The Non Reviewer

[Beer-monster]

*raises hand*

Yes my name is Beery and I'm a non-reviewer. And not too ashamed of it.

Why don't I review most of the fics I read. Simple. I have precisely bugger all to say. Like most people I don't like to stoop to "Wow that's great" reviewer, not do I review just to be nice. To be honest I only review fics that have a large effect on me, and being rather picky that's about 10% of what I read.

I only review fics I like, simply because I don't believe in flamnes, and I don't think I'm a good enough writer to be giving tips or suggestions to anyone. Whenever I write anything in BI's first aid forum its usually jst conjecture which is accomapanied by a sudden feeling of "what are you spouting".

When I do review a fic I like I try to write an intelligent review but I do occasionally write a "That's great," review, but only if I'm very desperate to read the next part. Like most of us I wade through a lot of mediocre fics to find the gems (though not on BI of course *hides from Rose*) so when i find one, I want to read the next part now. If a little beery charm can make that happen, then why not (where's the next part of Missiing by a mile my lovely Texan flower ?)

These reviews are designed to stroke the ego. BUT WHATS WRONG WITH THAT! Yes I prefer reviews that go into more depth, but to be honest I have no confidence at all in my writing. I write not for reviews but basically coz I don't think I could stop if I tried, however if I get a good review I usually find my productivity goes up a bit and I can churn out a few more pages. If it works for me, why not for others.

Anyway, besides the point. I'm don't write a review unless I have something definite to say, which I usally don't. Ba dum boom.

Ryan: Speaking of productivity get back to writing OUR fic!

Beer: Bite me Trini boy!

[Wingnut]

I agree that some people are not members and that is why they may not review. Or someone may only have time to read a small portion of a story. Or they could accidently have gone into the wrong story. I know I don't always review a story. Some times it is because it would be pointless to leave something. If I don't like, I don't review. I mean, I know reviews are very nice, but you first have to learn to like your stories and let yourself be your inspiration. As you continue, you may not get all the appreciation you may think you should get, but you have to some times you can't go by views and reviews. I mean some of my stories get a whooping one review. And only a few views, but I started something and I push on to finish it. It will feel better in the long run.

I know it is nice to receive a bazillion reviews. But most reviewers here at BI go by "if you don't have nothing nice to say, don't say nothing at all." So, don't pressure people into reviewing, it will be a worthless review if they do. Wait for the few and priceless reviews. They are the true reward for writing.

I hear ya, if I can't come up with a decient or at least a review in which I can express my genuine intrest in the piece I usually don't say anything at all. Sometimes in those situations what I want to say has already been said and if I posted anything it would be redundant and on more picky boards, spam.

[Egg Drop Soup]

well...its not the comments I quite expected to get, but at least you all replied! Thanks, even though i got some critism, but critics and their opinons are always out there, whether you really wanna hear them speak or not.

And this post was really made because I was feeling down about not getting very many reviews. Well, it was nice to here other's say their thoughts and feelings, which was why I tittled it thus. So thank you all again.

For the time being, I'll go and sit in my lil corner , till i decide to post another story. Please, if you will, do read them.

Love,
Egg Drop Soup

[trekkiexb5]

For the time being, I'll go and sit in my lil corner , till i decide to post another story. Please, if you will, do read them.

DOn't let our opinion stop you fromwriting! Believe me, people are reading!

[silversong]

Yes, I am one of those. Why am I?

Firstly, I don't have a lot of time. To do much of anything besides school, work, and homework. I read a little bit, mostly as a way for me to relax in the evenings after a long day. Secondly, I'm not a person of many words. Which means that if I don't feel that I have something meaningful to say, I won't say anything, regardless of the medium it is said in. "Great job!" feels trite, and I don't do trite. Thirdly, there is an abundance of mediocre writers on the internet, and I'm not a good enough writer myself, I feel, to give advice on how to improve. And I've also had a few of those reviews (from when I had more time) taken as flames, which they were not.

So yes. I don't post reviews much. It doesn't mean that I don't like your story, it just means that life gets in the way of me and fanfiction. And I really must agree with Melodrama that demanding/begging for reviews isn't the way to go about getting more.

~Silver

[blackrose]

where's the next part of Missiing by a mile my lovely Texan flower

I know. I know. I have...4300 words written, and I split about 3000 of them out into chapter 24. Those 3000 need some editing. They will probably be about 3500-3700 by the time I'm done editing. I'm going to come up with a date to post it and then I'm going to post it by that date. I'll think on it and get a date set for when I can post 24 - by Saturday Sept 19th (12m Central Standard time). In the meantime, how are your html skills? I need some rules posted.

As for this thread. I'm sorry, Egg Drop, if there were opinions expressed you didn't agree with and/or took offense at. But I think that was what I was getting at in my post. That in my opinion, we have to be willing to hear what we don't like if we're going to hear anything at all. Otherwise, why would anyone speak at all?

Your post and your demands for reviews, I know annoyed some other visitors and/or authors here. But they chose to keep silent. And when they keep silent, you get upset. If they tell you they get upset when you wrote what you did, you don't want to hear that either. And that's what I mean. If you can't hear what people are telling you, then we can't communicate.

I hear what you're saying. You want acknowledgement. As do we all. It's a basic, fundamental need of all human beings - to be acknowledged and admired. We like to repeat actions that gain us such acknowledgment. We try not to repeat actions that bring criticism. I'm not now nor have I ever meant to convey I think you are wrong for wanting reviews. I don't even think you're wrong for the way you've gone about trying to get them.

What I do think needs to be understood is, acknowledgement isn't a right. We don't deserve it, nor are we undeserving. Acknowledgement is a gift. When it is given, we should treasure it for the gift it is, and not try to force others to give us what we desire.

The overall point I originally was trying to make is - you get acknowledged most often when you are acknowledging others.

Thank you for bringing up a thought-provoking, relevant, and good conversational topic. I've learned alot from yours and several others' responses.

[wicked]

Perhaps I should leave this where Rose left off, but I do want to speak about this myself. I agree with what Melodrama, Silver, and Rose have stated and am in agreement with Beer about not being ashamed for being a non-reviewer.

When I began writing as a little girl I was scared to death of showing my work to anyone and would therefore hide my work from any prying eyes. I didn't want to be made fun of for my ideas or imagination. I didn't like the spotlight on me, even though I desperately wanted it at the same time. Showing my work, thoughts, or ideas to someone, anyone meant the death of that piece. It's my little fear of failure leads to fear of success which ultimately leads to my failure. That proves true even now, but when I receive something positive through a review I'm reinvigorated to work on that piece instead of throwing it to the side. But that didn't happen because I never showcased my supposed talent.

Then I found BI and thought, "Wow! Here's a place I can share what I write if I so choose to! Awesome!" And thus I began writing Gundam Wing fanfiction. Posting for the first time was indeed a scary thing for me because I wasn't sure what the response would be. I had heard horror stories of flames and whatnot and that alone scared me. But I pressed the [Submit] button regardless and was rewarded.

I may not garner as many reviews as some other authors housed within BI, but I do garner enough to make me feel as though my work is appreciated. I know that what I write isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea. I understand that and accept it. I, or what I write isn't going to be liked by every single person. I can deal with that and am happy that just that one person liked what I wrote. My ego is sufficiently stroked.

When I am the reader there are times that I get through a fic and am not impressed so in order to not become a flaming idiot I choose to not say anything. While most people dislike the easy go to, "Great job!" I refuse to use, "Eh I didn't like it." How is that going to help the author? If I just simply don't like the story, nothing I say will be considered constructive criticism. It's a waste of not only my time but the author's as well. 9 times out of 10 I just simply won't like the plot (and that doesn't mean it isn't well fleshed out but rather that I just didn't like the plot itself) and therefore will not continue with the fic if it is more than one part.

Grammar mistakes are another reason why I may not leave a review, because I couldn't finish the story itself. Of course we're all guilty of grammar mistakes (I found one grammar mistake in a fic of Rose's even and that's saying something), but when it's painfully obvious the person needs to take his/her writing more seriously, it's painful to finish the story. I can't help but think throughout the first paragraph, "Doh! They should have used this word. GAH! How can you mistake their for there???"

Sometimes I refuse to review. If I see a "If I don't get more than X amount of reviews I won't post anything more" or "R/R plz!" I read the fic then press the back button regardless if the story deserves a review. I refuse to ask for comments unless it's something I'm not sure about. In my author notes for one of my Hellsing fics I mentioned something about whether or not reviewers would decide if it continued or not because I really had no idea where the fic came from or where it was/is going. My way of thinking for that is a "Choose Your Own Adventure" type of deal. I didn't even know if I wanted to continue it, and have subsequently done a poor job of updating.

Other times I won't leave a review because I'm too in awe of the fic itself anything I would respond with would be, "Whoa! That was awesome" or "Wow. Just...wow!" I'd rather leave something more beneficial than that unless I really can't contain myself. I'd like to receive reviews that, as Melodrama said previously, tell me how the story affected the reader because those are the reviews I like to give and make me ever more confident.

These days I'm not interested in reading fanfiction even though I write it. Why? The aforementioned writers. I am currently sticking to writers I know because I know what to expect from them: quality writing. On occassion I may peruse another author's work but rarely. If in the first paragraph I see something I feel is wonky I hit my trusty back button.

Cruel? Perhaps but I think in that sense I'm being much nicer than if I were to write a snarky remark. I don't believe I've ever written a flame nor have I received one (well there was this one time but it was posted not as a review but a topic and then the next day it was gone so I'm still not sure if it was something I imagined). I'm thankful for that. I've received constructive criticism and words of encouragement and that has egged me on to work more and harder.

But when it comes right down to it, I don't write for anyone else. I mentioned my Hellsing fic and whether or not it would be continued based on reader response. Yeah I wanted to know whether or not it was worthy enough to continue with but if so, if the "masses" wanted it I'd give it to them but my way. I refuse to cater to a specific group. I write what I want to write because I can. It's my imagination. It's my blood, sweat, and tears that go into my story and I'll be damned if I have to change it for someone else. I'm selfish. I do this for me and me alone. If you like what I write that's wonderful. If you don't, that's great too because you're not required to like what I write. Nor are you required to review what I write. So long as I am sufficiently happy with what I've put out there, that's all that matters. Me and my opinion of what I write.

Granted I'd rather have more people respond to my original stuff than fanfiction but such is my way of the ninja...er...life.

[/ self centered post]

~Wicked

[Beer-monster]

Hm...not sure about not writing R/R. Maybe please CC. As several people have said, they don't write reviews because they don't want to upset anyone, the whole If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing or as I and someone else I know calls it (namby pambying) .

Thus a little notes asking for comments about various aspects of the fic is not wrong IMO because it says the author is open to comments and criticism no matter if they are positive or negative. Though if someone writes R/R and then gets in a huff from a flame, that is just plain STUPID.

It goes back to what Rosey said. "If want to hear comments, be prepared to hear bad ones." That does not just go for fics, if you state an opinion or POV be prepared to defend it or accept rebuttal. Its a rule of life.

Hows my html? Progressing but still rather basic. But think Rose, you want ME to write RULES. Are you sure that's wise?

Why not use Dreamweaver? Much easier

[Mellie]

I really enjoy this post. It has offered many great ideas on how to appreciate one's own writing and how to better review a writing. I am quite guilty of the great job. But now I add things I enjoyed, and things that could use improvment.

Thanks guys!

[wicked]

Asking for constructive criticism regarding a certain aspect of a fic is in no way wrong. I agree with that. However, when I mentioned the seemingly innocent "R/R plz" it is usually accompanied by a threat or serious begging. Normally the "R/R plz" won't bug me because, hell, we all want it. I should have clarified that that particular request shouldn't be accompanied by the threats or begging.

With any type of writing, one must be prepared for the worst. Or at least prepared to accept that there is going to be negative aspects (essay's for school for example). Ryan's caught me on some things in my main 1xR fic, and while I was at first stunned that he actually decided to point it out I was grateful because someone told me where or what sounded strange. It made me try to work harder on the next chapter and to not be as rushed. Sometimes the negative comments help more than the postive ones. Although that isn't to say anyone wants only negative comments.

Oh yeah I'm seriously namby pamby Beer. ~_^ I can't live up to my name in hurting other people (unless I know them personally), just fictional characters.

I'm not lazy when it comes to non-reviewing If anything I'm a snob about it. I probably shouldn't admit that but when it comes down to it, that's how it could easily be defined. Although the word selective seems a much nicer word to use. ~_^ Or maybe my attention span has severely decreased.

Oh shiny!

~Wicked