(no subject)

[deralte]

I would like to state that the Harry Potter Dragon Eggs are really odd. It was cute that I thought I was getting a Chinese Fireball, but when I unwrapped it, I discovered a second wrapping saying I had a Hungarian Horntail instead. Was a bit bemused by that. Then I bit into the egg and discovered two strange creams in green and orange respectively with a dragon shapped gummy...so I'm chewing on a Hungarian Horntail now. Not as crunchy as I'd imagined...

In other news,I'd sincerly like to thwap the next person who reviews one of my fics with only the intention of increasing their post count. And I'd really like to know why they are all choosing Uric the Oddball's Fantastic Adventures to do it on...end rant...

Comments

[biichan.livejournal.com]

They have dragon egg candies? Someone better tell Albus...

[deralte.livejournal.com]

Or Hagrid, though he might consider it cruelty to animals...

[nentari.livejournal.com]

I know. t's irritating when people only write "This story is great", and sometimes it looks like they haven't even paid attention to what was written. I know I sometimes write lousy reviews (with "This story is great" on them, I have to admit), but at least I try to comment what I have read, even if it's just a couple of sentences.

Re:

[deralte.livejournal.com]

I can understand that some people don't write informative reviews and all they can think of to say is "That's great" etc, but when someone reviews every chapter of your story within ten minutes it's a bit obvious that all they've been doing is skimming and aren't even making an effort to understand the story. Sometimes it's a bit hard to tell, and last night I was sure I actually caught the person up in the story since the time between their reviews really went up the further they read, but it was still a bit annoying and it didn't help that I wasn't feeling very good.

[eilanhp.livejournal.com]

You wouldn't by any means talk about thiss (http://www.fictionalley.org/ficalley/reviews/member.php?s=&action=getinfo&userid=10105) lady, would you? And then take a look at the other great reviews she wrote, here (http://www.fictionalley.org/ficalley/reviews/search.php?s=&action=showresults&searchid=3652).

Oh my God.

[deralte.livejournal.com]

I see she's hit you too...I mean, I have no idea what you're talking about...

[aylapascal.livejournal.com]

::hugs:: Many people review fics just to increase their post count. And others, just review fics carelessly even though they've read them. But one thing, I can't really say that reviewing every ten minutes is an indication of not reading the fic properly. I read Uric properly and it took me about ten - twenty minutes per chapter. And I will come up with a nice long coherent review when I have time. I did review the first chapter didn't I?

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[deralte.livejournal.com]

What I meant is that they somehow read six chapters (each at least three single-spaced pages long, excepting the first one) in under ten minutes. Now I can read over 100 pages in an hour so it is feasible, but this person's reviews showed that they were barely reading the fic (except near the end where she did start to slow down and, I expect, actually start reading). She was of course, the second person to do this type of reviewing on the same story in two days which is why I was a bit annoyed.

And you did review the first chapter for which I thank you since it brightened my day, and most of my days recently have been rather dark. Long, thought out reviews are a joy to the soul. Cheers:)

ps. Nice icon btw.

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[aylapascal.livejournal.com]

Oh, *those* people are annoying. I had one of them read my story too. Urg. You'd think they could come up with a better review to cut and paste than "Nice! Keep on writing!" But who knows, maybe she read the whole thing before? Unlikely, I know... but still...

One thing, I'm going to forget this later, but did you have a grammar beta for Uric Oddball and the Wild Hunt? Because there were several grammatical mistakes scattered in the chapters. Such as a mix up between lose and loose. The first one is: "Don't lose your cat" and the second is "Her skirt was loose around the hips." Stupid choices of examples, I know. :)

~Ayla

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[deralte.livejournal.com]

I had no beta whatsoever (still don't for that matter, though I wish I did...). I've been learning as I go, and you'll probably notice that the grammar gets better as the chapters progress (hopefully...). (You'll notice that my british-isms get better as well since the longer I live in Britain, the easier it is for me to write British style and I literally began Uric right when I moved here...)If you see any grammatical mistakes please point them out to me and I'll fix them the next time I revise.

I keep meaning to get a beta, but I'm a bit paranoid about the whole process...you wouldn't happen to know someone who has near impecable grammar, is willing to critique my style and plot, and doesn't mind stories focused entirely on OC's would you?:)

Cheers,
Ariana

Re:

[aylapascal.livejournal.com]

Yes, the grammar does get better as it goes.

Have you tried the seekers forum at FAP? Or how about asking some of the people who have reviewed your story and who seem to have good critiques and grammar. You could try mctabby. I'm not sure whether she has the time, but she does have a perfect grasp of grammar and canon. I should know. She's my beta. :)

Probably the best thing is to get a plot/style beta and a grammar beta and get the plot/style beta to go over the story first. If I'm making sense here, which most likely I'm not.

Now I'm trying not to offer myself as a beta because I tend not to be a good one, but mainly because I probably don't have enough time this year. But if you can't find anyone else, I'd love to beta (provided I have enough time).

~Ayla