mini-milestone

[auntiemeesh]

So, I'm coming up on fifty reviews of "Courage" on Stories of Arda. (It's certainly more than that if I count all the wonderful comments you folks have left here.) It seems sort of like a six-month anniversary. It's not huge, but it's nice nonetheless.

I've been following the conversation over on Quill and Inklings about reviews and such. It's true that I don't review other people's fics as often as I should. I have a hard time coming up with something intelligent to say, and I feel that a proper review should be intelligent. It's nice to get a comment that says, "hey, great story," but it's better to get a comment that says what the person liked about it or what they'd like to see next. Even the reviews that point out mistakes or question why you wrote something a certain way are good, if they are presented in a constructive fashion.

So I've made a resolution to be really serious about commenting/reviewing the things that I read. Of course, I also have to start reading things again. I've fallen so far behind on so many wonderful stories. I am going to get caught up eventually. Really, I am.

I should also be writing a challenge story but I don't seem able to make much progress this month. marigoldg always manages to find a starter that makes me crazy. Usually I have a handle on things this close to the deadline but I still don't have any idea what to write. Argghhh!

Comments

[ansostuff.livejournal.com]

I had a nice long chat with melilot_hill last night, and we talked about reviewing. You`re not the only one thinking like that. I write because I like to read the kind of stories I write.

Keep writing, we love your stories (at least I do, lol).

((you))

[melilot-hill.livejournal.com]

Like ansothehobbit already said, I too have lots of problems leaving a review. Often I feel like a complete idiot when reading back a review I wrote. But I guess even "I liked it." would probably be appreciated by the authors (I got 5 reviews for stories by the same person, all saying "aww how cute" and it's still a nice review :)). It's just that I want to leave something meaningful and I'm failing at that.

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

It's hard, isn't it? It takes me back to lit classes in college. It wasn't enough to say, I liked (or didn't like) this book. You had to really analyze what the story was saying, how it spoke to you, what you liked or didn't like about it. I think it's the same with reviewing. I want to tell the author how their fic spoke to me, but it's so much easier to say, 'great fic, really liked it' and move on. When I can't find more to say than that, is when I tend to not leave a review at all. I'm working on it though (at least finding different ways of saying great fic, really liked it, lol).

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

((anso))

Thank you! Don't worry, I have the writing bug and I don't see it going away any time soon. 'Courage' seems to be sucking up all my creative output at the moment and it's hard to do anything with all the other bunnies that are bouncing around in my head, but I'm going to finish 'Courage' eventually and then its on to other things! In the meantime, I'd really better get busy with that challenge story, lol

[azur-infinie.livejournal.com]

I feel bad when I don't review as well. When I first started reading fanfic I was too shy, and I still want to review the stories I read then because they had such an impact on me. But sometimes when I really love a story I just don't know what to say, and if I leave a gushing review I regret it afterwards and wish I could have said something more intelligent. But I think authors often appreciate that people take the time to review at all, when so many others don't.

Anyway, congratulations on the mini-milestone, and may you get many more reviews! Good luck on the challenge fic - mine's a mess too at the moment, even though the starting line couldn't be simpler... :-/

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

You know, somehow the starting line for me just isn't taking me anywhere. I'll have to keep working on it, I suppose. I usually manage to come up with something eventually. Not always good, and usually unbetaed because I get it done at the last second, but it's turned in, at least...lol.

[pipspebble.livejournal.com]

For whatever reason, if I read a story at SOA on my home computer clicking the "review" button gets me nowhere. I can see the review screen flash on the monitor but then it disappears and no amount of clicking will make it come up to stay so I can send a review. Now if I click on it from the office computer, no problem. That's the only way I can leave a review on that site. Sadly, reviews I get from readers at ff.net are almost always unanswered because it's so complicated getting the reviewer's address (go to site, log in, find reviewer's email, copy addy, go back to mail program, paste addy, type appropriate thanks.) I feel bad about it, but that's the way it is. If anyone has a suggestion on how to take care of either or both of these problems, I'd love to hear it. All in all, I've found the reviews that make me feel the best are the ones that come from the Challenge LJ. But that may be because I consider everyone here a good pal anyway, and it makes my toes go all curly to write something that pleases them. And, again, I write hobbitfic because it's what I want to read; if I can't find a story like what I want, I'll write it. But in this lovely community, I usually don't have to write it, because I find what I'm looking for here anyway. :-)

Pips

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

Marigold's challenges really are a nice thing. So much positive feedback can only be good :) I was really lucky because I had just started my very first LotR fic, with no idea where to eventually post it, when I randomly came across her challenge. I thought, hmm, that might be the very place to stick this little thing, and the rest, as they say, is history.

As to your problem with Stories of Arda, do you have a pop-up blocker on your home computer? That's what it sounds like. I have more trouble reviewing at ff.net but usually, if I click the button two or three times, it will make it through the blocker.

I've just started posting 'Courage' at ff.net and I didn't know you could respond to reviews there. I've only got a few reviews there but I have felt bad about not being able to respond to them.

[pipspebble.livejournal.com]

Oh, you CAN respond to them? I thought it seemed like it was designed NOT to reply to the reviewer, which is a shame because they were nice enough to read, and comment, and I would like to respond and thank them for that. I will definitely check that pop-up blocker thing when I get home, which is....oh, I'm out the door!

:-)

Pips, flying home on peregrine wings

[auntiemeesh.livejournal.com]

I don't know that you can. I was going by what you said about signing in, copying addresses, etc. I'm far to lazy for all that. I suppose I could do what Shirebound and Llinos do, stick responses to the reviews at the end of the next chapter. I always wondered why they responded in such a public way, but it does seem to be a practical solution to the problem, at least if you have multiple chapters.

[pipspebble.livejournal.com]

Now I'm certain I responded to you earlier. What is happening with LJ comments these days?

To repeat myself, I'm far too lazy as well to go about a lot of work to get to the addy to leave the review. It's much simpler on SOA - when I can get to it, that is. I'm going to check out the blocker first thing and see if that helps. But Shirebound and Llinos have a great idea there. Perhaps I can just borrow from them?