How to Write a Good Fanfic

3.1.1 - The Young Writer

How should we treat young writers?

There are people out there who push the idea that we shouldn't critique a young writer for the faults in their writing because young writers are sensitive souls who will quit writing if they're told how bad their stories are, but how true is this?

I actually started thinking about this after reading a post on tumbler comparing young artists to young writers and how they're treated differently, yet as someone who has ventured into both worlds they're really not, but then again I don't think fanfic writers have really delved into fanart enough to have come across the fanart which is considered to be on the same level.

I have and can say the really bad fanart happens at a far less frequently than the fanart does. I think part of this comes from the fact the vast majority of young artists will already have basic training where as the young writer will typically have none. There's also been a weeding out already among young artists which doesn't occur among young writers where one of two things happen.

The first is the child discovering art is not for them simply because they don't have the patience for the craft, or they simply don't have the talent. The second is the child who isn't yet ready to share their work. The few times we come across a young artist who is truly horrible it is most often a child whose been told their awful artwork is the next great Picasso, but we hate dealing with these types. Sometimes it is the second and that work typically disappears from their portfolio later on or moved to what we call a draft folder.

As for these articles talking about just appreciating the art for what it is – what people don't realize is that there are people out there who consider themselves art critics who will make a big deal over the smallest thing, such as an artist struggling with say drawing hands which is in fact one of the things a lot of artists struggle to get right and it can take practice. These articles have nothing to do with not telling the person not to work on drawing hands better, but more of the way we approach it.

To say their aren't similar articles regarding the critique of fanfic like there are for critiquing fanart is also a major misconception, because there are articles like that out there. However, if you don't understand that the article saying to appreciate the fanart for what it isn't saying not to critique you wouldn't understand this, but there is also another factor not considered.

We're talking about two different mediums which have always had different methods of critiquing simply because they are two different kinds of mediums. One focuses on the person's ability to capture reality in a picture and the other focuses on the person's ability to capture reality in words. The way we appreciate it is different.

And I must go back to the fact there's already been a weeding out process when it comes to young artists which hasn't yet happened to the young writers but the vast majority of your young artists are already approaching their art knowing it's a lot of hard work and that they don't get instant popularity overnight for simply posting a picture.

This isn't the case with the young writer. Yes, you have young writers who know it is a lot of hard work and that they don't get instant popularity, but you also have quite a few who think simply slapping their words down will suffice, yet they're not there for the joy of writing, but because they want the instant success. These – of the young writers I've critiqued – are typically the ones who quit and not the ones who actually love writing, but these are the ones who would have quit art already.

As for the young writers who do have a love of writing – I've found the vast majority want to be treated like an adult and not a child just like the young artist does. One of the ways you treat someone as an adult is by critique. Of course, one of the things about critique is you don't use words which treat the writer as if they're not a person and you focus on the work. There's a reason we call poorly written stuff "bad fic" rather than "shitty", but I think people have forgotten that term.