WC Fanfic critique

[spiderbraids]

Disclaimer: For the record, none of the comments I make in this post are meant to be taken as an attack on anyone (or anything).

I had previously posted this at winx_club, and one of the moderators made me delete this. However, he said that I could post it at my personal journal, and so did Lori (although she tells me that I'm not allowed to refer to this post at the community). So I'm doing this.

Last month, to celebrate its 2nd anniversary, Michael's Winx Club Page ran a series of contests. One of them was a fanfic contest, where the topic was (in my words) "Stella and Tecna in Freaky Friday". The text below is a direct excerpt from the winning piece by Eva L... but there's a twist.

"Lets see how they would like it if the fashion-reject and the tecno-geek would like it if they were in each others body!" sad Icy. "Great idea Ice!" said Darcy. "Yeah maybe they'll faint and never wake up of the horror!" said Stormy.

And that twist is... that's not how Stella and Tecna get switched. That's how Stella and Tecna get switched back. Michael wrote a "set-up" which we had to work from, and the winning entry is what Eva came up with.

Personally, I'm disappointed by that resolution. I don't like the concept of the Trix doing the Winx any favors (even unintentional), and yes, I know that Lori and gang will say something about the S2 finale (and other eps), but that doesn't convince me it's a good idea. Besides, it makes a lot of sense to link the switch with the Trix (as other writers do). And why wouldn't the Trix know about their mortal enemies' latest problem?

The winning entry

Other critique:

Abby A's entry might have done better than for it to end a bit earlier. Just because it would have been, to say the least, different. (And bummer endings aren't unusual to Winx, for example "Day of the Rose".) For things to work out the way they do... too convenient. What kind of modeling agency would let its models stop and talk on the runway, anyway? (And I'm sure that the Trix would be out to cast the spell when it does the most damage... think of how they humiliated Lucy at Miss Magix, and you get the idea. What would the Trix think when they find out that the humiliation did nothing?)

Danielle B should have read Michael's "set-up" better, then she'd know that Stella calling Tecna names isn't why they got switched. Yet it's almost as if Stella said, "I'm sorry I called you names, otherwise the curse wouldn't have hit us."

Jennifer M (I think of Apprentice runner-up for some reason): Printa running off, and leaving at just that? No wonder why you lost. Making it a bit too convenient for the Winx to find out what the switching spell was (it was supposed to be impossible, and all they had to do was ask Griffin???) doesn't help the story either.

To all: Anyone who has Tecna end up going in Stella's place and vice versa (hey, Eva, why didn't you go that way?) deserves credit for not making a Shaggy Dog Story out of Tecna teaching Stella and vice versa.

To some: Tidy up your spelling, capitalization and punctuation at least!

To Michael: Personally, I don't see any good in creating a new character just to allow this conflict to happen. I mean, heck, having the Trix make the switch (using the excerpt in the cuttext link) would make more sense. And to have that new character be a relative of a known character? Also not good for me (thinks about Morgana in the Disney DVD flick Return to the Sea [IMO, essentially created to have an Ursula-like villain after she got harpooned in The Little Mermaid] and shudders).

The other entries

Body switch... hmm... (adds it to wishlist of Winx plots we'd like to see). Given that the fic writers can come up with quite a few ideas on how that might complicate things (read the fics yourself), one wonders what the real writers could come up with...

If anyone from winx_club sees this, feel free to comment.

Comments

[mg-winxclub.livejournal.com]

Was any of this REALLY necessary? No one has ever cracked on someone else's fan fiction the way you did.

I didn't see you participate in the fan fiction contest, so how can you complain about it? It's like complaining who the president is without voting.

You did take some advice and post a disclaimer, but the execution is off. Your disclaimer is misleading, cause you're doing just that. Do you really think those authors would appreciate your critisism? It's not constructive. Is any of this promoting Winx Club or is it simply more of your constant complaining again?

Instead of entering the contest, you slam the entries at the end instead? What's up with that? What I do on my site and how I judge my contests is my business. I certainly don't need your arm-chair quarterbacking.

Yes, you are entitled to your opinion, but I've asked you WELL over a dozen times not to use or reference anything from my web site, because you slam Winx Club every chance you get and I won't help you do that. What part do you not understand?

Ask yourself again, why did I make this thread? What possible good could come from this post?

[tanz-fanatika.livejournal.com]

Michael's not a moderator.

We can't stop you from posting this crap in your own journal, but I refuse to allow this trash or any mention of it in my community.

I still think you're a complete asshole for doing this. It's really very easy to pick apart the fan fiction of people far younger than you, isn't it? Why don't you just go punch some babies in the face? At least these people tried. Maybe they have a lot to learn, but I'd be willing to bet my entire Winx collection that most of them are under 18. What kind of jerk attacks kids who probably tried very hard at their entries? I think it's time to ask yourself what kind of person you are. Because from my vantage point, you're a nasty one and not a good kind of nasty either.

I suggest getting a new hobby or something to alleviate the gross amount of free time you must have.

[spiderbraids.livejournal.com]

Michael: I didn't see you participate in the fan fiction contest, so how can you complain about it? It's like complaining who the president is without voting.

True, I didn't participate in the contest, but mostly because I didn't have the time or skills to do it.

Also, when was the last time you ever saw a movie critic actually making a movie? I don't exactly have a PhD in fic-writing, but I do know what I don't like (e.g., things being made too easy, forgotten plot threads, and villain stupidity).

Lori: Maybe they have a lot to learn, but I'd be willing to bet my entire Winx collection that most of them are under 18. What kind of jerk attacks kids who probably tried very hard at their entries?

Umm... Simon Cowell?

All kidding aside... Okay, so I guess that the kids don't have much of a grasp of good writing practices yet. But at least they could have cleaned up their punctuation and spelling a bit. We don't want our language corrupted by careless typing, now do we?

[tanz-fanatika.livejournal.com]

Ach, please. How do you know they're old enough to even know proper punctuation? Granted, they could have done spell check, but still. They're KIDS! Cut 'em some slack. I'm sure this was the first contest ever participated in for a lot of them. They deserve credit for effort and encouragement to keep trying and do better next time.

Movie critics are criticizing the works of adults, not the works of eight-year-olds. That's the difference there.

And as for Simon, those people willingly put themselves on that stage and they know they're going to be criticized. (They're also at least teenagers if not older.) These kids didn't and didn't deserve this shitty treatment either. The fact that you can't grasp this just displays what an ass you can be.

[spiderbraids.livejournal.com]

(Reads Lori's stuff)

Uh huh... uh huh... uh huh.

So I'm supposed to say something like, "It's far from the best fanfic ever (very far), but I'll cut you some slack, since you're probably still a kid," right?

(Honestly, when I wrote this thread, I was expecting other people to chime in with their opinions on the fics...)

[tanz-fanatika.livejournal.com]

In my opinion, you're not supposed to say anything at all. Who appointed you fanfic judge? They sure didn't. I only critique things like that if I'm asked to. The way you have it, it looks like a pointless attack on young writers.

I would have been surprised if anyone else had commented with critiques. Most people have more tact than that.