Criticism on Pottersues: A Harsh Reality or Just Plain Mean

Late last night, while browsing the internet, I came across a blog on Live Journal called Pottersues. The blog, which has been running strong since 2003, explore the large and diverse world of Harry Potter fan fictions, but with a twist. All fictions listed are about Gary Stu and Mary Sues. Each day a new fan fiction is review by the blog creator, listing the title, author, characters and a ranking from "good" to "toxic" of Sue-ism. Along with it comes a reason why the chosen piece of fiction is bad, pinpointing all the flaws in a humorous way.

The posts however, are far from being filled with constructive criticism, but hateful truths. I looked through the blog and laughed a little, until something caught my eyes: one of my own stories. So I was caught; I was guilty as charged, and yet I wasn’t angry or upset. I took all the comments as criticism, ways to improve my writing. Looking at the blog post comments, I even began to laugh myself. However, I knew my story was far from good. I wrote it at three in the morning after chugging two monster energy drinks, and posted it just for giggles. But what about the true fan fiction writers? How do they take the bitterness of rejection?

The answer is probably not that well. The blog has an entire post dedicated to hate mail; many saying how what the creator is doing is evil. The FAQ even has a question stating "Why is my story here?" with the answer "Because it sucks." The blog, although hateful, has many faithful followers who believe that the truth is better that fluffing some of these writers’ egos, along with wanting to have a good laugh themselves. I myself am mature enough to know not everyone will like you, having been acting on the stage since age five. Now as a young adult, I do not take criticism to heart and instead embrace it. Most of the Mary Sue creators can’t handle that. In the beginning of every writer’s career, we experience a period of writing whatever in our mind, forgetting about the importance of character development and plotting. Most of the stories that make it on Pottersues are like that; written by younger writers who have just started out. So the question really is: Is Pottersues doing them a favor by showing them that you can’t be liked by everyone or is it really cyber bullying?

Personally I can see rationalities for both sides. What Pottersues doing is very brave as many would not have the courage to tell the truth. New writers need to learn the steps of storyboard. They also need to learn that to be criticized, especially if they want to have an actual career in writing. Many reviews on fan fiction sites aren’t the true critiquing authors need. How is “Update soon” or “I love it” going to improve someone’s story or writing skills? In a way, all Pottersues is doing is giving these writers the true reviews they need. The blog is also helping toughen these writers up, and teaching them they can’t cry over a bad review. I wish I had some true criticism when I started writing. Maybe I would have actually been a good fiction writer.

On the other hand, the blog really isn’t really giving true criticism. Even the creator admits it. Instead the reviews, even though filled with pointed-out flaws, come off as harsh and flaming. They are not meant to be helpful but instead, in a sense, make fun of the writer. Although many older writers can find helpfulness in flaming posts, many new writers don’t. These reviews can kill the souls of many new writers. When these authors find their stories on the blog, they fall apart and start doubting other every little word they ever wrote. Others even attack the blog creator, defending their piece with all their breath. Neither are healthy tactics at such a young age. As authors, we need to work as a team. We need to be guides to new writers and not crush their creative forces, but mold them and teach them about character development and how to avoid creating Sues. Although I still have a long way to go on that department, I am always grateful to beta’s who helped when I first started writing.

So now I ask you? What do you think of blogs of this type? Helpful or hurtful? Leave a comment below with your opinions.