The Etiquette of Holiday fics

[geoviki]

Like all the rest of you, I'm delighting in the reams and reams of new stories and art (and this year's art is especially terrific!). There's the granddaddy, merry_smutmas, and then others like harry_holidays, hd_holidays, smutty_claus, lupin_snape.... an embarrassment of riches!

As we are encouraging each other as writers and artists, I'm trying to leave feedback as well. One thing that caught my notice, though, has left me feeling uneasy, and I wondered what your views are: In your opinion, is it uncouth to leave concrit that's negative on a fest fic? (Disclosure: this is not anything that's happened regarding my own fic, just other folk's.)

I don't see the author requesting any, for one thing. Personally, I won't do it, but then I never leave anything less than praise unless I'm asked specifically and privately. If I don't like something, I just pass it by. Which unfortunately is the same response to something I've not yet read, so the writer is never sure if I'm unhappy or just behind (if the writer even cares what I think), but there you go.

But IMHO, these stories are gifts. And I can't see criticising a gift. Am I over-sensitive? What do you authors and artists think?

Comments

[firestorm717.livejournal.com]

I don't believe in concrit for any sort of fannish product, or even any real product, given as a gift, whether it be for a birthday or a holiday or whatever. Simply put, would you criticize - even in a constructive way - a homemade gift such as...a hand-knit scarf or something, given to you or someone else as a gift? I would have to say no. Even if your criticism is constructive, like pointing out that the ends are loose here or the knitting is uneven there, it just...ruins the whole mood of the gift-giving. I know some people are thickskinned when it comes to criticism, but for the rest of us who are not, even constructive criticism in a positive setting can feel somehow hurtful, especially if the target of that critique is something written or produced in a moment of love/altruism. It goes against the grain. Like separating work and plan - I might give constructive criticism on a scarf that someone knit for a class or was perhaps knitting at the moment on a whim, but I would not give that criticism if the scarf was a heartfelt heirloom or a special gift, no matter how awful it is knit from a strict technique standpoint.