Shoujo take C&C personally? Yuri foolish if yaoi do.
Wow!
I got mentioned in a rant! ^_*
Now, if I could just figure out if I'm the good
guy or the bad guy. ^_+;;;;
This has inspired me to write a tiny essay I've had in mind for a
while.
As for my 'shoujo' credentials?
Favorite anime/manga:
1)Mama is a 4th grader. (I started learning Japanese just
so I could understand the raw tapes)
2)Nurse Angel Ririka SOS
3)Tiny Snow Fairy Sugar (needs a cuteness warning)
4)Magical Fairy Persia
5)Full Moon
6)Pita Ten
7)Pretear
8)The Glass Mask
9)Fashionable Judo Girl, Yawara.
10) Fruits Basket
11)Hana Yori Dango
12) Figure 17
etc, etc. I'd say that 90% of my collection is Shoujo.
Frankly, I don't really care if it's
Shoujo, or Shounen; Yaoi or Yuri. I'm looking for a good
read.
I read Dorothy L. Sayers, Micky Spilane, H. Beam Piper,
Georgette Heyer, Charles Fort, Arthur O. Friel and B. A.
Botkin. ^_*
I read Harlequin Super Romance, Baen SF, Del Rey Fantasy
and Shambhala Press.
So, I don't automatically reject any particular style of story. I
_try_ to evaluate each story on it's merits _as_ a story,
regardless of the series it's based upon.
Since I C&C'd both authors mentioned (actually, I think I've
done C&C for everyone in this thread) and since I've also
gotten e-mail from other writers that indicates there's still a
little misunderstanding about my C&C, I thought I'd chime
in with some helpful hints how writers can get the most use
OUT of C&C. At least my C&C, though I suspect it's fairly
useful advice generally.
Let's pretend you're a writer, who's posted to
FFML. And, further, let's pretend some hypothetical
reviewer (let's call him AY) writes C&C on your
magnum opus to the effect that, as a writer, you make
a pretty decent brick layer.
NOW, lets say, that Ballantine Books (BB)calls you up, and
offers you $50,000 advance plus royalties for the same story.
Who are you going to believe? AY, or the guy with $50,000?
It's not that BB is smarter or more insightful than AY, it's the
$$$ that gives weight to their opinion.
Now, moving back to 'reality', if you get three people
'hammering' your story does that mean you're an awful
writer? No more than three people singing your praises makes
you the next Pulitzer.
How then do you get some value from C&C ,since we've
demonstrated it's relativistic nature?
Let's look at a few examples.
I've had C&C on my story "Lure the Tiger" to the effect:
1)Ranma is too all-powerful
2)Akane is too all-powerful
3)My characterizations are good, but the plot is weak
4)The plot is great, but characterization need work
5)I need _more_ explicit eroticism
6)errrrrk . . . I've written soft core porn
Now, if I try to satisfy everyone, I'll go mad (or at least get
terribly frustrated). BUT, what I CAN do, is look carefully at
what each person has to say and decide what I agree with, and
what I do not. Even if I don't agree, I need to look carefully at
my story and try to see it from the _readers_ point of view.
For instance, while I _thought_ I was doing a pretty good job
of not writing ANY uber-characters, once I read the C&C I
could look back at the story and see where I _had_ made a
mistake. I was too close to the characters and the story and
completely missed the fact that I had neglected to actually
_write_ some critical scenes. I could _see_ the story so clearly
in my head, I forgot the reader wasn't in my head with me.
So, while I wasn't happy to find out that one of the things I'd
worked hardest on (writing balanced characters) hadn't
worked (even the mildest criticism depresses me. Thick
skinned I'm not) this was EXACTLY the sort of C&C I'm
always looking for. I messed up, but NOW, thanks to people
who took the time to do some hard work, I'll be more alert
next time.
I've been pretty fortunate in that I've never had a story
'hammered' (the nearest I've come is a few people asking why
I do NOT like Akane??? <sob>)
I _have_ been hammered on my C&C. One reason I added a disclaimer. (I told
you I was sensitive)
Let's look at it from the other side, I've gotten _replies_ from
people I've C&C'd "explaining" their story to me. Now, if
you've got to explain something, the explanation should be IN
the story, not in a separate e-mail.
I've had to explain things to readers myself. (Most recently
with "Lure the Tiger"). And, the act of explaining helps clarify
my mistake in my mind. At which point I go back and re-write
the story, putting my 'explanation' into the story itself.
I'm NOT saying that an author need go back and "re-write" a
story if a reader doesn't understand or dislikes something.
There is no realistic way to write a story to satisfy EVERY
reader. HOWEVER, when an author gets C&C s/he should
take the time to calmly evaluate it's merits. ( Once you get past
the initial shock that someone has just told you your 'baby' is
not only ugly, it's illegitimate! ^_*)
IMAGINE . . .
Opening your e-mail, you find C&C to the effect that your
character is _out_ of character. Or perhaps that your 'hero' did
something in chapter twenty-three that was unrealistic, or
didn't make sense to the reader. Maybe 'they' say your narrative is
lacking, your dialogue is stilted or prose is purpling.
Instantly you fire up your keyboard and shoot back 30MB
(with illustrations, .JPEGs and java-script animations) proving
that the reader is not only stupid, but brain dead . . . and if they
only understood - -
a)The original series
b)Magic Realism
c)Sarcasm
d)That they(the reader) had their head so far up their . . . assets
they couldn't _see_ to read the story.
- - then they(the reader) would understand your story.
All of which may be perfectly true. And, as an author, you may
not care if this reader (or any reader) understands or likes your
story. It's perfectly all right to write a story only for your(the
author's) enjoyment.
BUT . . .what if you do care?
This leads me to another little 'trick' for getting the most use
out of C&C. Know what you (the author) want to DO as a
writer.
Are you writing for a limited audience?
Are you writing simply for your own enjoyment?
THEN . . .
If you're only writing for your own enjoyment. Or, if you're
writing stories targeted for left handed, Ukranian expatriates
who survived the battle of Verdun and who have memorized
the Micronesia dub version of Gundum XP (the second editors
cut, not the producers third) . . .that's fine. You can simply
delete it, because it's not coming from your target audience.
(Or maybe it is, and you still don't care. That's okay also)
BUT, don't get bent out of shape if you get C&C
saying that you're characterization is faulty or the narrative
lacks depth. I you don't care . . .then what does it matter? Just hit delete.
If you think the reviewer is ignorant, or crazy . . . just delete.
But . . . if you Do care, then you need to pay attention, even if you don't
agree.
Even if the reviewer is stupid, lazy and ignorant . . . they STILL read
your story. it's a different point of view and you can learn something.
I DO care what my readers think.
I HOPE someone (eventually) will pay cash for my
stories. ^_*
I look at writing as producing a 'product'. I just got a form
rejection from Asimov SF. They are in the business of finding
'product' that they can resell for a profit, and my story didn't
meet their needs. Unfortunately in the Real World, unlike FFML, you almost
never know WHY you're rejected. ) I may not agree with C&C. I may not LIKE
C&C. But at least I'm getting _something_ back from a real live person, and
not simply a computer generated form.
What do I want to do as a writer? I want to improve my
'product' to the point that someone will pay cash for it. ^_*
Therefore I want as much and as detailed C&C as possible. I
may not like it. I may not agree with it. But I appreciate every
single word of it.
Why is this important? Unless an author understands my
outlook, my C&C isn't going to make much sense. When I
C&C, I'm telling the author what I like and what I dislike, and
WHY!
In my C&C I'm telling the author:
Keep this, change that, delete the other . . .then I'll like the
story more. Make alterations and I'd be willing to pay money
for this story. ^_*
This doesn't mean I'm right. C&C is very subjective, as
subjective as the story being criticized. The author has got to
work hard to glean useful information from C&C.
If the person C&Cing your story has posted stories, read them. That, more
than
anything else, will help you(the author) understand the C&C and get the
most out of it.
I've had authors tell me they aren't interested in writing "for
publication". That's fine. But I warn people up front about my
C&C. (again, a reason for my disclaimer) It's easy enough to delete. (the
disclaimer and the C&C)
BUT . . .if you want to 'improve' your writing (whatever that
means to you) then READ all the C&C you get. If you get
'hammered' . . .that's the time to learn. Perhaps the reader is
wrong. BUT they ARE reading. They're 'buying' what you're
'selling'. Or, at least thinking about buying.
As author, you've got to decide . . .is your 'product' the best
it can be? Maybe you're in the wrong market. If the reader
doesn't understand, or doesn't like what you're selling . . .put
the C&C and your story aside for a day, then come back to it
calmly. It may simply be that this 'reader' doesn't like your
style, or didn't like this story at this time. That's common and
nothing to worry about. (I don't like "Harry Potter",but I'm a
minority. And my dislike certainly shouldn't affect the way JK
Rowlings writes books. Or sells them.)
BUT . . .it may be that you(the author) are making a mistake in
your writing. Good editors are a treasure.
Try reading:
Max Perkins: Editor of Genius by A. Scott Berg
and
Editor to Author by Maxwell E. Perkins
Even bad or amateur editors are useful. An outsider can see
things that the author can't. And they ARE the reader after all,
the people you're writing for. If they take the time to C&C,
that usually means they _want_ to like your story.
I don't always agree with criticism. And, I can't or won't
always make suggested changes. (Sometimes I want to, but
can't figure out how to make it work. Sometimes a suggestion
is good, but simply doesn't fit my style or the particular story
as I have it envisioned.) But I almost always learn something
useful from it. You can learn something useful from 'trolls'
who only want to bi*ch for the sake of bi*ch*ng. ^_*
A pat on the back is always better than a rap on the mouth, but
an author can always find use for any comments, even if only
an inspiration for another story.
POST SCRIPT:
My wife tells me that in her English class, she has her students
"peer edit" each other's papers. The difficulty being, that
everyone goes out of their way to be 'nice', resulting in NO
improvement. (Ds and Fs on some of the papers) It's nicer to
get praise, but often you learn more from criticism.
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