Major Trends in FFML Criticism
by
Michael Noakes


Periodically, someone complains to the list that they haven't received 
feedback for a story recently submitted.  They decry the lack of critical 
feedback, the failure of the list as a creative forum, or the attention some 
posts receive while others are seemingly ignored.  There are ways, of 
course, to improve your chance of receiving feedback, and these have been 
frequently mentioned on the list.  Here I address a slightly different 
topic: Why does a member of the FFML provide C&C?  I believe there are five 
major reasons for critiquing a story that appears on the list.  There are 
also several reasons for _not_ providing feedback, and I'll briefly touch on 
those afterwards.

1) Posting to gain list recognition.  A cynical view, perhaps, but a mailing 
list remains a social forum and is therefore prone to the same pitfalls as 
any group: cliques, grandstanding, and popularity games.  A story written by 
a name with some recognition behind it is far more likely to be read than a 
story by a complete unknown.  Any kind of post-and this one is by no means 
exempt-keeps a name active on the list.

2) To receive feedback on their own work.  Also cynical, but nevertheless 
true.  Some of the most sought after feedback is from other authors, but why 
should they stop writing their own stories to comment on yours?  A little 
mutual back rubbing never hurt.

3) Practice.  Criticism-good criticism, anyway, that hopes for more than 
'that's kewl d00d, rite more nOw'-is a skill just like any other, and 
improves with practice.  Criticism and close reading is also an excellent 
way to improve creative writing skills.  True, studying the story of an 
illicit love affair between a young boy and his bisexual magical cat might 
not be as beneficial a target as say, Dostoevski or Alice Munro, or Orson 
Scott Card or Guy Gavriel Kay. . . but fanfiction is also a lot less 
daunting to approach (and often a lot more fun to read).

4) To help.  Hard to believe, but there are actually some bizarrely 
altruistic people out there who provide criticism for no other reason than 
to help others improve their writing.  Watch out for these ones, there's 
something not quite right about them.

5) Love of the original.  Fanfiction is by nature based on the work of 
another, often beloved, author.  Some of the pre-existing fanbase object to 
unusual uses of their favourite characters-for example, Usagi/Serena as 
leather-clad nymphomaniac-as well as simply outrageous and bizarre 
interpretations: Ranma as a redhead, for example.  Crossing certain lines, 
especially in an otherwise well-written story, often generates feedback.

6) Procrastination.  Have assignments you should be correcting?  How about 
an overdue lab report, or a couple thousand lines of code due tomorrow?  
Whatever it is, you don't want to do it, but just _reading_ fanfiction 
leaves you feeling guilty. . . writing feedback is _kind_ of like work, 
right?

It doesn't take long to provide feedback.  Not all responses to a work of 
fanfiction have to be 2500-word treatises or full-length MSTs.  A simple 'I 
like your story, thanks for writing it, I hope you continue' takes less than 
a minute to fire off (and can have a disproportionate effect on an author's 
ego).  Yet only a small percentage of readers provide any kind of feedback, 
leaving some authors with the impression that their story is going unread, 
or has a total readership of two or three.  It is, of course, possible that 
no one really _is_ reading a story, but that seems unlikely.  Short pieces 
of drivel often receive more feedback than their total word count, so the 
readership is out there.  Therefore, why the lack of response to serious 
efforts?  There is unsurprisingly more reasons to _not_ provide feedback 
than there are reasons for doing so.  The most likely and understandable of 
these is without a doubt:

1) Laziness.  Don't think I can be bothered to say more 'bout this one.

2) Too long.  It's easier to give feedback to a short work, since it takes 
less time to read, the story is easier to hold in your mind, and the idea of 
doing a full critique is less daunting.

3) Too bad.  If a story is ridled with easily-avoided error and innecesary 
grammar mistokes, or the formatting is simple too difficult to read, why 
bother to make the effort?  Sure, shooting fish in a barrel might be easy, 
but it rapidly becomes boring (or so I assume).  Or maybe the story just 
sucks.

4) Shy.  Strangely, I suspect this is also a very common reason to not 
provide feedback.  A lot of people are content to lurk without commenting on 
the stories they read.  The reasons for _this_ are probably numerous as 
well, but I'll quote from a recent e-mail (Elin's B's permission granted) as 
an example: "Those of us who did not feel up to the task of offering our own 
opinions could hang back and just read the story, content in the knowledge 
that the author was getting the attention he or she deserved."

5) Don't like it.  If Doreamon fanfiction isn't your thing, you not likely 
to read it, let alone critique it.  Sometimes name power alone can overcome 
this-I'm not likely to read Wedding Peach stories, for example, but if 
Vincent Seifert wrote one I'd probably give it a try-but otherwise I suspect 
a lot of Hamtaro stories go straight to the garbage bin.

6) Don't like him/her.  Maybe the author drove over your cat.  Maybe he or 
she only writes nasty stories, or firmly believes in truly strange 
interpretations, like Kunou and Nabiki actually liking each other.  
Sometimes fame slips into infamy, or an author indulges in an on-list hissy 
fit.  Either way, a reader who detests the writer isn't very likely to 
provide constructive criticism ('go chew your arm off so I can beat you over 
the head with it' falling under the banner of non-constructive criticism').

7) Nothing to say.  "It's hard for me to offer truly helpful comments, 
though," Elin B., also wrote, though the feedback that followed was quite 
helpful indeed.  Feedback doesn't have to be a full deconstruction to be 
worthwhile, though of course it's not unusual to feel that a simple 
single-sentence praise (or insult) is probably of little value to the author 
(though it is, it is).

8) No answer.  An author who doesn't reply to feedback can cause their 
wellspring of commentary to run dry.

9) Too good.  Maybe a story is simply too good, a masterpiece of 
original-flavour characterization perfectly blended with perfect grammar, an 
intriguing plot, and all the other subtleties that make for an excellent 
story.  It can seem daunting, leading back to #7 above.

10) No change.  After repeatedly pointing to an author an obvious mistake 
that doesn't get corrected in subsequent drafts, it might seem pointless to 
continue sending feedback.  Of course, what constitutes an 'obvious mistake' 
is open to interpretation.

11) Busy.  Full-time student?  Full-time job?  Kids or partner?  Or some 
combination thereof?  Or maybe you've just got a social life.  Either way, 
real life often (though not always!) comes before fanfiction.

I'm sure there are others, but that's certainly enough.  Obviously, my 
reasons aren't entirely altruistic in writing this; rather, they fall more 
under numbers 1, 2, and 6 of the 'reasons to write' list.  My last post, 
other than two replies (one of which I quoted from), pretty much came and 
went without notice, which, having normally done fairly well in terms of 
receiving feedback, took me somewhat by surprise.  Not entirely, though.  I 
suspect the last chapter of Choices didn't receive C&C for several reasons: 
#2, for being bloody long; #5, as Ranma fanfiction slowly slips out of the 
number one spot it's enjoyed for several years; the fact that I've been a 
virtual non-presence on the FFML for nearly two years now; or maybe because 
the series itself has dragged on for far too long and people have lost 
interest.  Maybe it just sucked.
	My largest concern, though, is that like Elin B. in #7 above, many lurkers 
don't feel _qualified_ to provide feedback, which is simply absurd.  People 
are on the FFML because they like some anime series or another, and want to 
experience more adventures within that world... if you like something, 
you've got an opinion; and that's all you really need to give some feedback. 
  If you liked a story but thought that the way the author had Vegita lose a 
fight to a wet noodle was unfair, then write back about it!
	This is important, because it genuinely seems that on-list discussion of 
fics seems to be dwindling, and that's an unfortunate thing.  I'm sure a lot 
of C&C is floating around off-list, but on-list feedback has always seemed 
far more dynamic to me.  Through open discussion unexpected possibilities 
for a story can arise, and both veteran authors and newbies hesitantly 
posting their first try, can profit from that.
	The FFML has often provided insightful and interesting feedback, but as 
this decreases the temptation to simple move to another forum-such as 
fanfiction.net-will increase.  The average quality of commentary is 
certainly lower, but at least a reader isn't afraid to tell authors just how 
kewl of a D00d they are.

-Mike 'with appologies to Gershom Scholem' Noakes

e-mail: noakes_m@hotmail.com
homepage: http://www.geocities.com/noakes_m
blog!: http://noakes.blogspot.com

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