On Tue, Dec 15, 1998 at 05:18:26PM +0000, LilTigre wrote:
I thought I'd be done with that freakin' soapbox, but I guess not.
Y'see, there's another important faction I forgot to address: the
people who *do* take the time for C&C.
C&C is becoming a lost art here on the FFML. After all, who wants to
give someone C&C if they're just going to get flamed for it? Sadly,
this is much more common than it should be. Dammit, if you've got the
guts to post a fic to the list, you need to have the guts to take any
and all criticism with good grace and not stoop to the childish temper
tantrum of flames.
Waitaminute, waitaminute, hold the phone, hold the phone!
Are you saying that the incident with Petes-kun and Lurker is
commonplace? I really can't say that I've seen too many incidents
like this. In fact, in my experience, destructive C&C is far more
common. (Have we all forgotten about Gubby? :)
Actually, I sense a bit of rationalization here. Authors aren't
getting C&C, so they naturally look for a reason why. Suddenly,
along comes this _isolated_ incident, and all of the sudden, people
aren't getting C&C because the C&Cers aren't posting C&C, because
they're afraid of getting mailbombed by some puerile author.
Well, I suppose it's easier on the author's ego than admitting that
his writing is so uninspired that nobody's interested in it.
Come on. I can say that the reason I haven't posted much C&C
lately is that I have found precious little that I was interested
enough in to do a fair job C&Cing.
[Note: I'm not judging any particular author's work here. I'm
just commenting on the general situation.]
So how many people are out there who would *like* to give C&C, but are
afraid to? More than just a few. And that's just not right. If you
want to tell someone that there work just isn't up to par, or if it
just restored your faith in humanity, TELL THEM. If they can't handle
your response, then just refuse to C&C and/or read their works.
They're only hurting themselves.
Well, now, that's not true. People who respond to C&C in such a
childish manner scare off C&C for EVERYONE, including those who *can*
handle C&C and so desperately want it. And that little fact pisses me
off to no end.
To all those who want to C&C; do it and damn the consequenses. If you
I _want_ to be able to C&C. However, I primarily read Ranma fics, and
of late there have been very few that weren't yet another rehash of the
same old themes and plots that were stale two years ago. I honestly
can't C&C such fics. About all I can do with them is toss them feebly
in the general direction of /dev/null.
I would like _nothing better_ than for there to be an abundance of
fresh, original, creative fics for me to tear into.
Sadly, that seems unlikely to happen.
[Well, notable recent exceptions are the last two parts of Nick's
'Iris' series, but I just couldn't think of anything to say about
them.]
If you really think I'm afraid of posting, perhaps you should read the
rejoinder I sent to WW after he publicly called me 'stupid'.
[snip]
Anyways, a few thoughts:
- C&C should be _constructive_. If it isn't, what's the point? Lurker's
MST did have some constructive criticism, but it also had some destructive
criticism. I therefore have less sympathy for him than I would have if
it had been totally constructive. However, mailbombing isn't an appropriate
response to even the most noxious destructive C&C.
- Harsh criticism != destructive criticism. It is certainly possible to be
harsh while still being 100% constructive. The author should be able to
tell the difference.
- Respect. This is a key element. The C&Cer must respect the author, and
vice versa. Otherwise, nothing will be accomplished. This does not mean
that the C&Cer must agree with everything the author writes (if so, why
bother with a critique?), or that the author must incorporate all the changes
that the C&Cer suggests. Rather, it suggests a synergistic partnership of
sorts.
- Sometimes, and more often than not of late, it seems, there seems to be
nothing that can be done but suggest that the author scrap whatever he's
done so far, and start over. There's really no nice way to do this, but
at least try to have some tact.
(There was a good example of this recently. The fic was entirely
forgettable, so I've forgotten what the name was, but someone did an
excellent job of C&Cing it, pointing out all the flaws, and
suggesting, tactfully, that the author toss it out and start over
again. This is the way it should be done.)
- C&C is meant to improve the story. If you use it to push your own
agenda, you're misusing it. I've seen this cause plenty of acrimony
in the past.
- Last, but not least, if you are a writer yourself, set a good example.
If you criticise something in somebody else's writing, don't turn around
and do the same thing in yours. Some of you will undoubtedly remember
a rather bitter catfight back in August about this very issue. :)