The New Town Alicorn Debacle · 11:59pm Nov 11th, 2018
I doubt you've all followed what happened, but I'm about to tell you exactly what happened and teach you a lesson about how not to treat your readers. This isn't a review, this is me tearing apart an author who is at best a horrible, horrible author and at worst a troll.
Let's start with the description of New Town Alicorn shall we?
This is a story about an Alicorn who comes to Ponyville before all of the story starts. Adventually he must SAVE one of the main six (Rainbow Dash) while trying to stay together with his new girlfriend - Twilight. He must save her from Nightmare Moon.
PLEASE NO HARASSMENT IN THE COMMENTS: Harassment is when you tell me you don't like the story without reading it or when you make fun of me without anything against me. Don't do this please.
THIS IS DEDICATED TO MY GRANDFARDER WHO DYED IN WORLD WAR 2
Thanks!
Okay, so who sees the big problem here? I'm going to shock you by saying it's not the grammar or the spelling issues, though that is a problem. The problem is that second line there, "No harassment in the comments" he said. Okay, that's reasonable, he doesn't want to be harassed, who does right?
WRONG! Windlife has no idea what harassment actually means, and in reality takes any criticism of his story as harassment. Let's go through a few comments by him shall we?
I dont get it? what is problem? if you think of spread hate i will ban you form my story
go away if your here to hate
This one was directed at someone who was just commenting on the over-used cliche of the red and black Alicorn. I can't tell you how he replied to that comment because it was then deleted, most likely by Windlife himself who then accused him of hate again, and here's how he replied:
......I'm not. I'm ashamed of my own writing skill. There's a big difference between hate and what I did in that last comment. The first one was meant to be humorous, sorry for offending you. The one you deleted was supposed to be a suggestion on how to perhaps improve your story's quality, and if you do not want help, fine.
Yes, that's right, Windlife deleted a comment that was supposed to help him be better. And if you think this is an isolated incident, let's keep going to a conversation with The Blue EM2.
Spelling errors in the title. It should be 'died', not 'dyed'.
looks liek more hate from you i see
And he keeps going, he accuses people of not reading the story and hating on it or being trolls just because they dared to call him out for his horrible writing and behavior. He even says that people will be banned if they keep hating, which he has no authority to do and actual mods would see this and realize that he's the one that's being a problem.
He is literally causing problems and creating a toxic environment because he's having people actually call him out on his mistakes and behavior.
And this is just the icing on the cake right here:
THIS IS A NOTE TO ALL MY FANS. THIS STORY WILL NOT BE BEING UPDATED BECAUSE OF HATERS
First off, what fans? Most people that commented on it hated it and this story has such a bad Like/Dislike ratio that it makes Evictus look like William Shakespeare in comparison. And anyone who does seem to like it are either trolls or have such bad grammar that I'm not entirely unconvinced that they aren't actually the author.
The Blue EM2 actually said it best right here:
You claim this to be a story in memory of fallen soldiers. Yet I think those brave men and women who gave their lives in the World Wars and in conflicts subsequent would be disgusted at how you stamp on free speech in the way you do.
Yes, that's right, calling him out for how he treats his readers. Oh wow, what a terrible thing to do... not!
This whole thing is a train wreck, the story is bad, the author is a childish brat who hates the idea that someone would dare not like his "perfect" little story. He deleted my comments that called him out on his bad behavior, but I still have my first one saved, and it perfectly sums up everything wrong with this person:
Okay, I have read some truly bad stories, I've had the displeasure of reading stories by Evictus, I've seen reviews of Frank Miller's work after he went insane, I've seen reviews of travesties like Twilight, Bio Dome, and anything adapted from a book by Nicholas Sparks. However, this story, and the absolute crapstorm that has been happening in the comment section ranks somewhere close to the video game developers that delete negative comments of their games.
You have created a toxic environment by refusing to accept constructive criticism and blocking anyone who would dare speak out against your story. You don't make people want to read your work by acting like this, you have lost any sympathy you might have had. This is not how you run a story on the internet, you do not treat your readers like this by attempting to make them afraid to so much as post their opinion.
I think I know what's going on here, you're afraid because you know it's a bad story. You know that people will not like it so you decided to call anyone who dares speak against it harassers just because they would dare insult it. I'm not even going to read it because you have created such a toxic environment. You have to learn to accept criticism both good and bad and learn from your mistakes, it's how we get better as writers, and right now you look like a child who thinks that their story is the greatest thing ever written and that anyone who dares say otherwise is stupid.
You should be ashamed of yourself for what you've done here. I know you're going to delete this comment and block me, but all you will do is prove my point, so go ahead and do it.
He is the worst author I have ever seen and I don't even want to touch the story. If you want an actual review of the story, go look at my good friend the Autumnlayer he posted a review of it. I don't really care if the story is good or bad, the fact of the matter is that he has done nothing but attack his readers and commenters because they criticize his story, that is unacceptable.
Spread the word, tell everyone you know, do not read anything by Windlife. Post this wherever you have fellow MLP fans, the word has to get out and this horrible author needs to be banned for life from this site.
You know, I think in one regard you did it better. I'll post the link to my review, but this comment of yours sums it up.
Surprised I didn't think of that remark. It works perfectly.
*noms on popcorn*
... Oh, sorry, been reading the war in the comments.
You uh... want some popcorn? *offers bucket*
But seriously though, everything you said, A+, ya nailed all the bullet points.
Its beautiful!!!!!!!
Look at this guys other work, and the like-to-dislike quotient on it. They strike me as a bit of a professional troll who purposely writes bad stories to get a reaction, and responding to their comments will only embolden them to keep playing this pointless game... 'don't feed the troll', in other words.
4966647 Which would be why I'm getting the word out at this point, though I don't completely discount the possibility that they are just an immature brat who doesn't understand that they're writing bad stories.
I read through the comments. You kept your dignity, there, but still laid out what was wrong. Good on you.
4966648
At least Evictus has some level of charm while defending his work, as bad as it can get. This guy doubles down, then triples down, then leaps head-first into the grave he's dug for himself.
Either, as I said, he's doing this for the sadistic lolz, or he is completely blind to any level of constructive criticism. In any case, he's not worth dealing with. But thank you for this valuable public service announcement, so others are aware of the situation.
4966657 I've never sent a message to your girlfriend on Discord, I don't know their account on there, keep looking.
4966659
dont talk to me or my girlfrend every again
4966660 Don't worry, I don't plan to talk to trolls.
And, also I'm blocking you both.
Writers get asked all the time 'why did you create this story'? And it's a fair question. Inspiration. Origin stories. All that. But what few people ask writers is 'why did you share this story?' It's not quite the same thing. For some the answer is 'I just did.' or 'What else would you do?' But lots of stories get written that don't get shared. I'm sitting on quite a few clop fics that I haven't published and never will. Why?
What you share reflect on who you are and what you do. If you're banging out a story for yourself, no problem. If you're writing and sharing with a few friends, great. But if you're writing something for the public, you have put yourself at a higher standard. You need to ask yourself 'Why am I sharing this story?', 'Is this story meant to be shared?', and 'Is this story ready to be shared?'
A lot of writers don't ask those questions, often because just writing at all is tough and getting the nerve to put a story up can be nerve wracking. But some authors simply are ignorant that putting someone out reflects on you. If you put out a story that is poorly written, riddled with errors, and insults the sensibilities of your reader then why should anyone else read it? Why should any one read anything else you write? This is why often, at minimum, an editing pass is appreciated. Just simple spell check. What this reflect is effort on the part of the writer to make their story worthy of being read by the masses. And the more effort made, generally the more appreciated that effort will be.
And there's a mulligan for new writers. 'I'm new.' That's fine. Every writer is new once. Heck, I'm a new writer every other month as I work with banging creativity out of my head. And so long as you're respectful and receptive to criticism, most people won't have a problem. The story's problem will still be there, but so long as you demonstrate some learning curve then most audiences will forgive. Humility is an asset, and there's a lot of wiggle room for an author to learn.
But for some authors, it's not about the story or the audience... it's about them. It's them putting something out not to entertain or enlighten, but to draw attention. Good attention. Bad attention. Doesn't matter. What matters is that people are interacting. If they can write a great story, then fine, but when they write a horrible story and then use that story as a pretext, it drags everyone down. Writing is, ultimately selfless. You create something, give it to someone else to experience, often with no payback.
I read this story and... yeah. It feels banged out. It probably is a first draft. I would recommend 'Elements of Style' and 'Eat, Shoots, and Leaves.' to them. Maybe a creative writing class at their community college. And ultimately I'd just move on. It's a poorly written story, but I wouldn't call it bad. I save that for something like Atlas Shrugged.
No, what's unacceptable is the author, who put this out and proceeds to lash out against 'haters' for criticizing their story. I hate to say, but no. Haters are people who criticize a person. Critics are talking about your story and the problems, or good things, they found within. Critics are precious. They allow us to see our work fairly. They show the flaws of works we think are good and the merits of work we think is shit. And the more detailed a critic will get the more precious they are.
For example. The author wrote a black and red alicorn OC. And as lots of people have pointed out, this is kinda cliche. It's over the top. It's cartoony. So do you lash out at these people and call them haters? Would that make the problem go away? Or maybe you should ask 'why am I making this character a red and black alicorn?' If its to show how powerful and badass they are... the critics have a point. Is there another way you can portray the character? Conversely, is there a way you can make the color scheme justified in character?
Anyway, this has kinda become not for the author anymore, but everyone else. Should he be banned? It's not my place to ask or answer that question. Should he be more humble and open to criticism, put more effort into his story prior to release, and take comments more maturely? Probably. This is more things for others to keep in mind. Because in the end we all want to write, but we need to make sure we know why we want to share.
Intresting
I don't even want to read this story for the amusement factor. It just sounds awful. Very Mary Sue/Gary Stu.
4966675 Trust me, don't, this author is probably a troll and its not worth your time.
4966678
I did go read it for a bit but then I stopped it's not a story that is my cup of tea of course but I am sure this guy is a troll but he also might be doing it to find people trying to cause an issue over it. Now those that review stuff might really get him going but if its respectful and kind then I think they can't handle that fact.
Well, I just read that comments section. Not the story, but I think enough has been said here.
4966704 Good choice.
4966678
I will never understand the appeal of being a troll. But then I think I have too many brain cells.
This feels like a sidalpha dirty devs YouTube video (I like those btw).
4966663
You bring up good points. Maybe we should ask ourselves why we are writing something. And if we aren't comfortable taking criticism for it, perhaps we could ask why we get irrationally angry over a stranger's opinion about something they had no hand in. If we do get angry over perceived slights to our creative talent or personal stories, maybe those stories shouldn't be shared for all the world to see.
That same author made a story about Kurt Cobaine and called it a tribute for memorial day. And I'm pretty sure there was a troll account that said his grandfather faught in ww1 against the Vietnamese in Russia, but it was misspelled so I'm not sure.
Ye gods, I had the misfortune to read "Kurt Cobain's Magical Adventure".
To say that it is disrespectful to one of the greatest rock musicians ever, and one of my earliest memories of listening to Nirvana as a toddler is a FUCKING UNDERSTATEMENT.
4966836
Agreed, and the guy thinks that same singer served in Vietnam.
4966841
...Even though he was born in 1967.
NINETEEN. SIXTY. FFFFUCKING! SEVEN!!!
...Either this guy is a moron, or a troll.
4966861 Or both, do trolls strike you as being particularly smart?
4966863
No, not really.
...Did I ever friend you on Discord, by any chance?
4966865 I'm not sure, who are you on Discord?
4966876
Mind if I PM you my info?
4966879 Sure.
Yeah, took a look, I'll pass on that shitshow.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2018/4/28/1718973__safe_big+macintosh_hope+poster_nope_parody_poster_pun_writing.jpeg
Yeesh