When Senpai Notices · 1:03am Jan 30th, 2022
It should go without saying that it feels nice to get a fave on one of your stories, no matter who is doing it. There are some names that will always catch your attention, though. A friend who you're glad enjoyed the story, a noted aficionado of the genre or character who you're glad took notice of it and liked what you did. Or people who are regarded (by either you personally or the fandom at large) as very good writers, and it means a lot that they thought your story was exceptional.
And sometimes you have the reaction: I appreciate it, but why that story?
There are other ways that comes into play. I'll use Paul Asaran as an example. He's reviewed 11 of my stories in total, and on a few of them, I wondered why he would pick that one and not one of my best. Except of course he doesn't know what my best ones are, unless he asks me, asks someone else who's read enough of them to say, or... looks on my homepage to see which ones I'm recommending, I guess, though I haven't been entirely fastidious in curating those. I do think those are among my best, but I don't go editing the list very often to include newer stories that might warrant it.
Getting back off that tangent, though, it makes perfect sense that Paul picked what stories he did because he can't read my mind, and he's choosing ones that appealed to him in some way. The subject matter, the characters, the genre tags. The ones I think are the best may not align with his tastes. Plus of course any writer sets out to do a wonderful job of whatever the premise is, and while that'd be what gets readers in the door, the execution may not match the ambition.
Sometimes that does make me wonder: what about those ones particularly drew his interest, the stories that caught his eye even though I'd consider them middle of the pack?
More to the point: what would make someone favorite a story that I consider middle of the pack?
I'm going to use another example here, Cold in Gardez, and as he hasn't written a lot in the last few years, I'd encourage any newer writers who haven't heard of him to go look up his stories. He's very good. I notice when he favorites something, because it's a nice affirmation that someone who knows a lot about good writing thought that story measured up. He's favorited 4 of my stories over the years. On its own, it's kind of vague what that means overall. Are those the only 4 of my stories he's read? Has he read them all, and those were the only ones he thought were exceptional? Odds are, the true answer is somewhere in the middle of that. But it does seem like an odd mix of stories, given how I'd judge their quality myself.
Not that I think many people give a rat's ass what I fave, but I locked my library long ago for a couple reasons. One, I just didn't have the time to pleasure read anymore, so it was hopelessly outdated for more recent stories that should have deserved it, and I didn't want anyone drawing conclusions from that. Two, I didn't want anyone matching that up against stories I'd anonymously reviewed and figuring out who I was, in the case that I did keep the list updated. And three, I think I just gave up using bookshelves anyway about 8 years ago.
The one that most makes sense to me is "Ambergris." I think that's my best story, so it'd be the one I'd first expect a good writer to rate highly, unless they're just averse to the genre or characters. CiG also recently favorited "Another Pony's Poison," and for me, the jury's still out on that one. I love the idea of it, and as I say on the front page, I got lots of good advice from Aragon and horizon (two other really good writers you should check out if you haven't heard of them) on how to revise the rough draft. It's still too new for me to see it with an objective eye. Usually, it's a matter of which ones I continue to like rereading years later, so I can't know that yet. The other two are the ones that struck me as odd choices.
"The Poetry of Politics" played with a concept I'd had in mind for years about whether cutie marks can change. I'd call that upper-middle tier of my stuff, maybe a little better than that if you're a fan of more slice of life stuff. Maybe Mayor Mare's situation just spoke to him? Something about the situation resonated? The one thing I do think it does well is something many stories get lazy with, and that's hyping up something in-story that fails to deliver. Say a bunch of fans are telling the Rainbooms their new song is amazing, and when they get out on stage and sing it, the lyrics the author has made up are... pedestrian at best. It makes me roll my eyes when that happens. Better to borrow some lyrics in that case, at least in my opinion. But here, Twilight says she really likes a poem she reads, and it's one I actually put a good amount of effort into writing so it would justify her assessment of it, and hopefully the reader will agree with her.
"We Get Diplomatic Immunity, Right?" was an exercise in writing a backward story, plus it was for a previous year's bingo contest (where you get assigned 5 random elements you have to use in your story). Maybe he'd just never really encountered a backward story before and liked the concept? I don't know. To me, it's average execution of the premise—not bad, but not a standout.
Had any similar experiences? Gotten a fave from a very respected name and wondered why'd they fave this one when you've got stories you think are better, and wondering what particularly tickled their fancy about it? It can be an interesting thing to ponder.
I mean, I'm biased, but I think Ambergris is amazing. Just sayin'
Back during the 2019 Feghoot contest, I crapped out an entry within the final ~24 hours of its deadline. I still consider it the worst thing I've ever published, and I still somewhat regularly debate taking it down to spare myself the embarrassment.
For whatever reason, PresentPerfect loved it. I guess it was because the story was based on the Applejack doll that had just been released to promote Stranger Things' third season, and, to quote him, it'd "been a while since anyone wrote a story about toy-based shenanigans."
Whatever the reason, it's technically the first time a quote-unquote "senpai" noticed my writing. Granted, I still wish I could share that enthusiasm, but I'll gladly take whatever I can get!
:P
I think the biggest "Senpai noticed me!" moment I've had in the fandom is when I was publishing Monster in the Twilight, and Aegis Shield did a blog post plugging it. Severe case of hero worship on my part. Oh, and Harwick has been far nicer to me than I really deserve. And Iisaw.
I tend to be... oblivious to such things. If people add my story to their favorites, well, that's good, but I don't value that anywhere near like I do commentary. I can't say there's any moment in time I've had the specific reaction you're asking about. I've had it with the general populous liking some quick-release piece that became a bigger hit than those stories I spent weeks perfecting *coughTyranthack*, but not a specific author.
The closest thing that comes to this for me is in my anthology What Lies in a Moment, in which I invited anyone and everyone to submit entries. I was thrilled when none other than Cold in Gardez offered up an entry to my little project. Speaking of, I'll second the notion that you whipper snappers relatively new to the site go read some of CiG's stuff. He's excellent.
At this point I've stopped thinking of others as "oh, that guy's famous for writing X type of story!" or "oh, she's a well-known Pinkie fan!" I've reached a point where I see us all as nothing more than people, companions, peers. Equals. I'm not amazed or excited when the Author Every Author Should Know decides to contact me for something or comments on a story, because to me they're just another storyteller. They only do what I do. Maybe in better ways, or maybe just in different ways, but we're all after the same things, right? I'm more than happy to break bread and share thoughts.
You. You are a fellow storyteller. Come, friend! Let us talk shop together, and see if we might not learn from one another.
Since you brought the topic up, allow me to ask: is there a particular story you'd like me to review over others? I'd be happy to throw it on my lists.
I'm not an author but I can say I usually Favorite stories that for some reason or another really resonated with me. The Good You Might Do is one of my favorites still! It could be only 2-3 times a year but I still remember it and Twilight's breakthrough at the end still hits me hard.
I'm rather new to story writing, but if a respectable and we'll known name added it to their favourites I wouldnt care about the why's. At first.
Later on, when the giddiness passes and when the emotions cool down I would wonder.,but not overly so. After all, only they know why they put a fave and a like there.
But that's just me.
In whole honesty though, even though I have used this site for years I hardly know who is 'respectable' or famous here in the first place.
I'm not sure if this counts, but some years ago ambion offered to review stories if submitted to him within a certain time limit, and I was one of the first. He gave my story The Encounter an honest, bare review, one that I have treasured for all these years.
ambion was and is one of my very favorite authors, one of the very first I discovered when I found this site. His tale It Spills Over remains my all-time favorite, and it was an honor for my story to be reviewed by him.
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I think I would be considered biased as well...
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Whenever we did the heavily populated minific rounds in the writeoffs years ago, it always seemed like the last-minute toss in I wrote would do better than the other entries I spent actual time on. I never know how to take that. Also, there are kind of two levels to this. One is just when a respected person likes one of your stories. The bigger one I was kind of more going for is after getting several faves from that person, looking at which stories they were versus which ones you would have expected, since you think they're your best work.
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Heh, I have kind of an anti-senpai moment. One of the fandom's more caustic people who shall remain nameless left a comment on one of my stories saying it was terrific and one of the best examples he'd seen. Then he left a comment on a story years later saying my writing was uniformly forgettable and I didn't deserve half the likes and followers I'd gotten. I saved a screenshot of the first one, because I fully expect if he ever remembered it was there, he'd delete it.
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Back when you chose "Ambergris" to review, I'd PMed you a list of (I think) 4 of my favorites, with a quick blurb of what genres each one covered so you could pick whichever one piqued your interest at the time. One was "Method Acting," which I can't remember now if you've subsequently reviewed. That's one I'd say is good for a well-executed twist. Another was "Surrogate," if you'd like a character study of a S1 pony who was used once and subsequently forgotten. And then there was "DInkin' Donuts," if you'd like a children's style story. I'd also add "The Art and Science of Letter Writing" if epistolary stories grab your attention, "Control Freak" if you like dark and about as epic as I've ever written (longfics are not my strong suit), or "The Gift That Keeps on Giving" if you like heartwarming. And by now, I think either "How Lily Longsocks Spent Hearth's Warming Eve on the Moon" or "The Joy of Homework on Hearth's Warming" are good alternate children's stories if you prefer those character sets. If any one of those catches your eye more than the rest, go for it. My favorite of the bunch is "Dinkin' Donuts."
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Thanks for the vote of confidence on that one. It's kind of a sleeper hit for me, personally. I kind of forget about it but enjoy it when I do go back to reread.
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Sometimes not knowing is better...
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Sounds like a cool experience. Usual caveat of "good writer isn't necessarily a good reviewer," but it seems like you hit on someone who is. I'm definitely familiar with ambion as a writer, but I don't think I've ever read any of their reviews.
Heh, since I’m a very unknown and new writer around here, and am not the most active commenter (only lately have I gotten over my lurking habit and started to comment more regularly), it’s fair that most users still don’t know me or my stories. The closest thing I have to “senpai noticed me” moments are when FoME comment on my Imposing Sovereigns III entry (because, duh, it was his contest; not the most positive feedback, but it was fair and true, and I revised and substantially improved the fic out of it, so it’s all good). Or, when big-ish authors I know/respect follow me. For the latter, I’m thinking of Trick Question (who follows very easily, as much as her own 800+ follower count) and iisaw. That really wowed me, given he followers very few people these days and no longer writers or posts around here, though he does comment, but I’m sure it was from him liking my episode Production Changes details I post over on Loganberry’s My Little Repeats series. Possibly the episode opinions themselves, and my animation nerdy-ness/knowledge, factored in there too.
And since I respect you greatly, Pascoite, the pre-reader feedback for my one EqD submission thus far counts in my heart, even if logically it doesn’t, given you didn’t “notice” it of your own volition. In any case, I’ve kept the main notes of issues I tended to repeat there and I’ve run them off any story I’ve written since, so it’s been a big help going forward. Cheers!
In any case, I do look forward, once I publish more, and especially the big work(s) I’ve been working on, to hopefully getting some legitimate “senpai noticed me” moments. Paul may be right, we’re all just authors, but it’s still awesome to get feedback from someone big you greatly respect and admire.
Ooh, that list of your own stories you’d recommend is interesting! Because I came to the website only three-and-a-half years ago, I still have yet to read the vast majority of your backlog of stories. In the list you gave Paul, The Joy of Homework on Hearth's Warming is the only one I’ve already read, and I found it to be really good (sadly, that was when I was still a timid lurker; I’ll try and reread it and give a comment). I’ll mark the rest to read sometime. Ditto goes for the four stories discussed in the blog post itself, of which I’ve only read Another Pony’s Poison, which I adored and which was recent enough that I did leave a comment! Huzzah!
I’m always trying to be more vigilant in working through backlogs of authors I like, but I’m also getting into the habit of sometimes asking the author which of their stories they’d recommend (it worked well between Trick Question and I). When I get through all the ones mentioned here, it’ll try to remember to message and ask for more recommendations. Not that I can’t pick myself! But the author knows their own story quality best.
Also, whoa, your stories really make me realize how big the writeoff competitions were, with how many are expanded from minifics there. Another older thing I’m gutted to have missed!
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I have indeed reviewed Method Acting. I recall enjoying it quite a bit.
According to my notes, the next story by you I was interested in reading is Second Draft, but I'd be happy to add Dinkin' Donuts instead! It'll be a while before I get to either, though.
It's not exactly the same thing, but I'm always stunned when other talented authors like my work and then it turns out we're both sempai to each other, and it ends up being a mix of that Spiderman meme and "no, YOU'RE cute!"
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Writeoffs are still going on, but sparsely populated anymore. A typical round only has 2 or 3 entries. So everyone gets a medal!
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Hah, "Second Draft" is another of the "pretty good, but there's a lot better stuff out there" category. How appropriate! And I just couldn't remember off the top of my head whether you'd reviewed "Method Acting." When someone does include one of my stories in a review blog, I save the link in a document where I compile them, so I'd have seen if I went back through those to check. I just hadn't done so.
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Yes, I love when this happens. I blogged about it in my 2018 post-BronyCon blog, and it's a slightly different situation. I had occasion to meet Neighrator Pony, and I think he does wonderful readings, so I thanked him for doing an incredible job on one of my stories. He asked which one, and when I said "Dinkin' Donuts," his face lit up, and he said that was his favorite story he'd ever done a reading of, and he was thrilled to meet the author. So there we were both gushing about each other. As for you, definitely count me as someone who's in your corner. I'm always talking up your Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara stories, and I took up the cause of "The Silver Standard" when the Royal Canterlot Library discussed the best works of the fandom at BronyCon 2019.
I had to lock mine after seeing extreme bullying on readers (not even authors, just site users) for having the "wrong story" on a bookshelf. Even just one story out of a hundred. There are a few users on FF who will immediately go search your library for something they can mock, disparage, or draw sketchy inferences from if you disagree with them publicly (in order to ad hominem your opinion). I've seen this up to and including subtle "you are worthless and should kill yourself" sorts of insults, accusations of illegal behavior, and obscene descriptions. Blocking doesn't help if this happens in the comments of somepony else's story who is reluctant to block for fear of retaliation.
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That's almost sadder than needing to lock my library.
The interface there is amazing and conducive to getting thorough and excellent feedback from fellow authors. It was such a vibrant community. Writeoff.me is a resource everypony should use, but many of the best authors have shunned it, some of them for reasons that strike me as self-serving and petty.