Younger readers may not be bogged down with poor grammar and spelling if they, themselves, do not have strong skills in this area.

that may be valid for some but on AFF where all are adults over 18 this is not an excuse. Nor is english as a 2nd language (there is a non-english section). Yet the most poorly written and hard to follow pieces of work get some of the most glowing reviews i've ever seen. This is not right and doesn't do anyone any good.

I dont know, people want recognition for the work that they put into their stories and for their constant updates. For some people, (even though they may not be the best writers) the support they get gives them a confidence they never had before. I used to know people who spent days and days working on their stories and received a lot of great feedback and it made them feel good. It encouraged them to do better, to write more and sharpen their skills.

But also these stories get so much attention because they are constantly around, they're always being updated. I know we should all have our patience (heck sometimes I won't update stories for months) there are just some people who like to sit down and read a whole story in one sitting or have daily or weekly updates there for them when they turned their computers on. It's true, a lot of readers out there want instant gratification but they also want to read these stories because it makes them feel good. It doesn't matter to them if there are numerous cliches because they haven't be exposed to the writings of more seasoned authors. These romances are all that they know, this is what appeals to them and what they love to write about.

I think a lot of people rag on these stories and while I may not particularly love them, I will support them. It's called fanfiction for a reason. We are all fans putting our love into our stories. We can give all the constructive criticism we want but there are times when all readers want a simple uncomplicated love story.

To those who have great work but aren't recognized for it, sorry you deserve more. There are thousands of stories on ff.net, some get lucky enough to catch the attention of many people and some dont. While you may not get all the recognition you deserve, know that the lovely reviews you do get will mean a lot.

I agree with Breezy. A lot of stories with these numbers are the ones that are constantly updating. I think for some people, because it is there they support it. For others, it is mostly likely do to a young new audience.

I myself don't update often, not that it's anything fantastic, and get few reviews. Now post the same story on FF.net and I get at least six per chapter. As a author, the reviews to give me that extra push to write more. To hear what people like and knowing people enjoy it helps. I've actually even received some somewhat constructive feedback.

As for the cliché part... sometimes it what your in the mood for. Il admit that I've been guilty of this. My guilty pleasure being the hurt Sesshoumaru that Kagome tends to. But I only stick to the ones where I like how it's been done.
Though I know there are some really bad cliché out there that even make me gag at the constant reuse. But it may just be peoples personal preference. In some cases, people just need a instant fix. Not that it makes it any better that these great fix aren't getting the attention they deserve.

As a solution to this, I read peoples favorites on FF and try to promote rare gems the same way on my favorites section.

I agree with Breezy. A lot of stories with these numbers are the ones that are constantly updating. I think for some people, because it is there they support it. For others, it is mostly likely do to a young new audience.

I can personally tell you that is wrong. I update 2-3 times a week every week and that isn't the truth. The truth is the longer the story goes and when people realize you do update on a frequent steady basis they quit reviewing, taking for granted the fact that, reviews or not, you're going to update. Unless you pull something very odd and shocking out, most stop reviewing, taking for granted that you're still going to update despite lack of reviews.

thirteenxwishes wrote:
Lol, we need a squad of people to go out and give these people some concrit, stat!Dokuga has such a group. you can join. they send out notices. The original idea and still is was for new authors and new stories with no reviews to be reviewed. so that newer authors get groomed into better authors for the future. :3

b4 this turns int some kinda war, b/c i can slowly feel the heat going up about this topic, i want to say CHILL OUT.

firstly i'm not knocking these stories, i think its widely known that r0o is a lover of both Cliche and cheesy stories. honestly they give me giggles.

Second what i was ranting about was the oddity of so many reviews for such a lacking allover story. I'm not going to stand up and say i have perfect grammar or that my stories are the best and everyone should review them.

I was talking about one story that caught my eye. I'm not going to name names, but the story has 21k words and 20 chapters. that means on average the word count per chapter is about 1050. and its got over 700 reviews.

that averages out to be 35 reviews a chapter. ON AVERAGE. for an average 1050 words.

Now i'm not saying its not possible, certainly as much as i read i have seen stories that are shorter with less word count get the same and deserve it. But there are grammatical errors, there are even points when 'Sesshomaru' and 'Kagome' as well as other characters names aren't spelled correctly. there are points in which characters suddenly get unexplained nick names. and well Honestly the author has about 1 out of 11 stories finished, while continuing to start more.

My gripe, my reason for ranting is i wonder more then anything how they get 35 people st say "great job" "update soon" or whatever per chapter. @_@ that blows my mind. regardless of if you think its fair or not, i personally am just confused about it.

Its been said and i agree with the fact that the audience is younger, doesn't see the mistakes or doesn't care for them. They like the easy ready, the quickie story. and i don't begrudge them that. but i still wonder why they would review some of it in the first place.

I review a lot, but i don't review crap. Sorry, i was always told if you don't have anything nice to say don't say it at all. and that goes for reviews as well. b/c i can be constructive, i usually am for a lot of people too. but seriously. some of its like a plotbunny with crayons on the wall. unplanned and and messy, and still people say 'wow'

That was my rant. so please don't get testy with other people for their opinions, because that is what this is for. thanks. - r0o

Well there are exceptions of course just like with everything. I'm not saying that it's a guarantee that someone will get more shine if they update often but think of it this way- every time you go on ff.net you see the same story, right there on the front page. you skip it and sign off but next time you come back its there, and the time after that. human beings are curious creatures. I think that people will eventually check that story out. They might not stay with it but typically, or from what i've seen the more reviews a story gets, the more people will read it. There aren't a lot of writers up there that will get many reviews if their stories aren't update in months or a good 3 weeks. It just seems to me like the more you update, the more likely you'll get a review.
But I can see your point.

I have to agree with the more updates, the more reviews. But I also think it depends on the trend or 'fad' the stories are in.

I remember about two years ago, there was a HUGE boom in 'Mate' stories. There wasn't a lot of those type of stories back in 2005, but in early 2006 they really took off. I noticed that stories that incorporated that trend seemed to get the more reviews then those that were more unique in nature.

I have a younger cousin who reads the lower rated Inuyasha fanfictions, and she said that the high school theme is still fairly popular, as well as the 'Next door neighbour' fiction.

I have no idea why badly written stories are popular. A lot of mine aren't works of art either, and I'm still thrown by some of the responses. Although I have to say, it's a pity young readers are writing stories in the same style as other young authors. They won't be able to mould their skills if they are reading mediocre work without grammar, spelling, and sentence structure.

Oh r0o, you know I'm only here for the smut!

Just kidding

You have a point there, I usually just skip over stuff if it doesn't seem very well written to me. Immaturity/bad grammar/over cliche stuff usually warrants a "pass" for me.

Sometimes things start of cliche and have their own twist can make it a BIT worthwhile. Otherwise, there's really only 5 or so fanfiction that I actually follow here. Others I casually read here and there.

~Faye