Getting Negative Comments

14 May 2012

Quote by sprite
That reminds me, Daisy - i meant to make the comment that you use too many vowels in your stories. just an observation.

Dammit! Why aren't you writing a story? Your punishment for making me go, "Do I? Crap, I need to go back to basics... Oh. angry7

" is to critique that poem for me because my mate isn't online yet. PM on the way.

Humph. angry7

Ut incepit fidelis, sic permanet.

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14 May 2012

Quote by Shylass

Dammit! Why aren't you writing a story? Your punishment for making me go, "Do I? Crap, I need to go back to basics... Oh. " is to critique that poem for me because my mate isn't online yet. PM on the way.

Humph.

i just wanted to see if i could goad you into writing something in Welsh. as for not writing, even writing tires me out right now. i'm still working on sitting upright. when i DO get going again, hopefully, i have lots of stuff bottled up inside to spew onto the page. smile

You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.

14 May 2012

Quote by sprite

i just wanted to see if i could goad you into writing something in Welsh. as for not writing, even writing tires me out right now. i'm still working on sitting upright. when i DO get going again, hopefully, i have lots of stuff bottled up inside to spew onto the page.

Are you criticising me for not being able to write in Welsh (mostly because I'm not Welsh and was never taught the language)? They have Google Translate for that, you know!

harrylime, that was a mean comment! If they were more competant, they could at least have written "Please"!

Ut incepit fidelis, sic permanet.

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14 May 2012

Quote by harrylime
The most memorable negative comment I have received to date was the concisely worded "stop writing". lol HL

sorry about that. drinking and story modding don't mix, obviously. Nicola had a stern talking to me that evening, if it helps!

You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.

14 May 2012

Quote by Shylass

Are you criticising me for not being able to write in Welsh (mostly because I'm not Welsh and was never taught the language)? They have Google Translate for that, you know!

harrylime, that was a mean comment! If they were more competant, they could at least have written "Please"!

actually, i'm just flirting with you cause i think you're adorable! Big Hugs

You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.

14 May 2012

Quote by sprite

actually, i'm just flirting with you cause i think you're adorable!

Ut incepit fidelis, sic permanet.

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21 May 2012

For what it's worth, my own view is that you can't please all of the people all of the time. I write stories for my own enjoyment, as well as those people who enjoy them, and I'm very grateful to those who take the time to express that. I don't think I'm alone in having discovered that however much I like to think I write what I want to write and enjoy writing, I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't energised by positive comments. Negative comments of the "don't like that" variety are just plain useless and not something I would dwell on unduly.

I wouldn't personally make a negative comment, unless I thought I could provide some kind of constructive alternative. At least not here. I write music reviews too, but that's a whole other kettle of fish.

The worst "crime" in my book is commenting on stories that belong to genres you don't actually like. Just as the TV has an off button, if or reluctance or whatever stories bother you, just ignore them.

21 May 2012

I'm really glad you asked this question. Being trained in cognitive behavioralism, I think negative comments are motivated by different things (and often take different forms).

The first type (which is inherent to any site that allows registered users the ability to remain anonymous) are borne of pure ill-intent. Some people enjoy the apparent free-license that anonymity provides, and they abuse it. These people tend to be complete "losers" in real life. They are often absolutely asocial (if not even harboring antisocial tendencies), and sites like this provide them the opportunity to symbolically punish all the people who've ever "wronged" them. TROLLS, in internet speak. They are the bottom feeders of society. Rather than look introspectively, they seek to insult and degrade others in a misguided effort to make themselves feel better. They suck.

Then there are people who just have a (compensatory) inflated sense of self and feel they have the right to be critical of others because they feel they are somehow intellectually superior. It's the product of true narcissism (which occurs when someone is so deeply insecure that they spend all their energy trying to overcompensate by convincing themselves they are so much better than everyone else). You tend to see these types often go around offering criticism under the pretense of being helpful, but the funny thing is: they've either never posted anything, themselves (ironically, often due to their fear of receiving negative feedback) or, if they have, they aren't any better at writing than anyone else. Those people also tend to have some asociability to their personalities, and they hide behind their intellect when dealing with others because they feel inferior, otherwise. The same goes for people who envy the writing abilities of others and are too insecure to appreciate a great piece simply because they didn't author it. It's juvenile and silly, but there are some silly, juvenile people out there, so it's to be expected at times.

True constructive criticism, honestly, is better offered only when solicited. One might argue that, by virtue of posting a story with comments enabled, you are de facto asking for constructive criticism, but I don't know that this can be assumed. As a general rule, if I cannot find a reason to rate it better than a three, I will often just not vote.

If I feel someone has great potential as a story teller, but see one glaring (and easily correctable) issue with their writing, I might offer them a polite suggestion if I feel they are open to it. I prefer sending a personal message about it rather than posting it publicly, and I ALWAYS offer great praise with regard to what they've done well.

A great rule of thumb (taken from the laws of management) is that, before you consider leaving feedback that might be construed as critical, find some good things to say about a piece, and never be stingy with compliments. As the (paraphrased) saying goes, "Be most generous with compliments, and most stingy with criticisms." Great advice from which everyone could benefit.

At the end of the day, once you factor out the trolls and flames, what you often end up with are remarks from people who are generally kind-hearted and well-meaning, and have taken time out of their busy day to read your work. Something about what you've written speaks to them enough to compel them to leave a comment and, to me, that's always worth appreciating.

As far as receiving criticism goes, I think it does us all good to consider its origin and, once you have determined what TYPE of negative feedback you've received, you can take it or leave it. If all someone does is offer negative feedback, ignore it. If they couldn't take the time to find something nice to say about your work, they are probably insincere, anyhow. Don't waste your own time worrying about their opinion.

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I'm a loner, Dottie. A Rebel...
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21 May 2012

I'm so glad I found this posting today. When I first started writing stories on lush read every comment and some would be hurtful, but most of them are encouraging. I left lush for over a year and recently came back. Today a new story of ours was posted and most of the comments are nice and thoughtful...But a one is negative. What do I say to the person that wrote the comment.. I say..I am here not for your pleasure but for mine .And if you dislike any of my stories...Feel free not to click the link. That's it...That’s how I handle negative comments.

21 May 2012

Quote by naughtiestmommy
As far as receiving criticism goes, I think it does us all good to consider its origin and, once you have determined what TYPE of negative feedback you've received, you can take it or leave it. If all someone does is offer negative feedback, ignore it. If they couldn't take the time to find something nice to say about your work, they are probably insincere, anyhow. Don't waste your own time worrying about their opinion.

All of what you wrote was worth reading, naughtiestmommy, but that part was worth quoting.

I received a criticism that I deserved once, not because I think it was accurate, but because I tried something tricky and it didn't work. The complaint was along the lines of "It seems you got bored/tired of writing. It was less detailed." I was trying to convey that my character, the narrator of the series was getting bored with telling of the exploits of the couple. Probably one or two sentences would have helped that reader to distinguish between the character/narrator and the writer, but I failed to recognize that need. My bad.

I received another criticism along the lines of "I was disappointed. I'm just not into the whole bbc thing, but it was well written anyway." That comment later got pulled. It was as if the commenter felt betrayed that the series had taken a turn away from where he wanted it to lead. I didn't let that bother me.

I find it very challenging and enjoyable to write stories that readers aren't sure why they keep reading them, but they can't stop. So if I get low scores, I can chalk that up to the reader feeling conflicted about the value of the story, not the quality of the writing, unless I get a comment that is relevant to the quality of the writing. That makes a difference for me. I rite the story because I want to achieve a certain result with a certain set of readers. I try to write it well, because otherwise, what's the point?

My latest story is too hot to publish. My most recent story before that is Even Stranger In Lust

21 May 2012

I'm always looking for constructive criticism being new that this but I have gotten to neg comments already.

both said the same thing that my story was weak. No reason why or how to get better. I'm pretty sure one of them voted my story a 2 as well. I do think it was unjust but there isn't much I can do about it.

As for what I do about it, Nothing. I can't delete them or take the down so I don't worry about it.

25 May 2012

Quote by scottg
Have you ever received a negative comment/s that you think was unjust?

I've not gotten any negative comments yet, but I did get a 2 with no comment. I'd have liked to know what they didn't like so much that they voted it so low.

My novel, The Society, is available now in the Kindle Store: http://www.amazon.com/The-Society-ebook/dp/B00BPF9U2I

25 May 2012

Quote by Sensei

I've not gotten any negative comments yet, but I did get a 2 with no comment. I'd have liked to know what they didn't like so much that they voted it so low.

Like I've said elsewhere, "If people marking lower cannot give a good reason for it (or indeed reasons why they voted higher or at all), then it is clear they either just didn't like it (the same as "I hated it"), or they wish they had written it." Neither of those two cases are your fault as the writer. Put it down to them wishing they were as good as you, if they're not forthcoming with a reason. sunny

Ut incepit fidelis, sic permanet.

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10 Jun 2012

Since leaving and coming back my stories are not in my profile.
I feel this is a place to have fun and write what comes to your mind. I am not a pro I just have fun with it all. I try to ignore the rough comments. And people should not be so hard on people. I had one guy who would always comment great story but needs more sex. I guess he wanted every sentence with some kind of sex scene in it.