Right, I'm not going to name names because that's not on and it's destructive to what I am about to say:



We have a writers rating system, yet some of the writers are not what one would classically term 'writers' in the sense most people know it. I think we all know and, hopefully, accept that.



So what do we have? We have people who have an idea for a story and they care very much how it's presented and try their damndest to get it right by following the accepted conventions of writing; spelling, layout (within the limits of a text file) and grammar. These writers need the best feedback they can get, or, maybe none at all.



Then there are those writers that get an idea and bang it out to share with others with a total disregard for accuracy, spellling, grammar, layout or conventions in general. These people require a different kind of feedback - simply how well people liked the STORY.



Now, a writer that cares is going to rate the simpler writers story lower unless it has an exceptional theme (Krypton's story springs to mind) because they are rating on structure, accuracy and the use of the language. The simpler writer is probably going to rate the better writers stories lower because it doesn't belt along at breakneck speed with a death every 2.3 sentences and they probably don't particularly care how well a story is written. That's if the reader bothers to rate. 'It's tough being an alien' has been read over 40 times and has been rated 3-4 times on the writer rating and who knows on the member rating.



So what is the fanfic part for? I'm starting to realise, and have been for a while, that we may be treating the stories incorrectly and some kind of balance needs to be achieved. I'm also thinking that SM has a valid point in that a forum could exist for each story. There would probably have to be a link into the forum as they would soon get buried after falling from the 'recently changed' list. What do I mean? I mean that the stories are, for most people, just stories and maybe we should be writing with that in mind. It would be nice if a reader really enjoyed a story to let the author know.



In some respects it comes back to a simpler rating system, too. The 'Rate the story' would help the plot/theme side for the 'bash it out merchant, while the 'Rate the writing' would help the writers who really care about their work.



At the end of the day, the writers that really want truthful appraisal should maybe ask for it.



OK. I've thrown all that into the pot so lets stir it around and see what comes out because there as something amiss here.



Anise.

Quote:

On 2002-05-29 05:50, Anise wrote: Then there are those writers that get an idea and bang it out to share with others with a total disregard for accuracy, spellling, grammar, layout or conventions in general.

But those guys & gals [above] are those for whom I though of the Genre Editors as "guardians of quality"

Well I'm glad to see that Anise isn't going anywhere (I think) but couldn't allow everyone to only vote once perchapter so even if they give it a low rating they can only do it once (this a idea I had).

But then you have the people who's first language is not English and are nowhere near as good as AQ but they want to put their story out in English. AQ has an extraordinary grasp of not only English but of punctuation. When I proof her work there is little for me to do, typos, next to no grammatical errors (most I leave in because it lends a certain air to her work, unless it's obviously out, then I correct it) and almost no punctuation errors. Others aren't so lucky. What happens to them.



Perhaps it's better to ask what you want, after all it's your site. I myself prefer a well written story that draws me in and keeps me hooked. Krypton's story did that even though the structure was way off (bear in mind the writer is Croation and you get an idea of how well he did). But there are other stories I just totally give up on.



I'm trying to be an integrated part of this site but often find I don't express myself clearly enough. Sorry for that. Somewhere between brain and fingers a strong idea loses cohesion.



I don't know.



Anise.



Think I've dropped a cod on this one.

[ This message was edited by: Anise on 2002-05-29 15:00 ]

Quote:

I'm not going to name names

Oh, go on!

I shouldn't worry about it, SM. I completely managed to fail to get across what I was trying to get across



Anise.

Had a discussion with Demi yesterday, and the comments will soon be coded back in. \o/ Let's hope this doesn't get abused this time.



I like getting comments on my stuff, I don't even mind a bad review as long as it put across in an intelligent and constructive way. Just saying 'this is utter shite' doesn't help us writers to improve.

[ This message was edited by: AlienSlof on 2002-05-30 10:13 ]

I also rather prefer getting a mediocre, very detailed, constructive critique over a nice pat on the back and the single line "I like it." How else can I get better?

I have an idea, but I'd like to keep it hushed up a little at the moment... Seeing as most my ideas aren't worth the brainpower I used to think them up

Come on Dag you can tell us there's no such thing as a useless idea. Most of my ideas are mostly half baked but I still tell them my few friends can back me up on that one.

i dont know who "Anise" is but hey lfne isnt fair theres a bunch of BullS**t out in the world so they rate you crapy but hey i bet if he writes something he couldnt even write sometihing half as good... Aint i right.

-Praise The Empress