(I)

Before coming to deviantArt (and I mean actually posting stuff; the truth is, I've been a member for a few months but have done next to nothing), I used to put up a lot of my works on fanfiction.net. Heard of it? If yes, and if you've posted stories there, you'll come into touch with the banalistic errors that plague the whole network as compared to something like dA.

Not so much the reviews, which are little more than worthless comments, but the whole archaic design puts me off a lot. When browsing dA, one feels like they're in a library of art and literature; when on FF.net, it feels like one is browsing through an old military archive, looking for what they need. While they've done some really good stuff, like creating a flexible and powerful search engine (I've yet to try dA's though), the whole site just gives me a dead vibe nowadays. Is that what contributes to people visiting the site less? I can't really say, and yes, comparing dA to FF.net is like comparing a katana to a knife in terms of depth, variety and content.

Still, I can't help but feel that the site on whole is detrimental to an author's growth in many ways.

(II)

Story telling versus plot development versus morals versus settings versus what not...And then, writer's block hasn't even been taken into consideration.

Not much argument here. Just out of curiosity-- has any one read a fanfiction or original fiction story that concentrated on being nothing more than entertaining to the reader, rather than trying to be too preachy, self-indulgent, bogged down, or moralistic? Some where I found how stories like say 'Torn' are not considered real literature. But what makes Torn different from something like Harry Potter, that focuses on entertaining the reader and just telling its story? For that matter, how less successful are these as compared to the 'legendary' works by authors of centuries past?

Anti-elite? More like we need to be more against ignoring great talent and written material in the name of lofty visions and standards.

(III)

"What the mind does not see, the eyes will not."

My choice quote for the day. ^^