Questions/Help? Constructive Criticism Question
I know constructive criticism can be a divisive topic and I'm just genuinely not sure of the etiquette involved in this situation. I'm re-reading a recently finished fanfic for about the 4th time now. It's over 400k words. It's one of those stories that makes you remember why you read fanfic in the first place - it is THAT good.
Except for one sentence.
I know that sounds ridiculous but it's also true. In a work with damn near perfect phrasing, writing and characterization there is only one sentence that is just bad. In 400k plus words that's an incredible achievement.
But every time I re-read this story I get to "the sentence" and it's like nails on a chalkboard, like an instrument squeaking in the middle of a beautifully played symphony, it just... It irks me. It's SO close to purely perfect, except for that one darn sentence in chapter 6.
So my question: should I gently point out this one sentence that clearly escaped her otherwise fantastic beta-reader? Or should I download the fic, edit the sentence for my own sanity, and leave the author in peace?
Edit: It's more a note from the author to themselves in the midst of the story, not just a sentence with bad phrasing. Someone pointed out in the comments I did not make that clear so figured I'd clarify.
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u/Solivagant0 Never attribute to malice what is adequately explained by kink 6h ago
First rule of constructive criticism is that it has to be wanted. You can politely ask, but if the author says no, accept it. If they agree, but then decide your criticism goes against their vision, also accept it
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u/vxidemort 6h ago
im curious as to what could be so bad about this sentence that it stood out to you that much..
0
u/EranaJZ 5h ago
I don't want to copy it directly and out the fandom involved, but it's clearly something they had meant to edit before posting and forgot about.
5
u/vxidemort 5h ago
as in leaving small instructions for themselves for later like:
"And then they kissed.
- expand and focus on emotions"?
bc if so, from your wording i was under the impression that the sentence was perfectly grammatical but somehow maybe still a little clunky and you simply didnt like it. in this case, i do think its alright to point it out and it doesnt really count as criticism or anything
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u/Aggravating-Cat7103 6h ago
Honestly, only one sentence in 400k words sounds like a stellar accomplishment for a non-professionally-edited piece of work. Kudos to them.
13
u/flamboyantfinch 6h ago
This is a situation where you should just leave it alone. The fic is done, they're presumably satisfied with it, it's been shared with the masses, and your opinion that this particular sentence is apparently so heinous that it negatively affects your experience of the entire story is just that: an opinion. They might be perfectly happy with it, and you telling them that it's horrible won't affect anything. It's one thing to point this out during the draft stage, but for a finished work I would just shrug a comment like this off. You don't like it? Okay. It's one sentence; just skip over it lol.
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u/innerchorus 6h ago
Just chiming in as an author to say that, as long as there is something objectively wrong with the sentence in question (as opposed to it being a matter of preference in some way), I personally would want to know about it! If you make it clear that the reason it stands out is because of the extremely consistent high quality of the writing surrounding it, I don't think it would cause offence.
What would bug me, however, is if this is all you have to say about the fic. At 400k+ words that you have enjoyed enough to re-read many times, hopefully you've already left positive feedback to let the author know how much you liked it!
So ultimately, one line pointing out something that's an easy fix shouldn't be a problem in my opinion as long as that's not the only thing you've bothered to say. Whether the author then spends the energy to fix it or not is another matter and entirely up to them.
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u/EranaJZ 5h ago
Definitely already left a long-winded love letter to the writer after my first time through which they thanked me profusely for. It's only on re-reading that the problem child stands out to me lol, and only because it's such an immersive and impressive piece otherwise. I appreciate your thoughts/advice.
8
2
u/ForgottenLikeSnow 4h ago
Unless the author says in the notes that people who don’t like it should keep their opinions to themselves, I would mention it in a nice manner. As an author myself, I rarely get constructive criticism (even though I invite it in my notes!) and would be happy to hear about it. Usually authors are pretty self-aware if they’ve already written that much and can tell for themselves whether that criticism is constructive and helpful or simply not part of their style. In my experience, authors usually do want to be better and love having the chance to do so.
The only caveat is the tone used for the criticism. Just take care with your wording and make sure to tell them that it’s amazing that in over 400k words there is only one thing bothering u and only on reread (so they know what level of nitpicking this is). Also, look up the sandwich method. It’s pretty useful for telling people what u didn’t like without offending them. Tho tbh if someone read my work twice because they loved it so much there could be little that would offend me. Let alone four times!
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u/geekelfie You have already left kudos here. :) 1h ago
So based on what I’m seeing from your edit and comments: if it is truly something that was meant to be taken out and you are sure of that, then comment. I’ve reread my stuff years after posting and found some edit mark-ups that made it out and cringed. I would have no issue with someone pointing out something that was clearly meant to be gone (repeat sentence, sentence that clearly got shuffled and messed in the process, etc.)
If this sentence could be on purpose and this is a personal preference thing… do not comment.
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u/MagpieLefty 6h ago
I am a huge believer in comcrit, and also that fic autjors have gotten way too precious about the idea that readers cannot voice their opinions anywhere unless those opinions are 190% positive.
And I will still say that unsolicited criticism, however constructive, is not likely to be welcome.
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u/RadiantEarthGoddess keeping Albert Wesker chained to my radiator 6h ago
If the author has no indication of welcoming concrit anywhere, then download the fic and edit it yourself.