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Reviews: Round 1 · 3:18am
As we all know, Fimfiction.net is a huge repository of stories. So huge, in fact, that at over 60k stories, it is a true hurdle and almost impossible to really find the good stories that get lost in the long queues, and trash, that gets posted along with them.
In an effort to correct this, Seattle_Lite proposed the creation of a group of reviewers that would endeavor to fish these ‘lost treasures’ out of the archives and give an honest opinion about them, with the purpose of sharing them with all and giving them a fair chance. These reviewers were found to be as objective and professional as we could find. Individuals with the honest mission of searching for stories without our direction or influence. We call them: Seattle's Angels.
The stories themselves all have their home within Fimfiction.net, have NOT been on the Featured Box for at least the last 3 months, and have never been showcased in EqD.
The reason for this goes back to the ‘fair chance,’ since not all good stories make it there. A certain amount of quality-check is required, of course—all reviewers have to agree that each story deserves to be showcased in this manner, and will entertain you with their brief impressions on why each story deserves this spotlight.
Our only involvement, as staff members of Fimfiction.net, besides putting the team together, is to post the reviews on the front page. The reviewers have the first and last word on the fics chosen, and we trust their judgement and objectivity to show through and encourage people to give the stories a chance.
~WD
Pipsqueak gasped for breath, short legs pumping furiously. The massive, steam-powered machine was nearly through the turn, and he needed to be on it before it sped up again.
There are a litany of cutie mark acquisition stories out there, but few discuss something that is arguably just as important to ponies: their names. Lucky for you though, Pip[ does just that. Disillusioned and determined, Pip boards the Friendship Express to escape his meaningless existence—or being called names... whatever. When he hops into an empty car however, he finds something he wasn’t exactly looking for.
Pip is a delightful, heartwarming, and occasionally humorous little story. It may be on the short side of the spectrum, but what it lacks in length it makes up for in pure heart. It’s a bit like your grandmother’s chicken noodle soup. Sure, it’s probably not the greatest soup you’ll ever eat, and you’re pretty sure there’s at least one piece of uncooked chicken in there, but you know eating it that it was made with love. It tastes good going down, makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and it’ll probably help you get over a cold.
It’ll only take you half an hour to read, at most, so you’re really missing out if you skip over this. Give Pip a chance, you might be surprised at what you find.
Pip stows away on the Friendship Express to escape the constant teasing he faces at home and runs into Equestria’s two most well-known salesponies. What could go wrong?
This story maintains a fun, light-hearted tone while still addressing the serious and relevant topics of bullying and self-worth, and I thought this was a great way to approach the subject. The dialogue is entertaining and fast-paced, as one would expect from the world-famous Flim Flam brothers, while still moving the story along.
Short and sweet, much like the protagonist himself, Pip is an entertaining story with fun twists and a good lesson at the end without being overbearing or heavy-handed. Kind of like the show itself, right?
Pip is cotton candy: unsubstantial, but sweet. Here, you have a story that clocks in at about two thousand words. It comes in, does its thing, and gets out of the way.
The story isn’t much more than a single dialogue exchange, and the spot-on character voices are what you’ll remember about it. However, what I like best about Pip is how it maintains fidelity to the show's tone and characters without being overly dependent on the show for its plot. What happens in Pip is something new—not a rehash of ideas hinted at in canon, but a real expansion of Equestria. That is the kind of story from which new fanon is created, and that is what Pip is.
If you enjoy cute, show-style stories and snappy dialogue, I think you'll get a kick out of Pip.
Chrysalis bent her face close to his and blew gently against the hairs in his ear. He trembled.
“Now dream,” she whispered.
What’s that you say? You’ve seen a hundred fics about Chrysalis and changelings? Well, that may be true, but I doubt you’ve seen one that stars Time Turner and isn’t a Doctor Who crossover. It’s just your luck then that Chronomistress: Out of Time is here to deliver on that obscure need. When Time Turner discovers a dark secret about Ponyville, he and Minuette (Colgate) must work together to stop Chrysalis while dealing with existential questions about the validity of their reality.
With such a heavy-handed message to deliver, Chronomistress can sometimes get bogged down with details and its ending leaves something to be desired. However, like a road trip with your best friends, it’s more about the journey than it is the destination. And in that regard, Chronomistress delivers in spades. With gripping scenes and captivating imagery, D.G.D. Davidson has managed to craft a thought-provoking and interesting story that left me wanting more.
With a possible follow-up on the way, Chronomistress: Out of Time is well worth your, well, time.
Chronomasters, changelings, and clumsiness—an odd combination, but one that works extraordinarily well.
That’s what stands out to me—how incredibly well these elements come together to form an engaging, exciting story that left me wanting more. The characters are particularly well-developed in such a short amount of time, making them both believable and endearing in their own quirky ways. D.G.D. Davidson uses the situation to create doubt that drove me to read on, and though this is longer than most one-shots I’ve read, I could hardly believe it when I suddenly came to the admittedly abrupt end.
Overall, a great story with great characters in a thrilling situation. All I can say is, I hope there’s a part two.
Chronomistress is gold. Davidson's strong world-building skills are on full display here as he unveils and describes a hidden side of Equestria while maintaining an unsettling consistency with the canon. Lush descriptions surprise and enthrall the reader, and no line is a chore to read. Meanwhile, the storyline has more twists than a soap opera and as much suspense as a primetime television drama. And all that is to say nothing of the writing itself: the prose is some of the best I've seen this fandom produce. Davidson writes with professional aspirations, and it shows.
If you like action, if you like fantasy, if you like suspense—hell, if you like ponies—I suspect you'll find something to like about Chronomistress. It's not one of the best stories I've ever read, but of the stories I've read that aren't the best stories I've ever read, it's one of the best.
Fluttershy bent to pick up the bag of apples in her teeth, but hesitated. She looked past Applejack’s shoulder. “Maybe I’ll come and buy more apples tomorrow.”
Never a Rainbow is an interesting look at what might’ve happened, had Rainbow never performed the Sonic Rainboom. It may not be the first story to ever do this, and certainly won’t be the last. However, what makes it stand out, to me, is its ability to weave such a compelling and captivating story in such a short amount of time.
More than just making it stand out though, Never a Rainbow’s length is what makes it so enjoyable.
Think “My Little Pony” meets “It’s a Wonderful Life” as told by two of the latter’s side characters, and you have “Never a Rainbow.”
Rainbow Dash’s Sonic Rainboom was instrumental in bringing the Elements of Harmony together. So what if the Rainboom never happened? What if the intrepid speedster never existed? This story examines what the lives of two of our heroines would be like if not for the rainbow explosion that changed their fates. How will their destinies change without the Element of Loyalty? You might just be surprised at what stays the same—and what is different.
If you’re looking for a story both touching and bleak, I recommend giving this one a go.
Never A Rainbow, like Pip, is a two-thousand word short told almost entirely over the space of a single conversation; unlike Pip, it is tragic and thought-provoking, at times startlingly so.
It's difficult to say much about Never A Rainbow without spoiling some of its most rewarding surprises... but, we're trying it. The story concept strikes me as one that, while it may have been done before, is worth doing more than once. The conversation in the main scene flows with remarkable facility, and watching the play of the characters' words and thoughts is enjoyable. The story's main attraction, though, is the gradual unveiling of the actual events it describes. These events, both those made explicit in the text and those left to the reader's inference, are depressingly probable given the story's premise, and I feel I would enjoy reading a much longer story or two set in its version of Equestria. The feeling that persists upon finishing Never A Rainbow is one of having been shown a terrifying image—a single morbid, still-photograph from a much larger slideshow of suffering.
To anyone who enjoys thinking about the nature of Equestria, what-if questions, questions of identity, or alternate universes, I'd recommend this story as being well worth its reading time.
*** Please note: The reviews are done by a group of individuals whose only relation to fimfiction is that they have proven themselves to be dedicated and honest members of the community and are providing the reviews for the post—because that’s what this is about: the fimfiction community. None of the Fimfiction Staff members are endorsing or promoting the particular authors, reviewers, or the stories reviewed; we are just providing a means for others to find good stories they might have missed.
DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT PM the reviewers asking them to review your story. There are lots of them, so have faith in them and in your story, they'll get there.
In the meantime, you can find the Reviews in the Seattle's Angel's Group!
~WD & Seattle_lite
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Comments ( 106 )
I see the name Nietzsche and immediately think of his Thus Spoke Zarathustra argument...
Show me some multi parters!
Woohoo, yeah! That is a GREAT idea I can get behind! Do great work, reviewers! Thanks for all of the time you have and will put into this! :3
Lol didn't read!
Wait, so are these guys going to go over every story on the site? Because if so, then well, dayum, that's a lot of time.
Will all future reviews be posted on your blog, or is there some other place where one could find them? I hadn't seen a link, so...
Update update update.
Where's the like button for this blog post???
Sounds like they'll be doing a good job, scraping through all this rubble of uselessness, finding jewels worth observing and showing to others. May their endeavors be respected and recognized.
Ah, so that's what this is about. Anyhow, Never a Rainbow was fantastic. I too strongly recommend it.
Pip is wonderful, so I'm glad to see if get some additional mention.
Haven't read the other two, will probably give Chronomistress a look at some point. Not really up for a Sad tagged fic at the moment, or I'd give the third a look too.
I doubt it'll be every story, but I imagine they'll look for stories with relatively high up/down ratios that have been published/ updated recently.
>>459092 I'll add a link to the "Menu" in my user page.
and have never been showcased in EqD.
Implying that everything that gets posted on EQD gets attention.
I have to say...this is a great idea. I am sure there are one shot stories out there who got a lot of praise but hasn't poped up in a long time and that is a problem with one-shot stories. They are either a hit or a miss to make it into the featured box because...they only post one chapter. To me this would be a great way to showcase these one shot stories that are really great but didn't get the praise they needed. This can go along with continuation stories that don't have frequent updates and help them get noticed as well. I look forward to what the Seattle's Angels have to say about these stories.
This is a good idea.
>>459112
How would you argue a story getting on EqD doesn't get attention? Whenever I've gotten things into Nightly Roundups, they invariably get 5-6k pageviews over the next 48 hours, and that's for stuff buried in newsposts. I have to think that a fic getting its own standalone post will certainly get attention from those that are interested in fanfic, if the title and description are anything approaching interesting...
>>459150
Answer me this. Have you ever heard of a fic called The Parliament of Dreams?
If you have heard of this fic before hand, then I'll shut up.
I love this idea. So much.
>>459169 I have!
I distinctly remember the pony with the Pip-Boy! (is that what they're called? I don't think it was 'Pipbuck' on that one.)
>>459192
Micro information processor or MIP.
I guess I've had my point defeated then.
I like this idea, but I do have one stupidly pessimistic question. How is this different then EQD?
>>459169
I haven't, though the singular of "data" is not "anecdote". I did take a peek and you have a reasonable number of comments both at EqD and here at FIMFic, over 400 faves, and over 6000 referrals from EqD, so I'm hard-pressed to see your point... getting posted to EqD got you, conservatively, 23 times more referrals than all other sources combined.
>>459200
We discussed including EqD fics and considered it for a while. It's really one of those "damned if you do, damned if you don't" dilemmas.
>>459219
Lower standards. Heheh.
But seriously, that's a standard objection to this sort of activity. The main difference is that people aren't submitting to us, we're just roving around on our own, looking for wheat among the chaff.
And of course there's the vacuous difference, that this is in fact entirely on FiMFiction, and has nothing to do with Equestria Daily.
>>459150
To help further Wheller's (>>459112) point, I give you these:
A Rose is a Rose
Resolution
Painless
All those made EqD. None of the have reached 1k views (as of last time I checked). So, there is that.
>>459225
On the first one yes. Take a look at the fics that take place afterwards though? (Which are also posted in the EQD post for Parliament of Dreams) and then you'll see what I'm talking about. Views, faves, ect. Drop significantly.
We have the TWE (Train Wreck Explorers) still.
Couldn't resist slapping this on my comment.
>>459247, >>459256 Sadly no system is perfect, but the reviewers will try to dig up what they can, and the idea is that it would be stuff that hasn't had time in the spotlight either here or EqD. There are a lot of stories that don't get enough attention, but some haven't received even the chance to get shine.
>>459219
I'll answer that question with another question: does it need to be?
EqD showcases lots of great fics, and guess what... so will we. However, rather than stories being submitted to us (seriously, don't send us suggestions) we'll be actively seeking out diamonds in the rough. Our goal is to shine the spotlight on fics that we feel haven't gotten the attention they deserved. If it's been on EqD then it pretty much already had its shot. Now, that's not to say that every fic on EqD has gotten its fair share of views, but most of them have.
Long story short:
You been on EqD, you ain't gettin' reviewed, as unfortunate as that is...
/ramble
>>459276
I know no system's perfect. I was merely mentioning that there are fics that get passed by on EqD and receive next to no attention.
>>459247
Really, we did consider including EqD fics, we thought about it hard because of cases exactly like those. But at a certain point, you have to let self-selection sort things out. Just because a story makes it onto Equestria Daily doesn't mean it necessarily deserves a thousand views. What we're doing is trying to highlight some, just some (because we could never do all), of the good stories that fall through fimfiction's cracks and never get read, whether due to being approved at 2 am, or having a goofy synopsis, or being posted at the same time as a new Pen Stroke fic, or what-have-you. Stories on Equestria Daily have already had a similar type of exposure as what we would be able to give them. Past a certain point, you have to lay the fault for a lack of views on the fic itself.
>>459107
Fantastic, thanks!
>>459295
I would argue that lots of people ignore fics on EqD just as much as they ignore fics here. Especially the older ones from back in the day. Sure, now if a fic gets posted to EqD, it's almost guaranteed to get 2-4k views, but 6 months ago? Not quite.
>>459256
Well, it looks like - as the kids say these days - you're doing it wrong. You're writing these big multi-chapter fics, but they're only hitting EqD once, I guess the first time you send it in? If each story had its own post on EqD, then you'd get the initial post, included in daily fic roundups whenever you updated with a new chapter, and then when the story completed you'd get the original post bumped again.
>>459247
I'd be curious to know how often those stories hit EqD's index. Also, a couple of them are approaching a year old, and EqD's readership would have been significantly smaller. Not that any of these things are necessarily a panacea; some of it must be random, or poor timing with regards to external events no one can control. I had actually heard of spacebrony's story, though I haven't read it yet.
>>459330
That's kinda what I said to Nietzsche up there. EqD fics from way back when aren't the same as fics now in terms of potential viewers.
Also, you may have heard of spacebrony's because DPV recommended it recently, making it clear it was his favorite fic of all time.
Neat idea. Hope more reviewers jump on board. Hope there are fewer summaries next time (a short one in the first review is a good idea, though).
I pray that, of all the blog post, at least this part gets through.
Still, this idea is interesting to a lot of people. Not for me though, as I seldom read what's "new" or "hot". I have a somewhat "if this pleases me, it fucking pleases me" mindset that made me favorite (in order to follow) even the dullest of stories sometimes. During my prospecting times, I have come across some gold nuggets and diamonds, but I also get a lot of rubble thrown my way. Still, even the "meh"-est of stories have some appeal to me. Even if they are very poorly written. I find myself, when reading a very bad fanfic, wondering what direction I'd take if I was the one writing it. Maybe it's just me? I don't know, but I do know that I digress.
To reiterate: Commendable effort. I just hope you guys don't get too drained from reading many fanfics.
To W.D. and the other fellow reviewers: I just know that doing so is probably going to generate "You're publishing his flaws for everyone to see! You guys are evil!" dramas. I suggest asking permission from the author before posting said reviews in order to avoid that. If I have missed such part in the blog, then slap me and tell me to shut the fuck up.
Hmmm... 3 stories, all with one chapter and completed...
*looks to own multichapter story, back to the three one-shots, back to own story, back to the one-shots*
Meh, must be a thing about being COMPLETE.
I'm guessing all the fics being reviewed must be finished, because I've got two that are ok. . .but not really finished yet
. . .
>>459384
>>459370
Stories do not technically need to be complete to be picked, but we kinda gravitate towards those that are. Make of that what you will.
>>459330
Yeah that's not how they do it. You just mention the word sequel and it gets lopped into your original post. When you finish the sequel, you don't get your original post bumped. It just gets lopped into a regular updates blog post. And if you happen to get unlucky and a Project Horizons or an Anthropology that updates alongside yours? It can be incredibly easy to get overlooked.
Case in point. Unless you got incredibly lucky on your first go through EQD when getting posted. It can actually be quite difficult to get a significant amount of attention. Tossing fics out of this just because they were posted to EQD still has the potential to ignore a good fic that got overlooked.
I don't care if anyone starts fawning over my own, but there are people who deserve attention a lot more than I do, they'll go to EQD seeing it as their only chance to get any kind of exposure, only to be crushed when it doesn't catch on. Happens more often then you might think. This is what we get for our pedestal.
>>459409
Well seeing as how I've only got one that's really somewhat close to being complete then I'll probably be waiting a while. . .
>>459370
>>459384
We are actually considering stories that are unfinished. However, it's tough to know an incomplete story is good enough to recommend... before it's finished. Also is the fact that what we're doing here is essentially more reader-centric than writer-centric, and readers tend to want to read completed stories.
ALSO is the sheer brute fact that longer stories take longer to read and hence are harder to screen. We're only human, so some bias towards shorter works is bound to happen. We try to mitigate it, but 100,000-word colossi take time to screen.
By the way, we've been concerning ourselves more with the lower end of the view spectrum as much as possible. I don't think any of the stories we picked this time has over about five hundred views. Viewcounts begin to look suspiciously high, for our purposes, at around a thousand. Just tossin' that out there.
Just remember, this isn't a contest. Stories we showcase are not automatically better than every other story. We can't showcase everything. If these review posts mean anything, it's that digging up underrated stories on your own can be worthwhile, and that you don't have to just follow the feature box or the view count.
>>459437
Nietzsche speaks the truth. Listen well children...
>>459437
I get that it's not a contest, but the idea of getting my story out there is quite enticing
>>459412
That's exactly why I don't send to EQD, there's no chance of mine even hitting the radar there it seems.
Alright, you made your point. We will sit back and enjoy the next reviews, maybe the one or another incomplete one will show up. Has to be one around here that's worth a review.
Now this is probably the only idea I've seen come up for the past few months that I actually support. It's a great idea, and I certainly hope many obscure writers get discovered and receive the attention they so deserve.
For some reason I'm nervous, and I can't say why...
The least I can do, I guess, is to put these on my Read Later list -- which, for me, means they'll be read by this weekend. (I've had one story sitting there for longer, but it's up there in the general vicinity of Epic Length.)
Awesome, this is a great idea, I think it will definitely encourage a lot of authors here
Homer approves of this idea. Old, underrated relics are always there, waiting to be discovered. Uncovering them brings only good things.
Confucius says there is great wisdom in the unknown.
Kinda makes me upset...I've come across a few groups who have been doing the same thing that you just said, but "Seattle_Lite" gets all the credit?
Brilliant! As my dear friend Confucius (>>459566) said, the unknown holds great wisdom. It's just waiting for us to discover it!
http://www.fimfiction.net/index.php?view=group&group=1356
If I may, a small collection of unappreciated stories.
A big thank you and an equally big wet kiss to the reviewers who read and reviewed "Chronomistress" and did a little something to pull it out of its obscurity; in fact, it's so obscure, I wonder how you found it. Your comments are both flattering and humbling.
I wrote this story more-or-less on the spur of the moment, pulling an all-dayer, for the monthly SALT contest. I guess now I better seriously think about adding a second chapter. Incidentally, I discovered, in the process of penning this story, that I absolutely love writing Derpy, so I think a second chapter is a real possibility.
Hmmm... My quest for immortality has led me here. But this doesn't look right at all... Better take a look around see what's going on...
Digging up forgotten relics and giving them their proper glory, you say? Well that's quite the idea.
Huh. Maybe there's a lesson to be learned here. Perhaps there's more to immortality... Pah! That's silly talk! I must continue my quest! ...Even though I have no idea how to get out of here. Looks like I'm stuck here...
I really, really like this idea. It supports old stories that weren't quite as highlighted at the time or never were. It's perfect to give good stories attention that they deserve.
>>459580 Think about it as an extra source of good fics. It doesn't, in any way, take away the credit that those groups deserve.
>>459619 congratulations deej!
Oh great. Give it another few months and my read later list will be up to 500. I'm already at 300! (THIS. IS. FIIIM-FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIC! ...Sorry. I had to.
I've never even seen that movie. 
) I was at 320 earlier today until I realized I didn't need to keep stories I really liked in both my favorites AND my read later list.
WHY CAN'T I READ ALL THIS PONY!!!
Don't mind my "rage". I actually like this. Although... I'll still be shocked if my fic(s) ever make it in there. The one storyline I really care about isn't anywhere near finished yet, so it looks like it'd be awhile at this point.
...OK, the two storylines. One of which isn't anywhere near finished and the other of which is (at this point) still a dream/note on a post-it. Where's a TARDIS when I need one.
I like this. First the very concept itself. And the Star Wars references were pure gold. In the infamous words of the internet: me gusta.
Also, Pip is a pretty good story and it's nice to see it featured here.
>As we all know, Fimfiction.net is a huge repository of stories.
Fix'd:
>As we all know, Fimfiction.net is a huge repository of garbage.
Dude why does one dude get the idea?
The first one I already planned to read after being blown away by Invictus' incredibly written Psych HiE crossover.
The 2nd one I've seen around, and I will definitely check out now.
The 3rd one... I'm not sure is my cup of tea, but sounds like a much more readable take on Its subject.
Sounds legit. Good plan.
My dream is to one day make a story good enough to be featured on every fanfic website; but that's while they call them dreams and not all dreams are good enough to be achieved
Even though it's only been up for a few hours, the lack of exra spotlight to Pip saddens me somewhat. Had a read, and it was good indeed. Thanks for bringing it up to the light!
Wow, there are reviewers that are actually going to look for all of the diamonds in the rough?
The Featured Box is a soulless* automaton. It tries to use a few numerical stats to compute a fic's quality. Good stories tend to make it up there, but there can be any number of reasons that a story failed to make it (getting posted at an unfortunate time, having a weak hook/synopsis/picture but really getting good later, containing an inferior shipping pair like Twixie, etc). Bad stories also tend to make it up here via exploiting the flaws in the system—unintentionally in some cases, intentionally in other cases. So, stories reviewed by Seattle's Angels will likely be the good fics that got shafted by the Featured Box, or which were "not quite great enough to be featured, but still easily worth your time".
EQD only really takes stories that the author chooses to submit. It's largely a grammar sweep, though it does tend to also object to overdone content/tropes/crossovers/motifs/etc. Seattle's Angels probably aren't going to have lower standards when it comes to grammar unless it's something that really deserves sharing. So these are probably stories that could have made it onto EQD, weren't submitted to EQD for whichever reason, and which Seattle's Angles stumbled across and liked on their own.
Let me be clear: IMHO, nothing. We're a group of reviewers like any other. This group's reviewers were all vetted by Seattle, who himself knows a thing or three about reviews. Also, the group is intentionally looking to cover fics not already covered by EQD or the Featured Box. But that's it. We hope that fic selection and quality of reviews will speak for themselves, such that you can make up your own mind about this group.
IMHO the point is not to be the superior reviewing option—though we will certainly strive to be. The point is to offer alternative opinions, much as there are wide arrays of movie, book, and video game critics. There's probably some people out there who like every single fic that's passed through the Featured Box, and y'know what, if that makes them happy, good on them. There's people who wholeheartedly trust (or despise) Equestria Daily, or Pony Vault Archive, or One Man's Pony Ramblings, or Twilight's Library, or Seattle's Angels, or any of the dozens of reviewers out there with their own followings. Everypony has different tastes, and therefore no one group of reviewers/promoters will fit everypony's needs. Seattle's Angels are merely another alternative.
It was considered but ultimately rejected. More time reading and reviewing, less time asking permission to give a story front-page praise (and most likely some views/favs/watches)
Okay, okay~ Seattle's Angels are here for the sake of the readers, after all.
* This statement was not meant to imply that Seattle's Angels discriminates against soul-deficient individuals. Seattle's Angels is an equal-opportunity employer, and they have a token ginger on staff as proof of this.
Great idea. So many potentially great works of art get lost...
A special brohoof to the reviewers who volunteered to take on such a daunting task. /)*(\
>>459247 I have a story on EQD. It hasn't got a thousand views, and seems like it's going to stay at around fifty Likes. I have no problem with that. It's a huge deal just to have fifty people enjoy the story.
Isn't it plausible that these stories were less popular not because they didn't get a good shot but because people were just less interested in reading 'em? Let's say an OC Shipping Grimdark story makes it onto EQD. It's going to get less attention than a FlutterDash Shipping story with the same stage to play on.
The stories that didn't do super well on EQD will get a similar response on this Featured system, in my opinion. And they're still likely doing a lot better than the stories off EQD.
It all depends on the Tags.
(also, it's really hard to type when I can't see the keyboard...)
My heartfelt thanks to the reviewers for choosing Never a Rainbow as part of their first group of stories. I'm incredibly flattered. (Also the publicity is really nice.
)
heh, i know the first one, i liked it!
An excellent idea for the site. The obvious problem here is having to sift through all the crap to find Fimfiction's lost treasures. That being said, good luck to the reviewers.
Actually, I do have one small suggestion. While these stories may get some well deserved attention once the reviewers get to them, I can't help but think that most of them would fade back into obscurity after about a week. That being said, is there going to be a way to easily access any stories approved by the reviewers, no matter how long ago that was? Maybe a link one the front page, an additional filter on the site's search tool, or at least a new group that they can be added to. Or is this intended to strictly be a fifteen minutes of fame thing?
This is an excellent idea Wanderer
Glad to see an initiative like this! Reader-orientated fanfiction reviews are springing up all over the place these days, and the community can only benefit from it. I've put all three of these fics on my read-later list.
We have Train Wreck Explorers for a reason...
I love all the people bringing up the Train Wreck Explorers. It's cute.
Also yesss, Norse needs more love.
Okay, this is an excellent idea, and I hope its kept up.
It's interesting how many names I actually recognized. 
For what little my word is worth. I fully endorse this, it's a great idea.
>>459095
I reckon if you could have your hand in it, you'd put up Theee of Me in there, right?
So me and other under appreciated authors get a chance for our stories to get more popularity? You guys are amazing.
I will make sure to read all of these. Thank you people for putting in the time to do this sort of thing. Maybe we can bring about an era where the featured box is full of stories that actually deserve to be there.
>>460401 TWE seeks out the stories with the most problems and explains how to fix them. Taken together, it's kind of like an ever-expanding guidebook for new, inexperienced, or clumsy writers on how to write good fiction. It's not usually difficult to find a story that needs a little help from a friendly reviewer.
The whole point of Seattle's Angels is to seek out good stories that haven't gotten much attention for one reason or another. Taken together, it's kind of like an ever-expanding list of stories recommended by people who have writing and editing experience and who base their judgments on quality of writing, emotional impact, and audience awareness, rather than numbers and statistics. It's surprisingly difficult to find stories that fit this bill that haven't already been featured somewhere else.
I would first like to know who these "angels" are and wonder how exactly you join them.
>>459669
This has been bothering me for a while, so I had to respond. This does take away credit because, rather than support said groups which have existed since before, you have actively decided to support this particular group for reasons we all know. How come all those other groups didn't get this same opportunity? What makes any of this guys special (I have been looking around, and they don't have anything special to them other than Seattle being the guy in the middle, but I want to think that's not the reason) that they get their own post and official endorsement?
So, this not removing credit means squat when you go about officially endorsing a particular group for reasons I will leave to the rest and after knowing the mutual hangout places.
>>460803 Some of the groups have been mentioned in previous posts of mine. Some of the groups specialize in pointing out the bad, or organizing archives of good stories, which is very commendable, and indeed deserving of merit and praise. The reason this does NOT take credit from them is that, as I said, is simply an extra form of promotion for fics that have been overlooked. It doesn't mean that the fics in question were not mentioned by the groups; it just means that in the opinion of these reviewers, they deserve a bit more attention.
The reviewers that were invited were done so on the merit of their reviews here and in other places, like /fic/, for example. Their mission is different than simply digging out fics, they also do a pre-reader-like check of content, paying attention to things like grammar and spelling and punctuation. The fics that are recommended here are not simply vouched-for by just 1 of them. They ALL have to read the fic and then share their thoughts and make sure that all of them agree that the fic merits more attention. If someone wants to join the reviewers, all they need to do is review fics and eventually, when there is the need for more reviewers, they might be contacted. It doesn't even have to be corrections, even, just real reviews.
So, yes, it is very different from groups which, although they take care of the quality of the fics they promote, don't go through these extra steps. There are also rules that have to be followed. As for the groups themselves, I'm working on something to help with that, but it still has to be talked about by the fimfic staff to see if it would work out. In the mean time, Seattle's Angels will continue their work here as well.
This is the kind of idea FimFiction has needed for a long time. Hopefully it is successful in its task in bringing those hidden gems to light. Celestia knows I've been having that kind of trouble since day one. Ah the woes of a midnight story poster. /shrug
A commendable idea. I always welcome another trustworthy source of good fics. My read-later list seems ready to burst already, but what the heck.
Thank you guys (all of you) for doing all this.
this is a very good idea, it gives old stories that were missed by the population to gain new light and revive the old ones we've all forgotten about. I'm interested to see just how far this goes
A few thoughts.
1. I'm happy for the minimal involvement of Fimfiction. I keep meeting or talking to users here who have this idea that it's FimFic's responsibility to filter out all the bad and promote all the good on pedestals equally and fairly. To be honest, I'm not sure why. Other than having a few front-page features like the box and popular bar for ease in convenience, it's not Fimfic's responsibility to promote any user's fic. If they do promote someone's fic or group, like in this instance, they shouldn't be chided for a decision that is ultimately theirs because there's honestly nothing unfair about it.
2. Now to actually explain why the minimal involvement makes me happy. If users want to see their work promoted, that's their job. Make connections with more popular users who like your work. Form groups to increase awareness and improve search-ability of your stories. Or, if every form of endorsement or self-promotion falls through, you may have to *gasp* write more or improve.
3. To go more into promoting work, I see a lot of groups' features and functionality are ultimately squandered and end up being sub-optimal archives (especially since, unless I'm mistaken, when you try to filter a group's fics by anything other than date added, you can only view the first page. Not sure how that can be fixed tbh). The groups and their features should be used more, plain and simple. Signatures on comment posts showing membership to said group is also a plus, but unfortunately the only effective use of that I've seen is for a group you DON'T want seeing posts from in your story's comments. A group that can be easily found and frequently posts or has a thriving comments bar can effectively showcase gems to interested readers.
4. I think another feature missing its potential is the module one can use to show story links on one's user page. Some users use it to showcase their featured works, and in the case of hat I'm talking about some users endorse works of other authors. If you have a lot of followers and there are stories you think deserve more attention, you're doing wonders by showing it in a module on your page, even if only for a few days. Granted, it's not an expectation that every popular author does that, but their unique position on the site empowers them to do a kind of potentially effective promotion that others cannot. Just an idea of course, and like other ideas it depends on users wanting to do it and also on users wanting to read something that's been recommended.
In the end users need to take more initiative. We need to be resourceful and creative in finding ways to promote good works when we see them. And above all, we shouldn't expect Fimfiction to do any of this for us, other than giving us ideas and/or improving site functionality.
Is there a place we could recommend stories for review...? Or would that just be something we should do through PMs? Or just not at all...? I don't really know if they're going through all the fics they can find, or if they have some kind of elaborate system to what they're doing, so... I was just wondering, is all.
>>461379
There's not currently a set place for people to recommend stories for our group to review—though we're thinking about setting one up in the future. In the meantime, you're free to PM any of our members with fic suggestions (as long as you aren't recommending your own stories), but we do tend to stay pretty busy, so we can't promise to respond to them all.
If you do suggest stories to us, remember that they should have, at a minimum, low viewcounts and good grammar.
>>461523
(as long as you aren't recommending your own stories)
-sigh- Fine.
Might I suggest a category of "So insanely bad it's good". I believe Train Wreck Explorers might be of assistance there. I have aspired to that level of greatness, but alas, I am only mediocre and cannot reach either end of the scale. However, I am in good company, and enjoying every minute of it.
All of my stories have been featured on EQD, so I have no pony in this race. But I think it's a good idea. Given the sea of stories here on FIMFiction, we should welcome a few, brave pearl divers that can identify the excellent tales that the, what was it, "soulless mechanism of the Feature Box," fails to highlight.
It won't be perfect, but it doesn't have to be, if they can haul a handful of gems into the light.
Its good to see some stories dusted off from the vaults and given a good read and review( Even some have....that D Bag( Aka Doctor Whooves)....in the story) But still its good to see.
>>459107
Any plans to form a group for which only certain members (aka the reviewers) can add stories?
That way, people could look for the stories without needing to dig through blog posts, something that will probably come in handy if this group sticks around long-term. It would also be independent of you, in terms of being up-to-date, a handy thing in case something happens, be it a loss of internet access or some sort of wacky personal conflict. And it would make it possible for people to join the group and thereby be notified when a new set of stories are selected.
Additionally, any idea in terms of frequency and quantity of reviews? Is the plan to do at least four stories a week? Is it just take it as it goes?
>>459247 yeah, seeing as even my terrible fan fic (why am I not on TWE stories?) almost got 1K words, so any fic on EqD should be getting more then 1K words. Stupid unfair world.
I can't wait to see what other diamonds in the rough are in store for all of us!
Nice. I suggest you also avoid well-known authors, defined in some simple, objective way, e.g, >30,000 views.
I'm liking this idea. A lot. There are hundreds of stories out there which need a helping hand to get noticed. One bonus to it is that it can help new authors become more confident when writing, which can produce better quality in itself.
This is a terrific idea. I've seen plenty of terrific stories on here that have never gotten past 50 or so views. The fact is, if you don't get on the comment box or into EqD, it's quite difficult to get noticed. And if your story contains mature content, you lose the EqD option right off the bat, which puts you at a further disadvantage. This third avenue is sorely needed.
I'm glad that this group is picking its own stories, as well: otherwise, they'd have to spend more time digging through "please review my story" messages than actually reviewing stories. Hopefully these guys can make a dent in the long list of overlooked stories around here.
Not sure why people keep bringing up the Train Wreck Explorers since their mission seems to be the complete opposite of this group's...