RPM - acct 3/5 wrote:
 

1) 'Just wanted to say I liked your story, man.'

One can make this sort of comment more meaningful by offering to preread
the author's next. I do that most of the time when I think of it. I
agree with RPM that it's best to say something extra in addition to
this; as a writer, I enjoy specific praise, as we all do. If you really
have nothing specific to say about the story, you can suggest another
story idea, diverging from the one you just read, that the author might
do well.
 

2) 'You made the following typos:...'

It's tedious to mark 'em all. My suggestion:  just say they're there,
unless you know the author wants 'em marked. If you're a real stickler
for typos, offer to mark them for the author upon request.

3) 'Your fic was good, but there were a few problems here and there...'

RPM refers to a policy that in the writing-workshop community is called
"damning with faint praise." If you don't really like something much, or
don't know what to say about it, you can always manage to say "It was
good, but..."  Nevertheless, I think "it's good, but" is the most
reasonable, balanced response to give, except that I would change the
phrasing slightly, and instead of saying there are problems, I would say
"Here are ways the story could work better. You could try this, or this,
or this." I got this idea from a former mentor, Prof. Sheila Taylor of
Florida State, who would say "If it were my story--which it isn't--I
would do the following." Of course, a problem is a problem, and
sometimes they have to be identifed as such; but not always.

And most importantly, people, support your favorite fanfic writers.    Some
quit just because of the silence, and that's a shame.

RPM is quite right here. And so is Gary Kleppe when he says, first-time
writers need support too. You can't just rely on familiar names to
decide your reading choices. Two reasons for that:  first of all, a
beginning writer may not be doing the most excellent work now, but might
come to do so with assistance. Second, there may be people writing work
you'd like who just haven't been on FFML long enough for you to
recognize their names. Sure, I read every story Richard Lawson posts;
but I also (for example) read everything by Claire Francisco (CBear),
who isn't so well known as Lawson but also writes well. If I hadn't
taken a chance with an unknown name, I wouldn't have discovered her
work.
Actually, there's a third reason, which is quid pro quo. If you want to
be read, you should make it a habit to read also, not only because you
can make friends that way, but because if everyone adopts that policy,
it increases the odds of any individual piece being read by at least a
few people.

Best wishes,

DRM
"Great Chefs" will be posted by Monday! 

-- 
My signature file, attending all mails:

Neither titles nor eloquence do we require, he said, nor an insidious
tongue
nor familiarity with saffron myths on painted scrolls, but patience to
disengage difficulties until matters disclose their essence without
opposition, because the most subtle understanding outweighs mountains.
          -- from Evan S. Connell, _The Alchymist's Journal_