Quixotic undertakings are my passion in life!

[apple_pathways]

Fellow writers of fic: born out of a discussion on the Doctor Who anonmeme, I have created concrit_anon, an anonymity-optional community for posting fictional works and receiving constructive criticism. The aim is for users to post their fic, either anonymous or otherwise, and other readers can post their concrit, again either anonymously or under the username of their choice.

Right now I'm in the early stages, deciding if this is an idea that's going to work, or a giant pain in the ass I'm going to end up regretting. I have a post up on the comm where you can comment and let me know which side you're placing your bets on. Do stop on by, even if it's just to jeer at me (anonymously, hopefully) or to say hello and help me feel I haven't wasted the last couple hours of my life.

Ta!

Comments

[ladylovelace.livejournal.com]

I, for one, would love this to work and shall spread the word for you.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

So would I, dearie! The main drawback I can see is having more people offering stories to critique than offering criticism. Well, who said it was going to be easy? :P

[ladylovelace.livejournal.com]

Pfft. I'll be there tearing people's dreams down (in a polite, constructive way whilst being careful to mention at least one positive), don't worry. This is exactly the reason I got a degree in English Lit instead of something useful.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

I just hope my degree in social work and experience in community mental health isn't needed! ;)

Honesly, I think if this comm takes off, it's going to be fine.

[sabriel75.livejournal.com]

This idea would be awesome as long as people understand what concrit is and it must be backed by observations, actually reading the material and quoting it in context to the critique being made.

I really could use something like this if I felt safe enough to post there and anonymous does nothing for me. I don't need to hide if I feel the person critically analyzing me has my writerly person at heart.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

That's very well-put, and a concept I'll definitely try to incorporate in the comm's guidelines! This is also the reason why I'd like to make anonymity optional: some people are actually more comfortable without it!

I created the comm under my own personal username and not a sock for several reasons: one, I wanted to utilize my flist! You guys are awesome and a fantastic resource for a project such as this. Two: I want to back this comm with my reputation as a constructive, non-wanky, and generally positive person who is willing to stand behind her words.

Oh, I hope this works! *crosses fingers*

[alias-amy.livejournal.com]

Good luck! I hope this takes off for you! I can definitely see it being very useful for the right type of person.

If you ever want concrit, I'm always happy to give it to anyone on my flist privately, as opposed to leaving it on a review on pulped fictions. I've been thinking about this issue a lot lately, because I've been doing so many reviews. I think sometimes I sound like such a Pollyanna on PF, but I don't want to leave concrit unless I know they really want it, just because I myself don't take it well unless it's someone I know and whose writing I like.

But if you ever want a thorough review of something, I'd do it for you in a heartbeat.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

Thanks, doll! And back atcha: I love reviewing the work of writers I trust. (And by trust I mean...you know, people who I actually enjoy reading! It gets too awkward when you just don't enjoy someone's writing at all.)

While I know I'll definitely make use of the comm, should it take off, I've not created it to fill a need for myself; I'm lucky enough that I have people I could go to if I wanted honest criticism. (Adding you that list!)

I want it to be a place people can use. It's hard for a lot of people to ask for and actually receive constructive criticism, as well as for people to give it. At least if there's a comm dedicated to concrit, people will know what's expected: to give and receive honest criticism!

At least that's the plan. In any case, I'm having fun setting things up. :P

[evilhippo.livejournal.com]

I'm totally behind this. I don't have much of use to say at the moment, but I definitely want to see this work. Anon commenting will be easy, but how do you plan to work out anonymous fic-posting?

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

We've been hashing it out, and I've decided that people will post their fics kinkmeme-style as a comment to a master post. The way I am envisioning it, there will be one post for fanfic, one for original fiction, and one for all adult/NC-17 rated stories.

When you have the time, come on over and join the discussion over there! I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[stick-poker.livejournal.com]

Ooo. Interesting idea.

[lemniciate.livejournal.com]

I've actually seen at least two of these comms created in the past--one for Merlin and one panfandom. I love the idea and desperately want honest and genuine feedback for my fic but idk, they never seem to take off. I think the people who are aware of controversy (the 'bnfs', people who have been wanked on in the past) wouldn't bother to put their names down because well, the controversy. And the people who aren't so widely read may put their names down but nobody knows them well enough to really help out. You're left with a handful of people putting their names down and not enough anons to give critique. :/

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

That is one of my main concerns, I'll admit: having enough people interested in offering critique. I'm not sure what you mean, though, in terms of 'putting their name down'...? The comm allows anonymity for authors as well as reviewers, so it shouldn't be necessary for people to attach a name to their work. Though I imagine it would take a few bold posters to get the ball rolling! (As soon as I get the comm up and running, I'll post some of my stuff there to be savaged!)

How did these other comms work? Any other advice/criticism you're willing to offer? I really want to make this work; it would be nice if I could avoid the mistakes of others!

[lemniciate.livejournal.com]

Well, the problem with anonymity is that there's no point in it if you're going to post something anon on the comm, get feedback, maybe rewrite and then post it under your username. (I don't really know why someone would ask for feedback on a piece they're not planning to post, but maybe that's just me?) And there's obviously no use in being anon if you're going to ask for feedback on a piece of writing already posted. The only way the anonymity would help is if it's a kink meme piece and the writer has no plans to ever deanon. (I personally would ask for feedback under my username, so I still think this is awesome either way haha.)

The Merlin feedback comm had authors sign up for feedback and anyone could come along and give it, anon or otherwise. The panfandom one was a comm created to critique existing posted work. Both had the issue of too many people wanting feedback, not many people willing to give it, since obviously it takes time to read and think up concrit, etc. People tend to start off strong and then trail off because it takes too much time and effort. The only way I could see to overcome this is if you spotlighted one author/piece of anon writing at a time and invited the comm to focus their attentions on only one piece. And then repeat this on a weekly basis? That way you make it more of a comm activity instead of something folks have to motivate themselves to do in their own time. But that also brings up the issue of writers maybe not wanting that level of attention. Or if it's not a very good piece of writing, people just may not bother. Uuum, idk. I'm totally willing to help out with this/brain storm etc, if you need it!

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

I do agree with you on the potential pointlessness of anonymity--there is always the possibility of a piece being recognized if it's been published before, or being recognized after the fact if it's subsequently published. That's a risk people will have to assess for themselves before posting!

I still think anonymity has benefits for authors as well. For instance, it could be useful if you're worried that your BNF status (or lack thereof) will influence the people providing criticism. In that case, people might not mind de-anoning after they've gotten feedback. (I know I'm paranoid that my friends, lovely people that they are, would hesitate to give me their full, honest opinion for fear of hurting my feelings. The fear might be unfounded, but this would give me a chance to test that theory!)

Also, for any authors who are producing fic, but too shy to post it: this is a chance for them to get feedback, improve on their writing, and possibly gain the confidence to publish later.

You are right, though, that for people who want to remain anonymous indefinitely, their only option is to publish the story anonymously, for instance on a kinkmeme or under a pseudonym.

I am appreciative of any and all feedback I can get in these early stages! A lot of what you said makes sense, and I'm taking it under advisement. I just don't want to over-plan at this point and come up with too complicated a system: solving problems that may not even become problems, you know?

I think that if I can get a dedicated group of authors and reviewers to get things started, I'll be golden. I know a lot of people will be watching and taking note, waiting to get involved until they see that it's going to be worth their while.

[lemniciate.livejournal.com]

Oh and also, you're going to have to rule with an iron fist. Can't be afraid to ban/delete/screen when anon comments are involved XD

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

Oh believe me: this is an eventuality I'm prepared for! I'm a reasonable person, willing to treat other reasonable people fairly and with the benefit of the doubt. But if people are going to be jerks, I won't hesitate to act appropriately.

[jacknjill270.livejournal.com]

Oh man, I am on this like ants on a Jolly Rancher. I probably wouldn't post a whole lot of fic, since I write at like, a geological pace, but I'm always willing to give people my opinion. :) I hope it goes well! I'm interested to see how this works out.

P.S. I finished Alias Grace a couple nights ago after staying up until 2 AM to get to the end. And it. was. AMAZING! Thank you so much for sending it to me, I loved it!

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

Oh awesome! (On both counts!)

I'm just about finished setting up the comm: it should be ready to go live sometime tonight, or tomorrow morning at the lastest. I'll make a post here when it does!

I am so, SO pleased you liked the book! It's always risky when you recommend a favorite book to someone else. It feels like a personal insult when they don't love it as much as you do! :P Man, we'll have to have an in-depth discussion of the book sometime.

I started The Serialist a couple days ago, and I'm enjoying it so far! More to come on that front. XD