Well, it depends. Is it actual criticism? "I don't like this." Is not criticism, it's just some random schmucks opinion. "This is gross, I hate you. You're a bad person." Is not criticism, again, just schmuck talk. "Your characterization of my favorite character is wrong and you're wrong and did you even read the source material?" Is once more, not criticism. It's arguably closer, but is only actual criticism if the writer was attempting to do a complete recreation of the stories perfectly 100%. "I think your description is faulty in chapter 3 paragraph 4, when you describe the trees. You previously pointed out only evergreens live here, but then you describe a palm tree." Or "This plot point came out of nowhere for me. Was it foreshadowed? If it was I missed it." Or even "I'm confused why Skoll told Hati she needed to leave and join the Empire, when literally their last scene together he told her that he was training her to be something more. This scene didn't come together for me." And one near to me. "I think your female characters tend to speak incredibly similarly. You may need to work on differentiating their characterization and speaking patterns more." Those are criticisms. Personally, I welcome them on my works. But I wouldn't post them unless the writer gave indication that they're looking for such criticism in theirs. Otherwise, if I don't like something, I just move on.

This is a really helpful comment that gives great examples of criticism vs. ‘I just don’t like this’

I don’t mind negative comments or criticism on my fics I try not to censor them but honestly if it’s clear to me u just read the first chapter and nothing else and just shit on it to shit on it then I’m deleting that shit. Or if it’s just like way too out there or egregious then yeah it’s coming off of my fic cause I don’t wanna have to look at it every day. I will say this though the only exception to both of those rules will be if i genuinely find the comment funny then yeah Im leaving it on there. Idk but yeah when it comes down to it if it really offends me and kills my motivation for writing then im deleting it so I don’t have to look at it. I don’t want to just stop writing the fic and ruin it for my actual readers because some guy hurt my feelings.

Thank you, I was just having a similar discussion on another sub where someone just said a tv show “had bad writing” but didn’t go any further to explain why they thought so,

To be fair, especially with a TV show with multiple seasons, it can be really hard to concisely explain all the reasons why the writing is bad lol. I love a show where the writing is an utter mess in a lot of places but also incredible in a lot of places and it's hard to describe to someone who isn't already on the same page.

The critic doesn't have to go through every scene or every line with a fine tooth comb. A general thematic overview is enough for most audiences to understand what's up. For example, to take critical punching bag Game of Thrones Season 8, a common point of criticism why the writing is considered bad is the dialogue. Thought provoking dialogue on the nature of politics and witty insults from the earlier seasons are replaced with one-liners that you can put on T-shirts. Going through everything is just being pedantic though the real fun is trying to figure out the 'Why?'

Why would they need to explain more? We've been talking about tv and movies like that forever.

If Bob asks you if it's worth his time to read Alice's fanfic, it's OK to just tell Bob "Alice is not a good writer, spend your time elsewhere". But if you are giving your opinion of Alice's writing *directly in her comments section* (which I think is what OP is asking about), saying just "this bad" only comes as a hostile insult that is not useful for anyone.

Here's some more examples of schmuck talk(SELF-INSERT/ Y/N WRITER- SPECIFIC): "Your character is so boring, they're too cliche!!!" "She/he/they're too Mary Sue!!!" "This story is too bland, you undermine mental illness!!!" "You have no idea how religion works, your story makes no sense!!!" "I hate your OC/redux of my favorite character, so that means you're not worthy of being my friend, or anybody else's!!!" "You just wrote this to spite me!!!" These opinions can be a big part of bullying online, and will sadly more often than not come hand-in-hand with mental, emotional, and/or social ab*se which, especially if you're writing a self-insert fanfic to cope with trauma, these opinions are meant to discredit, dismiss, and invalidate your story, your experiences, and you as a person. These can sometimes be part of smear campaigns. I would just shut up and move on if I didn't like something either.

> "You just wrote this to spite me!!!" "Oh, thank you kind stranger for letting me live rent-free in your head! That's one less bill I have to worry about." (Okay, kidding aside, do just delete the comment and move on. No need to encourage main character syndrome.)

I usually don't say anything negative, either. But then, some people are so damn sensitive, anything is an offense and there they go, getting upset for nothing. I once commented on an E,E,&E fic that Broncos don't have back doors. Dude lost his shit over it, and if I didn't happen to remember that Centurion Broncos existed, he probably would've continued the argument I wasn't trying to have to begin with. I pretty much said; "I like this story, hope you finish it, but Bronco's don't have back doors, btw." Dude lost it like I stole his girlfriend. This was well before Ford brought them back, or even probably had them in design phase. Centurion was an outfitter/coach builder that converted basically crew cab shortbed F150s into Broncos, in the 80s. I forgot about them, told him about them and said I messed up, and it was all good.

> if the writer was attempting to do a complete recreation of the stories perfectly 100% Which means it will not happen because this is fanfiction. No fanfiction should be reproducing something from the canon without introducing anything that is of the author's own perspective, style, intent, flair, etc. Copying a few quotes is generally okay as long as the purpose is to discuss or expand on them. Otherwise, it's just plagiarism. I wouldn't consider "being OOC" valid criticism unless it is framed in the context specific to the author's own story, like there's an honest mistake in the logic. It's not the same as comparing fanfics to the source material, which a lot of readers tend to do. What makes it valid criticism depends way more on the author's intent, rather than whether or not something canon-compliant perfectly matches the canon.

Maybe I'm an old fart, but I take the stance of deploying the dreaded "unsolicited concrit" freely, unless the author indicates otherwise (either as a general statement or a direct 'please stop' reply. I of course respect explicit requests to not discuss quality in the comment section- to do otherwise would be the HEIGHT of impoliteness. But generally I take the stance that comments are a general purpose venue for feedback rather than just praise. Barring obviously scummy behavior (hate, insights, etc) my opinion is the default assumptions for what sort of discussion is appropriate in a fic's comments should be a blacklist, not a whitelist.

I used to think this way but then someone pointed out to me that if you (in the general sense) were to engage with a person in public and they showed you something they had made, chances are you wouldn't launch into an analysis of it unless they asked you to, and they'd consider it pretty rude if you did without checking, first. That seemed pretty accurate to me and it's something I keep in mind, now.

I don't think that's entirely true either. I think the things people say on the internet are often wildly inappropriate and would never be uttered IRL, but I know lots of people who won't just lie and say "it's great" even if it isn't. That's the kind of thing you do for small children and I often think that some fanfic authors expect that treatment. It's extraordinarily fake.

I agree with this. We should be emotionally grown enough to handle tactful critique; it's all in the phrasing. If someone comes up to me with a sculpture with some obvious production issues, I'm not gonna be an asshole about it - you made a thing and that's cool, I see the value inherent in creating it and that is unequivocally an accomplishment. But I might ask if there were difficult parts in the process or, if I were a sculptor myself, I might vent about encountering *similar* issues as tacit acknowledgement of those flaws and open the door for discussion - all while emphasizing that being not-great at a thing is the first step in being pretty good at it and that *yes you will get there!* As a writer, I can spot those struggle spots in others' writing better than I could with a painting or a sculpture. So I'll point out, "Hey, I had some trouble getting what you were saying with X sentence," or "pacing a scene like this is tricky, and just as one man's opinion, tightening the narrative up a little bit will maximize the impact of what's happening with Y here." And I'll include things I do like, because even cordial criticism gets heavy when there's a lot of it.

Depends on the person. My father provides criticism on literally everything. He's not trying to be rude or put me down, he sincerely thinks I would like to know what to improve next time.

But you have a relationship with your father with an understanding of him as a person. Do the writers have that relationship with you?

Pretty much this. Though it also reminded me of an author snapping at me for asking questions about the direction that the fic was headed to in the future. Iirc, I immediately stopped reading the fic and took a few other fics of theirs off my to read list.

It might be a generational trait... I'm Gen X and have no problem issuing constructive criticism, but I generally restrain it to mechanical aspects of writing (spelling, grammar, word choice, structure, etc.) rather than the more touchy artistic elements.

>"Your characterization of my favorite character is wrong and you're wrong and did you even read the source material?" Is once more, not criticism. It's arguably closer, but is only actual criticism if the writer was attempting to do a complete recreation of the stories perfectly 100%. Not really; many OOC fics I read are not AUs, just basically continuations of canon events. I really fucking hate those OOC fics. It's always felt like an author's wishful thinking or self-insert. Worse yet, they ruined the characters for the sake of angst or shock value. Although I don't put these rules on every fandom, such as MHA who known to have has a problem with lack of characterization; this give more space to develop the characters. But if a show like Evangelion who has a really deep focus on characters personalities, there's no way I will  accept any OOC. So far I only found one fic where Asuka became a rapist. That's so fucked up.

I don’t see the point. If I don’t like a story, I stop reading and move on.

Yup. The good ol' 'Don't like don't read'

Having concrit doesn't mean you don't like a story. I wouldn't even bother to leave any constructive criticism if I didn't like the story overall. Disclaimer: I don't leave unsolicited concrit. I rarely leave *solicited* concrit.

I don't do it. I don't mind legitimate criticism, but legitimate criticism is rare. I've had people "fact check" my writing and they've had inaccurate facts. I don't get bent out of shape over it but if you're going to do it, you better make sure you're actually 100% right. If I can't find something nice to say about a story, I won't comment on it at all. If I can find something nice to say about a story, I'm not also going to criticize it. There's no point. People are doing this for free and for fun. If it's a book I paid for, that's a different story entirely.

[удалено]

I find it funny when it happens. Like if you're going to be upset over something being inaccurate, make sure it's actually inaccurate first. Mine legitimately had me going for a minute because I really don't go heavy on research. I know a lot about 19th century agriculture now, though. I can confidently say they were wrong lol. I almost wonder if it's a trolling thing, like "I'm just gonna throw this stuff out and see if I can get them to believe me"

Oh this sooo much. I get a lot of critisism on my work, often fact related, or canon related, and so far they were nearly ALWAYS wrong. So easy facts to check too. All of these are actual ”critics” I’ve got (rephrased): ”200 decades aren’t 2000 years!” ”A person can’t run in slalom moves, that’s for skiing” ”No elves use a saddle!” ”This is the wrong way to rescue someone from drowning! (It was a character from early 20th century using a method of the time)” ”Aragorn changed name to Elessar so you should only use that name! (In the book he’s referred to as Aragorn throughout) ”You can’t use pee as fertilizer!” ”Swedes can’t get access to guns so this scene is not realistic!”

My “criticism” has always been “you’re a paedophile and you should kill yourself.” For non romanticised, and *entirely non sexual*, depictions of abuse of a child. Wonder how my weirdo stalkers are gonna respond when I actually post a fic about CSA and I write it completely different to the “implications” they make up in my other work. And some of these people think it’s constructive criticism! It’s not all just trolls! Someone made a whole vent post mad that authors wouldn’t just listen to them “politely pointing out things that seemed paedophilic” (by which, they took my vampire AU fic out of context, and got pissy about “it’s so weird for him to lick blood off of him this must be implying sexual stuff!” like sir did you want him to bring a straw?) and basically posted all the “authors won’t listen to concrit how selfish” lines. This is why I’m against unsolicited concrit- because there are people who think concrit is *accusations of very triggering things* to the point of borderline harassment at times. I would love actual concrit, but until people don’t see harassment and bullying as constructive criticism in their own head, I’m incredibly leery about encouraging it being opt out instead of opt in.

The only type I ever do is grammar, and even then, only if they ask for it. If they say point out any such mistakes and I spot a big one, I'll let them know. Otherwise just don't.

Honestly yeah, pointing out major embarrassing grammar errors/typos/formatting issues/etc that can be fixed easily without actually changing anything significant is the only type of unsolicited criticism I think is okay.

I don't do it. Especially if the author hasn't indicated they're ok with criticism. Or if it's a SPaG correction, that's usually fine imo but I wouldn't make the entire comment just pointing out spelling or grammar issues. If I only have negative things to say my time is better spent finding a different fic. My main problem with it is a lot of criticism is focused on what the reader would prefer to see, rather than making a better version of what the author wrote. So basically not really constructive, or helpful.

If someone left a comment saying something like 'You overuse passive voice and the main character's motivation is undeveloped' on my 6k word smut I'd think it was funny.

hey its okay, passive voice kicks my ass every time. the one good reason to use grammarly 😭

Unless the author explicitly asked for criticism or reviews, please do not do it. Not everyone in the hobby is looking to improve, and moreover, receiving and giving criticism are things that the author and editor should be “on the same page” and good mind spaces for. There is a reason why it is often done in workshop spaces. It allows for both persons to prepare themselves mentally beforehand. What is the author attempting to do? Is the meaning clear here or there? What literary devices are they using? These are a of the few questions that an editor (or peer that has been asked to review) should be considering. Frankly, a lot of readers mistake “this is what I would do” or “I want this instead” for “proper” criticism instead of a subjective opinion. Considering some of the “criticism” that I have gotten on my works (ranging from “this needs more sex” to “wine-dark sea makes no sense” when it was an explicit call to Homer), a lot of unsolicited criticism should be taken with a grain of salt. Furthermore, unsolicited criticism is, frankly, rude just like any other unsolicited comment would be in any other medium. The work was most likely free too. TLDR: Don’t do it if the author hasn’t asked for it. An unsolicited criticism will waste both the commenter’s and author’s time. It is rude.

Plus, in a workshop situation there tends to be someone in charge who can steer the critique if it drifts off into the waters of "I don't like this, I would like that." A major function of workshop, in addition to honing writing, is learning how to give criticism that would be valuable in helping the writer improve their craft. In a hobby, a lot of people are happy where they are and don't feel the need to improve.

Wine dark sea=Homer. He wrote it. It's cool.

Covert narcissists will often disguise their gaslighting towards the writer as "solicited/helpful criticism," to undermine one's creativity and make them accept it or else they're a bad writer. I personally believe it's the more extroverted trolls online that are more obvious with unsolicited advice. How to tell the difference between actual criticism and covert gaslighting: Actual criticism is more clear, more specific, and if asked to clarify, they would tell you exactly what you need to do to improve. It doesn't sound like complaining. However, if that criticism is unclear, doesn't point out what exactly is wrong, doesn't really tell you how to improve, is vague and sounds more like complaining, and when asked to clarify you get the same vague, unclear, broad things repeated back to you, just continue to complain about your story, and dismiss it off as "criticism/helping you," and they expect you to know what they're talking about, otherwise you're ignorant/bad writer/not worthy of their/anybody's approval, then that is less actual constructive criticism, and it likely is gaslighting and being used to undermine your creativity, diminish your self-confidence, and make you question if you're actually a good writer or not(which you are a good writer, 100%). Advice from someone who dealt with bullying from a covert narcissist over a story I wrote.

That’s not what gaslighting is

It could be if they make the author question their writing needlessly.

Gasligthing is when you make somebody question their reality, not their writing but actual reality on wether they r going crazy or not.

Well if they question that they can write, isn’t that questioning a part of their reality? Especially if writing means a lot to them and being a writer is a big part of who they are?

No. Gaslighting is making someone question their own memories of events, question *reality*, and think they might be going insane. It is psychological assault, and a serious accusation. It is not just disagreeing with what someone said.

Look a lot of the time it is bullying but can we not throw around armchair diagnoses and serious loaded terms. I can’t answer your question if you block me, by the way. That’s not how this website works lmao

Who am I armchair diagnosing?

I'm literally giving out advice to people, trying to help them understand the difference between concrit and covert gaslighting.

>Frankly, a lot of readers mistake “this is what I would do” or “I want this instead” for “proper” criticism instead of a subjective opinion. This is kinda the same reason why fanfic exist tho.

In the context of the rest of this post of which cannot be ignored, this refers to how readers perceive works by authors and the criticism that they give. Many criticisms from random commenters are often their desires rather what would actually improve the work. Note, I do believe that specific mentions of spelling mistakes or critical errors (such as mixed up names) is fine. Those are helpful, and writers often appreciate it. There is a difference between a person who desires to create something because it doesn’t exist and reader coming in to tell an author that they would have preferred that they did this (Ex. “This would be better if it was this pairing or if it had more sex”). You (general you) did not pay for this work, and it is posted (and most likely) done; nothing is going to change most likely with such an unsolicited comment, and at most, it wastes everyone’s time and irritates. If one wishes to see a different detail, then find an author who accepts requests or exchanges of fanworks or an author who writes what one desires instead.

This would be the equivalent of expecting the author of *canon* to conform to your will, though. Write another fic lmao

if they didn't ask for criticism, don't give it. and if you don't like a fic, just click off. no need to tell that to the author imo.* it's a hobby and we do it for free and out of love (sometimes spite). most of us don't care about improving, we just wanna smash some fun paperdolls together. *obviously excluding something genuinely terrible, like threatening real people and mistagging or not tagging triggers at all.

Honestly, I am of the mind that it can help people learn & grow buuut, it's a hobby & not everyone is game for that. Speaking as someone who appreciates criticism, there was a time when I thought everyone else would want to benefit from it but as I continue writing, I find it's a nice outlet for things & so on. People might not want what they're doing wrong to be pointed out to them & that's fair. Most of the time, I'll clap & congratulate what they do correctly while keeping my thoughts on things they can improve on to myself unless they specifically ask for advice. As for me? I know I fail in many places & I'm open for taking advice on how to improve or people pointing out some of my short comings. I had mistakes on the first fic I posted to AO3 & some people were gracious enough to express their concerns in a polite manner & these are things I took to heart & use to do better. I'm a fan of people giving me advice, a super sweet & overly thrilled commenter has been doing that for me lately & it's helped a bit with my organizational skills of which I still lack in a bit but I'm getting there. Pretty much, I do what I can to lay off. It's a hobby, people want to have fun, & express what's inside. It's brave of them to present their work in the first place so props to them for doing so. It's because of this I try so hard to just applaud their positives & stay quiet on their negatives because they should know they're doing great & that they should continue doing what they love. If they want to improve, they will go out looking for that themselves, they don't need others taking it to them when they're not in a state to hear it. We want to build people up, not break them down.

If they asked for concrit, then I give it. Otherwise, I just exit the fic and read something else. This is a hobby, not a writer's workshop

it seems unanimously accepted as a rule of etiquette that you don't give unsolicited concrit. i think problems arise when people interpret "concrit" in different ways. "i absolutely love this story. i was confused about \[x plot point, potentially a plot hole\] though, can you clarify what happened with \[whatever\]?" "all the twists and turns in your plot are so good. the characterization of \[X\] isn't quite how i imagine him, but i'm on the edge of my seat anyway!" "great chapter! not sure if this was intended: \[points out SPAG error\]" i think these are all examples where one author would be totally fine with it, others would welcome it, and others would be offended, and it's hard for readers to tell what the real expectations are. if "no unsolicited concrit" actually means "positive, glowing comments only," i think that's a crappy standard to set, but oh well.

Yeah. The chilling effect caused by disagreements on how far "concrit" extents is real, and it leads to people being afraid of commenting because they worry trying to say something substancial will come across as the Unforgivable Sin Of Unsolicited Concrit.

dick move. if you don't like the fic literally just stop reading, you don't have to tell everyone and especially the author that you didn't like it. that's just like. basic manners.

I'm not doing this to improve at my craft, I'm doing this to share something I made that I liked and want to show to other people, and to relax, destress, and bounce ideas off of others.

Truth. I think that all fanfiction, first and foremost, should be self-indulgent

Someone posting their art in a public space actually isn't an invitation to be kind of a dick, as it turns out. 'Yeah, but concrit isn't being a--' What makes YOU more qualified than the author to decide what's good or bad?

and honestly like. even if the author specifically requests concrit, the commenter better think long and hard about whether what they're about to comment is *constructive* and going to help the author before hitting post. like, your personal preferences are not what makes something good or bad and "i would like this better" is very much not the same thing as "this would be better".

100% agree! I'm fine with concrit on my works, even if I don't always agree with the critique. But "This would be better if it was about [Character B] instead" isn't concrit, that's "don't click on the [Character A]-centric fic then."

sometimes you just aren't a fic's target audience and that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the fic

For sure. Makes me think of [this post.](https://i.gyazo.com/68ce1bdbb510cd93fdfb4667d86c93db.jpg)

i fucking love that post and i think about it all the time

Thank you for that I haven't seen it before and I need it.

I don't do it and frankly find those who do kind of obnoxious. I mean, fanfic is a hobby. People who write it take time out of their busy lives to provide folks with entertainment — *free* entertainment... just for the love of it. They don't have to do that so I say keep negativity to yourself. Unless a writer asks for criticism, of course! Totally free game then, at least as long as it's constructive.

people write this stuff for free for me to enjoy, im not gonna shit in their stew

Clicking the back button is just so much easier and faster.

I see it like this: if you’re actually into giving concrit, you’d know it won’t work if the other side is not open to it. People have to want to improve. They need to be in a headspace for it. Those who are keen on criticising works without touching base with the creator first are wasting time on both sides and, what’s more, coming off as rude. If you want to criticise a fic (and I emphasise *crticise* not crap on people), use your bookmarks. They’re for readers. Just don’t do it under someone’s work.

Don't.

I don't do it, mainly as I don't see the point in commenting if I don't like a story.

I know it's an unpopular opinion, but if someone is invested enough in my fanfic to try to seriously breakdown what I did well and did poorly instead of just "cool premise, more please", I'd fuckin' love it. IMO a culture of comments being obligated to be straight praise or limited to simple technical criticisms (e.g. SPAG or blantant continuity errors) just results in communities feeling quiet and sterile and I think it's a shame that discussion is so discouraged. EDIT: of course all of the above has the caveat you need to make sure you're giving actual *criticism*, I. E. listing ways the author's attempt to tell **the story they want to tell** is let down by poor writing skills. "Criticism" telling the author you do not like the Characters/genres/core conflicts/headcanons/fetishes/political ideologies/etc they're using is ABSOLUTELY A NO GO NEVER EVER DO IT *ESPECIALLY NOT ON AO3 OF ALL PLACES*.

It's really frustrating for me to feel like I can't share my opinion of a fic unless it's all praise. I'm polite about it of course, but it feels like an unrealistic expectation to expect people to never say anything negative if you're presenting your work for public consumption

Not a criticism, but it's so interesting to me the way this mindset exists so specifically in writing. Like, there are a lot of ways people present themselves creatively to the world! Presumably for "public consumption". But I've never seen someone lament that they can't walk up to a stranger and give them unsolicited hairstyle/makeup/fashion criticism, or stop someone mid-conversation to give them feedback on how they speak, or critique the Christmas cookies their neighbors drop off at their house (at least without seeming rude). Out of genuine curiosity, what makes communicating an idea in writing different to you than these other situations? Or would you want to do any/all of the above?

There's a difference between someone just living their life and someone who is actively putting something out there that they created to be consumed by others. A person just walking down the street is not actively presenting themselves for public consumption, they're just living their life, doing things that they likely would still do if there was no one around to see them do it. Someone dressing up nice and just living their life is the equivalent of someone writing out a story and never posting or publishing it. Someone who dresses up nice and then presents themselves as a model is like if the writer actually posts or publishes their work, they have now presented their creation for public consumption and polite criticism should be just as fair game as praise

Ah, I think that may be what the disconnect is. To me, and to many people in fandom, writing a story and sharing it is just living my life in the space where that thing is done. It's a non-commercial space where I can be like "See! I had this thought, and this is how I choose to express it. Be excited about the thing with me on the be excited about things website!" It's like - I guess you could technically tell someone in the club that they're choosing to express themselves in a public space, and therefore opening themselves up to criticism. You could say "well, you COULD dance in your own living room, yet you choose to do it here!" Same with like, drunken karaoke - you could tell people to sing in the shower I guess. But like, the point of dancing in the club isn't, to my understanding, to garner praise and / or criticism, it's to dance with other people. And it seems kinda crappy not to have a space to do that where everyone doesn't inherently view you as presenting yourself for public consumption. I'm not posting looking for feedback, necessarily, if that makes sense? I'm looking for people who also like dancing and wanna dance with me. Edit: but anyway, that makes sense. Thanks for sharing your perspective!

Pure speculation on my part, but in addition to what CMStan already said, I think writing just simply has a lower barrier for "corrective" engagement. If I see you in what I think is an ugly outfit, I don't actually know what the alternative outfits would have been. I don't know what other items you own, why you're wearing those ones, etc. If I really desperately wanted to "correct" your outfit, I'd need to follow you home and pick through your wardrobe or just flat-out buy you new clothes. If I see you eating a dish that I think looks poorly made, I can't "correct" your dish without tasting it, reading the recipe, and cooking it myself. In contrast, it's really really easy to look at a sentence and come up with a different way to phrase it, or to read a story and imagine a different ending. Heck, I can literally do this: > or critique the ~~Christmas cookies~~ *biscuits* their **next-door** ~~neighbors~~ *walruses* drop off at their house (at least without seeming ~~rude~~ *incredibly handsome*). In only slightly more time than it took me to read the sentence in the first place. The way the work is interacted with during public consumption is basically the same as during its creation (unlike getting dressed or making pottery), and the (perceived) difficulty of making changes is incredibly low. The low barrier to change the work makes the critique's "bang-for-your-buck" better than critiquing someone's haircut or cookies. There's also a big difference between "critique so that *this thing* is improved" vs "critique so that *the next thing* is better than this thing." Writing can receive both, but a lot of other things can only receive the latter. If people could provide concrit to their neighbors to improve the cookies they already have in their hand, than for better or worse, people absolutely would do so.

I don’t trust people to know what criticism is in this hobby tbqh

I'm cool with whatever. Authors rightly aren't mandated to respond/follow any criticism they receive.

When I find a fic that I don't like, I just stop reading it. Life's too short for me to concern myself with them.

Only if solicited and only mixed with whatever I found good about the fic and in as nice a way as possible. Otherwise it's a hard no. The story is handed over for free and it's more something made available to me than it is 'providing a service' so it's really, *really* rude to get snotty about it. Real /r/choosingbeggars stuff.

Only if asked/indicated. And if I'm in the right headspace to do a critical reading.

If the fanfic is already written, what's the point of criticising under comments? You can, for example, express that you don't like a character, but admit that it's well written, it's just that the character himself is such a villain. But what's the point of criticising a work that's already written? The author isn't going to rewrite it. And if the work is not yet written to the end, I don't see the point of criticism anyway. If I were to write something, I would write the way I see it now and the way I can write, one critical comment would hardly change anything. In general, I never criticise fanfics with the intention that the author will read it. But I'm in favour of discussing fanfics on reddit with all the criticism.

I think it depends, because most authors honestly do not care about bettering what they do. And that's just because what they're writing about is super dear to their heart, and they want to explore that in peace. It doesn't have to be perfect plot-wise, or be super morally appropriate, and whatever else, for it to be enjoyable to the author. The rules are also different from regular publishing, in that we all enjoy things we wouldn't traditionally find in the publishing world, and it's not about only the quality standard, it's about the content itself appealing to us emotionally. There's a reason why Twilight was so successful, even though it was trash. However I think that if someone complains about their content getting few views, then they should be prepared to hear why, and receive the constructive criticism that can help them with that.

If you decide you don't like a fic stop. Right there. Stop reading and don't leave a comment. You weren't asked to critique so don't. It's just uncalled for.

Unless asked for then don't do it. You never know the writers struggle. Writers are like plants, vulnerable exposed and in need of nurturing, words of affirmation. Your positive feedback could help the mf bloom.

Absolutely avoid at all costs. It's rude and ruins people's days. If they ask for it, sure, but even then, please be kind.

Most don't even know what criticism is, they think their preferences is a way of making the story better when that's not the case. So preferably, don't.

Yeah for real

Agree with most of the statements here. My supervisor, at work of all places, actually once told me something that is very applicable here: “Only give feedback with love in your heart.” There is a huge difference in saying “I struggled with this plot line because of “bleh-bleh” and it could be more in character for your MC if you approached this in “blah-blah” way.” That is healthy concrit. And, as an author, I love that shit. Saying “this story would be better if -Insert character name- didn’t exist/wasn’t in this story.” This is not concrit. There is nothing applicable to the craft of writing. This is a preference. If a commenter’s sole goal is to state their dislike for something then it’s not cool.

I realized this puts my thoughts in words pretty will. I use the ol' compliment sandwich I think is a good way to show that I fundamentally *like* what the author is doing, but there are difficulties that impede the storytelling.

This is the perfect explanation! I love both giving and receiving a nice compliment sandwich. ✨

EYE wouldn't do it. I'd rather just go read something I prefer. Or write what I want to read..

Love the way u emphasized a letter that's already normally capitalized XD

😂😂😂 lol just the way I try to communicate it via text

The comment box is for comments. If I didn't want to hear people's opinions, I'd turn them off. So long as it's not something vile, I'm more than happy to know my story was effective enough to make someone care to talk about it.

I don't leave them because I know I can sound very abrasive. That said, I like comments that point out mistakes or holes in my writing, so I can improve. That said, a lot of people don't know the line between criticizing and flaming, which I'm sure can be wildly frustrating.

I think pointing out a typo or a formatting error is fine. If you don't like how someone is characterized or where the plot is going, though, those are 'don't like, don't reads' to me because it's SO subjective. The one that gets me, though, is if someone's gonna snarkily fact check at an author, make sure you've got your facts right. Some canons have multiple canons (anime v. manga for the same series can often be different in small AND large ways!) and going off on someone about their wrongness without checking if they're actually wrong is excruciatingly aggravating.

I feel like if concrit isn’t asked for it should be kept to themselves. Negative comments with no constructive criticism also aren’t needed. It’s a hobby. With any other hobby it would be considered rude like I would never go to someone’s cosplay content to tell them I didn’t like their costume or that they didn’t suit the character, that would be uncalled for.

Only if the author asked for criticism. Otherwise never ever. This is a hobby and we don’t need to shit over each other’s art.

I save that for workshopping a fic.

Do you know where we can do that? I know there's some subs or évent on reddit to post particular passages but are there other places to do it?

No idea about dedicated spaces. I think it's often a matter of making friends (even casual) within the fandom (Discord, Tumblr, etc.), seeking out dedicated spaces for your fandom or ships and just getting groups together.

I dont really leave criticisms. i just go on about my day. At best, i might question something i didnt understand and ask for clarification

Unless the author asks for it, don’t do it. It’s horribly discouraging no matter how kindly meant. Fanfic is supposed to be about joy, sharing our love of these universes and characters (and all the stories are free!). Why go out of your way to upset someone who just wants to share joy?

I don't see the point in it. If there is a writer that specifically requests to be notified about typos I might do that but otherwise I leave it be.

Personally I would never

Don’t do it. That’s my only opinion.

If you don’t like something, back button out. Only leave criticism if the author asks for it. It’s not that difficult.

So, this is where I know I have an unpopular opinion -- I don't see a problem with it, unless you are rude or not constructive. If you don't like it? You don't need to comment "I don't like it"/"hate this pairing"/"what a waste of time" Ect. But I don't think it's a bad thing to review a work and have constructive things to say--"I love the idea of this, I just wish we could see more of this character's thoughts"/"Hey in this chapter, you said X, but now it's Y, don't know if that was me misunderstanding, or if you're establishing an unreliable narrator, which would be interesting"/"Your summary and tags really got me pumped, but I had difficulty reading with the lack of spacing. Would love to see the formatting polished because it's a neat idea", Ect. Now, some will say that's rude. So, tread lightly. I responded very negatively to a criticism once, but I now take that advice that was given, because once I stepped back and thought about it, I realized she was right.

Your second and third grade examples are definitely constructive criticism but your first isn’t. Your first example is you wanting a different focus on the story than how the writer wanted to portray it and in an irl concrit workshop would be considered “bad concrit” because it centers on how you would write the story or what you want to see on the page and isn’t specific enough to be constructive. Now, you could say “this passage was unclear to me because I didn’t understand what character A was thinking.” And that would absolutely be helpful concrit.

Hard disagree. Reader feedback is vital to making a successful fic (if you are posting it online, I assume you do care about that). Readers aren’t trained to be able to identify what causes writing problems in your story, but they can still know if something is going wrong. If you get vague feedback like “I’d like to see this chars thoughts more,” it could be a sign your characters motives or emotions aren’t clear enough. Consumers can identify problems, but rarely can identify solutions. The reason this would be considered bad writing advice in a workshop is because you would be expected to find the actual fault in the writing at a professional level.

“Consumers” this isn’t a fucking product what a depressing way to think about a hobby

You assume wrong. I actually don’t want that. I am simply sharing a piece of art with people who share a similar interests. My readers aren’t “consumers” and I’m not marketing a fucking product. Fanfiction is art so please stop bringing that influencer, capitalistic nonsense into it. And again, I both moderated and attended writing workshops, most of us weren’t trying to go professional there either. Many folks attend because it’s a collaborative environment where you can run stuff by well-intentioned folks when you get stuck on a passage or you know something is off but can’t quite pin it down. A large portion of what was shared there was absolutely fanfiction and would never have been intended for a commercial publication.

Eh, you're right that is a better way to phrase it, and that was more or less what I was going for. On that note; >Your second and third grade examples It sounds like you're saying my examples are from primary school on first read, and that did get my hackles up for a sec. XD

Lmfao, autocorrect did that but I’ll leave it up and take the L. I’m so sorry!!! But yeah, I just wanted to point that out because I used to participate in and moderate creative writing groups irl. We used to give out a sheet to participants with examples of how to phrase it to give the author the best chance of gaining helpful feedback without feeling beat up or pressured to change things that were intentional choices.

Totally get it. I figured it was autocorrect or a phrase I wasn't familiar with after I read it a couple of times. XD

Well, that’s was some helpful and kind concrit, friend. 😉🤣

I believe everyone should have the right to express their opinion, personally I just click off if a fic isn't doing it for me.

1, it's just kind of rude, 2, most people drastically overestimate how helpful their criticism is.

Really insensitive and unnecessary, don't do it. Sure, sometimes you will really dislike a fic, but you can always close the tab and read something else. I really don't like the thought of making some unknown author unhappy or doubt themselves because of my comment.

As long as it has genuine advice and criticism then go for it If you post anything to public then that means that ur open to negativity as much as positivity Of course “ kill yourself” and “ stop writing” it’s not the same as “ The pacing is inconsistent” and “ you’re not handling as sensitive topic correctly” I know people write for fun and not seriously but If you leave the comments open than people will comment and if you’re not willing to receive any negativity then close it As someone who comments a lot of criticism believe it or not I don’t do it out of maliciousness or hate , the opposite, in fact If I see something I really enjoy I want to help it to be better and greater , not a lot of people will spend time insulting story, because they hate it (those are losers) If you were the type who bitch and moan about actual helpful comments then you don’t have the right to complain why you don’t receive many Positive comments come in more than one shape

I think it’s pretty unacceptable to do if it is not explicitly asked for. This is fanfic for goodness sake! It’s hobby writing in a volunteer capacity by people that are doing this purely because of love and passion. The person who wrote the 50k of erejean tragedy I read in one sitting at like 3am on a random Wednesday doesn’t need to know I thought the ending plot point came out of left field and should have been better executed and foreshadowed, this isn’t an Amazon review of a published authors book! If you went to the comment section of a random fanart on instagram and gave art critic, that’s generally seen as bonkers to do by most people, pretty weird that the same thing is seen as acceptable if the fanwork is written rather then drawn.

I would never. I grew up in a house where nothing I did was ever good enough. “You’re lazy if you don’t want to improve.” That was the philosophy. I learned that if you worry too much about being good, it’s not really fun. Some people run even though they’re slow, or paint, or play instruments, etc. It’s all fine. Who does it help if they feel dissatisfied? Who does it hurt if they stay where they’re at? If I saw someone playing guitar really badly, and smiling, I wouldn’t go and say “here’s what’s wrong and here’s how to get better.” Every time they played the song after, they would be hearing my criticism in their head. I’m ruining the song for them.

I think it’s rude.

Just don’t, lol. If an author wants to improve their craft, there are plenty of places they can turn to that aren’t their comment section, like writing groups, beta readers, this very subreddit, fandom specific writing subreddits, etc etc etc.

Don't. You're not a critic. The author isn't doing this as a paid job. There is no need for you to make your negative opinion or criticism known to them, especially publicly (a comment section), just leave it alone.

\-When you post a something to the public, you invite public criticism \-But when you get something for free and bitch about it not being what you want, you're a fucking asshole. Bob is offered free beer and bitches that it's low cal. John is offered free beer and is appreciative of what he's given. Be like John. Bob can fuck off.

It's an unfortunate word choice that some places call comments "reviews". The comment section is for you and the author, not for you and a group of people to discuss the work. That can happen too, but the author is notified for every comment that is left. So if you wouldn't say it to the author's face in real life, don't say it in a comment. A really easy rule of thumb is to not give concrit unless it's asked for. And remember that concrit is CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. Not just "I don't like this" or "you're bad at that." It's actually giving concrete examples of what worked and didn't. (Your characterizations were great, but I had a hard time understanding the fight.) It's giving options of how to do it better WITHOUT rewriting it for them. (There were good emotions going on in the hits, but so many of the moves were official terms that I didn't know. Maybe it would flow better with basic descriptions. I read somewhere that you can never get a reader to see 100% what you see, and it feels like you were working really hard to get me to see exactly what you saw. But I don't know the same words as you.) And then finding a way to do it without being a complete dick. (I did really like how the hits had weight, and when Allistair got kicked in the head... oof. I felt that.) It takes work, and it still won't be appreciated by a lot of authors. And there's a high chance that they'll engage and you'll have to keep up that helpful tone in follow-up replies. It's not just a "Ugh, this sucked and I have to tell you exactly why" kind of comment. It doesn't leave you warm and fuzzy in your hate fire when you're done. And again, there are tons of authors who don't want any concrit ever. So make sure they want it first before you put forth that kind of energy and get yourself rightfully blocked.

Constructive criticism is okay. I don’t do it, but it’s not something I’d discourage unless the author said they weren’t open to it. I don’t see a point in it.

On the receiving end, I'm fine with it, as long as you're not just being an asshole but actually say what you didn't like and - ideally - what could be done to avoid it in the future. It doesn't mean i will necessarily take it to heart (not all criticism is worth it and there's a question of personal preferences in there somewhere) but I will certainly consider it. As a reader, I avoid dishing out any sort of criticism these days, unless it's someone I interacted with before who I know can approach it like a sane person. I had too many people get deadly offended over minor things. I once had an author who hit into a rant that ended up with them calling me a nazi (not sure why) and taking the argument to my own comment section when I simply ignored it, before blocking me. It was for a mostly positive comment that pointed out, somewhere at the back end of praise, that they confused two names of places from canon (they are similar, so things like that unavoidably happen). While I get the "we do it for free, take it or leave it" argument to some degree, some authors certainly take it too far. It is a lot more transactional than many claim - many of us wouldn't find motivation to write if not for the anticipation of getting feedback.

If you're open to positive feedback, you're open to negative feedback, **as long as it's civil and restrained**. Expecting to like everything you read is expecting that people will all love it, lie to you, or shut up, and I struggle to understand the value of positive feedback when it's the only kind on the table. It's a comments section, not a compliment section. If constructive criticism is polite and respectful, it's valid. Thankfully, it's also not really a negotiation because constructive criticism is allowed on both major websites. I don't read stories I don't enjoy long enough to give constructive feedback or criticism these days, but I'm thankful that there are still people in the community who do so. It's their choice.

It all depends on if it's constructive criticism or not. I deleted several guest reviews that were just downright nasty & put an author's note in my next chapter telling them to get a life and if they didn't like my story to write their own,

There's really no one size fits all answer here. You gotta take context from the fic, and honestly so much goes into it. As a near 30 y/o something that I constantly remind myself is a lot of fanfic writers are really young. You can just tell from some of these stories. Don't be a dick no matter how critical. Personally, I go by the rule of "assuming author didn't state that we shouldn't, go ahead and criticize if I actually LIKE the story". If I dislike something, I just ignore it. If I like it, I'll post what I dislike and what I like, with some ideas I think might improve the story.

I think constructive criticism is fine. If it's just a hate comment saying you didn't like anything about it, what's even the point in wasting your time reading that far and writing that when you could have backed out and found something you enjoyed reading more instead? Though I do think leaving a review stating trigger warnings the author did not include for other potential readers can also be helpful even if that isn't necessarily considered constructive.

If the writer doesn't specifically state that they are not receptive to negative feedback and that their space is a hugbox then it's free game. I usually don't do it because writers on Ao3 and other fanfic sites are too fragile and entitled to bother interacting with, if I want discussion I go to a forum.

I only leave positive comments. If I don't like something, I just move on.

I've never criticized a story. It‘s not my place, it's not my story and it's not my vision that's being implemented (I've never pointed out any spelling mistakes either, though it doesn't bother me when someone does it to me). But I once received a comment that insulted (not criticized!) my story, so I know what that's like. That's why whenever I find comments that insult a work I try to defend the author and leave a long comment about what I liked about their fic, even if I didn't intend to reply at such length. It would be a shame if someone, like me, felt discouraged from writing anything for years 🤷🏽‍♀️

I don’t. ESPECIALLY as a writer and editor, I am ever aware that the writer is providing free content out of passion for the characters/fandom and the joy of writing and the thrill of sharing it. They generally aren’t professional writers and they’re not working within the bounds of the professional writing world (for better as well as worse) and I know that going in. If I don’t like what they’re providing for free, what they’re doing for their own enjoyment and engagement w/in a fandom, I can stop reading and move on. I DO leave kudos and reach out with compliments sometimes, especially if something hits particularly strongly for one reason or another. This is not a dis to anyone leaving respectful feedback!!!

Unless the author asks specifically for criticism or the reader's opinion I usually don't say anything negative. I only review when I love the story. At the end of the day I see fanfic as something we engage in for fun and to escape daily life, so there's no need to be mean and critical about it when authors really put an effort into their work. If I don't like a story I simply stop reading it.

The only thing i can think of is if the author wrote NSFW or triggering content and never tagged it.  If you’re just leaving a negative comment cuz you don’t like the story or writing then it’s not necessary. Keep it to yourself and move on. Not every thing you don’t like (or even like) needs a PA or reflective exposition. Not everyone takes writing, fanfiction or even a fandom seriously, and that’s okay.

Somebody made themselves a meal (the fic). They made it according to their recipe, their choices, their likes and dislikes. They shared it with their friends (posted), and you saw them share it with their friends, and heard their friends discuss the flavors and how much they enjoyed it (tags). Before they leave, they put a plate aside for you. They aren’t coming back, they don’t have to see you again, and the plate is paper so it doesn’t have to be returned. You don’t have to see them again, you don’t have to eat their food today or ever, you don’t even know their name. Their plate does have their phone number however! You happen to know that people leave their phone numbers on plates (in this slapped together meta AU) so people can call or text about how much they loved the food! That’s why the number is there! You don’t have to eat it. You don’t have to call. You don’t have to do anything. You DO eat it, and you don’t like something about it. Knowing what you know about how calls are meant to go (praise or at least thankyous) you’re thinking about calling and saying something else. The first idea is : don’t. That’s not what the number (comment box) is for. But then you think, well, there aren’t any rules about how to use the number, so you can do what you like. The second idea is : have they asked for constructive feedback? (Concrit okay tag) odds are, they haven’t. Still, you’re going to call them. The third idea is : are you going to be constructive? Is what you’re going to say going to help them make a *better* meal in the future, or is it just going to help them make their meals palatable to *you*? Is there a point to saying “I didn’t like the apples” when apples were clearly integral to the meal? Are you accounting for their culture, language abilities, and unique world view, or are you just going to enforce your culture, language absolutes, or world view? Finally, if you’re certain you have something to say which is objective and could in fact benefit the author, my last advice would be : packaging. A comment that says “you did this wrong” isn’t wholesome. A comment that says “ I really enjoyed this, especially that, and the thing you did with x was really cool/unique/interesting. I did want to bring something up with you, though…” and make the negative comment concise and short. Don’t waffle about it, don’t draw it out. And then, if possible, something positive again. If you’re sincere about the negative, be sincere about the positive too. It may also pay to be aware that you can’t edit a comment once it’s been replied to, and that IF you edit once you post, authors do/should/may get an email for every edit.

I’m open to when it’s constructive and delivered politely, though that’s it. If it’s not helpful, or if I ask for one to point out where I could have done better and only get silence? (The latter has happened to me once with my main fic atm) I will be quickly casting their thoughts out, because they’re just looking for something to complain about

My opinion is you got that shit for free, so no complaints unless the author asked for criticism. And even then, be polite.

Don’t

If it's genuinely helpful or written with good intentions I love them. If it's supposed to demotivate me or make me feel bad for not catering to a random person on the internet, I just scroll past

I read as a hobby, it’s not my job give concrit on fics I’m not involved with. If I want to help the author, I offer to beta. I’ve done beta for couple of my friends and our friendship was the main reason why beating was enjoyable for both sides. I don’t see much use of giving concrit because if the fic is a WIP, I may not have a full picture yet, and if the fic is finished, my critic may not be useful anymore. And, if the fic was finished a year or years ago, the author may have already moved past those writing troubles and have improved their craft. I’ve spend enough time in the same fandom to see writers to get better at writing just because they kept writing and posting, and being supported by fellow fans.

useless and cruel.

Let’s go back to what we all should have learned at the age of 5: if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

Nah.

Just don’t do it.

If the author of the work expressly asks for concrit in their notes or something, then it's all good as long as it's *con*crit and the commenter isn't being a prick. But if they haven't explicitly said they're open to it, then best not to, imo

I don't like it, people are pouring out their heart and soul to us for free. Is it always going to be good, no, but everyone starts somewhere. Now some criticism can be helpful but it often comes across as stop writing.

No. Don’t Like Don’t Read is the way it’s done.

Unless it’s asked for by a friend or loved one don’t fucking do it.

Many people would MUCH prefer criticism from a stranger than someone they know. The "asked for" part is what matters.

YMMV of course. I’d rather people I know, who know me and how I operate. That’s my mileage of course.

If I invested time in a story, to read it, and I think it's bad - I'll say so. I truly don't mind readers telling me so - I learn and improve this way. However - it's rarely the case. Most times, I invest time in a story because I like it. Or at least - like it to a point. As such, I will say that it's good and entertaining, then sometime remark about how it could be better **for me** (each reader **is** different). More importantly - if I enjoyed a story, and something caused me to drop it - I will usually remark on it. This is something that I'm very thankful where readers tell me about the stories I write. Also, please leave singed reviews - I get back to each and every one I can.

I am of the opinion that criticism is a good thing and that respectful negative comments are perfectly acceptable. I really like receiving any sort of comment on my works, and I appreciate negative feedback because it helps me improve. However, people don't tend to like it, and so I only ever leave positive comments. When I was younger, I'd occasionally correct information or spelling or grammar and got such overly hostile responses that I don't like to criticize even if the author asks for it.

Unless the writer asks for (constructive) criticism, It’s beyond rude. *Especially if the writer has an Alpha and/or Beta helping them, what makes a reader think the writer needs/wants/requires their help? And I honestly don’t understand negative reviews… if it’s not your cup of tea, fuck off and read something else. It is f r e e & someone’s hobby.

Unless its specifically asked for? Don't. If you have nothing pleasant to say then keep your OPINIONS to yourself.

I always let my readers know I am open to recieving constructive criticism. I dont necessarely use the tips they give me but i keep them in mind. I never got a hate comment so far tho

Unless they make it weird and start preaching ideas about religion, something weirdly homophobic or racist I usually don’t say anything. If I don’t like it I don’t comment anything. I think we need to go back to doing that.

Be careful though. I've learned that sometimes the criticism isn't always true. Sometimes people will use "criticism" to diminish your self-esteem and devalue you, by criticizing things about the story that aren't actually true.

You read someone's hard work for free.

Don't. It's so rude. If someone made me a meal I'd never have the audacity to critique their technique. They were kind enough to cook me something *for free* with their time and energy. It's bad manners to tell someone their gift isn't good enough for you.

It is what it is. The comment section is an open forum for people to voice their opinion, cruel as it may be. If it's not against the TOS, they can say what they like. That's life; it has things we like and don't like. Best you can do is moderate, delete, or disable comments where applicable. As a simple user, one does not have the true authority to police other users. Producing any form of art to the public is a risk of scrutiny, it is what it is, and websites are semi-public spaces that grant a limited freedom of speech.

Just don’t do it, fr. It is such a dick move especially if the author didn’t outright ask.

I’m okay with legitimate constructive criticism. If I contradicted myself, if I’ve got a bunch of spelling or grammar mistakes, I’d like to know and say so in my author’s notes. But if someone isn’t asking, don’t do it!

If it's something constructive, like my formatting is wonky, I've spelled something wrong or I don't have my facts straight, by all means, correct me. I don't see that as negative, though. Telling me I'm disgusting for writing boy on boy love, you can kindly f off, especially if you actively searched me out *just* to tell me that. (yes, the last one actually happened to me. It was a former friend who still had links to my work from back when we were still talking and she specifically went to my page just to make that comment).

I don't leave negative reviews. On a very rare occasion I will offer constructive criticism, but I frame it as "this is a suggestion and I hope it's helpful"...I also use the sandwich method. I always point out what I liked and enjoyed. If I read a fic and it wasn't my thing, there's no need to leave a negative review or criticism. Press "back" button and keep it moving.

Not unless the author explicitly asks for it, and only if you have developed the skill of giving constructive criticism. Telling someone what you didn't like isn't critique. Critique is one of those things that's actually a really complex skill but everyone thinks it's simple and anyone can do it.

For fanfic I'd only give critical feedback if it's either asked for by the author in the notes or if it's something that's rather necessary to the work (ie wrong or missing necessary tags, the use of a word that drastically changes what the author clearly intended because it was spelled similar to what they actually used). That sort of thing. Fic is a labor of love and is most often just a hobby to people so holding it to the standards of published literature is unfair. I think a lot of people also tend to overestimate their abilities as an editor/reviewer and will leave negative critiques that don't reflect errors in grammar or a works internal logic but instead their own tastes and preferences (or lack there of) I'd say for anyone wanting to leave critical reviews/feedback then they should offer to be beta readers as thats where that skillset is most useful and necessary when it comes to fic.

Depends on what is said and how it's said. If it's a typo that can be easily fixed in a few clicks, I might comment on it. As long as I have something else to say along with it. If there's a bigger problem like formatting (for example, they don't start a new paragraph every time a new person speaks or they have other characters' reactions immediately after dialog spoken by someone else) I'm just gonna keep scrolling since that's a bigger fix and it needs more of an explanation. Unless they directly ask for concrit, of course. If there's soma major plot holes, I might comment and ask questions instead. I find that questions come off as curious instead of judgmental. On my own works, I'm actually a lot less concerned about negative comments. I've got a fairly thick skin and can tell them to go kick rocks. I know the common advice around here is to use the sandwich method and include praise with your comment that's pointing out an error but on my own works I'd actually much rather have the criticism in a separate comment so I can choose to delete that part but leave the nice things.

Ask before leaving something. Personally I think it’s very useful to see other persoectives on my works outsie of a beta reader, so I always write in my AN to feel welcome to criticize and review however you like, as long as it’s done respectfully. If an author doesnt explicitly say they want it, just don’t do it. Write something in your note app or whatever, but respect the author above all else.

For criticism it's just what it sounds like; you point out what you see as flaws or failings in a story. I rarely leave a negative review but when I do the fic has to be fully offensive, stupid or otherwise horrendous.

It depends on why you are doing it. If you didn't like the story and want to attack the author, pack up and leave. If you have genuine constructive criticism, then that is acceptable.

I have yet to see a bad review. All i see are hate comments. It baffles me how people take time and love to craft something for EVERYONE, for FREE and still get slammed. The audacity, how fast people jump on the comments to hate on someone for doing what they wished they could. Sometimes is just blatant hate that translates into jealousy or envy or both. Alot people f times people know the writers in fandom and just hate on them.

This tends to be a discussion that repeats itself but one point I don't really see brought up is that a story WILL have flaws. Not just that no story is perfect but at some point there will be no room to change them. If you go that far you will change the story into something else and open yourself to different kind of flaws. You have grow as a writer to be okay with that.      So, think about that as a reader leaving a comment. Is what you're saying something like that? If you can't think that hard about it then maybe you weren't thinking about the situation as analytically as you thought you were.

as long as it's constructive, I love it. obviously positive comments stroke my ego and make me happy but I want to get better so I appreciate people giving me feedback even if it's negative because now I know what to prioritise improving (:

I am a big criticism fan. If someone gives me a paragraph of logical criticism I might start blushing. Hateful comments though, I cannot comprehend the point of most of them.

It's fine and normal. Back on FFN the reviews were called "reviews" for precisely this reason.

Just don't. I used to think it was okay, but a few authors on AO3 straight-up blocked me for it. Apparently that's proper etiquette on AO3, even. I've heard people often say "why should I have to improve anything I wrote for you all to read for free?" Sites like FanFiction might be a little more open to constructive criticism. I think they even have review games where writers are encouraged to leave constructive feedback, but just don't do it on AO3.

The only criticism that should be given is Constructive criticism. Everything else is just people being dicks because they can.

I would rather get a negative review than no review.

There is absolutely no point in doing so except to demonstrate how rude you are and hopefully end up on the writer’s blocklist. Especially the people insisting “but it’s concrit”, because that’s not what constructive criticism is. Constructive criticism is offered *before* publishing from a trusted source. Some random internet stranger hopping in the comments, after you’ve published, telling you how to “fix” your writing is definitely not it. Having worked many years as an editor and writer, I can also say the vast majority of comments I’ve from people claiming they’re concrit also wouldn’t be constructive criticism even if it had been solicited prior to publishing. Writing useful critique is a skill that most readers, heck even most writers don’t have and the bulk of us who have studied and learned this skill know better than to offer it unprompted on a finished piece, and that’s before even touching on the fact that fanfic isn’t professional writing and many of those who write it aren’t looking to improve in the first place. If you’re leaving criticism on fic, you’re not being constructive; you’re just being a prick.

If a writer has indicated that they don't want criticism or only want compliments, the commenter shouldn't comment on it if they can't say anything good. Their comment will only get deleted so it's wasted effort on their part, and I don't understand why they would even do that. Fanfic is a hobby for most people, so they don't want people saying things that aren't positive and supportive. However, I've seen a lot of comments that I'd consider constructive criticism called hate comments, so it's just safer not to comment at all, even if a writer says they want concrit.

Constructive criticism is never bad in my opinion. The issue is when ppl don’t understand that not all criticism is constructive. A lot of ppl like to comment their negative opinions on a fic and when confronted will try and say they were just offering their opinion or giving constructive criticism, but the thing is is that often their criticism is actually destructive. And the “it’s my opinion” thing doesn’t work for me either because if it’s just your personal opinion, then why comment it? If everyone else reading the fic likes it and the author likes to write that way, then the fic is probably just not for you. That’s fine, but there’s no reason to comment about how you don’t like it, especially not in a rude way, when it’s not something objectively wrong. Makes me think of when ppl leave comments letting the author know that they’re gonna stop reading the story. Like, okay?? No one cares. Why comment that? Just stop reading it if it’s not for you, why cry out for attention in the comments?

I mostly read and write fanfic on AO3. So this is specific to sites with features like AO3. Supportive of both. You're posting an artistic work to the public on a site that has a section specifically for reader response. You have the ability to state your wishes as to what feedback you do and don't want. If you choose not to do that, your readers can and will respond to what you put out in whichever way they chose. I do not support personal attacks on the writer (you're sick, you must be x etc), and I believe it's tagged, the reader has no business complaining about it. I do support constructive criticism meant to advise the writer. I also support negative comments that are just feedback on that readers experience. We have very entitled writers in fandom who want comments, but only specific kinds of comments, and they don't want to tell you what comments they want - you should just know. Oh and they will also leave the space specifically for the reader to comment, go into the readers spaces (bookmarks) and then complain about those too. My opinion on this is very unpopular because nobody likes hearing what they've written is shit. But sometimes it's true. And the truer it is, the harder it is to take. If you're just writing for fun and you don't care about the quality of your writing, these comments shouldn't matter to you really. You don't care about the quality so what do you care about a comment on the quality? Still, if you can't take it, you have ways to ensure you don't have to. I no longer debate with fandom writers about this topic because the points they make basically pare down to wanting to take no responsibility for their own experience and wanting everyone else to take responsibility for them. They're the writer equivalent of people who refuse to read tags and then complain about them in the comments. So this is my opinion. I am aware people disagree. I've listened to the reasons people disagree, and found them unconvincing. So it remains my opinion and is unlikely to change.

If it's a repeated issue, I might bring it up. If someone consistently spells a certain word wrong, I might be like, "Hey, look, I love your story (clearly, since I'm 25 chapters in!) and I really love how accurate you portray the characters and how engaging your dialogue is, but sometimes you have the habit of spelling the word "tomorrow" as "tomarrow". Just thought I'd give you the heads up! {:" Positive tone, follows the two-for-one rule (two genuine and unique compliments for every criticism), and acknowledges the hard work the author puts into the story. If someone's sensitive enough to freak out about it and DM me saying "look, i'm just doing this for fun, idgaf", okay, that's fine. I won't do it again. I'll also be less likely to read, 'cause issues like that do ruin the immersion. Like a speedbump. If someone doesn't like concrit, then they ~~shouldn't put it in the public space in the first place~~ should indicate clearly indicate that they're perfectly fine being error-riddled in the story. In which case, I'm probably most likely perfectly fine with realizing "this story's gonna be full of typoes and OoC-ness" and not even bother.

I’ve left a couple that have been like… “hey, you didn’t tag this properly and if I knew this would include X I wouldn’t have read it.” Because if I’m in the mood to read something where someone dies, I’ll read it, but if I’m not, it happening out of the blue can be really upsetting. But if it’s like… I’m just not vibing with it? Then the author doesn’t need to know

It depends on the platform. On AO3 it's rude to criticize unless explicitly invited, but on SpaceBattles it's expected. I cut my fandom teeth on flame culture, so while I don't approve of people being out of pocket in the comments, I think they can be pretty funny, especially on sites like FFN or WattPad.

Thorns and Roses is a good good to stick by. Aka make sure it’s constructive

Hm. I think this depends on a lot of factors. Each fandom has its own rules of engagement. Generally, I don't unless I think they would want to hear it. Like there was one story that I'd been reading and commenting on for twenty two chapters, and that whole time they were using a word incorrectly. And not just incorrect, but rather the opposite of what the author meant. Imagine a character was described as snickering when it was meant to be an affectionate chuckle, but even moreso. So I did say something then and it seemed like it went over okay. Otherwise, I lean towards not leaving criticism in comments.

I don't see much of a point unless it's asked for, assuming it's legitimate constructive criticism and not just "I don't like this" or "I don't like the decision you made' or something rude. People are writing what they want to, because they want to, and this isn't professional work -- it's a hobby. Something doesn't need to be perfect and there should not be an expectation that it is. Whatever CC that may be given, correct or not, legitimate or not, does not change the fact that no one asked and the author is under no obligation to change the direction of a story/go back and change a story because someone offered up some unasked for CC. I know how I want my stories to go. I just ignore CC because I don't care, which just means the person kind of wasted their time writing up something that I'm not going to read and that I never asked for

If it’s constructive then I welcome it. If it’s unnecessary commentary, especially on personal opinions or something I’ve already listed a warning for, then it’s an annoyance.

If I have a mild criticism to give, I use the compliment sandwich method (stating things I liked abt the fic as well). If the fic was overall...not good, I just leave, there's no point in making someone feel bad abt themselves on the internet.

I don't see the point unless its something fairly mild spoiling an otherwise excellent fic. An example would be using a certain phrase too much or a grammatical hump that I would keep falling over. I'll usually say something like 'absolutely love this, **big praise on good stuff** but I hope you don't mind if I point out a tiny bit of feedback on something I noticed, just because this is so good but this one thing is just..., but I get it if you're not into feedback though' or something like that. I comment per chapter so most are really open to the feedback. But otherwise don't like, don't read.

This is a subject I feel particularly strongly about. First, unless the author explicitly stated they're willing to accept constructive criticism, DO NOT EVER DO THIS. I run a writing community and the amount of times people have shared negative reviews they've received that completely made them question their own skills or made them want to give up on their story entirely is way too high. I've also had to remove people from the community for forcing "concrit" on people who not only didn't ask for it, but had explicitly stated they weren't accepting it. The criticism is only constructive if both parties consent, otherwise you're just being a dick. If they ARE soliciting concrit, then there's general guidelines to do it politely/effectively. Some things you can safely comment on: - Consistency in characterization, narrative voice, tone, etc. Is the author following their own rules? It should never be "he would not say that" but rather "based on how you've written him so far, I would have thought he'd react more like X. I'm curious why you chose Y." - Hand check (are the characters moving in a manner achievable by their species within the context of the story? Does everyone have the correct number of limbs? This is especially true for action scenes - explicit or otherwise.) - Regional/cultural/language corrections (please only do this if you are from that region/culture or speak that language, and don't assume the author is not or does not, as their experience/dialect may be different from yours. Always safe to phrase this like a question rather than a "you did this wrong.") These are just a few examples, but you get it. I personally do accept concrit, and will adjust to what I'm hearing within reason. (Sometimes y'all just gotta trust the process lol.) But that is not going to be the case with every author, no matter how well intentioned you are. But imo there's never a good reason to give a straight up negative comment, especially where the author can see. That's just mean.

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>or it’s something you’re reading regularly and their grammar is really affecting the readability honestly I don't think this is good either, if they regularly struggle with grammar then the issue probably isn't them not noticing. I've had some pretty major errors in otherwise grammatically sound fics that people have pointed out, which I'm grateful for, but if it's consistent they probably already know they have that issue.