From my blog:

My story Time was rejected from EqD, as per the usual. I could understand that they found a few errors, even if some of them were bullshit:

>Simply put, age is a hindrance//
Doesn't sound like something Dash would say.

Oh, EqD, how I'd love to find every single line in all those fics that have one out of character piece of dialogue.

>There always is, darling//
For the second time, already. It's a fandom conceit that she uses that term of endearment so much. If you look at episode transcripts, she doesn't say it that much.

I used "darling" twice while having Rarity talk. TWICE.

>Twilight thought to herself//
As opposed to?

Ex-CUSE me? I swear, you are just making shit up now. People use the phrase "thinking to his/herself" all the time.

>“I think a bit of Rarity is rubbing off on you,” Spike said. “And not the good part,”//
Spike thinks Rarity has a bad part?

Kindly keep your speculations out of my fanfics, please.

And to top it off:

It's unclear whether Twilight had forgotten it was her birthday or whether she was cognizant, and that spurred her curiosity. It's also odd that she framed it as more of a scientific investigation, then decided to ask several very decidedly non-scientific characters. If she had framed it more as a philosophical thing from the start, or as a device for learning more about her friends, it would have made more sense.

Really, the thing holding this story back is the lack of emotional involvement, and there are several symptoms of it, including the telly language. You're focusing more on what happens at the expense of what it means. A "this-happened-then-that-happened" laundry list isn't very engaging. Give me more concrete but subtle language implying how the characters feel. You might consider placing your narrator more deeply in Twilight's perspective. It's not required, but you might find it easier to forge an emotional connection with her that way. Also consider the time Twilight spends traveling between visits. You gloss over those transits in a sentence or two, but this is prime time to have her muse on what she's learning and even notice things around her that fit the theme. As she's walking, what might she notice about the buildings, animals, plants, stars, whatever, that would tie in with her observations on time and aging?

Additionally, it's light on the conflict. Everything comes across as an academic exercise. Twilight's not particularly troubled about any of it; she's not having an existential crisis. So if she doesn't find an answer that satisfies her, then what happens? Nothing serious. So what's driving the reader to find ou what happens? There needs to be something at stake, a risk that's being taken. Alternatively, some significant piece of character growth can stand in for conflict if it's done well, but there was never a big "aha!" moment that changed Twilight's perspective. She just kind of bumped into an answer that she liked from an intellectual standpoint, but it doesn't seem to have affected her. I actually liked your last sentence. It hints at a lot that's left unspoken, but I had to stretch to find my own meaning in it, since the story didn't build up anything. Open-endedness is fine, but it has to be clear that it's a watershed moment for Twilight.

So on top of unnecessary speculation on my own fic which you deem "typos", you call my story boring and leave. Apparently you are unable to conceptualize the idea of "Light Slice of Life". The idea of this fic was to present a question and have the mane six speculate on it. I guess that was lost on you.

Oh, EqD, never change. What else would we hate with irrational zealotry?
I posted this here because this is a prime example of how inconsistent and bigoted they are in their rejections.

And how!
(swear I'm not trying to get first on everything you do. It just happens to fall that way.)

1367777 Watch out! They're going to come in and state that you are wrong and they are right!

1367777
Wow that Spike one was pure bullshit, I've never thought any of my crushes were absolutely perfect in every way.

1367807 the ride never ends

1367811 exactly.

1367784

1367777 Fuck you and your quads. (jk<3ya)

1367777

Of course this deserved to be rejected. It went against the pre-reader's head-canon.

But seriously, the Rarity 'darling', Dash 'single line is OoC' and Spike 'Rarity is perfect' points take the fing cake. These kinds of comments are the reason why this group exists.

1367854 huehuehuehue

1367858 EqD has the worst habit of going "I don't like you, fuck you and your gay shit".

1367854
Holy shit. I didn't even notice his quadra kill. That-that's glorious right there.

Edit: And check 'em.

1367819 THey aren't here yet. Here. Take this bananna for protection.

These seem like really petty reasons.

The part about Spike is pure headcanon. I'm assuming Spike's old enough to recognize that his crush, Rarity, has her share of flaws.

The only opinion of the prereader that holds water is the Rarity part and even that's a stretch.

So by going against the Pre-Readers established Head cannon you were rejected...?

I don't understand

EqD: Claims to have standards when it comes to stories; rejects this one due headcanon violation. Stay classy, EqD.

While reading this, I had listened to this song. Oh pre-readers...

What about the rest of the page of errors you got sent, bro?

1368188
>Tries to justify bullshit reasoning by pointing out petty errors that so many fics on EqD already have
>Fics on EqD are only passed by pre-readers if they like them personally

1367777>>1368231

Going to be honest, it's all subjective.

1368188

I could understand that they found a few errors, even if some of them were bullshit:

1368231
I'm just saying, people do this all the time. They paste a couple things they thought were bullshit and say "EQD REJECTED ME FOR THIS!" when in reality there were a plethora of other reasons behind it.

1368269
Fair enough I guess.

1368287 I do thank you for pointing out the errors that exist in the story, but the ones that were bullshit are those I'm calling you guys out on.

1368294>>1368287

Why don't you guys team up and get a story on EqD?

Oh wait, Alex needs moni.

Huehue.

1368294
If you think they're dumb reasons you can just like, y'know, ignore them. But you need to have a good reason to say "you're wrong I'm doing this anyway."

1368300

1368307 Which I just so happened to express.

1368307
While EqD pre-readers do point out some good errors, most of the time they are extremely minor or petty, or even entirely subjective asthetic choices. Also, while they point out errors, at least nine times out of ten, one of the errors is totally outlandish, completely subjective, or extremely unprofessional.

1368336
Also, I'm not saying every EqD pre-reader is like this. But a great number of them are.

I wonder sometimes what EQD would look like if the staff was entirely replaced with the people who shit on the prereading process as a whole. What criteria would they use for submission? What kind of stories would be posted? What errors would be considered 'valid' for rejection?

I think we should do some freaky-friday style shit. For one week, everyone in this group approves stories, and we bitch at them for being shitty at their job.

I'll go send Seth an email...

1368377 Ehh...that could have mixed results.

Just because current prereaders fucking suck at their task doesn't mean we're automatically awesome at it.

1368981
Well, I'm interested in how detractors might perform at the same task, given that they apparently have much better ideas on how the process should go.

1368994 I'd love to put that in practice in the American political system. That needs it more than anything.

If I ran Equestria Daily, I'd put filters in place, and allow all kinds of content, SFW and otherwise.

1368322
Yeah, well, I mean like, in a response email.

1367807

They always do.

1367858>>1367865

EqD has the worst habit of going "I don't like you, fuck you and your gay shit".

That is one of the best representations I've seen.

1368061

They reject what ever they want, for any reason they want, and "fuck you if you disagree."

1368307
That's funny coming from you or any other EqD pre-reader, considering that that's the entire way you guys operate.

1370259
I... yes, that is how we operate, which is why I listed it as an option that he has...? If you're trying to make a point you're going to have to reword yourself.

1369034 Which just so happen to never get read.

Sent seven for one of my stories and to this day they never got back on me about them.

Oh dats, a funny that it is. EQD gets

1370641
I would check your stories to see what happened with the responses but you seem to be either posting on an alt or not using fimfiction to host your stuff.

1370749 Yeah different site, I don't like to post here.

1369034 I'll use that in the future, alex-kun

>Simply put, age is a hindrance// Doesn't sound like something Dash would say

While it's a bit of a stretch, it's not THAT unreasonable. Dash IS smarter than her normal impulsive behavior would have us believe

Rejecting for out-of-character dialogue and actions...by that same logic should Seth not be rejecting fics that portray Trixie as kind and humble, seeing as those don't match up with her canon personality?

>There always is, darling// For the second time, already. It's a fandom conceit that she uses that term of endearment so much. If you look at episode transcripts, she doesn't say it that much.

While it's true that good writing of the characters can portray their personalities without resorting to verbal tics, there is nothing wrong with using said verbal tics if it feels appropriate to the situation. While your usage (4 times I believe) is a bit excessive, it does NOT detract from the actual story, and hardly at all from the dialogue flow. While it is a legitimate criticism to tighten up a fic from "good to great", it is an extremely arbitrary and nitpicky reason for rejection

>Twilight thought to herself// As opposed to?

I...what...but...that's...

I'm pretty sure that's common usage, and therefore objecting to it is pure nitpicking. Is this just an attempt to make oneself look smarter? You'd expect the "Premier Website" of the fandom of "love and tolerance" wouldn't feel the need to act high and mighty

>“I think a bit of Rarity is rubbing off on you,” Spike said. “And not the good part,”// Spike thinks Rarity has a bad part?

So Spike isn't allowed to criticize? So Spike isn't allowed to realize his crush is less than perfect? Especially when part of why we love these characters is BECAUSE we recognize they are less than perfect but still loveable?

As for that last part, Paragraph One: Why does Twilight HAVE to taking a philosophical stance? Can't she just be curious? Why is it a bad thing that she's asking "non-scientific" characters? All she's doing is getting different points of view

Paragraph Two: To me that whole thing feels like the use of rhetoric to obscure a lack of content. The things they describe are either over exaggerated or unnecessary. She doesn't need "observations" on time, she just wants opinions, or "outside perspective" as you clearly stated. We can emotionally connect to the characters just fine, we feel their personalities, and the situation doesn't require THAT deep a connection. It's not like they're dealing with the death of a loved one, Twilight is just gathering opinions to better understand something that's been on her mind. Bringing in all this philosophical stuff is just complicating what was to be a simple lesson: Enjoy your life while you have it. Rather like the show itself.

This really feels like a thin attempt to make oneself sound smarter. Sometimes the more intelligent course is not to overcomplicate things with a lot of pointless intellectual drivel, but to recognize that sometimes the simple solution is the right one. Really, that reason for rejection came off as pretentious, if you ask me

Paragraph Three: Conflict? CONFLICT? It's a simple, Slice-of-Life story! I know conflict can drive a good plot, but it's perfectly feasible to simple portray an everyday situation without it. Why do there HAVE to be risks? What's wrong with keeping things simple? Really you put it best with your reply. This was meant to be light and simple, overcomplicating things for a simple response could have ended up simply being boring

Good Grief, EquestriaDaily, the show itself doesn't feel the need to overcomplicate things. I love something that's thought-provoking, but trying to turn this into a philosophy report takes away from the story.

1370839
Okay, correction: You operate that way except without the good reason.

Not understanding that there is more than one correct way to write the English language does not a good reason make. Rejecting something simply because you dislike it is not a good reason. Allowing sub-par literature from one's friends while disallowing less-abysmal stories from others is abhorrent.

Do you see what I'm did there?

1405187

Not understanding that there is more than one correct way to write the English language does not a good reason make.

Well, except for the part where there's plenty of style manuals and proper ways to do things, but sure.

Rejecting something simply because you dislike it is not a good reason.

We don't do this, unless of course, you have an example.

Allowing sub-par literature from one's friends while disallowing less-abysmal stories from others is abhorrent.

You're also going to have to find me an example.

1367865

Like when you mention that Lyra and Bons date in your headcanon, and they're like RAAAAAAAAGE?

1405187 Talks about writing English correctly, uses improper word placement in same sentence.

1405407

How's this for an example?

I won't supply any conjecture of my own, but I will say that the aforementioned absolutely is not--IN ANY WAY--representative of something that I consider good.

That's beside the point, though.

Give me examples as to how EQD might find this worthy of note, would you kindly?
Unless you can explain why, I will laugh, regardless of what you say.

Furthermore, I would prefer it if you provided your information in the same tautological format that Regidar so cordially displayed at the opener of this thread, if possible.

The only difference is that you will sing your praises of the above work—that is, assuming that everything approved by pre-readers on EQD is just so f*cking awesome.

You may have gripes about me putting the situation in my favor, but do realize that that's exactly what rejects experience whenever they confront the site's staff.

I ask you because--as a moderator--I have faith in your impartiality.

I await your reply.

1518416

Your point = horse shit.

The fact that you failed to grasp the underlying purpose of asylum1388's word choice points in the general direction of a mild reasoning deficiency.

Here's what he did:

1. Makes a point about being able to write something in more than one way.

2. Embeds said point in a type of sentence that some people might not agree with.

3. Reverses sentence structure to put into a more passive voice. This keeps his point from acting overly pretentious, which is exactly how you came off sounding when you responded.

I know that you may have found his placement of said information "humorous," but the fact that his implanted idea comes across effectively renders your cockeyed statement moot.

Whatever "fail" you believe yourself to have discovered is merely your own.

1537166
Uh, well, let's see.

Oh, okay, it's only 2k. I'll fully read it.

Alright, you've linked me a competently written fic with a bit of charm and a good ending. If this was supposed to be an example of a bad story, then you've chosen poorly. I, personally, have found nothing objectionable.

That's all you're getting out of me.

1367777
Come on, man. Try reading the first and last posts in this thread by the author. It might surprise you to know that there are actually humans on the other end of the line who are willing to have a gab with you and what your story needs to improve.

Yeah the dude had some shitty reasons. But there are still errors that aren't shitty, is this true? This 'page of other errors?' or are all of those bullshit and nitpicky? Every single one of them?

Here's a thing: Just because some retard had a bad day and shat all over your story with some really stupid reasons doesn't remove credit to the rest of his observations of your errors, and it doesn't say much about EqD. You need to fix it up and resubmit dude, not write an entire wall of shitposting because you got rejected by some twat and (clearly) your feelings were hurt.

Man I hate playing devils advocate but people can just be rediculously one-eyed sometimes, and I just want a bit of bipartisanship in this argument because EqD CAN be good sometimes, and we all know it

1549106 You... do understand that I was completely fine with the rejection and the errors he did point out that were not ludicrous, but was merely posting the reasons I was rejected that I found utterly asinine to prove a point that EqD can be utterly ridiculous, right?

1549858
Of course EqD can be ridiculous, mate. Fimfiction can be ridiculous too. And so can anywhere else, for that matter.

That's part of life. There are idiots everywhere, but we move on.

Let's be real for a sec. These people do us some fairly good kindness by happily sifting through everything that gets thrown their way. But it's a bit of a giggle to say that eqd is total balls because you got one guy who offered a handful of dumb reasons along with some serious analysis that you probably enjoyed taking on board. Let's just move on with our writing instead.

1550167 Okay.