TQ (while I still have a chance):

I have a few that I would say are the best. First, from this most recent challenge piece. It was a really thorough review, and it gave me confidence in my characterization ability... something I had been worried about with that story. It was nice to see that someone else liked it.

Second good one: The story was Day's Ending (another challenge piece), and Giorgia's review was just... amazing. I don't know that I can even appropriately describe it. It was such a complete review... actually, more like a critique in a review... and I really enjoyed reading it.

Finally, this isn't a particular review so much as a reviewer. There's one person on ff.net that always reviews my NCIS series I got going on, and every review is thoughtful. She comments on each part of the chapter and offers her own theories and some advice, and I really like that.

All of these have been satisfying because they all are detailed, helpful for me to grow as a writer, and just great reviews. They made me feel good about myself, and I loved them.

The worst review was on a story of mine called "The End of the World or The Last Thing I See" in which the person reviewing basically said the story sucked because it didn't end happily (and for anyone who hasn't read it, I won't spoil the ending). It wasn't so much the person saying that they didn't like it that bothered me. It was the fact that the story was very personal to me (and writing it was very cathartic), and it was something I wasn't completely comfortable putting out there (but managed to be convinced to release), and then for that to be the first reaction to it... it really made me kinda upset.

I learned that I need to start writing better reviews... haha. No, I learned that you really can't please everyone all of the time, and despite the fact that the 'worst review' kinda stung, at least someone's actually reading it.

TQ: Tell me about the best review you've ever received? In what ways was it satisfying? The worst? Was it in any way satisfying? What did you learn from each?

Best review: It’s really hard to single out one particular good review. Frankly, I’m just grateful that I’ve had some!

Seriously, though, the good reviews are the ones where someone actually comments on some aspect of the story or the writing, good or bad, and explains what they like about it or why it didn’t work. I rather like it too when folks say what they think is really going on, or guess what’s going to happen next, or suggest what they think should happen and where the plot should go next.

I’m currently posting a chapter fic* and I’ve had quite a few of the latter reviews from a couple of readers in particular, and I have to say I always look forward to seeing what they have to say about the fic. First off, that makes me realise sometimes just how predictable I am when writing (which is maybe not such a bad thing!). Secondly, it helps to know if I’m taking things in the 'right’ direction, and getting things right. And thirdly, it’s also an indication that the reviewer is actually quite into the story, caught up in it, and thinking about it. All of which is quite humbling and gratifying.

The worst review? I had one that I had to delete because it was quite obscene, and I couldn't do what they were suggesting if I were an Olympic gymnast on speed! But enough about that...

The "not so good" reviews are the ones where the reader just puts “Great story update soon” for EVERY chapter (see reviews for above mentioned story!). I get the feeling I could write completely nonsensical doggerel and some reviewers would still write “Great story update soon”!

Having said that, those sort of reviews are satisfying for one thing, and that is to know that that particular person is sticking with the story and therefore presumably enjoying it. But they don’t actually help the writing in any constructive way.

One thing I’ve learned (particularly from having to answer this TQ!) is that just because people leave repetitive reviews, or even no reviews at all, it doesn’t mean that they’re not reading the stuff I put out there, and in fact those people deserve thanks too for consistently and faithfully taking the time to read what I write.

*http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5301639/1/Framed - do take a look, and leave a review, eh? And if anyone out there can give me a crash course in how to insert a link, I'd be grateful - never seem to be able to get it right - as you can see ^^!!

[Edit by Kazalene to fix linkity]

Sometimes, Things Just Aren't Meant to be Understood
By: Racefh853629
Criminal Minds

Hi Race. Sorry this is a bit late in the day...

This was a well written story, and I enjoyed reading it, although the further I got into it the more I found myself having a sense of déjà vu – I kept feeling that I’d read it somewhere before, and it was only when I got to the mention of Sid and the other CSI:NY characters that I realised it was picking up on a New York episode I’d seen!

There were one or two spelling mistakes, but grammar and punctuation were fine. I don’t know the fandom all that well, so I can’t really comment on characterisation.

One or two sentences seemed a bit clumsy to me:


Might read better as:
Especially given that this one was not quite or not exactly what they had expected.


In the hundreds? or close to a hundred? or... I dunno – just “near the hundreds” seems a bit odd.

I noticed that you refer to Hotch as "Hotch" all the way through, then suddenly, at just one point, you refer to him as “the unit chief.” It seemed a little out of place to me, just to mention it once, and so late in the story – almost as though he hadn’t been properly introduced earlier.

One final point. At one point in their discussion you write:

I know most readers will pick a particular fandom because they like it and therefore are familiar with it, so on the whole those reading this fic would know Reid’s background. I don’t know Criminal Minds all that well, so I felt that I was maybe missing a vital bit of information that was relevant to and important in their conversation. Maybe just a quick sentence to summarise what had happened would have helped me, personally.

Having said all that, it was well written, and flowed really well, and was a pretty good psychological study of how these guys try to cope with the job they do – really good!

Jude

First of all, I must say I've seen only about thirty random episodes of "Criminal Minds," so I didn't know which case they were referring to when talking about Emily confronting Reid. (You did explain it later on, and you did it very skillfully. Kudos to you!) Another thing that I must say is that I do feel I'm able to notice whether the characters are in character or not. (I wouldn't dare to write them, though.)

Secondly, I'm sorry (though I'm not sure whether I should be ), but I really didn't have enough time to nitpick.

Okay, now onto my real review.

I liked the story very much. The main reason for that is your dialogue, which sounded very natural -- it wasn't forced in the least bit. I could easily imagine Hotch and Reid exchanging your lines on the screen. You have an excellent grasp of the characters.

Your main idea is also excellent -- it's hard for all of us to accept the fact that, sometimes, some things are just not meant to be understood, and I think that for people like Reid and Hotch -- whose job is to understand another person's mind -- it may be even harder.
Of course, the way in which you linked “Criminal Minds” with “CSI:NY” is -- in my opinion -- very, very inventive. Great idea!

Moreover, you said a couple of big truths, and -- what's even more important -- you nicely embedded them into the dialogue, so that they didn't come across as the author "moralizing" (maybe not exactly the right word, but I think you'll know what I mean). Some of them are:
“'You and I both know it’s not that easy,' Hotch commented.” (when Reid said Dr. Pino could have simply asked his friends to help him)
and
“It’s easy to hide behind personas.” (also by Hotchner).

I especially liked the following big truth about their unit:
"We all pretend that we don’t profile each other, but we do. We pick up on each other’s moods, we know when something’s "changed in someone’s life. We know almost everything about each other. We may not know the details, but we know "something’s changed.”

I can't but mention this, too: “'I’ll get back to you on that,' Reid replied, closing the door behind him.” This reply, in my humble opinion, is completely Reid-esque.

I also must mention the little something with which you sort of lightened the mood near the end. It's:
“Not that I find it boring. I actually find it quite fascinating. Kant, Sartre, Aristotle, Bentham, Socrates, and Plato are really "some very interesting philosophers. Like, did you know that Bentham was actually one of the first advocates for equal "rights for...”
That's Spencer Reid, alright.

Summing up, this is a story with an interesting theme and great characterization. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it made me want to read more of your work when I have time. Keep up the good work!

TQ: These questions are really difficult to answer 'cause I love all my reviews.

I don't think I have a review which I think is bad. Sure, some of them aren't very constructive, but not a single one is mean or completely useless -- at least in my opinion.

As for the best review I've had... Well, I don't know. Some people have pointed out some of my mistakes and I'm very grateful to them; some have pointed out the things they liked and I'm very grateful to them, too -- I love all my reviews (as I already said ). The one that made me happiest probably was the first one I've ever gotten, though.

Edit: formatting problem & a spelling mistake (or two )

TQ: Tell me about the best review you've ever recieved? In what ways was it satisfying? The worst? Was it in any way satisfying? What did you learn from each?

Well, I’ve got to agree with Leni on this one. I’m just happy to get reviews good or bad. To me, the best review is one that gives me some constructive criticism. I don’t care if the reviewer is pointing out just how much they hate what I’ve written as long as they are giving me some feedback I can work with.

The worst reviews… well those are the ones that just say that the reviewer hates the story without saying why. The other thing I really dislike is anonymous reviews. I hate it that I don’t have any way to respond to the reviewer if I think they’ve got a valid point (or none at all).

Now, on to Race’s story.

First of all, sorry this is so late in the day getting here. Work has been kicking my butt this week.
The things I liked:

I really liked this fic. I love Criminal Minds, and you’ve got Hotch and Reid down perfectly. Here is Reid questioning everything and Hotch reminding him that in their line of work there are just some things that can’t be understood or explained.

I really loved this passage:

“What’re you thinking about?” Hotch finally asked, looking over at his silent companion as they arrived at their hotel.

“How someone goes from being a medical examiner to a serial killer,” Reid replied, still staring out the window. “What could happen to someone to make them go that route?”

“You heard his story.”

“But it still doesn’t make sense. I mean, how does it happen?”
“It wasn’t overnight.”

Reid looked over at Hotch. “You don’t get it either.”

Hotch shrugged. “Sometimes, things just aren’t meant to be understood.”

Reid sighed. “It’s not good enough.”

This passage is both men perfectly in character. You did a wonderful job with both the dialogue they had with each other and their inner dialogue with themselves.

Things I didn’t like:

There were a few minor grammar things, but nothing that distracted from the story.

Overall this was an easy read and a well written story. Great job!

Critique of: Sometimes, Things Just Aren't Meant to be Understood (Racefh853629)

The Good:
Firstly, I just have to say that Criminal Minds is one of my favourite programs -- If I hadn't have settled on Law, profiling is something I'd have been very interested in doing. So when I saw that you'd written for this fandom I got a little excited... and you absolutely did not disappoint. Your characterisation was fantastic! Really. Especially Reid, whose persona was perfectly captured here:

I also liked how you began with Reid's thoughts, setting the scene, and then moved into Hotch's which mirrored his colleague's brilliantly. It showed that closeness that the team have, and also heightened Reid's comment about the team 'noticing a change' in each other.

My favourite part of the fic was this bit:
It seemed very poignant and poetic, and it made me think for a minute or two -- something Criminal Minds often does. So, again, great job with capturing the essence of the show.

Furthermore, the general theme and plot of the story was extremely clever, and very much within the vein of the show. All in all, an excellent job!

Things To Consider:

The one thing that stood out for me (I'm not going to bother with the grammatical business, as I see Leni's already gone through that in her critique) was the repetition, although I'm not sure whether, in some cases, it was intentional or not. The main one was this: and then: It just seemed sloppy to me.


Now the following I'm undecided upon, so I'll explain both sides of what my brain is arguing. Firstly, let me show you this, from your text: You probably know where I'm going with this, haha. On the one hand, I do like the word 'snap'. It's a very imaginative word... a powerful word, in a sense. And the continued use of it really hammers home the point you're making in this context -- it stuck out greatly to me. However, on the other hand, it also stuck out because it again seemed a bit sloppy and interrupted your otherwise excellent flow.

Conclusion:

I literally just said to LLK that I thought it was one of the best things I've seen you write.

The End.

Oh. My. God. I'm so, so, sorry about the past few weeks! I've been swamped by just about everything, and I was away for a while, and now holidays are over, and I've got even more work... Eek! I'm so dead. And I think I'm getting a cold. Amazing, really. I usually never get sick. One cold a year, at most, but this year, I've been sick at least three times. Probably more. It's just weird.

...grade eleven is bad for your health.

TQ: Tell me about the best review you've ever recieved? In what ways was it satisfying? The worst? Was it in any way satisfying? What did you learn from each?

It's honestly hard to pick one. I'm going to discount critiques, because you're all awesome, and it wuold be unfair to FF.net reviewers. Hehe. I will point out one woman on FF.net, "mumrulz", who reviews in detail every Bones story I write. But the best reviews, in general, are the detailed ones. Or the ones that point out WHY they liked it, or WHY they hated it, because it's so much more helpful. It's also nice because it shows that they've actually paid enough attention to think of a reason, as opposed to just their immediate reaction.

I always appreciate reviews, of any kind, or length, or detail, but the ones that show someone's taken time to not only read your story, but tell you specifically why they liked or disliked it are great.

I can't say that I've ever had a bad review. I am surprised, really, that I've never had any flames, considering that one of my two ships is a non-canon slash pairing. I mean, I don't think that anyone SHOULD find that wrong just because it's slash (I'm happy to be flamed for screwing with canon, though: that's reasonable) but there're enough bigots around to make it a reasonable expectation. So, the LACK of bad reviews for that fandom means a lot more to me, in a way, than some of the positive reviews that I get. Does that make sense?

Hopefully...

I think the main thing that I've learned from reviews in general is that people are awesome. Hehe.


Critique:

I don't really watch Criminal Minds, unless it happens to be on TV while I'm in the room. But from what little I've seen, this all seems to be very in-character. Especially Reid's questioning. He always seems to be the one who wants to know EVERYthing. The rest of them tend to let things lie a little more easily, but he struggles. I imagine him as that kind of little kid who asks everyone around them impossible questions.

The interaction is good, too. You can see that Hotch really cares.

One question: I've never figured it out, but what does "unsub" mean? I know what it refers to, but is it short for something? It seems specific to that show.

WHOA! CSI:NY crossover. Haha, I didn't notice that until you mentioned Danny. I don't really watch that much, either... Haha. But it's very nicely done - I usually hate crossovers but because this one wasn't so blatant (and I'm not that familiar with either show), it was very easy to read.

It was a very, very cute little interaction, and you put so much in it. I could see it, hear it, so clearly in my head. I adored the last scene. The conversation said so much about the characters, and their pasts, which worked for me, even though I don't know anything about them. It also said a lot about the relationship between the two men which was interesting, because so few people write anything that isn't romance.

To the point where as soon as you mentioned the hotel room, I though, "They're totally going to end up in the same bed." Admittedly, I'm very glad that they didn't. But the point is that people so rarely write a fic with close friendship (or at least a close relationship), let alone between two men. Which is always interesting, because, me not being a man, it's reasonably unfamiliar. But there's not much FF for it. Which makes it much fun!

I'm sorry if I'm not making much sense. I have to go to work in a few minutes, so I'm trying to be quick.

But basically, I love this story. The last scene especially. The relationship and the character building was really well done. I also loved the way you mixed conversation and description. The short sentences as to what they were both doing were great. It set a scene as well as a mood. Overall, I think I might have to start watching Criminal Minds. =P

Off to the salt mines.

Giorgia

^^ Unsub means unknown subject.

Thanks for the awesome critiques, guys! You all rock

And muchas gracias to Kaz for fixing my linkity link above! I will learn how to do it eventually.
Jude

No problem -- I've just posted a very quick how-to guide, so hopefully you should have no problems now.

http://fanfictioncritiquegroup.freeforums.org/links-in-posts-and-other-formatting-issues-t189.html

Thanks, Race! I've been going over possibilities in my head for a while now. Haha. Now I know, and I can stop agonising over it. Haha. Thanks! The only other (fictional) criminal I know is Tony Hill from the Wire in the Blood seried, and he actually NICKNAMES all the serial killers he's hunting. Seriously. He calls one of them "Handy Andy". Haha. Love those books! The TV show's awesome, too. At least, the first three seasons are.

Anyway. I'll shut up, now.