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turchinorain So I have a conundrum that I've experienced writing for a small fandom; lack of reviews. It's an unsurprising problem. A small fandom means that there is an extreme lack of participation of both content creators and content consumers. For fanfiction though, I've encountered an unique aspect to this problem- lack of meaningful reviews. Not that I don't appreciate each and every review I do get on anything I make. (I'm a relative unknown everywhere I go haha). But sometimes, you work really long and really hard on a chapter and it can be discouraging to just get a generic "good chapter" review.
Sometimes I think it's my fault though. I expect too much from a fandom that has so little. It's part of the problem that I have with my writing outgrowing the fandom. I try to make each chapter count every time I update. Not every chapter has an update but every chapter does have an important moment or piece of character development. The kind of stuff that I crave feedback for. A clever conversation, a developing romance, a hilarious moment.
I'll never forget the time when I had a character with an absent mother figure that she idolized. When you finally meet her, she's every bit as illustrious and glamourous as the character built her up to be. But then it turns out that the mother hates the character for an accident she caused as a child. The mother even goes as far as to use her magic to attempt to cut off her daughter's air supply without her even realizing it was her own mother doing it. It was the first major plot twist I've ever tried pulling off in my writing. You know what review I received after I posted it? "That was an interesting chapter. I can't wait for the next update." Which was extremely similar to other chapters I've posted in the past without nearly the same level of writing.
It was heartbreaking and I pretty much discontinued my story shortly after that. What was the point? By that point, the only people reviewing were fellow writers. We had an understanding back then that since we were the only people in the fandom, we would review each other's work because no one else would.
A few years later, I began writing again on a new site for a new audience. This time I would write for myself and not care about the reviews or recognition. It's a lot easier said than done, but it does feel better this time around. This go-round, I learned something- if you want your readers to focus on something, it's got to be the sole focus of your chapter. You still might get the occasional brief review but still.
Unless the pacing requires multiple focus points. Then it can get a little tricky. One chapter I wrote I modeled it after the way a show sometimes has the main characters split up and do several things at once but they all come together by the end. I went over the pacing over and over again before I published and everything seemed good. Everything moved smoothly and swiftly without lagging or over exposition. Several really cool things happened in the chapter; character motives revealed, comedic moments, tense moments. It ended up being 25 pages. I got a two sentence review saying it was good. From then on, I limited my chapters to 15 pages max and one to two focus points.
Now for the current application of this problem; I'm already 15 pages into my new chapter that has multiple POV changes and plot points. The main focal point is that one of my character's, Fina, feels like she's being replaced and ignored by the main character, Joe, because he's met a new girl and is on the phone with her constantly. Their other friends, Fred and Sam, notice Fina becoming more distant and withdrawn. The chapter has about four parts that I feel like are important to the series overall.
Sometimes I think it's my fault though. I expect too much from a fandom that has so little. It's part of the problem that I have with my writing outgrowing the fandom. I try to make each chapter count every time I update. Not every chapter has an update but every chapter does have an important moment or piece of character development. The kind of stuff that I crave feedback for. A clever conversation, a developing romance, a hilarious moment.
I'll never forget the time when I had a character with an absent mother figure that she idolized. When you finally meet her, she's every bit as illustrious and glamourous as the character built her up to be. But then it turns out that the mother hates the character for an accident she caused as a child. The mother even goes as far as to use her magic to attempt to cut off her daughter's air supply without her even realizing it was her own mother doing it. It was the first major plot twist I've ever tried pulling off in my writing. You know what review I received after I posted it? "That was an interesting chapter. I can't wait for the next update." Which was extremely similar to other chapters I've posted in the past without nearly the same level of writing.
It was heartbreaking and I pretty much discontinued my story shortly after that. What was the point? By that point, the only people reviewing were fellow writers. We had an understanding back then that since we were the only people in the fandom, we would review each other's work because no one else would.
A few years later, I began writing again on a new site for a new audience. This time I would write for myself and not care about the reviews or recognition. It's a lot easier said than done, but it does feel better this time around. This go-round, I learned something- if you want your readers to focus on something, it's got to be the sole focus of your chapter. You still might get the occasional brief review but still.
Unless the pacing requires multiple focus points. Then it can get a little tricky. One chapter I wrote I modeled it after the way a show sometimes has the main characters split up and do several things at once but they all come together by the end. I went over the pacing over and over again before I published and everything seemed good. Everything moved smoothly and swiftly without lagging or over exposition. Several really cool things happened in the chapter; character motives revealed, comedic moments, tense moments. It ended up being 25 pages. I got a two sentence review saying it was good. From then on, I limited my chapters to 15 pages max and one to two focus points.
Now for the current application of this problem; I'm already 15 pages into my new chapter that has multiple POV changes and plot points. The main focal point is that one of my character's, Fina, feels like she's being replaced and ignored by the main character, Joe, because he's met a new girl and is on the phone with her constantly. Their other friends, Fred and Sam, notice Fina becoming more distant and withdrawn. The chapter has about four parts that I feel like are important to the series overall.
- Joe's POV- Establishes his growing relationship with another female character who will become more important as the series goes on. Also reveals how he's been inadvertedly been ignoring Fina because he's so caught up with his new relationship.
- Fina's POV- She snaps and reaches the pinnacle of one of her character arcs.
- Fred POV- He finally notices Fina's distress and the two become closer and establishing a new relationship
- Sam's POV- Contains scenes furthering his relationship with another character and Fina, and sets the stage for another story.
