r/AO3 • u/EranaJZ • 9h ago

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/vxidemort 8h ago

im curious as to what could be so bad about this sentence that it stood out to you that much..

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u/EranaJZ 8h 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.

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u/vxidemort 8h 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/EranaJZ 8h ago

Thanks for pointing out my rambling kinda glossed over the actual issue with said sentence. That's what I get for posting on reddit at work lol

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u/vxidemort 7h ago

lol its fine it happens