#unsolicited criticism

[wackus-bonkus-maximus]

What are your tips for responding to comments on a fic? I feel like I don’t know what to say when someone starts speculating on things that would be spoilers to talk about or when someone leaves comments like “Character X should get over themselves already and do the smart thing” when that can’t happen for plot/character reasons.

ooofff yeah you came to the right place 🤣

i actually did get a lot of comments speculating on spoilers while i was writing odnlb. like, for almost every chapter! most of it was well-intentioned stuff like "ooh if x just happened then that must mean yz!" and whether they were right or wrong, i would just tell those people, "you're paying really good attention! guess you'll find out next chapter!" they don't mean any harm, and i don't think they're trying to get spoilers out of you. so just remarking on their good observation and close reading skills is what i'd do, then thank them for enjoying the fic ❤️

for the “character X should get over themselves already and do the smart thing” people, i kept my comments a bit more distant and formal. they were walking the line of character critique pretty much, which is fine for the most part. however, if they aren't taking into account the nuance of the character's arc, or that characters' motivations, then i'd point that part out.

^ this happened a lot with odnlb felix. he got plenty of criticism for not helping adrien and then being sad he couldn't help adrien/ doing monarque's bidding. lots of readers were kind of indignant that odnlb felix was being portrayed as piteous sympathetic, especially since he was presented as one of the stronger villains. "felix has no reason to feel sorry for himself" was one of the most common threads i saw, which...yeah. valid 😆 obviously i couldn't reveal a lot of what felix was going through/ WOULD go through, so i would just be like, "yes you're right. that's so silly of him. we don't know why he's doing this, we just know _____." and then leave it at that. sometimes people just want to be mad and most of the time i just let them.

i hope that helps you a bit anon! don't take comments like that too personally, or in bad faith. like 99% of the time you get those comments it's because the reader really cares about what's happening to your characters!

but also, if you get someone being too annoying or harsh or critical, just don't answer! or even better, block them ❤️

[currantlee]

A Few Words on Unsolicited Criticism

Came across this and yeah... I wanna talk about it. (I know not reblogging is kinda rude, but I don't want any harrassment directed towards this person, and the best way to contribute to that is by not disclosing their identity. It doesn't matter for the point I'm gonna make anyway)

The mindset I can see in the post screenshotted above is, in my opinion, an extremely damaging one - both for the people receiving unsolicited criticism from people like this, as well as for these self-proclaimed critics themselves. How do I know? Well, because I used to be one of these kinds of people, and I'm so glad I got over that, both for the people I have hurt with this kind of behavior (if any of you are reading this, I'm still sorry) and those I would potentially have hurt if I kept going like this, as well as for my own wellbeing.

You see, this "criticism is always valid"-attitude stems from one mindset in my opinion (and that is if I'm being nice and disregard the entitlement-option): the mentality that everyone is (and should be) always trying to improve - which is not a great mentality to have, both for the people you are criticizing and your own work (if you engage in creative endeavours), as it can lead to perfectionism, which can, in turn, damage your ability to create.

The truth is, whether people are actively trying to improve or not is situational. You do not know what another person is going through or why they are even creating. They could be trying to improve their skills, but they could also be creating to vent. Or, you know, purely to have fun, see their ideas come to life or to distract themselves from the stress that is everyday life - which also constantly pushes us to get better. There are lots of reasons to create, and not everyone is trying to get better at all times - and that is completely valid! It doesn't make one any less of an artist, a writer, a videograph, ... if they're not actively trying to improve!

Also, for all you creatives out there: I don't actually think you should take criticism from anyone. First of all, not everyone is actually qualified to give constructive criticism which is a skillset of its own (though I do want to point out that pretty much everyone can point out things and / or make suggestions regarding your work, which can also be extremely helpful), and secondly, there is no ultimate recipe for helpful criticism. It varies from person to person. Some are better off taking criticism from people they're close with (for example folks with trust issues), while others fare better taking criticism from people they barely know (for example folks who persue a creative career and are working with / for people they barely know). Some are better off with criticism that includes a lot of jokes (for example folks who love to have fun while editing and can laugh about themselves without feeling bad), while others fare better with kindly worded criticism (for example folks who are currently working on self-esteem-issues).

Last but not least, I wanna talk about "don't like (it), don't read (it)" (and its variations such as "don't like, don't watch") a bit.

Fanwork is free entertainment, meaning no one wastes any money on it. Yes, there are some people who are actively trying to improve their skills, but a lot of us are just trying to have fun. Unless a fanwork (usually a fanfic or ongoing AUs) is held up like the second coming of Jesus by (parts of) a fandom (and therefore has a big impact) and / or taken very serious by its creator and / or the criticism is tied into the discussion of a bigger topic, for example pretty much every -ism-issue (including in fandom itself), queerphobia or misogny, meaning that the discussion revolves more around these issues than the actual work itself, unsolicited criticism is not only unwanted, but unnecessary. "Dont like (it), don't read (it)" also ties into audience entitlement, meaning the attitude that everything must be made for everyone (think: Penjamin Shapiebro reacting to the Barbie Movie) which is especially common in people that are privileged and don't acknowledge it, when the reality is that you can never please everyone. Therefore not every creative work can or must be made for everyone. If you don't like a work, more often than not it's not because that work is actually bad, but because it's just not for you. That's what "don't like it, don't read it" means: it's okay to dislike something and move on from it, even if it's for no obvious reason. It's a statement that's both empowering to creators and to audiences if you take like this.

In other words: the only thing in this conversation that's "idiotic" in my opinion is unsolicited criticism because it usually helps absolutely no one.

[the-yearning-astronaut]

how is pointing a typo (correction would improve ur work) considered "giving u bs".

Had I asked for spelling/grammar pointers to "improve my work" in the author's note or had I sent it to someone for a beta read, that is one thing. But I didn't ask, which makes it unsolicited criticism/advice and therefore rude. And it's not just me that thinks this, this is how MANY fic authors feel about these kinds of comments.

Maybe the commenter meant well. They probably did! But here's the thing. I didn't spend all my time and energy working on something for the joy and fun if it and then posting because I wanted to share it.... Only for someone to say "Cool. But you could have done better."

For some authors they can let this kind of comment roll off their back, others are even appreciative. For others - who may have been scared to post but did it anyway, who feel insecure in their writing, who don't take unsolicited criticism well - these sorts of comments can and do kill the joy of writing and sharing over time.

When I first read the comment I rolled my eyes and moved on. But it stuck in my brain like a thorn. And had I been in a different headspace at the time I would have gotten upset. Instead it made me frustrated and angry and annoyed. Hence the comment being "BS." And yeah. Maybe those emotional reactions were overblown. But I was scared to post and I had spent hours editing, and I've had real life shit going on that was already making me feel over sensitive and emotional. I didn't need another fork in the side like that.

And if this response seems overly emotional for a simple ask about a tag I left on a post when already feeling overly emotional....well. I'm still overwhelmed and over emotional ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

[duchesscelestia]

this week’s video (finally) discussing unsolicited critique is up now!

[bamsara]

I think that one thing people fail to understand is that unsolicited literary criticism coming from an online stranger who is reading with no knowledge of what the authors intended goal is, is not going to be received the same as say: the authors beta reader or friends who know what the authors intended goal and has the sufficient knowledge and input to help the author reach that desired outcome.

"But I'm only trying to be helpful" How do I know you have the knowledge and literary skill for you to be able to actaully do that when we don't know each other and you are essentially a stranger to me? Are you applying this criticism based out of personal biased experience and desire to see the story or characterization be driven in another direction or tweaked, or do you know the author's intentions for the character? If the story is incomplete, are you basing your criticism of a character on the incomplete narration with only partial information available of them or are you building up a report until the story's completion? Did the author provide you with the information needed to make a fully informed criticism?

Have you discussed with the author what their plans are or are you assuming them based off the narration, especially if the narration is proven or implied to be unreliable or missing key points of the plot? Are you unbiased enough to help them reach their desired outcome for the characters and story regardless of your personal feelings towards the characters/antagonists and setting? Can you handle being told your specific input isn't wanted because you're a reader and/or have no written anything relating to their genre or topic? Do you understand and respect that the author's personal experiences might influence their writing and make it different than how you would have done it personally? Do you understand if an author only wants input from a specific demographic relating to their story?

If it's for fanfiction or other hobby media, are you holding a free hobby to a professional standard? Are you trying to give criticism because you feel like the author has produced 'subpar job performance' of their fic? Are you viewing their work as a personal intimate outlet or something that must conform with mass media? Are you applying rules and guidelines when the fic is shared for simple sharing sake? Is your criticism worded appropriately and focused on the parts where the author has requested input on rather than a general dismissal and or disapproval?

Have you put yourself in a place where you assumed you have the input needed for the story to evolve better, or have you asked what the author needs and what they're having trouble with? Can you handle having your criticism rejected if the author decides their story doesn't need the change and not take it as a personal offense against your character? Are you crossing that boundary because you think you are doing the author a favor? Are you trying to be helpful, or do you just want to be?

I think sometimes when people hear authors go 'please don't give me unsolicited writing advice or criticism' they automatically chalk it up to 'this author doesn't want ANY constructive feedback on their stuff at all' and not "i already have trusted individuals who will help me with my writing goals and- hey i don't know you like that, please stop acting so overly familiar with me'

[iha-etscho0l]

not wanting 'unsolicited criticism' is one of the msot horrifically toxic mindsets on the internet, and i have no remorse stating this

i get not wanting criticism, it's scary, but once you post something on the internet, it's free to be criticised by anyone, unless you explicitly say no.

i also get doing something as a hobby and not wanting to actually improve, but... well... one would usually want to be proud of their work, even if it IS just a hobby. like they made this really good thing. that's an awesome thing to be proud of, and by saying "no unsolicited criticism", you're kinda robbing yourself off of that feeling.

this is doubly, no, triply true for people who DO want to improve. criticism, whether positive or negative, is one of the most valuable things you can receive, and trying to make the artist's day by lying about what you think of their art, saying it's awesome and cool when you don't think so, is arguably the worst thing you could possibly do to an artist. they will probably feel short-term happiness, only to feel long-term sadness when their art is barely improving. or they see straight through you, and start to believe that everyone who says their art is good is just lying to cheer them up. or, in the best case scenario, they see through it, ask for genuine opinions, and figure shit out from that.

the internet is not all sunshine and rainbows, i'm sure this is obvious to everyone who's been on the internet for longer than twelve days. not everyone will like your work. it's simply a fact of life. there are no unanimous traits in our bodies. everyone has skin? no, maybe someone got particularly unlucky and got all their skin ripped off, bleeding to death. at that point, there's at least one person in the world without skin. everyone has blood? no, maybe someone has all their blood sucked out of them a la 'your turn to die'. at that point, there's at leat one person without blood. everyone has a heart? no, neo-nazis exist. not one trait is shared with everyone. not one thing is objectively, unanimously liked, and that's fine. it's how we get such a varied scene

[theanonfirefly]

Can't stress this enough.

Don't be so critical of your child that they become afraid of showing you their drawings, of making mistakes, of showing you the new attire they bought and of coming to you for solutions to their problems knowing you would criticise them no matter what.

Being a little supportive and graceful is better than being a little critical.

Can you imagine the mental impression it would have on a child growing up?

[the-kipsabian]

saw a take so fucking rancid on twitter i almost deleted the entire app from my phone jesus fucking christ

first of all ao3 is an archive site. this is like going to the library and saying "oh i dont like this" on every piece of media you find that you dislike and thinking they should be stamped with some sort of a marker just cause you didnt like it

you can always click back and leave. fic writers owe you nothing to explain themselves and their creations. if they have mistagged or miscategorized fics, then i understand, however there are report tools for that instead of yelling at the artist tbh

im not saying free works arent necessarily above criticism. but this is just. fucking wild. its common courtesy to just enjoy stuff (or fucking leave if you dont, the back button is free) and if the artist specifically asks for critiques, then give one - constructive that is, shitting all over someones work is not proper criticism, mind you

i just find it fucking wild people are treating art and archive sites as social media these days like this and everything needs to be policed and ~catered to the algorithm~ like. no. ao3 doesnt have an algorithm. you should be able to fucking tell what you like and what you dont like and steer away from that kind of content and let people fucking be with their art. they dont owe you anything (except trigger warnings i'd argue, but i know some people disagree with that as well for some reason), and imagine how much more energy you'd have if you only engaged with things you liked and spent time looking at instead of going to places where you dont enjoy yourself. let alone spending time telling other people you dont enjoy what they enjoy. what a fucking life

[moveslikekeithrichards]

people like Wretched Little Emotion Doodles heres mine

[ID: two simple doodles featuring a generic cartoon person with big wet teary eyes. the first shows them sitting at a table with a drawing of a flower and a crayon before them, miserably giving a thumbs up. the second shows them sitting with a laptop, peering sadly over the edge of the table at it.]

[choccy-milky]

bruh i need to vent about a rude comment i got on my recent chap and also about clora, cuz its something thats been on my mind for a while now. it has spoilers to my most recent chap tho so im putting it below

so in my most recent chap clora gets hit by the killing curse but thanks to seb sacrificing himself for her, it doesn’t work/she survives. and I got a rly rude comment about how that’s super cringe and that clora is a "shoe horning of every possible manifestation of Mary-Sueism I have ever seen." theyre dropping my fic after almost 500k words bc apparently THAT’S where they draw the line and that "just somehow pulling it out the bag and surviving a killing curse from the power of love. In simpler terms, it’s absolutely cringe worthy" and "forgive me if I rolled an eye at the yet again invincible nature of Clora Clemons-the-one-eighth-Veela-extraordinaire"

BUT LIKE LMAO TELL ME U DIDN’T READ/WATCH HARRY POTTER WITHOUT TELLING ME. that’s literally what happens to harry??but its only cringe when it happens to our "mary-sue" clora? like yeah sure love magic might be a bit cringe but IM LITERALLY JUST PULLING FROM THE SOURCE MATERIAL. of all the things to take issue with in my fic and interpretations, theyre taking issue with something that’s canon BAHAHA.

and since im on the topic of clora being mary sue can I just say I hate the misogyny/internalized misogyny that i've seen some people (NOT A LOT, THANKFULLY) treat her with. like i get it, im not pale and blonde and as conventionally pretty as clora is, but even if I was, is that a reason to hate me?? and does being beautiful and well-liked = mary sue? bc as far as I know, mary sue is a chara who is just naturally amazing at everything and doesnt need to try hard and theyre just inexplicably great for no reason (like mc in the base game BAHHAA) if anything the mary sue in MY fic is seb LMAO (but hes a boy so its ok). like clora has worked hard and studied magic all her life due to being a squib and wanting to make up for not being able to DO it. she isnt good at flying, seb is still better at her than duelling, shes really short sighted when it comes to doing/thinking whats best for others and can be a huge idiot.... and like. the only guys that have even shown interest in clora on a real scale have been seb and leander (and then lawley for blackmail purposes, and also bc he hates seb) so its not like literally everyone is falling over themselves for her?? like her interactions with the main cast of boys (ominis, garreth, amit) theyre all indifferent to her LMAO but still, the fact that shes pretty and guys here and there might look at her and go o shes cute! doesnt make her a mary sue SORRy thats just called being attractive idk its just annoying that ppl automatically see a nice kind beautiful female character without any VISIBLE flaws and go SHES TOO PERFECT!! MARY SUE!! WAH IM JEALOUS! and like I get it bc when I was younger I probs would have been annoyed by clora as well due to my own insecurities and internalized misogyny but hey, how about u just realize that’s ur own problem and your own jealousy, and not a real one HAHAH anyway ive since evolved bc I used to be a ‘not like other girls’ type girl back in highschool. trying to be super tomboy-y bc I thought being feminine was cringe and too basic but now ive embraced it and love girly things and dresses and charas like clora who are still strong and showcase their strengths and weaknesses in subtler ways, and I want to smooch her and make out with her. get behind me clora ill protect you🤺🤺🤺

[i-really-like-phrogs]

When someone else’s art is so good you physically can’t look at it because of artistic jealousy

[conkers-thecosy]

Hullo! Just wanted to say a couple of things! First of all, thank you so, so much for all the lovely feedback on BTTW chapter 29! I don't think I ever had such a massive response to a chapter before, and while I expected a Reaction, this is far and away exceeding even my wildest dreams!

It's been so nice reading everyone's thoughts and excitement and various threats towards certain characters for their actions, and more than that, it's been wonderful to see folks talking to one another in the comments, too! That's such a rare thing, at least in my own experience, and honestly I just love feeling like the community of readers for this fic have all come together in such a way, it's just lovely!

I have a few asks here on tumblr regarding the new chapter, and I wanted to just say that I've truly enjoyed receiving those! I plan to sit and answer you guys tomorrow when I finish work for the day, so please bear with me! And thank you so much for all your kind words!

I'm also doing my very best to answer comments on ao3 in a timely manner, and I'm not too far behind right now, I don't think! I have a clear afternoon and I've just finished my writing session for the day, so I'm going to make a cup of tea and try and get most of you responded to! You should all know how very much your kindness and enthusiasm has meant to me - I've been struggling with motivation to write for a few weeks now and it's genuinely thrilled me to see how excited you guys have been!

Just as an aside, and as some general housekeeping, while the response to the new chapter has been largely positive, some folks are less pleased. To those people I would like to ask you to keep your comments respectful, please don't swear at me or call me names, and remember this is fanfiction, something I do for fun. You don't have to like it, and I'm frankly surprised anyone does at all, in fact, but please keep your tone polite.

I will also say that for the above mentioned reasons (I write fanfiction for fun, as a hobby) I will not be accepting criticism at this time. Not on my writing, not on the style, or the tropes, or anything. If you're not enjoying what I write, please do just leave. There's no part of me that wants to know what you don't like about it, honestly. I'm not a professional, and you shouldn't expect me to write or behave like one.

Anyway! That's everything, I think! Sorry for the grouch there, but it was important to say it, really!

Now it's time for tea, maybe a nap, and then answering the lovely, fun comments people have so kindly left! Did you know it's World Ice Cream Day?? Go get yourself some ice cream! Love you! 💛💛

[cfr749]

So I actually thought this was a really good interview, and I’m glad he asked some really specific questions about their journey, but two things I have to rant and rave about (you’ve been warned; these are just my random thoughts and opinions that no one asked for 😂):

First, I could not be more excited for Melissa / Lucy to get some more meaty, emotional storylines and character development. It’s been a long time coming!

I literally live for the moments of genuine, raw emotion and supportiveness between these two, so Melissa’s and Eric’s descriptions of what’s to come sound amazing.

But… and this is complete speculation, I’m actually terrified they are going to do a fertility storyline and I just really don’t want that, because the format and tone of this show (especially recently) is just not conducive to handling topics like this with the care they deserve (ahem, looking at you 4x08).

Motherhood is incredible and such a huge, meaningful part of many women’s lives, and I’m glad they’ve represented that through Nyla and Angela’s journeys. But I just do not need another woman on this show to have a storyline focused on her ability to reproduce.

Second, as much as I love these two, I am never going to not be salty about the fact that we had a slow burn with no feelings realization. Literally no one knows why or when either of these characters fell for each other, and no one can convince me weren’t straight up robbed, because I am genuinely sad they skipped over that part of their story.

[gaycey-sketchit]

There are many Things that can be said on the subject of unsolicited criticism of fanfic, but honestly? I want to talk about the bold assumption that everyone writing fanfic cares about improving, or needs to. Like, maybe I just want to write my silly little stories about my favorite cartoon characters kissing and if my writing improves with time and practice, great, but it doesn't actually matter that much because I'm just doing this for fun. It's a hobby I do because it makes me happy, and share so it can maybe make other people happy. Just because I like jogging doesn't mean I want advice on how to train for a marathon, you know?

[ediyo-15]

i’ve only watched two ttrpg shows - not even to completion - but the venn diagram circle between gorgug and caleb is wild

[jayteacups]

Fanfic readers seem to forget that commenting unsolicited ‘advice’ or ‘con crit’ (which quite often isn’t even constructive it’s usually just a nasty hate comment) or backhanded compliments or ranking fics etc etc is not the same as commenting those things about a published book. And I’m tired of people thinking that it’s the same thing.

Fanfic writers don’t make money off of their fics, so they don’t owe readers anything. It’s purely a passion project, and leaving a hate comment is pointless and wasteful because it cost you nothing to read it in the first place. Fanfiction is free, and it costs you nothing to click the ‘back’ button if you don’t like what you’re reading.

Published authors do make a living off of their writing, so they have to write something that will sell. This is why tradpub has a rigorous editing process, this is why beta and sensitivity readers are absolutely essential. Constructive advice and criticism whilst the book is being worked on is absolutely needed to make the book worth a reader’s time and money. And after the book is published, it will be reviewed. It will get good reviews and it will get bad reviews, because reviews are by readers for readers, to let potential readers figure out whether or not that book is something they’d enjoy, and therefore they can make an informed decision whether it is worth their time and money. Published authors do owe their readers quality work because they’re profiting off of their reader’s interest and enjoyment in their work.

Leaving a hate comment on a fanfic is not the same. People don’t pay to read fics, because it’s not an industry. It costs you nothing to click on an AO3 link, so the writer doesn’t owe you shit. Fics are tagged (or at least they should be), so you should be able to tell whether or not it’s worth giving it a read. And if it’s not, simply click out, and block if you need to. Write your own damn fic if none of the existing ones satisfy you. Leaving a hate comment won’t help you, and unnecessarily hurts the author’s feelings when fanfic is about fun and enjoyment and self indulgence. It costs you nothing to not be a dickhead.