even with the risk of sounding elitist, I have to get this off my chest

[pez]

My god. I wonder what's wrong with people these days. It seems like as long as a fic has a high word count it automatically means it's awesome. I just read a long piece of crap that could've been written by five different people and then meshed together into one fic and apparently it's supposed to be amazing. Or so the comments say.

And I do mean it when I say it's crap. You know I don't publically bash fics often, because I think it's usually a matter of taste. But this one, it's got characterisation inconsistencies, more than a handful of typos, skippy passages (which aren't stylish or clever), unexplained character traits that are really important... the whole lot.

But take santa_smex for example. I haven't read a lot of it yet, but almost every fic that's too long for LJ and therefore has to get a webpage? Gets lots of comments. Not saying that long = crap (I love a good, long story), but do people feel obliged to say nice things even when it's crap because it's long and therefore the author must have made huge effort? Or does longness drown minds out and make them not see that something sucks? I can verbal diahoerra, too, you know. Would fandom bow at my feet for it?

The sad thing is, a lot of those who commented positively are people who leave feedback to me, too. Some are even from my own flist. So probably the standards of my own writing are just about the same. Well, shit.

Shit, I'm supposed to be asleep since an hour ago. Maybe that's why I'm bitching. Haven't been having a very good night (thanks, Hana, for talking to me). Now I have 4 hours to sleep before work.

Comments

[eames.livejournal.com]

I do think, because SS isn't publicised a huge amount, that a lot of the quality writers, or at least people who have a half working brain and the ability not to make a story shit, are attracted to it. And therefore, by default, the same people who care enough to look out for quality in what they read, make an effort to produce it, and respond to it when they see it. And because they make an effort to produce it, their fics are usually long and good.

I agree there's a corrolation between length and comments, but I can't help but wonder (at least for 80% of the long fics) if smex isn't the best example to use as a sample of data, because a lot of the long fics genuinely ARE good. I'm not sure that one or two badfics with a high wordcount and lots of comments makes a pattern, but that's just me. You've done the maths, and I can't be bothered to, because I'm a literature geek and not a science one, so I shall leave you to your data. XD

I had a feeling it would be a Rikkai one. You tend not to get up in arms about something else. XD Now I am verrrry curious. I am going to put aside my Rikkai-indifference to go and read some, I think, because I get pissed when people don't read my because they don't like Hyotei (*cough*totalbighint*cough*) and I think I should probably try and extend people the same courtesy, otherwise it makes me more than a bit of a hypocrite.

As for the comments this, hahaha, yes. Someone I respect as a reasonable writer commented on one that actually made me go D: with badness. Possibly, however, people are just being nice, as I believe it's in a lot of people to comment with encouragment if they feel bad someone hasn't got enough comments. I don't do that, but I can understand it.

[yuki-scorpio.livejournal.com]

Will have to wait till I have the time to read all the fics posted. ^^" But hopefully yeah, the other long ones are good.

Would be bad though, when you come across the one I just read and think "this is so crap, and is totally why I don't read Rikkai!" XD

They aren't just being nice. They are leaving long comments saying why they think it's phenomenol! Man, I really want to leave comment to the fic saying how I feel, but it doesn't feel like the right thing to do when it's a gift fic for someone else. I don't go around criticising someone's gift for another person.

[eames.livejournal.com]

I've actually narrowed it down to three fics, based on the specifications you posted, being Rikkai and of website length, and I don't think it's one of them, the other one 'seems' good, so I suspect I know which one it is, but I bet I'm wrong. XD

I don't go around criticising someone's gift for another person.

Except like you're doing now? XD *kidding*

No, I get you. I really wouldn't comment on something I hated, because there's several of the fics I would actually be asking what they were on when they wrote it. I think I'll have an informed, filtered bitch about a few things when the reveals go up. :D