'What's a Negative Comment You Agreed With, Fanfiction Writers?'

Negative comments can bring a writer down... Or help show them how to improve. It's always better to be nice, but have you ever found a negative comment on your work to be true and helpful? Here are some stories from Reddit, and I'd love to hear your perspectives!

0:00 Stutters and Accents
1:55 Plotholes
2:47 Tildes~
4:05 Repetitive Words
5:20 Vary Sentence Structure
7:29 OOC Characters
8:45 Content Warnings
9:39 Formatting
11:54 Be Kind!

[pemanilnoob]

Good rule of thumb for critiquing people, NEVER assume they know what you’re talking about. NEVER be vague

[artfuldodgerrr]

The only time I write stutters is if it's a nervous stutter. Like, imagine a character being told something devastating and responding like "W-what did you just say?" Kinda like a vocal double-take. Other than that, I don't write stutters.

[ritanagy]

Stuttering is the airbrush of writing, if you can use it well, you should, in some places it's even weirder if you don't (hypothermia fics), but it's easy to over do it and can look weird and messy

[rock-not]

I love when a fic includes accents, its so fun to read dialogue written in a way that you immediately can hear them speak with the accent

[deg]

I think for my own mental health I will not read anyone’s take on stuttering characters as a stutterer myself

[SwoodleArt]

I think stutters can work, but most of the time I prefer when they aren't there. I think they're best used in moderation

Do: "H-hey... you alright back there?"
Don't: "H-h-hey.. y-you al-alright b-b-back t-t-there?"

Sometimes this can make the dialogue harder to read, at least for me. Similar thing with accents. They can be fun to use in moderation, but it's better to not overdo it for the sake of comprehension.

[LeotheLizardKwing]

As someone with a stutter that isn’t the generic “t-t-t” but more of a “my mouth has stopped working on this particular sound so I am going to start the entire sentence over, ” I do think it’s helpful to write them into the text. Not every sentence needs to have a word the character trips over, but if it’s there in the voice it’s worth having, especially in fanfiction.

[CosmizEve]

can't get negative comments if I dont post my work 😎

[SpaceOpal]

about the accents and stutters question - I think they should be included if they're a major part of a character. take for example Gobber from how to train your dragon. he has an accent and I simply cannot imagine his character and quotes without it. however, if a character is nervous or afraid, there are better ways to write it other than stuttering because its a little annoying to read when overused

[arrow_of_ravenclaw]

Someone once wrote a detailed critique of my fic, and I’m like “you’re absolutely right.” Basically saying the plot idea was good(the idea being a gravity falls fic where everyone on the wheel has a power related to their symbol) but the idea was underutilized and some of the powers were lame, which I agree with(especially Stan’s).

Some were obvious(Robby was a healer, Pacifica had the ability to control an army of llamas, Wendy had ice powers) but for some reason, Stan got magic knives

[alicethemad]

You can get across an accent with slang and the grammar they use (“wantin’” instead of “wanting”, use of “mate” or “y’all”, etc.) but phonetically transcribed accents are the bane of my existence and almost never work. It’s just as bad in published lit. God, especially for German characters. If I never have to see another “zhis” or “vhat” I will die happy.

[lizanna]

I got a comment from a frequent reader that a relationship was very one sided. They did this with lots of apologise and 🙈🙈🙈 but they were so right. I had planned to address it at some point but when readers started picking up on i did it sooner.

If I have constructive criticism I try to deliver it in a compliment sandwiche but still sometimes get a nasty response.

[mikaylabaer]

As someone who legitimately stutters and has since elementary school, I don't mind it... if done correctly. (tl;dr included at the end, because this turned out _way_ longer than I wanted it to... I should make a reddit post)

I was lucky enough to be able to go to speech pathology for nearly a decade while in school, so I know some of the tips and tricks to get over a stutter, as well as some of the most annoying aspects of it. Here's a few things I've learned that might be helpful to someone: (keep in mind, this is all my personal experience, and everyone's experiences with stuttering is different)


*Stutters are situational.* Or, they _can_ be. In my experience, yes, they are. I don't necessarily stutter around my family and friends in private situations, because my nerves aren't high enough. If I do end up stuttering in front of them, it is likely because I am quoting something verbatim or nervous about how I'll come across. Personally, I stutter most when I am reading something aloud, or speaking in front of new people. Being in a customer service job has helped a bit with the latter, but if I'm tired or hungry or something, you can bet I'll stutter going through the menu.

*Stutters can be related to emotions.* In my experience. Like stated before, I stutter more when I'm nervous, tired, hungry, etc. I also stutter when I'm happy, excited, grateful, etc. Anytime emotions are high, you can bet my vocal chords are going nuts. Speaking of which,

*Stuttering has different physical manifestations.* And those manifestations can change. When I was in elementary school, I would elongate my syllables ("I don't uuundersssstand tthhat.") When my mental health was tanking at the start of middle school, I would repeat syllables a lot ("I don't- don't under-derstand that.") As I have grown older, and the manifestation that seems to have stuck, is having a physical blockage in my throat where air physically won't leave my throat ("I-... I don't-... understand th-... that.") It should be noted that one person can exhibit all of these at once. ("I-... I don't- don't uuundersssstand th-... that.")

*Even people who haven't gone to speech pathology have developed tricks to help.* There are a few unconscious tricks that seem to occur naturally; such as repeated body movements along with the stutter, blinking, head nodding, tapping something, etc. There are also some tricks that I learned during my years of treatment; like humming before you start a word so you're less likely to get a block, slurring all your words together so your body can't form a block, slowing down and choosing each word deliberately, etc. There are also a few social tricks that don't work but kinda get engrained; like repeated apologies, nervous laughter, just stopping, or any other kind of shame-related form of getting around it.

*Most of the time, I am aware I am stuttering.* Especially since I have been working on it since I started learning about multiplication, I hear myself stutter more often than the people around me do. When I am in public, I am _painfully_ aware of whenever I stutter. I can tell I am going to stutter before I start speaking, especially if I know what word I plan on saying. I can feel it in my throat when I lock in my brain that I plan on saying a specific Trouble Word or sound. It's almost like a bubble or a weight that just sits at the back of my throat. There are very few times where I don't know I'm stuttering, and that's usually just when I'm overexcited.

*Certain sounds/syllables are more difficult than others.* It's probably different for everyone, but every fellow stutterer I've encountered has agreed that fricatives and plosives SUCK. Fricatives are like f, v, or s. S's are the worst for me; I hate when a word starts with them, I hate when a syllable starts with them, if I'm in a new environment I avoid it like the plague. Plosives include b, t, p, d, g, and k. Those mostly suck because, with my blocks, they involve stopping any sound coming out in order to produce the (ex)plosive sound.

A few more small things, then I'll wrap it up because this is already too long:
Stuttering can be affected by mental health. Stuttering can be physically painful. When trying to push your way past a stutter, your face can do some pretty weird things that you're unaware of. Kids can be ruthless, so if a character has been stuttering since they were kids and they went to a public school, they probably have some sort of trauma or triumphs that pop into their minds during bad stutter days. I've described stuttering before as a looming shadow waiting to strike, since it's always in the back of my mind and the back of my throat whenever I speak. It is rare (for me) to stutter in the middle of a syllable; it's either at the beginning of the syllable/word, or _possibly_ the end, I don't think I've stuttered on a random vowel before unless it's a diphthong. When writing a stutter, try imagining the shape of the mouth when they speak and figure out where the stutter is starting; mine usually start in my throat, but I've known people who have blockages somewhere further up in their mouth. A nervous stutter like "W-What" or "I- I'm not sure" are perfectly fine to include and not at all offensive; making someone be almost incomprehensible for the sake of "oh, look at this poor wittle baby, they're so innocent and cute" can be offensive and, honestly, could be seen as ableist because stuttering (I think) can be a neurodiversity and my own stutter came from my ADHD.

Overall, if a stutter is done in a way that isn't cutesy UwU confessing to senpai infantilization, I'm pretty alright with it. Obviously, everybody stutters when nervous or giving a presentation, and I'm not trying to gatekeep anything. This list was more just to detail some of the nuances of a stuttering disorder. (I believe a stuttering disorder is defined as stuttering more than 10% of your words. And, yes, tests are ran by having the stutterer ramble about something or read something while the pathologist sits across from them with a pencil and paper marking down each success and each stutter as they speak. And, yes, it's stressful.) If you're writing someone who has a stuttering disorder, I would invite you to do some research, since my list isn't even half of it and it's already long enough. Drew Lynch, a comedian, has a stutter, so listening to some of his bits could be a good place to start in order to gain a general feel for it.

Feel free to add any comments, questions, critiques, or concerns.

tl;dr: Stuttering can be a really nuanced thing. What can be a stuttering trigger for some (like reading for me) could be perfectly fine for someone (like someone who struggles with everyday speech and conversation). If writing a character with a stutter, try giving them a tick/tell for when they stutter, like tapping their leg or 'bonking' their head in the air to push past it. If your character has been struggling for a while, give them different ways of coping with it/strategizing their conversations to avoid it. Certain can be more difficult than others. Nervous stutters are something everyone can and does have, but try not to overdo it unless there's something else there.

[InsomniacFlaaffy]

The only negative comments I've gotten was them getting mad at me for writing an interracial couple dealing with racism, which they invalidated my blackness, or about "drama" I was in on tumblr

[name-ny]

In terms of long paragraphs, I feel it's about finding a middle ground. Overall I'm okay with long paragraphs, just not REALLY long paragraphs. However, the one thing I really struggle to tolerate is "Entire story with massive spaces between every line."

I don't know how many people have experienced this, but I've read quite a few fics that will have so many gaps in between lines.

1 line gaps is great, 2-3 is fine, but I was surprised at how many stories can have 5+ blank lines in between each and every line. The reason you'd sometimes space things out a bit is so that it's easier on the eyes for big paragraphs, but having too many gaps can be just as hard to track the end of one line to the next than none at all.

[kenyastarflight]

Someone left a criticism on one of my older fanfics pointing out how racist and homophobic parts of it were. I hadn't written it intending to be racist or homophobic at all, but it was a huge wake-up call to how my conservative upbringing had led me to hold a lot of internalized prejudices, and while I've since distanced myself from the fic it DID lead to me re-evaluating a lot of my beliefs and viewpoints. I feel like I'm a much better person now.

[Messwiththehonkyougetthebonk]

Accents can be an interesting thing to write, I read Harry Potter (The first book, Sorcerer's Stone) recently, and I found a lot of charm in Hagrid's accented dialogue, so in my opinion... Just don't go overboard, and it's honestly pretty cool.

Stutters? Don't go overboard, a quick little 'H-hello?' Can really set the emotion and... vibe for the scene, but d-d-don't g-go o-overb-board o-o-or e-else i-it w-will b-be h-hard t-to r-r-read.

[mimisezlol]

There was this thing called future problem solvers in middle school, where teams had to come up with solutions to scenarios that were written based on predicted, well, future problems. There was a scenario writing contest, and one year I managed to write a scenario for it. It inexplicably got to 5th place in state, but it didn't make it to the national level because it ended too neatly and happily after having a generally bleak tone. Thing is, I was told that they didn't like it when writers killed off their main characters, when killing my main character would've made sense and suited the tone.
I regret not killing her to this day, even as I've realized the other errors in a story I wrote like 17 years ago

[nesnibila]

i got this one as a bookmark note on my dead dove fic & i love it: 'uhm so firstly I don't know why I clicked on this and secondly I have no idea what's happening in this book all I know is that it's wrong'

[CaitEden]

0:53 Accents and lisps and stuff yes, stutters sometimes. Nervous stutter can be kept. But stuff like lisps, accents, and verbal-impediment stuttering being actually written out can be distracting.