Subject: Sadly, I cannot read the author's mind.
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Posted on: 2019-08-02 03:26:00 UTC

I don't know how much or what flavor of critique any given Internet writer can handle. Sometimes, if they actually say they're interested in improving and welcome feedback, I'll leave a review. More often, though, it's just the usual "plz R&R!!1! I must have 5 reviews before I post the next chapter!" Given the choice between spending my energy on A) a long, long list of corrections that may or may not be welcome, or B) on writing my own characters, in their own story, viscerally experiencing the problems so they're shown rather than told? I choose the latter. It's more interesting for me and my intended readers, and, I believe, less likely to hurt someone than you think.

I don't know the numbers, but I'm pretty sure there are a lot more authors who don't have a story sporked than those that do, so statistically, the chance that YOUR story will be sporked is low. And, again, we don't broadcast what we do for good reason. Nobody here intends for any particular author to see a mission about their particular story.

Given that, supposing someone does come across a mission to their work anyway, I think self-determination on the author's part comes into play.

First, they have to make the choice to read the mission. We don't want them to, and no one's forcing them to. To quote many a fanfic: don't like, don't read!

Second, once they've decided to read it (I'm guessing most people would, honestly; ALL writers have egos), they have to decide how to deal with it beyond the knee-jerk reaction of taking it personally. Sure, it sucks to hear that somebody thinks your work is no good. That's completely normal. But what do you do next?

You've basically got three choices: 1) take it super-seriously and wallow in misery and/or rage ad infinitum; 2) completely dismiss it as the idiotic babble of a basement-dwelling loser, forget it, and move on; or 3) really think about it, take what value you can from it, and leave the rest.

It's not easy to do the third thing, and nobody is born able to do it, but it is incredibly worthwhile to learn how on something relatively trivial like fanfic. That makes it easier when you have to face criticism of much more important parts of your identity, like your performance in school, or in a job, or as a human being. I speak from experience here, and I think most of us could.

To be clear, I'm not saying I think I'm doing anyone a favor by sporking their story—again, my intention is not for them to see it at all. I'm just saying that my personal outlook is that challenges are opportunities for growth, and I highly recommend that outlook to anyone who stumbles across a mission to their fanfic.

~Neshomeh

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