Most of the time, reviewing ponyfic is a good deal of fun. I wouldn't have been doing it for seven and a half years if it wasn't. But not everything about it is sunshine and rainbows, and one of the things I don't enjoy is having to give a story a negative review – setting down a one-star rating at the end of the paragraph is always a disappointing experience, and all the more so if I'd gone into the fic with high hopes.
I'm always conscious that there's a real person on the other end of this. The author of the fic may or may not have a realistic idea of their writing level, although in my experience it's really pretty rare for anyone to be that far out. Not all writers care what external reviewers write, and there's no shame in that. But for those who do, seeing that single star can be a harsh experience. How much should I take that into account when writing?
One thing I am not going to do is to write only praise. There's a place for recommendation blogs, certainly, but that's not the same thing. It's imperative that a reviewer is honest, otherwise what's the point in reviewing at all? But I do always try to look for some good in a story, whether it's an interesting choice of character or an imaginative setting. Putting praise first can help to draw some of the sting of the criticism that follows.
The most usual reason for a one-star rating is that a fic simply doesn't hold together well as Pony fic – for example, a story that might work well enough on Earth but completely ignores the presence of flight and magic among ponies. Fics with a lot of technical errors, to the extent that they become actively wearying to read, also tend to get ones. Moral considerations are rare, as if I hate a premise that much I won't read a fic in the first place.
In any case, I don't want to drive anyone away from writing ponyfic. If the author enjoys doing it, that's reason enough in itself. But Fimfiction is a place where, in general, ratings and reviews are considered a part of the game. That isn't always the same in other fandoms and interests (that could one day be a Thoughts entry in itself) but it is here. I'm comfortable that an honest one-star rating is a fair thing to give – just so long as it is given fairly.
Good advice for reviewers. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's absolutely fair, and a good way to approach the problem.
ReplyDeleteI think caring about how authors react to your more negative reviews just means you have a strong sense of empathy -- and it's hard to imagine how one could write (good) reviews without that!
ReplyDeleteThis is a concern that niggled at me throughout my ponyfic reviewing time, even as I handed out my own one-stars with regularity, so it's not just you who worries. For what it's worth, though, the reviews you write are clear and friendly enough that I think an author would almost have to be trying to be offended to feel more than "a bit disappointed" with a one-stars from you.
That's reassuring; thanks!
DeleteThis is one reason I stopped reviewing other fanfickers' works a long time ago (another reason is that I invariably ended up writing an essay every time, and that's taxing). It's hard to tell if the feedback is genuinely helpful or not, whereas it's easy to imagine someone having the fun taken out of it or losing their morale as a result. After a while, I lost my enthusiasm for writing them and just stopped.
ReplyDeleteReviews for official media, on the other hand, is fair game. It's not like it's going to have that big an effect really, is it?
What you say here is something I've often thought about myself. On balance I've always felt that the advantages outweigh the drawbacks (which certainly do exist) for me, but I can quite see why they wouldn't for everyone. Maybe that's for another Thoughts someday, though.
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