Fimfiction, are people too focused on perfection?

[BlinkZ 1,151]

I know i'm not the best writer in the world, well i'm okay...I find something annoying.  Seeing comments in stories that just focus more on the bloodly grammar errors then the story itself.  Do people really spot  miss comma's and there brains just shut off I mean ugh!  I can understand miss spelled words but grammar?

I'm refering to those specifc comment that are NOTHING but pointing out mistakes, god just pm the author if is bloody important to show how stuck up you are.  Critism is better then just pointing out miss comma here and there and that's what i mean.

Edited May 8, 2015 by BlinkZ

[BastementSparkle 20,326]

People won't be able to improve if they aren't criticized. Pointing out grammar mistakes can be pretty useful. I don't expect perfection from fics, and I can live with a lot of mistakes, especially since I know some people don't have English as their first language, but I'd still prefer authors do their best.

 

 Criticizing and pointing out flaws isn't a bad thing, and it doesn't necessarily mean that person isn't enjoying the story anyway. Most people can criticize something for it's flaws, but still enjoy it's good parts. Unless of course the person pointing out the problems is being a massive jerk about it and name-calling or something, in which case I can see your point.

Edited May 1, 2015 by BasementPoneh

[RarityFan01 2,444]

They are giving criticism so you can improve your writing. I don't thing most of them do it to brew mean. They're trying to help.

[simba86 1,541]

i always hate to see people nit pick a great story over an extra comma or simple incorrect grammar, i don't even pay attention to it, i am reading for fun not reading to find the misplaced period

[Deae Rising Shine~ 55,248]

I get often those, but english isn't my first language. My first fic still got 15 likes, before I rewrote it(Now better grammar and readable, still not perfect)

 

But I find it harsh, if an awesome story get disliked, because they read 2 chapters and the grammar isn't great. That's just unfair, I read stories foir the stories, not the grammar.

 

okay, if it's like:

 

"Rainbow pone got rekt by apple pone with a 360 HS and screams *I rekt ya m8!*"

Yeah, then I understand dislikes, but usually the storys I read a great. I give likes for the story, not the grammar.

[BlinkZ 1,151]

They are giving criticism so you can improve your writing. I don't thing most of them do it to brew mean. They're trying to help.

Yeah criticsism is nice enve when negative when the comment soily focuses on just qhoting error after error after error and then telling nothing on how they enjoy/disliked about siad fic i jsut erks me so much as if i"m not a good enough writer to even keep thier attention so they have to focus on what i did wrong..ugh just fustrating.

[StableStahl 12]

Saying that people that correct others on their grammar are "stuck up" is a bit of an insult. Now, I'm mainly an editor/proofreader over there and I value grammar highly and whenever a story has too many grammar errors or misspellings, I tend to not read it. Whenever others correct others on their grammar, they're not trying to be a jerk; they're trying to be nice and make that person's story easier to read. Believe me, I've had some horrible things to edit. Now then, whenever I see a grammar error or something of the like, I usually tell that person that they need an editor or proofread, but I never really apply for the position, since I usually have so much on my plate to begin with. However, I will admit that some people do come off as jerks while correcting others' grammar. I believe you may be talking about those lot, but they're not that bad. It's not like they're saying things like, "That should be "their" not "there". Go kill yourself, since you don't know good grammar." Heck, I've never seen anyone say something like that and if someone did, I'd probably go off at that person a bit. Anyway! Grammar is important if you want be accepted as a good writer. Some people on FimFiction are just using fan fiction to hone their writing skills so they can publish a book, so, yes, they'd take grammar seriously. While you may not think grammar is important, it really is. To prove my statement, go watch an episode of Jacksfilms' "Your Grammar Sucks". That is how someone sounds like, and how it'd be read in a reader's head, whenever a story has bad grammar. Do you want that? Does anyone want that? No. No they do not. If literature stoops so low that low quality grammar in actual books are a thing, it will make me cry.

[aoEAF2FBvC0MIo2Q 3,673]

I know i'm not the best writer in the world, but you know what is annoyed.  Seeing comment in stories that focus more on the bloody grammar errors then the story itself.  Do people really spot  miss comma and there brains just shut off I mean ugh!  I can understand miss spelled words but grammar?

 

I'm referring to those specific comment that are NOTHING but pointing out mistakes, god just pm the author if is bloody important to show how stuck up you are.

Try to see comments as nothing more than reactions. Comments sections can seem pretty dumb and that's really because people more often than not post based on their (gut) reactions rather than anything remotely careful and analytical. Hell, people who do put considerable thought into their posts tend to be a rarity.

 

But yeah, I see comments as reactive rather than constructive. That's what they tend to be most of the time.

[Unikitty 1,212]

Now, I'm not trying to be mean, but if your fic writing is anything like your posts in this thread, I can see why they'd point it out. There's more than just the odd typo or misplaced comma, I can spot no less than 10 errors in the OP, some being such a mess that I couldn't clear see where the error starts or ends. I can understand why you'd be getting flak for it.

Again, I'm not pointing these out to be insulting or pretentious. But part of a good story is it's clarity in reading. I had to double check parts of your text to understand what you were saying, and if its like that in your stories, it would be very jarring to attempt to read. It doesn't matter how good the story is if nobody can figure out what you're trying to write.

[yisetab28 89]

I know i'm not the best writer in the world, but you know what is annoyed.  Seeing comments in stories that focus more on the bloodly grammar errors then the story itself.  Do people really spot  miss comma's and there brains just shut off I mean ugh!  I can understand miss spelled words but grammar?

 

I'm refering to those specifc comment that are NOTHING but pointing out mistakes, god just pm the author if is bloody important to show how stuck up you are.

 

Grammar is an essential part in understanding a story. When I point out someone's grammar, it means that his syntax is so f*cked up I can barely understand anything. Pointing out grammar errors is what we are supposed to do.

 

Personally, I would love having people criticize me about my grammar and telling me what's wrong instead of just leaving a downvote and saying nothing on my stories, which is what's happening now.

Edited May 4, 2015 by Blitzkrieg

[VitalSpark 1,830]

@@BlinkZ, if someone spots an error, however minor, in a story of mine, I'd rather they mentioned it so that I could fix it, and not just give the story a downvote and leave without telling me why.

[A Black Circle 1,586]

Why ask for perfection when it has already been recieved?

[Commissar Alexer 763]

Why ask for perfection when it has already been recieved?

 

>Fallout with Horses instead

>Perfection

[A Black Circle 1,586]

>Fallout with Horses instead

>Perfection

The most astounding thing about the books is that the quality of it actually increased over time. All of my gripes with it earlier in the series were eliminated later on. Kkat is the L33T35T

[ThatOneComrade 1,091]

Oh gosh I hate those comments with such a passion it'd make the fandom's collective hatred for Blueblood look like mere annoyance. Yes, Fimfiction does tend to care a bit too much about small details and take out the fun of reading/writing from time to time, but overall it's not that into perfection. Even if it was, that's good for a reader like me, because I can find plenty of well-written Raritwi fics to stay up reading.

[Moonlight 7,286]

If the grammar in a story is extremely bad then it takes away the overall quality of it. I've personally scanned over some parts of your stories and have spotted a decent amount of errors such as extremely short sentences, lack of details, and dreadful pacing. A story doesn't have to be perfect but it has to be able to be read in the first place. I was already turned off by the fetishistic aspect of your stories but everything I mentioned before really brings it down. Ask someone to be your editor to approve of and point out your mistakes in a story before you publish it.

[Idris 241]

I'm either way on this. I have an idea, I write it down. Then I fill it out until it gels. For the next stage I go through and butcher the hell out of it to take out the pointless words. Then I check it 'reads' right, with pauses in the right places. Once it has the right 'beat' I pass it to cut-glass for an editing check. By this point it would be ready to be proofed properly, but I ship it. (Cost). My actual 'writing' is the smaller portion of the work. So by the time it is posted I'm pretty grateful for any critique of punctuation, because I want it right!

 

Equally, the pointless comments on stuff in general are annoying. But I've only experienced that outside fimfiction. Mlp has been nice too.

 

I think the game is changing though. I really like to sit here and listen to stories. If I can get my current work of maybe 8000 words read I'm going direct to the tube.

Getting a couple of pony stories on fimfiction was a dream of mine. Call it a Brony write of passage? But now I've ticked that box I'm ready to move on. And it was to be bob on to be recorded.

[TDR 1]

My biggest issue tends to be what tense i use. What i write sounds good in my head and when i go back over it.  Still it seems it's an issue. I don't mind the  corrections in the comments, but i do agree i would rather have more comments about the story than the grammar.

[Ditzy Doo Girl 56]

I can understand how that would be annoying but it would also be helpful... If you have several mistake then the author should pm you and tell you what you did wrong. If there's only like one I think you should just comment...

[Gildarts 54]

If you can't take criticism then don't upload your story online. Grammar is a important part of the story, it can be really hard to understand what the author is trying to tell.

[TopQuark 409]

Sure, people can understand imperfect writing, but writing, just like painting or music, is an art form. A poorly written story that makes no effort to follow grammatical or spelling rules is the equivalent to just scribbling out a drawing of a sheep (for example). People will probably understand what it is supposed to be, but they will instantly recognize it as an inferior piece. Bad grammar makes the reader stop to try and figure out what they just read, and that completely ruins their immersion in the story.

[Batbrony 16,053]

It all depends on a few things: (1) quantity of grammar errors, and (2) I hate to say this, but author notoriety.  Folks are more likely to be more forgiving to better known or more popular writers when it comes to grammar errors, that's just a fact (though not entirely for bad reason; I see grammar errors in plenty of the works by more famous authors that I read, but they're also few and far between).  Point is, if you're not well known, you especially have to watch out for them; folks are cautious when it comes to committing to new authors, and if they see a bunch of grammar errors in the first chapter, they're likely going to stop reading or dislike a fic.  You've got to earn followers, and that means displaying sound grammar from the get go, or at least committing to doing so.

 

Now yes, some people can be jerks about the way they critique, but most people who criticize poor grammar really are just trying to help out, and will do so more specifically most of the time if an author reaches out to them for help.  So yeah, I think some people can be too nitpicky at times about grammar, but one should always strive to display exceptional grammar, and continually improve it, as much as possible always.

[Mouse 302]

Yeah criticsism is nice enve when negative when the comment soily focuses on just qhoting error after error after error and then telling nothing on how they enjoy/disliked about siad fic i jsut erks me so much as if i"m not a good enough writer to even keep thier attention so they have to focus on what i did wrong..ugh just fustrating.

If they're going to take time out of their day to point out the spelling errors in your story, then chances are they're just trying to help you. Just take their corrections as advice and put them in their story, it's not like fimfiction is just out to make you feel like shit for every error you make.

 

Similarly, I'm tired of people writing poorly written stories, and when someone points out everything wrong with the plot, characters, sentence structure, etc. the author just says that they're trying to insult them and that they can write their story "however I damn please". It's advice people, they're trying to help you become a better writer by pointing out where you can improve. It's criticism, not insults.

[Discordian 6,015]

An author's words are his art, the core of his craft. You should learn from people telling you what you've missed rather than dismissing it as an insult. It's hard to break typing and speaking habits but your writing will be all the better for it.

 

Nothing is less professional than a typo that goes unfixed even after attention has been drawn to it. Most people can forgive one or two (depending on the amount of text) even in high quality works because it does happen but if it's a constant problem it becomes noticeable and lowers the quality of your writing by a large margin.

 

If you don't want to proofread your works have someone you trust do it instead.

 

There's a reason that there is such a huge difference between books sold on shelves and the mass of free writings you can find on fanfiction websites. Those good enough to actually write their own stories get published. Don't make a mockery of that by assuming imperfection should go without criticism because it's not professional. That's exactly why the criticism is needed.

[cuteycindyhoney 13,306]

I don't mind grammar or spelling corrections in a comment. What I don't like is when someone tells you how you should have written the ending. I don't mean a critique of my writing. I mean just saying "No, you meant this, not that." I've even had someone post complete details about a surprise plot twist, spoiling the story for other readers. Then they complained bitterly because I deleted their spoiler post.

Edited May 8, 2015 by cuteycindyhoney