fic - how do you feel about constructive criticism?  I mean anything from politely pointing out typos or grammar mistakes to more ambiguous stuff like Brit-picking (you might feel, for example, that a British character could plausibly use an American expression in the context you've used it in).  Or in the case of the particular instance I'm thinking of, where a character uses a French expression which, while perfectly correct, doesn't feel right to you because of your knowledge of the specific instances where French speakers use "tu" and "vous".

The reason I ask is because I really don't want to come across as patronising and I know my language abilities aren't unusual when measured against everyone else here.  So if there's anyone here whose response to this would be: "I don't need a beta, thanks" or "I already have one", it would be helpful to know just so I avoid putting my foot in it. :)

Comments

[lordvalerymimes.livejournal.com]

I am so green to all of this stuff and so woefully out of practice with writing that I would happily accept constructive criticism on any of my works. I'm sure a part of me will be a bit sad and mopey about it (because I've gotten such joy out of all of my writing so far and I'd hate to think that it might suck a bit), but I would consider it for my own good. I read some of the things that everyone else has written and I think, "Geez, I wish I was that good." I just keep hoping I'll get better at it. :D

I had a wonderful Beta reader for my long fic and I found it ridiculously helpful. She's not into the fandom though, so I'm reluctant to bother her for the smaller more smutty fics which I don't agonize over quite so much. Even with having a Beta reader for that fic, I went back to reread it a bit yesterday and I found some of it really... eh... not good, I think I should have spent a bit more time on it. I don't think I'm ever 100% happy with anything that I write though. Is anyone?

So yeah, having mistakes pointed out will probably smart a bit, but I'll sniffle a bit in the corner while I frantically fix the problem and be intensely grateful that someone pointed it out. ;)

I'm new though, so yeah, if I'd been doing this for years and doing it well, I'd probably have a much different attitude about it all. :)

[kronette.livejournal.com]

No, no one is ever 100% happy with what they right. When you get that one story, though, that you've reread and reread and you can't find a single thing that you'd change? Best feeling ever. :) It's rare, so treasure it!

[janamelie.livejournal.com]

I agree that no-one's ever 100% happy with what they write. Sometime when I reread my fics I think "Oh no, I could have phrased that so much better!" or "Why did I use the same word twice so close together?" but I resist the temptation to edit them because if I started I wouldn't know when to stop.

When I'm writing I check over and over for mistakes before I post, but sometimes you're just too close to it and you need a fresh pair of eyes.

I think I'll bookmark this thread and refer to it whenever I'm pondering whether to offer concrit. It's been very interesting.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

You will never truly know if you're happy with something you've written until you're reading it three years later and how you feel then.