I hope you and your mother are enjoying Christmas Day. How is she, by the way? Is she past her recent health problems?
>>Name 3 of your favorite Tolkien characters. Why do you like them? Boromir << Oh yes! It seemed as if all his years fighting the enemy were just disregarded. He really was better off dying when he did; he'd most likely have been too proud to become Aragorn's steward. Faramir seemed better able to adapt (he's one of my favourite Men, btw).
Thranduil: So true! The guy deserved a medal - he did a great job, protecting his lands and his people for so many years. He must have been a great leader.
>>Nobody ever wanted me to help them with anything.<<
You'd better be careful what you say, lady! *g*
>>I have to post a lot of my stuff un-betaed, which sometimes leads to nasty nitpicking.<<
I know you're really hurt by those comments and it does seem rude that people post such things in reviews. If people wish to nitpick, they should send an email, IMO. Reviews are about the STORY, not about typos!
But in the MEFAs, there were only few of these; most of the reviews were glowing praises of your stories. And I know that for certain since I read them all to filter out any nasty ones for you - lol.
>>I no longer hope to have a future in this fandom. I just lack the special gene that makes an author popular. I've given up... writing is something I do because I can't not write, but that's the only reason I'm still going on.<<
While I agree that writing is something one does because one can't NOT do it, I don't agree about the rest of your statement. And I don't know if popularity is necessarily something to strive for.
For one thing, your stories are obviously the work of an intelligent and very knowledgeable person and as such may not be suitable for the average FF-reader (wow! that sounded snobbish - bad Lissa! - but quite frankly, it seems that many of them are teens looking for Legolas). However, I have no explanation for the lack of recognition on other sites.
Another thing is that I've seen many wonderful stories receive almost no reviews and get overlooked in the MEFAs etc. That does not diminish the value of these stories or their writers in my eyes, it only proves that we readers are really weird. And it makes me worry that these excellent writers (including you) will stop writing such good stories when they're not recognized.
Finally, I do feel guilty because I don't read or review much myself, even though so many writers have been incredibly supportive towards me and given me advice etc. It's just that reviews really require a major effort, and I really don't have much energy to spare, even on the best of days. But I'll try to improve!
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branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2008-12-25 11:01 am (UTC)>>Name 3 of your favorite Tolkien characters. Why do you like them?
Boromir <<
Oh yes! It seemed as if all his years fighting the enemy were just disregarded. He really was better off dying when he did; he'd most likely have been too proud to become Aragorn's steward. Faramir seemed better able to adapt (he's one of my favourite Men, btw).
Thranduil: So true! The guy deserved a medal - he did a great job, protecting his lands and his people for so many years. He must have been a great leader.
>>Nobody ever wanted me to help them with anything.<<
You'd better be careful what you say, lady! *g*
>>I have to post a lot of my stuff un-betaed, which sometimes leads to nasty nitpicking.<<
I know you're really hurt by those comments and it does seem rude that people post such things in reviews. If people wish to nitpick, they should send an email, IMO. Reviews are about the STORY, not about typos!
But in the MEFAs, there were only few of these; most of the reviews were glowing praises of your stories. And I know that for certain since I read them all to filter out any nasty ones for you - lol.
>>I no longer hope to have a future in this fandom. I just lack the special gene that makes an author popular. I've given up... writing is something I do because I can't not write, but that's the only reason I'm still going on.<<
While I agree that writing is something one does because one can't NOT do it, I don't agree about the rest of your statement. And I don't know if popularity is necessarily something to strive for.
For one thing, your stories are obviously the work of an intelligent and very knowledgeable person and as such may not be suitable for the average FF-reader (wow! that sounded snobbish - bad Lissa! - but quite frankly, it seems that many of them are teens looking for Legolas). However, I have no explanation for the lack of recognition on other sites.
Another thing is that I've seen many wonderful stories receive almost no reviews and get overlooked in the MEFAs etc. That does not diminish the value of these stories or their writers in my eyes, it only proves that we readers are really weird. And it makes me worry that these excellent writers (including you) will stop writing such good stories when they're not recognized.
Finally, I do feel guilty because I don't read or review much myself, even though so many writers have been incredibly supportive towards me and given me advice etc. It's just that reviews really require a major effort, and I really don't have much energy to spare, even on the best of days. But I'll try to improve!
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I'm glad you thought the meme useful! :-)