Fiction Writing: Advice and Discussion

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JuniperCake: Jan 26, 2013

supermikhail posted:

Well. I just want to acknowledge that I read it all. You know, much of that could be interpreted as a lot of empty blathering, and I hope guys here don't mistreat you over it. I personally agree on most points with you.

This sounds like a really backhanded complement, but I don't think that is your intent? I agree with Stupor that you need to work on being able to boil things down to the central point you want to say and not be all over the place. I'm working on that problem too, so I can sympathize.

Nothing wrong with just stating your main point ( I agree with a lot of those points, or that was a lot of blathering just now) instead of just sending mixed signals like that. If you did that I think you would have less communication issues with people and be able to write more clearly. But having a preface so undercut what comes after just sounds really sarcastic you know?

# ? Apr 22, 2015 13:17

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# ? Apr 29, 2024 11:59

angel opportunity: Sep 7, 2004; Total Eclipse of the Heart

holy poo poo let's all just stop talking to this guy

# ? Apr 22, 2015 13:17

sebmojo: Oct 23, 2010; Legit Cyberpunk

supermikhail posted:

I'm not sure what you mean. I guess since you're asking the question, "writing" wouldn't be the right answer. I'd say, from even considering writing like something I'm supposed to do, because that's obviously a big source of stress in itself. I'm also not going to miss word counts and time limits. If you had a different angle in mind, let me know, because your question can be interpreted in many different ways.

Yeah, chill the hell out about it if you're not enjoying it. You might come back to it, might not. If you don't miss it why do it?

# ? Apr 22, 2015 13:48

supermikhail: Nov 17, 2012; "It's video games, Scully."
Video games?"
"He enlists the help of strangers to make his perfect video game. When he gets bored of an idea, he murders them and moves on to the next, learning nothing in the process."
"Hmm... interesting."

JuniperCake posted:

This sounds like a really backhanded complement, but I don't think that is your intent? I agree with Stupor that you need to work on being able to boil things down to the central point you want to say and not be all over the place. I'm working on that problem too, so I can sympathize.

Nothing wrong with just stating your main point ( I agree with a lot of those points, or that was a lot of blathering just now) instead of just sending mixed signals like that. If you did that I think you would have less communication issues with people and be able to write more clearly. But having a preface so undercut what comes after just sounds really sarcastic you know?

Honestly I've been writing almost my every post today with a completely straight face, and it's unfortunate that I instead sound back-handedly snarky. But I agree with angel opportunity, since I'm less and less on-topic in this thread, I should probably bow out, however ungracefully it happens to be. (Sorry for serial posting. My job is boring, and it was something to do for a short break.)

Eeedit: I'm also feeling less and less confident in my English. I'm not sure the expressions above mean what I thought they meant, so I hope you get the content and forgive the sloppy execution. Um, I think one of the words in simple English would be "sincere".

supermikhail fucked around with this message at 14:27 on Apr 22, 2015

# ? Apr 22, 2015 13:56

Cpt. Mahatma Gandhi: Mar 26, 2005

If you don't actually like writing then don't loving write. It's really that simple. Why waste your short time on Earth doing something you don't like?

# ? Apr 22, 2015 15:17

anime was right: Jun 27, 2008; death is certain
keep yr cool

if you put words together sometimes you make sentences. if you put sentences together sometimes they make paragraphs. if you put paragraphs together sometimes they make chapters. if you put chapters together sometimes you have a really weird secret society hellbent on shutting down supermikhail.

# ? Apr 22, 2015 17:25

Abundant Atrophy: Nov 3, 2012

Two questions:
So characterization is a struggle for me. How do I write characters you care about? I have yet been able to write something driven by who a character is, so all my writing feels like just going from plot-point to plot-point without getting to know the characters. (I have an example proving this) I guess a better question is how do you write introspection without stating things like, "Larry felt sad," "Lucy was feeling malicious," "Cluthor is feeling emotionless."

A less vague question that's prevented me from writing is research. So I have a story about a space elevator in the Philippines that leads to a resort where the staff mutiny. The story is centered on a single character's experience going into space and dying during the mutiny. So of course I should read up on the mechanics of the elevator, physics involved in the elevator, mechanics of the materials, Filipino culture, maybe tour a bible for a lesson of the Garden of Eden and other kinds of themes... A part of me says I should "Just Write" then do some fact-checking in a later draft, but (a lot of words about my own indecision) The question here is does research even matter for something that doesn't exist? From experience which have people found more useful, researching before or after the story? ~~Would I have better spent this post doing anything else?~~

# ? Apr 22, 2015 18:04

Cpt. Mahatma Gandhi: Mar 26, 2005

Abundant Atrophy posted:

A less vague question that's prevented me from writing is research. So I have a story about a space elevator in the Philippines that leads to a resort where the staff mutiny. The story is centered on a single character's experience going into space and dying during the mutiny. So of course I should read up on the mechanics of the elevator, physics involved in the elevator, mechanics of the materials, Filipino culture, maybe tour a bible for a lesson of the Garden of Eden and other kinds of themes... A part of me says I should "Just Write" then do some fact-checking in a later draft, but (a lot of words about my own indecision) The question here is does research even matter for something that doesn't exist? From experience which have people found more useful, researching before or after the story? ~~Would I have better spent this post doing anything else?~~

Research is always important even on things that don't exist, since your readers will be coming at things with different knowledge and perspectives than you. Something like the Space Elevator is definitely something you'll want to look into, especially since it's something that scientifically and physically isn't feasible for humans to create at this point. Research all the reasons a Space Elevator can't exist and come up with solutions to get around those problems.

Like you said though, that's for later drafts. The first draft should always always always be about the story and characters. You're never going to sell a first draft anyway, so there's no point getting hung up on whether you've portrayed something accurately or not. Once you have a good story down with interesting characters and a dynamic conflict, you can start worrying about scientific or historical accuracy.

Cpt. Mahatma Gandhi fucked around with this message at 18:57 on Apr 22, 2015

# ? Apr 22, 2015 18:55

General Battuta: Feb 7, 2011; This is how you communicate with a fellow intelligence: you hurt it, you keep on hurting it, until you can distinguish the posts from the screams.

Cpt. Mahatma Gandhi posted:

Like you said though, that's for later drafts. The first draft should always always always be about the story and characters. You're never going to sell a first draft anyway, so there's no point getting hung up on whether you've portrayed something accurately or not. Once you have a good story down with interesting characters and a dynamic conflict, you can start worrying about scientific or historical accuracy.

I dunno about this. Sometimes a very low-level detail, like the grain of a type of wood or a local custom or the awful civil war that happened twenty years ago, is the key to cracking a whole story open. Sometimes the characters and their conflict fall right out of an image in the research.

I can't get a rough draft going until I write a few sentences that feel like they cut or hit. Designers often start with swatches, right, little samples of texture and color. I think it can be good to collect a few key facts, paragraphs of prose, and mood pictures to get the story going. 'This is what it feels like.'

# ? Apr 22, 2015 19:23

Keromaru5: Dec 28, 2012; Pictured: The Wolf Of Gubbio (probably)

This avatar made possible by a gift from the Religionthread Posters Relief Fund

I've written a story set on a space elevator, and over the course of my research I found several scientific papers on space elevators, including proposals for tethers (carbon nanotubes were considered a breakthrough because they're extremely thin but extremely durable), the elevators themselves, and possible applications.

Very little of it wound up in the final story, but I was glad to have found it. It's out there if you go looking.

# ? Apr 22, 2015 19:56

Cpt. Mahatma Gandhi: Mar 26, 2005

General Battuta posted:

I dunno about this. Sometimes a very low-level detail, like the grain of a type of wood or a local custom or the awful civil war that happened twenty years ago, is the key to cracking a whole story open. Sometimes the characters and their conflict fall right out of an image in the research.

I can't get a rough draft going until I write a few sentences that feel like they cut or hit. Designers often start with swatches, right, little samples of texture and color. I think it can be good to collect a few key facts, paragraphs of prose, and mood pictures to get the story going. 'This is what it feels like.'

I was more talking about was having the full scope of your research done before you hit sentence one, which I don't think is necessary or even particularly helpful since I get too caught up in "getting things right" instead of telling a good story. But yes, having some general ideas doesn't hurt, and I'll still pause sometimes in the middle of a paragraph to do a quick wiki search just to make sure what I'm not writing something completely off base.

In my experience though (which I recognize doesn't mean squat in the grand scheme of things), I've found it more helpful to save in-depth research for drafts 2 and later and leave draft 1 mostly for plots and characters.

# ? Apr 22, 2015 20:06

Abundant Atrophy: Nov 3, 2012

Cpt. Mahatma Gandhi posted:

Research is always important even on things that don't exist, since your readers will be coming at things with different knowledge and perspectives than you. Something like the Space Elevator is definitely something you'll want to look into, especially since it's something that scientifically and physically isn't feasible for humans to create at this point. Research all the reasons a Space Elevator can't exist and come up with solutions to get around those problems.

First, thank you for your reply, I'll get to preparing a fact sheet for when I return to this story.

quote:

Like you said though, that's for later drafts. The first draft should always always always be about the story and characters. You're never going to sell a first draft anyway, so there's no point getting hung up on whether you've portrayed something accurately or not. Once you have a good story down with interesting characters and a dynamic conflict, you can start worrying about scientific or historical accuracy.

General Battuta posted:

I dunno about this. Sometimes a very low-level detail, like the grain of a type of wood or a local custom or the awful civil war that happened twenty years ago, is the key to cracking a whole story open. Sometimes the characters and their conflict fall right out of an image in the research.

Interesting takes. I'm liking the 'write then research' path because it's less work, since it would get more words on the page. But, and I guess this is my main hang-up about looking up details about things is, how much of it gets used. Taking the wood grain for example. I wouldn't want to call too much attention on the pine stool in a Sci-fi novel about space. Or a 1600's werewolf novel. Or the like.
Not to say that those seemingly 'low-level details' aren't important! And I do see the merit in researching more-or-less making the story. But the Details! Wouldn't a scientific paragraph on how sausage preparation be jarring unless a chatty character or the POV is a butcher or killer?

Actually no you both are right. Thank you greatly. :downs:

# ? Apr 22, 2015 20:09

Abundant Atrophy: Nov 3, 2012

Keromaru posted:

I've written a story set on a space elevator, and over the course of my research I found several scientific papers on space elevators, including proposals for tethers (carbon nanotubes were considered a breakthrough because they're extremely thin but extremely durable), the elevators themselves, and possible applications.

Very little of it wound up in the final story, but I was glad to have found it. It's out there if you go looking.

My actual fear. (right behind the 30 or so with writing the story)

Is there a place I could read your story, by any chance?

# ? Apr 22, 2015 20:13

Djeser: Mar 22, 2013; it's crow time again

Abundant Atrophy posted:

Two questions:
So characterization is a struggle for me. How do I write characters you care about? I have yet been able to write something driven by who a character is, so all my writing feels like just going from plot-point to plot-point without getting to know the characters. (I have an example proving this) I guess a better question is how do you write introspection without stating things like, "Larry felt sad," "Lucy was feeling malicious," "Cluthor is feeling emotionless."

This is two questions, so I'll answer each.

First, how do you write characters to care about? Well, the most basic way is to give your character something they want. This is as broad or as specific as you please. But, the key for writing a character people care about is to connect it to some common element of the human experience. That's a fruity way of saying we should 'get' what they want. Maybe a man wants to find the woman he loved--that's a pretty easy motivation to connect to. But what if Erethor wants to reclaim the Gem of Unyielding from the Fallen Steps? Well, then you'd better connect that to a more human motivation too. Maybe he's trying to prove himself to his father and to society in general--that's something we can connect to. But what if you're writing something entirely nonhuman? That's fine, as long as there's a motivation there we can understand. A ship's AI wants all its crew to be happy. A golem wants to be freed from its master's control. These aren't situations we can relate to, but we can relate to the motivations. Even if, let's say, you're writing an antihero, that's someone with an identifiable motivation that goes about it in a way we'd see as immoral. A vigilante superhero is motivated by his protective drive toward his friends and family, but he beats up criminals to within an inch of their life.

Second, how do you convey internal emotions without stating them? Well, what do people do when they feel that internal state? If you're sad, you might be quiet, preoccupied with what made you sad, unwilling to talk to people. Or maybe you get drunk and act out to hide the sadness, but either way, it's pretty clear you're hurting over something. If someone's malicious, they're probably coming up with ways to hurt someone in their head, or maybe they're always stealing glances in their direction. If someone's emotionless, they'll probably be unfazed by events that would make a normal person excited. Another option is to use a bit of internal monologue, which works mainly if you're writing from a limited perspective: "Bob opened the door and saw Mary. loving Mary, again." Now we know, without being told, that Bob's agitated for some reason at seeing Mary again. A third option is to use facial expressions and body language, which is a bit tougher, because you can be happy without smiling and you can be mad without making a >:( face. There's a lot going on in people's heads when they're feeling strong emotions, so there's plenty to pull out to describe states of mind.

Abundant Atrophy posted:

A less vague question that's prevented me from writing is research. So I have a story about a space elevator in the Philippines that leads to a resort where the staff mutiny. The story is centered on a single character's experience going into space and dying during the mutiny. So of course I should read up on the mechanics of the elevator, physics involved in the elevator, mechanics of the materials, Filipino culture, maybe tour a bible for a lesson of the Garden of Eden and other kinds of themes... A part of me says I should "Just Write" then do some fact-checking in a later draft, but (a lot of words about my own indecision) The question here is does research even matter for something that doesn't exist? From experience which have people found more useful, researching before or after the story? ~~Would I have better spent this post doing anything else?~~

Even when writing spec fic stuff, I don't worry too much about research, but I think if you're going to do some research, do it before the story. Myself, I rarely do "targeted" research like that, because usually my mind lands on an idea I'm already familiar with from tootling around. Then again, most of my spec fic stuff is soft enough to be sliced with a butter knife. Personally, I think research can give you interesting angles on a story you wouldn't have considered. (For instance, lifting the idea of a Matrioshka sphere for a story about bitcoins, or visual telegraphs for a story about Victorian terrorists.) But that's more research to find interesting elements to add to a story, less research to ensure you get the details right.

If I was doing a harder scifi story [and I probably wouldn't] I'd do the concept research first, then do my detail research for an editing pass. Get the ideas you want out there, then worry about whether they're proper science enough. Being fact-checked is far less important than having a good story.

# ? Apr 22, 2015 21:03

Keromaru5: Dec 28, 2012; Pictured: The Wolf Of Gubbio (probably)

This avatar made possible by a gift from the Religionthread Posters Relief Fund

Abundant Atrophy posted:

My actual fear. (right behind the 30 or so with writing the story)

Is there a place I could read your story, by any chance?

I have it up for sale as an ebook on my site (I already got it published in a small, now-apparently-defunct SF zine; I figured "Well, it's not doing anything else right now, so why not?").

I'll link if people think it's okay.

# ? Apr 22, 2015 21:12

Chairchucker: Nov 14, 2006; to ride eternal, shiny and chrome

THUNDERDOME LOSER 2022

I think it's okay to link that.

# ? Apr 23, 2015 03:30

Keromaru5: Dec 28, 2012; Pictured: The Wolf Of Gubbio (probably)

This avatar made possible by a gift from the Religionthread Posters Relief Fund

All right, then.

Here's the epub version.

And the mobi version.

Not really looking for a critique, just hoping Abundant Atrophy finds it useful. I sometimes find looking at other stories on the same general topic helpful, myself. I read Arthur C. Clarke's Fountains of Paradise while working on this one.

Keromaru5 fucked around with this message at 04:02 on Apr 23, 2015

# ? Apr 23, 2015 04:00

Abundant Atrophy: Nov 3, 2012

Keromaru5 posted:

All right, then.

Here's the epub version.

And the mobi version.

Not really looking for a critique, just hoping Abundant Atrophy finds it useful. I sometimes find looking at other stories on the same general topic helpful, myself. I read Arthur C. Clarke's Fountains of Paradise while working on this one.

Once again thank you! I'm sure it will be useful to see how you handle the elements with the Lift and setting. Also adding Clarke's book to my list/fact-sheet.
>Edit: Enjoy my money while I enjoy this story.

And Thank you djeser, that is beyond helpful. The different angles on things is something I'll have to keep myself open to.
Really appreciate the words and advice here.

Abundant Atrophy fucked around with this message at 04:47 on Apr 23, 2015

# ? Apr 23, 2015 04:41

Omi no Kami: Feb 19, 2014

If anyone has a couple of minutes to crit, I'd love some feedback on this week's Thunderdome: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3691539&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=60#post444537004

It's still somewhat purple prose-y, and I feel it's somewhat uneven with a few abrupt transitions from character/viewpoint that can be pretty jarring.

# ? Apr 28, 2015 00:31

thehomemaster: Jul 16, 2014; by Ralp

Thanks for feedback TDers on this weeks piece:

RedTonic posted:

Straight out of the gate you both tell us and show us how Luke's apartment ages. You can just stick with the showing and dispense with the sentence fragments, which don't do much stylistically. I'm guessing the single quotation marks are a British thing, so I can't really pick on that, but you did miss an opening mark on at least one line of dialogue. I guess some Orientalism is unavoidable in the context of wizard week. I don't know why you're coy about opening with the story's conflict. I don't see any benefit to burying it. I would have enjoyed more build-up about breaking into heaven instead of spending my attention budget trying to figure out what Luke's problem was before he finally confronted St. Peter.

Meh, this doesn't tell me anything. Seems you came in with an agenda and stuck with it. 50% of your writing is superfluous. Remember to add at least one positive thing to every crit.

Grizzled Patriarch posted:

thehomemaster
A compelling opening line, but the actual description of the house aging feels a little underwhelming. Some more descriptive language here would make for a stronger hook. The magic itself is interesting, but it takes a bit too long for the actual conflict to become clear. Your prose is stronger in the middle - there's some nice descriptive language when he's on the mountain.

I was a bit confused at first when he runs into Saint Peter, but then I realized what he was trying to do. I'm still not sure why all the other people start popping up, though. The ending just doesn't work for me. It's accompanied by some interesting imagery, but you don't give me enough information to really sell the danger that the protagonist is in. What is going to happen if the angels catch him? I need some idea of the risks / consequences he's facing if I am going to accept that willingly walking into Hell is a better option.

Cheers brah, good points. I guess I should have made it clearer that by opening a path to Heaven he'd just caused massive amounts of damage and death on Earth? I do feel I rushed it at the end, while being too heavy at the start. Maybe he should have been captured by the angels before attempting to escape. I suppose I just thought that if he wanted to show he could go to Heaven, then going to Hell would be 1) a step up and 2) deal with any problems he faces in Heaven. Plus, I dunno, he just killed a poo poo tonne of people, he probably deserves to go to Hell.

Your crit and others from previous weeks seem to drive one thing home: I can write decently, but I'm poo poo at actually producing a story (conflict, character).

Now to crit some people.

thehomemaster fucked around with this message at 00:38 on Apr 28, 2015

# ? Apr 28, 2015 00:35

POOL IS CLOSED: Jul 14, 2011; I'm just exploding with mackerel. This is the aji wo kutta of my discontent.; Pillbug

thehomemaster posted:

Meh, this doesn't tell me anything. Seems you came in with an agenda and stuck with it. 50% of your writing is superfluous. Remember to add at least one positive thing to every crit.

Sorry I gave the impression of having some agenda, I didn't have any intention aside from giving a quick crit. I'll keep your tip in mind.

# ? Apr 28, 2015 00:38

thehomemaster: Jul 16, 2014; by Ralp

All good man, everyone's here to learn!

(I guess I should probs crit you first.)

# ? Apr 28, 2015 00:41

Dr. Kloctopussy: Apr 22, 2003; "It's time....to DIE!"

thehomemaster posted:

Meh, this doesn't tell me anything. Seems you came in with an agenda and stuck with it. 50% of your writing is superfluous. Remember to add at least one positive thing to every crit.

Did you really just criticize a free crit that someone gave you? What words did you find superfluous? The ones you disagreed with?

Dr. Kloctopussy fucked around with this message at 00:58 on Apr 28, 2015

# ? Apr 28, 2015 00:55

Martello: Apr 29, 2012; by XyloJW

thehomemaster posted:

Remember to add at least one positive thing to every crit.

lol no

Some stories are so terrible there's nothing positive to say.

# ? Apr 28, 2015 01:01

newtestleper: Oct 30, 2003

Martello posted:

lol no

Some stories are so terrible there's nothing positive to say.

I think that while it is possible to at least acknowledge the effort that goes into writing a story, it is neither compulsory nor particularly useful.

# ? Apr 28, 2015 01:24

anime was right: Jun 27, 2008; death is certain
keep yr cool

im gonna crit all your crits of his crit crit of a story

# ? Apr 28, 2015 01:24

Martello: Apr 29, 2012; by XyloJW

LOU BEGAS MUSTACHE posted:

im gonna crit all your crits of his crit crit of a story

Next time use punctuation dude, holy poo poo, and also please try to actually extrapolate something when you crit my crit of his crit of a crit instead of some loving worthless run-on sentence.

Thanks.

# ? Apr 28, 2015 01:30

angel opportunity: Sep 7, 2004; Total Eclipse of the Heart

thehomemaster posted:

Thanks for feedback TDers on this weeks piece:

Meh, this doesn't tell me anything. Seems you came in with an agenda and stuck with it. 50% of your writing is superfluous. Remember to add at least one positive thing to every crit.

holy poo poo get the gently caress out of here

# ? Apr 28, 2015 01:34

Screaming Idiot: Nov 26, 2007; JUST POSTING WHILE JERKIN' MY GHERKIN SITTIN' IN A PERKINS!

BEATS SELLING MERKINS.

Martello posted:

lol no

Some stories are so terrible there's nothing positive to say.

It's true some stories are awful, but if there's anything positive to say then it should be said -- people are always more willing to listen to advice if they're given an inkling of hope. I've written some godawful poo poo since I've joined this little clique -- in much the same way a chihuahua follows a pack of rabid wolves -- and people have always taken pains to point out the positive aspects, which not only shows me what I'm doing right, but allows me to more easily accept the negative criticism.

Tough love is all fine and good, but all too often people forget the latter part of the phrase in favor of the former.

# ? Apr 28, 2015 01:34

thehomemaster: Jul 16, 2014; by Ralp

I like how the guy called Screaming Idiot gets it. :brofist:

Tyrannosaurus posted:

thehomemaster - Untitled

Give your story a loving title, man. If you�re stuck, just pick a couple words you�ve already written and slap �em up at the top. gently caress�s sake you haven�t created a masterpiece here.

This took waaaaaay too long for me to get into it. Once things go wonky in heaven I�m mildly interested but that�s, like, the last quarter of your story. Also-- MILDLY interested. You spend too much time world building in the beginning and the world wasn�t even very interesting. Your dialogue is brutally unnatural. You tell me about their friendship rather than showing me. You tell me �little hops add up� without ever letting me know what that means or why it matters.

You never tell me what Luke�s quest was. He�s just suddenly in Heaven celebrating his success and I�m left scratching my head going �I guess that�s what he was aiming for?� Don�t keep character goals a secret. It doesn�t make me interested. It makes me want to stop reading.

What was your plot? What was your conflict? What was your character�s goal? What did your character do to achieve his goal?

�Luke looked up, shoulders hunched. He'd known Isaac for as long as he could remember, and Isaac had known of his quest for a long time. The other man understood it but had never really accepted it, nor offered to help. Instead he always tried to help Luke enjoy the lighter side of their talents.� -- What the gently caress is this?

It has a title???

Anyway thanks for feedback. Seems to be the theme: I take too long to get to anything interesting! On re-reading that particular segment at the end there, I can definitely see what you mean by 'what the gently caress'. Bit non-sensical!

To answer your questions: I'm not sure, I don't think I have a good grasp of what plot is. Any tips, or perhaps what do you see as being the plot in that story? I see what you mean about conflict, there isn't really any. Maybe Isaac should have tried to stop Luke going, maybe Luke should have been captured by the angels and fought to escape. Character's goal was, uh, well as you said it was pretty obvious at the point I dropped it, but that I dropped it late. Hmm, I guess he didn't really achieve anything, more implied that he had tried for a long time and then found a possible answer, which worked. No real barriers to overcome I think is the problem here?

How would you suggest attacking my dialogue, any way to make it more natural?

I take your point about not showing the friendship, but I would have thought the bit about little hops was self-evident. I mean it was obviously juxtaposed with the fact that Luke himself had just done it? Or was that not obvious

# ? Apr 28, 2015 01:54

anime was right: Jun 27, 2008; death is certain
keep yr cool

Martello posted:

Next time use punctuation dude, holy poo poo, and also please try to actually extrapolate something when you crit my crit of his crit of a crit instead of some loving worthless run-on sentence.

Thanks.

LOU BEGAS MUSTACHE posted:

# ? Apr 28, 2015 02:03

thehomemaster: Jul 16, 2014; by Ralp

Dr. Kloctopussy posted:

Did you really just criticize a free crit that someone gave you? What words did you find superfluous? The ones you disagreed with?

Maybe not 50%, but this is pretty useless:

'I'm guessing the single quotation marks are a British thing, so I can't really pick on that, but you did miss an opening mark on at least one line of dialogue. I guess some Orientalism is unavoidable in the context of wizard week.'

The rest is fine, if not particularly helpful, but it does coincide with what everyone else has said so there's that!

# ? Apr 28, 2015 02:12

crabrock: Aug 2, 2002; I

AM

MAGNIFICENT

responding to crits like this makes you a little bitch, just fyi.

# ? Apr 28, 2015 02:19

newtestleper: Oct 30, 2003

thehomemaster posted:

being a jerk

People spend the time and energy to read your crappy story and write stuff about it and you have the nerve to criticize them for it? You're a loving rear end in a top hat.

# ? Apr 28, 2015 02:20

take the moon: Feb 13, 2011; by sebmojo

frig dude crits are like oxygen. id beg on my hands and knees for them if i thought my stories, uh, even deserved them sometimes

# ? Apr 28, 2015 02:25

Screaming Idiot: Nov 26, 2007; JUST POSTING WHILE JERKIN' MY GHERKIN SITTIN' IN A PERKINS!

BEATS SELLING MERKINS.

Something I should have mentioned in my earlier post: if someone takes the time to critique your work, then be grateful, no matter how bitter and full of vitriol their review might be. They still did a favor by reading your stuff, and that's a helluva lot nicer than simply ignoring it.

# ? Apr 28, 2015 02:32

Oxxidation: Jul 22, 2007

thehomemaster posted:

Maybe not 50%, but this is pretty useless:

'I'm guessing the single quotation marks are a British thing, so I can't really pick on that, but you did miss an opening mark on at least one line of dialogue. I guess some Orientalism is unavoidable in the context of wizard week.'

The rest is fine, if not particularly helpful, but it does coincide with what everyone else has said so there's that!

At this point someone could just tell you to eat a dick five thousand times and there wouldn't be a single superfluous word in their assessment.

# ? Apr 28, 2015 02:34

anime was right: Jun 27, 2008; death is certain
keep yr cool

An executive chef can tell you exactly how much salt to subtract from your roast chicken. Any person can say "i can't taste the chicken, wtf, this sucks". It's up to the preparer of the meal to determine that the chicken is too salty. That's how that chef became executive.

# ? Apr 28, 2015 02:34

flerp: Feb 25, 2014

Screaming Idiot posted:

Something I should have mentioned in my earlier post: if someone takes the time to critique your work, then be grateful, no matter how bitter and full of vitriol their review might be. They still did a favor by reading your stuff, and that's a helluva lot nicer than simply ignoring it.

seriously, if someone tells you that they hated your story, you should be grateful. someone spent their time reading something they actively hated and spent even more time trying to tell you why, and you should be happy they wasted their time at all reading your story let alone putting their thoughts down. one of the best crits i got was where my story was (rightfully) ripped apart and i believe that is one of the biggest moments for me that improved my writing. i cant thank Martello for that crit and thunderdome by extension for everything theyve done.

dont be a dick about crits tia

# ? Apr 28, 2015 02:37

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# ? Apr 29, 2024 11:59

thehomemaster: Jul 16, 2014; by Ralp

tbh the crit by Tyrannosaurus was filled with far more vitriol but I am thankful for it and it's good. I really enjoy his voice when he crits A-

crabrock posted:

responding to crits like this makes you a little bitch, just fyi.

Don't see how, I'm asking for elaboration and agreeing with them, re-reading my piece to see what they are getting at?

# ? Apr 28, 2015 02:43

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