Well, scratch that PM - you aroused my curiosity and I decided to pop over and see the feedback for this and the comments made me go back and just read it now.
First off, I have to say I've read so many post-TRF fanfics in the last month that I literally was sick of the fandom at one point, and that's the real reason I've not been around lately in any of the fic comms. I got tired of reading the same plots and characterizations ad nauseum.
This, however, is not one of those fics.
It cracks me up a bit, to see that you're being critiqued for doing a post-TRF story that supposedly has been done to death, and yet are also being critiqued for not going the Epic Cliche route and actually giving us a fantastic backstory instead of hopping right into the gratuitous John!whump and Sherlock-has-emooooootions!scene. Not that there's anything wrong with those - but in my opinion those are the elements that have been done to death, by all of us (myself included). Critiqueing you for doing a post-TRF story that doesn't focus immediately on some melodramatic h/c scene to me is an oxymoron. The comments don't really make sense to me, but whatever.
As for the prologue versus these chapters: Your prologue was, in a word, magical. It yanked me in and pretty much said I would regret it if I didn't stick with the story. Was your prologue stronger writing than the first two chapters? Possibly (more on that in a minute) - but in my mind, that's what a prologue is for. Especially in long WIPs, you need to have a prologue for the shock factor, a scene or chapter that basically tells your reader - Stick with me, because you won't regret it when we come back to this.
What comes after a prologue, however, is ten times harder to write; those less gut-wrenching filler chapters that are necessary but not really as gripping as the drama - they are essential to a story, but they aren't going to get you as much feedback just because it's in human nature to respond emotionally rather than rationally. In my experience, my worst-written stories are usually the ones with the most comments; my more cerebral ones are usually overlooked - because that's human nature. We respond to a gut-wrenching scene out of emotion, rather than responding to a chapter like this out of respect for the art that crafted it (which I do indeed respect, more on that in a minute). Don't let that dissuade you from writing these 'filler' chapters; because that is what keeps a reader like me reading you. Random angst and h/c is all well and good in its place - but it's craft like this that keeps me interested in a story. A prologue is to attract attention; the fic itself is to keep that attention, and you're doing that, no question.
Is your prologue more well-written? Who am I to judge. Maybe. But you need to remember that no writer's writing quality is consistent throughout a story, especially a long one. If my words don't convince you, just remember - the author of the gut-wrenching drama Reichenbach Fall, is also the author of the weakest of Series 1's episodes, The Blind Banker. One is stellar; the other is not as great; but people love them both, regardless. Keep in mind that one is specifically designed to rip your heart out; the other was designed to be more cerebral - and there is the difference in its reception, in my opinion. We love TRF because of its emotional impact; we dislike TBB because it doesn't reach out and grip us as much. However, that doesn't stop us from watching and rewatching both episodes. And that is the true secret to good writing; you will always have people who prefer certain things over others - but they can still like everything and enjoy reading it.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2012-06-11 09:21 pm (UTC)First off, I have to say I've read so many post-TRF fanfics in the last month that I literally was sick of the fandom at one point, and that's the real reason I've not been around lately in any of the fic comms. I got tired of reading the same plots and characterizations ad nauseum.
This, however, is not one of those fics.
It cracks me up a bit, to see that you're being critiqued for doing a post-TRF story that supposedly has been done to death, and yet are also being critiqued for not going the Epic Cliche route and actually giving us a fantastic backstory instead of hopping right into the gratuitous John!whump and Sherlock-has-emooooootions!scene. Not that there's anything wrong with those - but in my opinion those are the elements that have been done to death, by all of us (myself included). Critiqueing you for doing a post-TRF story that doesn't focus immediately on some melodramatic h/c scene to me is an oxymoron. The comments don't really make sense to me, but whatever.
As for the prologue versus these chapters: Your prologue was, in a word, magical. It yanked me in and pretty much said I would regret it if I didn't stick with the story. Was your prologue stronger writing than the first two chapters? Possibly (more on that in a minute) - but in my mind, that's what a prologue is for. Especially in long WIPs, you need to have a prologue for the shock factor, a scene or chapter that basically tells your reader - Stick with me, because you won't regret it when we come back to this.
What comes after a prologue, however, is ten times harder to write; those less gut-wrenching filler chapters that are necessary but not really as gripping as the drama - they are essential to a story, but they aren't going to get you as much feedback just because it's in human nature to respond emotionally rather than rationally. In my experience, my worst-written stories are usually the ones with the most comments; my more cerebral ones are usually overlooked - because that's human nature. We respond to a gut-wrenching scene out of emotion, rather than responding to a chapter like this out of respect for the art that crafted it (which I do indeed respect, more on that in a minute). Don't let that dissuade you from writing these 'filler' chapters; because that is what keeps a reader like me reading you. Random angst and h/c is all well and good in its place - but it's craft like this that keeps me interested in a story. A prologue is to attract attention; the fic itself is to keep that attention, and you're doing that, no question.
Is your prologue more well-written? Who am I to judge. Maybe. But you need to remember that no writer's writing quality is consistent throughout a story, especially a long one. If my words don't convince you, just remember - the author of the gut-wrenching drama Reichenbach Fall, is also the author of the weakest of Series 1's episodes, The Blind Banker. One is stellar; the other is not as great; but people love them both, regardless. Keep in mind that one is specifically designed to rip your heart out; the other was designed to be more cerebral - and there is the difference in its reception, in my opinion. We love TRF because of its emotional impact; we dislike TBB because it doesn't reach out and grip us as much. However, that doesn't stop us from watching and rewatching both episodes. And that is the true secret to good writing; you will always have people who prefer certain things over others - but they can still like everything and enjoy reading it.