What type of reviewer are you?

There is no one who writes fan fiction here or anywhere else who can say they don't like getting reviews of their stories. Some people would like to get more. Since writing here I have made an observation of the various types of reviewers. Which one are you?

The Minimalist - This reviewer makes it their purpose to use the smallest amount of words to describe their enthusiasm over your work. Examples of rhetoric include:

Great job! Cool! Awesome story! Keep it up!

The Quoter - This reviewer is compelled to quote back to you nearly your entire story to show that they loved the whole thing. For example:

"quote quote quote xxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"xxxxxx", Xxxxxx!! Xxxx--
xxxxxxxxx."

I LOVED this part!

The Over-The-Top Cheery reviewer - They will never ever give a bad review. There is only perfect writing to them. They love every word, every line of dialogue, and every facet of every story they review. You can't do wrong with this type. May use excessive happy Smilies. Warning: These reviews may induce diabetic shock. Examples look like this:

"Oh I loooooove this! This is sooooo great. I want to marry it. I want to take it to bed with me. I this story! Please please please please write more. "

The Philosopher - This reviewer explains in excruciating detail the deep aspects of your story, including what impact the protagonist has on the antagonist and explains about how this relationship is related to irony. Usually this type are English Majors or teachers. A word of advice is that you might need a dictionary or a thesaurus in order to understand their review. Pardon the lack of an example, but that would take up a whole page.

There are the ones I have encountered. No reviewer belongs in any one catagory. You may be a combination of one or more. You just have to find the right way that is best for you.

Thank you for your attention.

 

I'm a mix of the first, second and fourth. Never the over-the-top-cheery reviewer. Whether or not I quote depends on how much the post struck me as eloquently or accurately put. I mostly comment on the most crucial things that impacted me. I mostly do author replies as the Philosopher, where I teach Sunday School lessons or explain the long inspiration for a scene that someone else wrote a one-sentence comment about.

 

I'm a mix - of the first and fourth. It depends on how greatly I was impacted by the story post and if I have any insight to offer. If I found something particularly profound, or if something really got me thinking, I'll tend to leave a longer review. Occasionally I'll quote something, but it's very rare. Mostly I leave very short reviews, especially when the post speaks for itself - sometimes there's nothing to say because the post left me "speechless"

It depends on the story, but mostly I like to offer constructive criticism and do so through PM where I see it's warranted.

 

I'm intrigued by the fact that you say that all authors like getting feedback (pretty much true), yet present each style of review in what you perceive to be its negative aspects. If feedback is a good thing, why complain about it?

I review based on a mix of my feelings for the story and the amount of time I have available, so it varies. And I appreciate any feedback my own readers care to leave, be it a word or a page.

 

Lol. Interesting descriptions. I would say that most of the time I am the Over-the-top cheery reviewer, depending on how much energy I have at the moment. What can I say? I'm a happy person. And it's not that I necessarily love everything that I read. I'm just happy to see people writting, and if anything I try to give constructive critisim if there was something that I didn't like, or focus more on the stuff that I did like. Because no matter how bad a story is, there is usually at least one or two things that the author did well. People improve in their writting by writting, and getting practice, but an author won't do that if the only feedback they get is negative. They give up, which sucks even more than a crappy story. And if it's really, really bad, so bad that it just grates on my last nerve, I just stop reading it and move on. No reason to leave a negative comment.

Oh dear, this has turned into more of a number 4 reply. It needs smilies!!!

 

I didn't mean for them to seem negative. These are just types I've seen and thought of a humorous way to present them. Or at least my attempt at humor.

 

You forgot one- the Lurker. The ninja-like reader who leaves no trace of his or her presence in the thread, but merely watches and waits for things to develop. This reader may review if s/he feels it necessary, but s/he will otherwise remain silent. Waiting.

 

Wait a minute, there are also the Diva--the one who comes into your thread to say how great stories like this are and doncha know The Diva has written one just like this at this link...--and the WhoWantsToBeAnArchiveReviewer contestant who wants to point out every inconsistency, bad characterization, flawed spelling and whether or not your breath smells like you flossed today.

 

ROFL! Do you honestly think people will admit to that?

 

This thread could be fun in a getting-to-know-you type of way, but if it degenerates into name calling or reviewer bashing, it will be locked. Just FYI.


I'd put myself in the first and second categories simply because I'm generally not clever enough to leave long, philosophical reviews.

 

Well, they never say the title, but they are there in plenty.

Personally, my favorite reviewers are the reviewers who don't tell me that they know far more about something than I do until wham! Suddenly I realize that I have an expert sitting back and quietly enjoying something that they could have written better in their sleep. I'm always grateful for both their help and the fact that they don't harass me. :0)

 

I'll generally make short comments, maybe highlighting a very short extract or two. Usually I just lurk though.

I like it when I get comments of any kind, though I prefer nice or helpful comments. That said, there are a few people who could say anything at all and I'd still be happy.

 

I'm so totally all number one. I hate to admit it Readers leave me such clear, thoughtful, detailed feedback and I reply to other people's fics with, "Great job!" obaona (who leaves me the best feedback ) once told me that good feedback was a little like writing, you had to practice and learn how to make it good. Still working on it.

Now that's not a bad idea. We could add a vocal and dance portion to the app! Herman could be Simon. I'll be that other guy and LLL and Mariah could fight over Paula Abdul.

 

"You are...the worst singer I have ever heard, your wardrobe sucks, you can't dance and did I mention that you have an inconsistent pacing problem? Oh, and are you aware that you think that characterization is a four-letter word."

 

99% of the time, I'm a quoter.

I can usually find a "favorite" section of any story and I like to point that out to the writer. As a writer myself, I always appreciate when a reviewer lets me know if a part of my story stands out above the rest of it, so I'm glad to do the same.

 

I'm my own style of reviewer, man

I like to mix it up with a quote here and there, a short passage on why I liked certain parts and any observations I had about themes or style. I suppose you could class me as a cheery reviewer but that's generally because I only leave feedback on the stories that I think are genuinely good.

My author replies tend to be as long (or sometimes longer) than the original poster, though. I really need to whittle that down.

 

Minimalist, definitely.

With a dash of OTTC or Philosopher, ocasionally.

 

It really depends on a lot of things for me... time, how long the story is etc. But if I had to pick just one I'd probably be a quoter. I like to pick out something that I really enjoyed and let the author know what it was and why. Sometimes I do go crazy and it looks like I quote the entire thing, but I can't help it when that happens. Sometimes there are just so many things I loved about it that I can't just pick one and I don't think an over all "I loved it" will do.

 

Hello again.

I want it known that I appreciate all the responses I'm getting with my observations. I hadn't even thought of The Lurker or The Diva. There may be other types I've missed because of my inexperience in here and I haven't personally encountered them yet.

And speaking of inexperience here - I realize after reading a certain passage that was called to my attention, seemed to border on flaming. This was not my intention by any means and I apologize if any were offended or took this in a negative way. I try not to reduce myself as a name caller. I have since edited it, BUT a Quoter got a hold of it and, hence, chaos ensues....not really. See what I did there? Comic effect.

This was just a harmless little observation of mine, and so far people are taking it to places I never thought of. But, Jedi_Trace is right, please don't take this in any place it doesn't need to go.

And let it be said here by me that I do believe that ANY review is a good review, no matter what form it's in. The real nightmare for a writer would be ZERO reviews.

Thank you.

 

Usually, I'm the cheery reviewer because I love the stories I'm reading very much and enjooy them a great deal. I also like to include issues I feel are thought provoking relating to where I think the plot or the characters are heading. Once in a great while, LOL I'll be a "minimalist". Does not happen often As a fellow reader, I enjoy reading those review that are cheery and/or insightful. The former because it's fun the second because it makes one think about the story in deep or new ways. The "quoter" is also fun to read when they highlight especially funny or mushy passages Hey, and I don't believe in bashing the author and being negative, if you don't wanna keep reading the story or wanna go into lurk mode, that's your own business, but I think you can be polite even with negative points you find in the story or at least post a review that says: What's up with that?

 

I think I'm more of a combination between the 2nd and 4th one.

 

A combination of minimalist and maybe the third over the top.
where I will say: Character A should have married Character B! It's not happening in profic, but gosh darn it, I will have it in your fanfic!

 

I like to think of myself as a non-comformist Quoter, quoting the bits I liked that, frankly, few others would. With maybe a little of the Philosopher mixed in for good measure.

Oh dear, my mind keeps coming up with types you didn't mention. What a lousy experience I must have had at these boards.

The Upper - no explanation required, I hope. While I tend to think that there is no such thing as a bad review, this comes close.

The Mime - This reviewer comments with emoticons and nothing else. How do you reply to these people with something other than a "Thanks for reading!" or emoticons of your own?

The Socializer - This reviewer posts comments about your story, as well as other readers' comments, your replies to those comments, and so on and so forth. I would say this is my favorite type, especially in other people's fics.

The Loner - The other side of the coin. This reviewer reads your story and maybe your replies to his/her comments. I know these people exist because I've had readers ask, "Do you have a PM list?" when I've stated in no uncertain terms that yes, there is.

The Oracle - This reviewer will constantly speculate on where the story is headed - or, perhaps, where they would like the story to go. I love it when they post something that would otherwise have never occured to me. Still, there have been times when I've been tempted to ask, "Yes, okay, but what about the chapter I just posted?"

The Spanish Inquisition ("Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!") - This reviewer asks questions about your story. Lots of questions. On one hand, it's good to know they're interested. On the other, it can make you wonder if you need to work on your writing skills. Come to think of it, neither is a minus.

- lazy

 

okay Lazy, you win.

I guess I am an oracle by your definition.

I get lots of Spanish Inquisitions.