It drives me up a wall

[VenusButterflies]

...when someone posts negative feedback on one of my stories and doesn't give any constructive criticism. Most recently, someone called my writing "drivel." I know I need improvement, need to stop being hasty and take more time to flesh things out a bit, but I didn't think my writing was drivel.

But the anonymous user who posted that comment basically offered nothing but insults.

How do you guys deal with negative feedback? Why can't people be constructive when they don't like something?

And what do you do when you get some positive feedback and then conflicting negative feedback, when on one hand you're being told that a story is great and on the other you're told that it's terrible?

Why does this drive me so crazy? Ugh!

Okay, thanks!

 

[TxRad]

Ignore Anymouse. It's mostly mouse droppings anyway.

 

[sr71plt]

If this one bothered me, I might just delete it--especially if it seemed irrelevant to the story.

I'm not usually swayed one way or the other on the comments--unless they point to some snafu in the story I recognize I had in there. This is a free-use site and the critics may not know any more about writing than you do (even if they think they do).

 

[Cruel2BKind]

I know how frustrating that can be.

If the comments are harassment, or if you just don't like seeing them, there is an option to delete. With an anonymous commenter, there really is no way to trace or delete or ban him. We had this problem a few weeks ago with a guy who was spamming all the new lists with adds to see pictures of his 'sexy naked wife'. Other than banning his IP address, there was nothing that could be done. And even that can be worked around, with libraries, friend computers, or internet cafes.

If I may ask, what section is the story in? Because if it is in Loving Wives, you will just have to get used to it. I hate saying that, because I know how lame it sounds, but seriously, the readers in loving wives are crazy.

However, if you keep the negative comment, you always have the chance of getting more comments than you would if you deleted it. You may get some comments in your defense, and those are always the most gratifying. To see fans standing up for you.

Also you can look back in a year or two and maybe agree with him.

Hope this helps.

 

[Handley_Page]

...when someone posts negative feedback on one of my stories and doesn't give any constructive criticism. Most recently, someone called my writing "drivel." I know I need improvement, need to stop being hasty and take more time to flesh things out a bit, but I didn't think my writing was drivel.

But the anonymous user who posted that comment basically offered nothing but insults.

Why does this drive me so crazy? Ugh!

Okay, thanks!

Sadly, the opportunity for a reader to make a comment is not specifically designed for 'constructive criticism'.
The first one I had made me wince.

 

[VenusButterflies]

Thanks all, I feel better after reading your responses. It really irks me when someone anonymously posts negative comments. At least have the balls to use your username if you have one.

 

[VenusButterflies]

I know how frustrating that can be.

If the comments are harassment, or if you just don't like seeing them, there is an option to delete. With an anonymous commenter, there really is no way to trace or delete or ban him. We had this problem a few weeks ago with a guy who was spamming all the new lists with adds to see pictures of his 'sexy naked wife'. Other than banning his IP address, there was nothing that could be done. And even that can be worked around, with libraries, friend computers, or internet cafes.

If I may ask, what section is the story in? Because if it is in Loving Wives, you will just have to get used to it. I hate saying that, because I know how lame it sounds, but seriously, the readers in loving wives are crazy.

However, if you keep the negative comment, you always have the chance of getting more comments than you would if you deleted it. You may get some comments in your defense, and those are always the most gratifying. To see fans standing up for you.

Also you can look back in a year or two and maybe agree with him.

Hope this helps.

It does help, thank you -- especially that last bit. Sometimes I cringe at things I wrote years ago!
Also, I responded to the comment myself asking what made it poorly written. I seriously doubt I'll get an answer.

The story's in Non-Con. I've never read anything in Loving Wives. How are those readers crazy?

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

It does help, thank you -- especially that last bit. Sometimes I cringe at things I wrote years ago!
Also, I responded to the comment myself asking what made it poorly written. I seriously doubt I'll get an answer.

The story's in Non-Con. I've never read anything in Loving Wives. How are those readers crazy?

I'm reading a biography of H.L. Mencken. During World War I he was crucified by everyone who mattered, and abandoned by most who knew him well. From Wilson down to the redneck Klansman, the nation heaped abuse on him, almost all of it wrong. He wasn't black, he wasn't a Jew, he wasn't a Bolshevik, he wasn't queer, he wasn't an illegal alien, etc. He simply had a German surname.

And then the war ended, The Roaring 20s got launched, and the nation celebrated him and devoured his flamers.

Its irrational but that's how it is.

 

[loquere]

If this one bothered me, I might just delete it--especially if it seemed irrelevant to the story.

I'm not usually swayed one way or the other on the comments--unless they point to some snafu in the story I recognize I had in there. This is a free-use site and the critics may not know any more about writing than you do (even if they think they do).

-I agree, I delete anything disruptive that doesn't also offer anything constructive.
-But I'm a dictator who has decided to turn off all feedback.

 

[VenusButterflies]

I'm reading a biography of H.L. Mencken. During World War I he was crucified by everyone who mattered, and abandoned by most who knew him well. From Wilson down to the redneck Klansman, the nation heaped abuse on him, almost all of it wrong. He wasn't black, he wasn't a Jew, he wasn't a Bolshevik, he wasn't queer, he wasn't an illegal alien, etc. He simply had a German surname.

And then the war ended, The Roaring 20s got launched, and the nation celebrated him and devoured his flamers.

Its irrational but that's how it is.

That's just crazy! I hate that sort of mindless abuse.
Was he still alive to enjoy being celebrated? How'd he feel after everyone who abused him celebrated him?

 

[Cruel2BKind]

I've never read anything in Loving Wives. How are those readers crazy?

Many (most) of the stories in LW are about the same few things.

Lady cheats on husband
Lady cuckolds her husband right in front of him.
Lady gets punitive sex in some form for cheating
Lady gets STDs for cheating

And genderswapped versions.

There is lots of violence towards women and men in that category. People get furious over misogyny, misandry, who deserved what, who didn't deserve what, etc.

 

[VenusButterflies]

Many (most) of the stories in LW are about the same few things.

Lady cheats on husband
Lady cuckolds her husband right in front of him.
Lady gets punitive sex in some form for cheating
Lady gets STDs for cheating

And genderswapped versions.

There is lots of violence towards women and men in that category. People get furious over misogyny, misandry, who deserved what, who didn't deserve what, etc.

Jeez, that does sound crazy -- and I'm an avid non-con reader, so that's saying something.
But if people get so furious, why don't they write stories themselves that they find acceptable?

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

That's just crazy! I hate that sort of mindless abuse.
Was he still alive to enjoy being celebrated? How'd he feel after everyone who abused him celebrated him?

He lived till 1955.

Mencken was the arch cynic and believed most people were fools at best, and happy slaves. He said no one ever lost money betting on the stupidity of people.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Many (most) of the stories in LW are about the same few things.

Lady cheats on husband
Lady cuckolds her husband right in front of him.
Lady gets punitive sex in some form for cheating
Lady gets STDs for cheating

And genderswapped versions.

There is lots of violence towards women and men in that category. People get furious over misogyny, misandry, who deserved what, who didn't deserve what, etc.

I post at LW, and seriously strive to lower the bar for rudeness and crudeness with every story. Most women I saddle with crack addictions, black babies child welfare takes, and the Good Samaritans get drugged and sodomized and tossed naked onto crowded places. Every character is feral and amoral. I enjoy scores in the ONES.

 

[VenusButterflies]

He lived till 1955.

Mencken was the arch cynic and believed most people were fools at best, and happy slaves. He said no one ever lost money betting on the stupidity of people.

I'm going to have to read him now.

 

[VenusButterflies]

I post at LW, and seriously strive to lower the bar for rudeness and crudeness with every story. Most women I saddle with crack addictions, black babies child welfare takes, and the Good Samaritans get drugged and sodomized and tossed naked onto crowded places. Every character is feral and amoral. I enjoy scores in the ONES.

You sound similar to an author I knew 10 years ago on a zoetrope website. I forget his name, but man, he had some sick, disturbing stories. And I loved them because of how they disrurbed me. Now I'm going to have to check out some of your stories.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

You sound similar to an author I knew 10 years ago on a zoetrope website. I forget his name, but man, he had some sick, disturbing stories. And I loved them because of how they disrurbed me. Now I'm going to have to check out some of your stories.

I spent many years immersed in the lives of disturbed people, unfortunately much of it involved kids, and none of THAT is fodder for LIT. There is a kind of thin veneer atop the dark and strange appetites people relish.

 

[Hypoxia]

How do you guys deal with negative feedback?

I collect fucktard comments and wear them as badges of honor. If I can provoke the brain-dead, I have done my job. Interestingly, some of my lowest-vote-scoring pieces also receive fulsome praise in comments from folks who have actually bothered to READ the texts. Hey, even JBJ likes me. [shudder]

 

[_Lynn_]

...when someone posts negative feedback on one of my stories and doesn't give any constructive criticism. Most recently, someone called my writing "drivel." I know I need improvement, need to stop being hasty and take more time to flesh things out a bit, but I didn't think my writing was drivel.

But the anonymous user who posted that comment basically offered nothing but insults.

How do you guys deal with negative feedback? Why can't people be constructive when they don't like something?

And what do you do when you get some positive feedback and then conflicting negative feedback, when on one hand you're being told that a story is great and on the other you're told that it's terrible?

Why does this drive me so crazy? Ugh!

Okay, thanks!

If you're expecting constructive criticism, you might consider joining a writing group.

It seems as if you're assuming the people who leave comments here are qualified to give constructive feedback, whether that's negative or positive. But are they?

 

[TxRad]

If you're expecting constructive criticism, you might consider joining a writing group.

It seems as if you're assuming the people who leave comments here are qualified to give constructive feedback, whether that's negative or positive. But are they?

Most are typing one handed, so what do you think.

 

[_Lynn_]

Most are typing one handed, so what do you think.

I have to think??

 

[patientlee]

If it's constructive, even if it's nasty, I put it on the "Do This Better Next Time" list. (Yes, there is an actual list, and I go through it as part of my editing process.)

If it's not constructive, I do what my mother told me to do when my little brother bugged me: I-G-N-O-R-E. (She spelled it so he wouldn't know my devious plan.)

...when someone posts negative feedback on one of my stories and doesn't give any constructive criticism. Most recently, someone called my writing "drivel." I know I need improvement, need to stop being hasty and take more time to flesh things out a bit, but I didn't think my writing was drivel.

But the anonymous user who posted that comment basically offered nothing but insults.

How do you guys deal with negative feedback? Why can't people be constructive when they don't like something?

And what do you do when you get some positive feedback and then conflicting negative feedback, when on one hand you're being told that a story is great and on the other you're told that it's terrible?

Why does this drive me so crazy? Ugh!

Okay, thanks!

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Everyone I know at LIT wants an ass smooch and fireworks, and resents tepid flattery. That's cuz they go thru school, get hyper-inflated GPAs, and think their shit smells pretty sweet. When did 3.0 become Honor Roll?

 

[VenusButterflies]

If you're expecting constructive criticism, you might consider joining a writing group.

It seems as if you're assuming the people who leave comments here are qualified to give constructive feedback, whether that's negative or positive. But are they?

You make a good point. My thing is, I'll take the negative feedback more seriously than the positive feedback, because I know there are always things I can improve on.

 

[VenusButterflies]

Everyone I know at LIT wants an ass smooch and fireworks, and resents tepid flattery. That's cuz they go thru school, get hyper-inflated GPAs, and think their shit smells pretty sweet. When did 3.0 become Honor Roll?

I don't mind tepid flattery. I don't expect fireworks and ass-kissing. I just mind it when someone says, "You suck!" and doesn't tell me why. I want to know why so that I can consider if it's a valid point and then decide to stop sucking.