FantasyXY
My Cromosome is XY
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2001
- Posts
- 536
As the large number of potentially negative feedback to my Lit stories shows, if I were going to try selling my stories I would undoubtedly need to make some changes my themes, plots, and characters in order to appeal to a much wider audience. I am sure I would need to hone my writing skills and hire an editor as well. However, I don't need or want to make a living from my stories, and I probably never will. I just like writing, so I write what I want. I wrote long before there was a place like Lit to post, and now that there is a place, I don't post everything I write.
I was looking at one of my postings (Feel For Jack Ch.02) and noticed a late comment. This particular story has received 24 comments. This latest comment told me to go get some writing lessons. I wondered how many other comments shared that same idea, so I looked through all of the comments once again. Then I re-read some comments on other stories. Reading through the many comments I have been able to group almost every comment into one of six basic categories. When I grouped the 24 comments from Feel For Jack, they came out like this.
8 - Liked the story
3 - Disliked one or more characters (in this story they were supposed to)
4 - Disliked the story or plot
5 - Liked the story, but disliked the ending
2 - Said I could not write - or some other insult
1 - Insulted another author or commenter
To me, this means that roughly 16 of the 24 commenters basically liked the story. Of the 24 left for Feel For Jack, there were two comments that specifically struck me as worth re-interpreting a bit.
The First Comment of the two:
Sorry,
06/24/14 By: Anonymous
but this was sooooo badly written I couldn't get through it. If you like to write, my advise is to take some on-line writing lessons.
Having very few comments about my writing in general, this comment tells me that I somehow really touched a nerve with this reader and caused him/her to feel something he/she was not prepared to feel. If my writing were really that bad; I would think I would get a lot of comments about my writing instead of just two. I truly believe these types of comments come from someone that has a strong emotional reaction to an author's work. I am suggesting here that authors should take the few personal attack type of comments they get in this way.
The Second Comment:
A reasonable report
03/22/14 By: (name withheld)
This read more like a report from a disinterested party than a story with emotion. I liked it but it was cold.
This person's comment actually hit the nail on the head without him even knowing it. This story was supposed to feel cold and disinterested. In the story the main character had to emotionally wall himself off and become an asshole to shield himself from the people and circumstances that were destroying him. It wasn't exactly a positive comment but this reader actually "gets" the story. I am guessing the vote accompanying this comment was not very high. I am suggesting that votes aren't always the best indicator of reader reaction to your stories.
So I'll get to the point, finally! (I think I am hearing collective cheers)
My questions is, have you received comments that seemed negative, but after you think about the context of the story, the comment lets you know that readers are actually "getting it"?
Also considering this, does score really mean anything to you?
I was looking at one of my postings (Feel For Jack Ch.02) and noticed a late comment. This particular story has received 24 comments. This latest comment told me to go get some writing lessons. I wondered how many other comments shared that same idea, so I looked through all of the comments once again. Then I re-read some comments on other stories. Reading through the many comments I have been able to group almost every comment into one of six basic categories. When I grouped the 24 comments from Feel For Jack, they came out like this.
8 - Liked the story
3 - Disliked one or more characters (in this story they were supposed to)
4 - Disliked the story or plot
5 - Liked the story, but disliked the ending
2 - Said I could not write - or some other insult
1 - Insulted another author or commenter
To me, this means that roughly 16 of the 24 commenters basically liked the story. Of the 24 left for Feel For Jack, there were two comments that specifically struck me as worth re-interpreting a bit.
The First Comment of the two:
Sorry,
06/24/14 By: Anonymous
but this was sooooo badly written I couldn't get through it. If you like to write, my advise is to take some on-line writing lessons.
Having very few comments about my writing in general, this comment tells me that I somehow really touched a nerve with this reader and caused him/her to feel something he/she was not prepared to feel. If my writing were really that bad; I would think I would get a lot of comments about my writing instead of just two. I truly believe these types of comments come from someone that has a strong emotional reaction to an author's work. I am suggesting here that authors should take the few personal attack type of comments they get in this way.
The Second Comment:
A reasonable report
03/22/14 By: (name withheld)
This read more like a report from a disinterested party than a story with emotion. I liked it but it was cold.
This person's comment actually hit the nail on the head without him even knowing it. This story was supposed to feel cold and disinterested. In the story the main character had to emotionally wall himself off and become an asshole to shield himself from the people and circumstances that were destroying him. It wasn't exactly a positive comment but this reader actually "gets" the story. I am guessing the vote accompanying this comment was not very high. I am suggesting that votes aren't always the best indicator of reader reaction to your stories.
So I'll get to the point, finally! (I think I am hearing collective cheers)
My questions is, have you received comments that seemed negative, but after you think about the context of the story, the comment lets you know that readers are actually "getting it"?
Also considering this, does score really mean anything to you?
