Am I a new member of the Cult of Mean?

[author_by_night]

So at a site, I read a fanfic that was... well, to say the least, it needed a lot of work. The chapters ranged from about two paragraphs to one page long, and the author really doesn't have a sense of punctuation.

So I left what I thought was a very constructively critical review.

Here's what I said:

Okay. This is promising, but there are a few problems. I really hope you understand that I am not trying to flame or be offensive - take these as tips.

First, you can't start your first story with "testing." It throws people off, you know? Plus, it's a little annoying when you expect to see a story and see "testing."

Second, you really need to write longer chapters. Some of them are a little too short, and could easily be merged. In fairness, a lot of people on this site post short chapters - even I used to - but it is easier to be drawn into a story with longer ones. Here's an idea - write your fic in Notepad, Word or another Word Processor, then post. That way, you won't run out of time.

Finally, and I hope you don't take this the wrong way, you need to work on your punctuation a bit. All sentences end with a period, and there should be a comma before the last quotation. For instance:

"Yes," said Mark, laughing. "I agree."

I hope that helped. If you have any more questions, drop me a PM.

Well, apparently, I very much offended the person, as they replied:

Ok Ok I see what you mean OK BUT I AM DOING IT IN WORD BUT RATHER FEEL THAT I CANT TYPE SO MUCH SO SORTLY SO GO #%^#$^#@ $^&@^$ %&*&#$$#% [INFINITE]

And, naturally, their next reply was"beter now". (Written like that).

I'm not sure what I said that merited that response.

On one hand, I do see where I could've been a bit harsh. I mean, it was obviously a first fic, and truth be told, the site in question - ecfans.com - really isn't like Sugar Quill or Fiction Alley. The purpose isn't fanfiction - the fanfiction was a site add-on.

On the other hand, it is still public writing, and I feel you are expected to recieve any feedback.

Thoughts?

Comments

[stmargarets.livejournal.com]

I think the reaction of your writer shows more about them than it does about you. When you see a train wreck of fic - and that sounds like one - probably one - maybe two suggestions is about all the writer can handle. I mean, he/she wouldn't put it up unless they thought it was wonderful. So starting with punctuation would be a first step in criticsm - or perhaps backing slowly away . . . LOL. You did your good deed - who knows? Maybe when his/her ego is soothed by time, he/she will grow up and remember a few of your suggestions.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

Yeah... perhaps, hehe.