Writing.Com General Discussion

I have to disagree:

Many years ago, a friend of mine here on W.com joined another writing website, posted a few stories and got brutal, honest reviews. She came back, told me and a few other friends about it, and we went to check it out. I posted two stories and also got a few, very brutal reviews.

That's when I realized, W.com wasn't doing me any favors in helping me succeed with my goal of becoming a published author.

This was way back when (like 2003); before W.com had a reviewing revolution (as I like to call it) and started seriously encouraging people to give constructive reviews. But the fact of the matter is, W.com has always been a community where positivism has a place above honest and constructive reviewing. This is not a bad thing overall. It's the reason I keep coming back to W.com; people are positive, the space is caring, friendly, and promotes fun over being serious.

BUT:

In a highly competitive realm that demands absolute perfection, as writing does, is it really in the author's interest to have their grammar mistakes, sentence structure problems, and bumpy narrative ignored all because they are learning? No.

Do I think these errors should be pointed out without finesse, without a gentle touch, without pointing out something positive, and without trying to encourage the author to keep writing and trying again? Absolutely not. However, these and many other errors need to be pointed out, picked apart, and driven home in a direct manner. A writer hoping to put their writing out there for the public, whether on a writing website or actually publishing, needs the cold, hard facts. Otherwise they will never learn about what it is that makes a good story, what it is that works with the audience and what doesn't, where their crafting weaknesses are, and how to spot their own errors for later improvement and when writing later drafts. They'll never learn how to ask the important questions like "does this character work? does that sentence make sense? Is there enough backstory for the story I want to tell?"

Just look at the reviews for any book on any book-selling website. They can be hard, brutal, completely uncaring of the author's feelings. Reviews for published works, for best sellers show that while the average reader is happy to be entertained, there are plenty of readers who read not only for the story, but for the craft of word-weaving and creation, and if the author isn't skilled, then their book is mud. A budding writer, while being encouraged, should be prepared for what they're coming up against. Rejection by editors and publishers, and heavy criticism by the public. Of course, receiving criticism for a published book is different than receiving feedback on a WIP, but the thick skin needs to start somewhere.

I could recount endless review responses I've had for my reviews where I could tell that the author has only skimmed my review and then tried to defend their writing with a "you don't understand me and my style." But I won't.

All I will say is that yes, the reviewer needs to be kind and considerate. I'd be sad if W.com changed it's collective, positive attitude. But the writer also needs to be open and accepting to serious feedback and harsh -ish criticism if they want to improve. That means lower star ratings and every error accounted for.

In conclusion, I'm obviously focusing on writers who are writing for one-day publication and ignoring those of us on W.com who write for fun and the simple pleasure of it. To those people, I say, keep writing! and if you want to ignore the reviews of mean people like me, by all means. But at the same time, I'm one of those people who wants to be the best at everything, even my hobbies so I encourage you to read and learn anyway.

There's a difference between being mean and being constructive.

~Veritas