This is not a diss....

[gunhilltrain]

Oh, I'm not freaking out about anything they might have to say. Brutal honesty is what I want and expect.

I'm freaking out because I didn't put at least six hours of anxiety-driven thought into the request. I rolled a die then flipped a coin for which story to submit and put zero thought into it otherwise. So, now I get to overthink and panic over whether I did the right thing or not, but at least it's done.

Well, you did freak out about something involved with it. My guess is that it doesn't matter much if you spent six hours thinking about it or flipped a coin. I barely remember what I sent to them; I guess I chose something I liked. The main thing I remember them criticizing is that I was too involved with describing 1970's New York as opposed to the characters. True, perhaps, but that's how I often do things. Settings create our personalities more than we want to admit.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

There is nothing wrong with discussing things. Different people share different views and that should always result in a better understanding of things. Ideally. Most of the times, the discussion will derail into god knows what, and you can bet sooner or later somebody will launch a personal attack on somebody else. Sometimes it will be a snide comment or jab, sometimes something more aggressive, but it WILL happen, sooner or later. Hey, maybe I should name it the "Awkward Law" ? It is not fair that only @Kumquatqueen gets to have a law

 

[Omenainen]

My original interest in posting the question was on the benefits of seeking out reviews if you're early stage vs just putting your stuff out there, and the potential impacts to the confidence of new writers. I think we've now extensively covered that ground TBH.

Yes, but then that one author was specifically named and I think it’s weird to have this sort of conversation behind their back when none of us knows if they ever even read their review.

Personally I don’t think it makes sense to ask for reviews very early on, but then if somebody wants to, why not? Also, being new in posting here doesn’t necessarily mean the person is new to writing. I also have the experience that asking feedback when you’re really far along in your writing career and think you know it all isn’t fruitful. So the fertile ground would be somewhere in the middle. Or then not even there for people as pigheaded as I am

And everybody, noooooo revenge review requests. Please. I wouldn’t mind if we never reviewed another story, so if you don’t really want one, do not ask for one.

 

[stickygirl]

Aha, feedback on the feedback!
I haven't asked for a full review, but had some via comments on a writing challenge. I didn't disagree with what was said but I didn't think it moved me forward. To be fair to them, my writing ego is pretty fragile - I write from the heart and would be wounded deeply to open myself up to their laser focus.
I guess, because I'm writing for myself, I take my own council. I'm not blind to my shortcomings even as I write, but for me to stop the flow or revise what I'd already done would produce an emotional log-jam and dishearten me. So, while I'd welcome criticism, and do, I find it can be bruising and a disincentive.
Right now, I appear to be taking a break from writing. I don't know how long it will last but I've learned not to be worried about it. I don't write prescriptively and have to wait to catch the wave as it passes.
I think they do a great job but different strokes for different folks. Diversity is our strong suit in AH.

 

[SimonDoom]

I'm of the old school/thick skin line of thinking. If you want to learn to swim, you're going to have to jump into the pool at some point. Same thing with writing. Buck up, and take your criticism. You will survive.

I don't always agree with AwkwardMD and Omenainen's criticism--my philosophy of evaluating stories is a bit different--but I think it's great that they take the time, for free, to provide the service of feedback, and it seems to have been appreciated by many of the recipients of their feedback.

My personal philosophy is, jump into the fire. Don't hold back. Screw your fragile ego. That which does not kill your writing self will make it stronger.

 

[Bramblethorn]

Is that meant to be tongue in cheek?

The OP did not ask for the review thread to be reviewed. The only question in their post was whether it was better to get reviewed and risk having their confidence shaken, or to just "publish and be damned."

This is true, but when they picked out one specific review thread (rather than, say, just mentioning the Feedback forum without singling out specific reviewers) it was pretty much inevitable that it was going to develop into what it's developed into.

I don't think OP intended that to happen. Chalk it up to experience perhaps. I made a similar mistake in another thread the other day, posting an example to illustrate what I'd meant to be a general discussion, and of course it derailed into the specifics of that example. I don't think anybody replied to the general question that I'd intended to be the point of my post.

Neither posting a retaliatory review of their work, as if they had committed some offense, or pressuring them to submit to being reviewed seem fair to me.

Agreed, and I'm not sure what it would achieve. Having done similar reviews myself, on request, I know how much effort it takes. Doing that for an author who hasn't asked for a review, with no indication that they want my feedback, doesn't seem very rewarding.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I don't write prescriptively and have to wait to catch the wave as it passes.

It's the waves from the boat as it passes the shore that I look out for. They're like ripples from the stone you throw into a pond, only more linear. Also, sparrows must drink .

 

[gunhilltrain]

It's the waves from the boat as it passes the shore that I look out for. They're like ripples from the stone you throw into a pond, only more linear. Also, sparrows must drink .

You seem to be going very Zen on us.

https://www.verywellmind.com/thmb/y...Images-593384542-5c5b3eb546e0fb00017dcf7f.jpg

 

[ElectricBlue]

You seem to be going very Zen on us.

https://www.verywellmind.com/thmb/y...Images-593384542-5c5b3eb546e0fb00017dcf7f.jpg

I edit for Stickygirl. She has commas that flit like sparrows, and she also has a boat. Her writing moods follow the seasons; this comment's for her.

 

[MelissaBaby]

I edit for Stickygirl. She has commas that flit like sparrows, and she also has a boat. Her writing moods follow the seasons; this comment's for her.

I thought you were talking in code, like in an old spy movie.

 

[MateoParks]

I edit for Stickygirl. She has commas that flit like sparrows, and she also has a boat. Her writing moods follow the seasons; this comment's for her.

Very Gen Z, in that, I don't understand any of it!

Now get off my lawn, and take your deep fried memes with you!!

 

[gunhilltrain]

I thought you were talking in code, like in an old spy movie.

i don't know much about Zen Buddism, but he seemed to get the sound of it right even if he was just making it up. "Her commas flit like sparrows," "her writing moods follow the seasons." The Dalai Lama comes to Lit. As the real one said, "Peace doesn't come from the sky." Where do Lit stories come from?

https://www.universityofcalifornia....ates-togetherness-he-receives-spendlove-prize

 

[gunhilltrain]

Very Gen Z, in that, I don't understand any of it!

Now get off my lawn, and take your deep fried memes with you!!

The weird thing is, I think I did understand what he meant. Anyway, he's definitely not Gen Z.

 

[Djmac1031]

I'm of the old school/thick skin line of thinking. If you want to learn to swim, you're going to have to jump into the pool at some point. Same thing with writing. Buck up, and take your criticism. You will survive.

I don't always agree with AwkwardMD and Omenainen's criticism--my philosophy of evaluating stories is a bit different--but I think it's great that they take the time, for free, to provide the service of feedback, and it seems to have been appreciated by many of the recipients of their feedback.

My personal philosophy is, jump into the fire. Don't hold back. Screw your fragile ego. That which does not kill your writing self will make it stronger.

Agreed. Which is why I submitted a story for them to read when they get the chance.

I know what I think I need improvement on. But I'm curious what someone else thinks I need improvement on.

It's gotta be more honest feedback than anonymous readers who hate your story and just tell you "you suck" lol.

 

[SimonDoom]

The weird thing is, I think I did understand what he meant. Anyway, he's definitely not Gen Z.

I'm Generation Spinal Tap. It goes to eleven.

 

[gunhilltrain]

I'm Generation Spinal Tap. It goes to eleven.

Sometimes, if you really push it, even to twelve.

 

[nice90sguy]

That thread is the only thread I ever read regularly outside of the AH. AwkwardMD critiquied a couple of my stories. I was really grateful both times, and while I didn't agree with everything she said, she'd clearly read the stories carefully, and so had the other commenters in that thread. And she was, as usual, sharp as nails in her comments -- a completely different level of comments than one receives in the comments section.