As an author, it's nice to get comments for my work.
It shows that people care enough to take time out of their busy lives to respond to a story.
Sometimes though you get comments that hurt a bit, perhaps criticism of the way the plot is going or typos, etc. Maybe a mistake is made or 'that can't happen because...' type comments.
I'm not particularly upset about these things being said, just that it is being said in public. I'm a big girl now after all; but I really feel that criticism of this nature is negative and should be sent in a private message rather than in an open comments form.
Some of you do this and I'm grateful for the input you give.
I do wonder how many new authors are put off writing when they get negative comments, especially when those comments are aired in public.
Sue
Comments
Criticising vs. critiquing
I have always been very sensitive about my writing, for reasons I won't waste time on here, but it was an art teacher who introduced me to the concept of positive feedback when analyzing my work, hence my use of the word 'critiquing' above. When I teach writing and how to support your fellow writers through writing labs, I give my students a list of four questions they are to discuss:
1. What do you think are the strengths of the article/essay/story/etc.?
2. What do you like most about it?
3. What is unclear to you as you read it/what questions do you have for the author?
4. What suggestions do you have to help improve it?
I find it almost impossible to really help someone revise their writing without sitting down with them and looking at the page together. I have to ask them questions to make sure that I understand what they're trying to say, so I can help them express it in their voice. Finding those questions and asking them in a helpful, non- confrontational way isn't all that difficult, but it takes some thought.
Not injecting myself into their writing is a tricky challenge.
As I tell my students, it's easy to find things that are 'wrong' in someone's writing since nothing that has ever been written was ever 'perfect'. What is important is to help the author discover what s/he does well, and to build from there.
He conquers who endures. ~ Persius
Sh1t h*ppens!
To some extent it goes with the territory, especially if the tale goes off in a direction that is unexpected by readers. If the storyline is of a magical basis, then the reader expects the unexpected: if it's more conventional, and then jolts their sense of reality, some will enjoy, some will complain and most - will do what they always do - nothing.
Angharad
Angharad
Remember what happened to Arthur Conan Doyle...
...when he tried to kill off Sherlock Holmes once he'd got good and sick of him and wanted to write "serious literature."
There was an outcry, hate mail in the press, pleading letters from piteous orphans, threats of suicide, typhoons, and at least one earthquake.
Puddin'
------------
Angharad wrote:
>> To some extent it goes with the territory, especially if the tale goes off in a direction that is unexpected by readers.
And she ought to know, having experienced a small typhoon.
-
Cheers,
Puddin'
A tender heart is an asset to an editor: it helps us be ruthless in a tactful way.
--- The Chicago Manual of Style
I learned a while ago not to
I learned a while ago not to take it personally. I was in a writing workshop made up of professional writers and we critiqued each other's works in progress. There was an "oreo approach" to critiques.
1. Say that you enjoyed reading it and that they did a good job with X Y and Z.
2. Rip it to shreds
3. Say that despite everything you said above that you look forward to reading more from them.
It taught you very quickly not to invest too much of yourself in the works you made, because if you did, you would be guaranteed to not have any kind of ego left after your work got critiqued by the assembled host. And some of those comments could be harsh. But ALL of them were put up there to help improve the piece, and without a doubt, it did. I can't count the number of times I ripped a piece up, and the author resubmitted it and it was vastly improved.
So criticism comes with the job. It doesn't stop me from writing.
But there *is* presentation of critique that is the problem. There is a VAST difference between saying "I think we should stop kissing each other because we are passing this cold back and forth" and "you make me sick". Both convey the same information, one is a LOT more polite.
----------------------------
May the Stars light your path.
Joy
Heh Heh
Oreo, huh? That's not what I've been calling that method for a long time. :)
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Said with archedness....
Well, that begs the question of "what do you call it?"
----------------------------
May the Stars light your path.
Joy
I've been calling it --
Shit sandwich. No one wants to each shit or read criticism but with the right condiments on really good bread.... :)
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Sue Brown, I
Have always enjoyed your stories. I hope that you keep on posting. May Your Light Forever Shine
May Your Light Forever Shine
just because
Hey, you may have spent hours/days/weeks/months writing this and tweaking and getting it ready and then posting and having your heart beat a hole in your chest because you want people to see, to like, to understand... and surely...
I won't claim perfection here. I try to be polite and if I criticise to do it gently. Yet sometimes a word choice or a self deprecating dig will be seen as rude or overly blunt. That's partly misunderstanding and part lack of thought on my part maybe. Still I try to comment often and to be largely positive. Then again, who cares what I think eh? Well someone might, see ya never know. I do know that if I write something it will by pure process be a personal thing. It may not be me, or my story in any way, it might be, but not always, but it is part of me. I suspect many that write are the same.
A while back a new author posted a story it was attacked for using certain plot devices that some found offensive. A simple thing that happens every day everywhere, yet here it was deemed 'disgusting' by a few. I can even understand the point they were making, if not agree, but how it was 'said' that's the thing...
This is a part of a PM from that new author. As far as I know they have not been back and that was several months ago.
***I'm sure you know how long it takes to write and re-write 60 pages of story four times to the point that it's not perfect but it has to suffice because you have other things to do. I enjoyed writing my story very much, but that enjoyment stopped ten minutes after I posted it on BC.***
If there is a lesson or moral or whatever I guess it is to heed Erins warning to THINK and check what you're saying before you hit that send button. A moments lashing out may finish an author almost before they start. Or seriously wound an old hand, no such thing as immunity.
When you write you open yourself to attack, in some cases in very personal places. Dark secrets held sometimes for years because of fear of ridicule or attack. And here, a haven, an understanding group of like minds… you get your heart ripped out by a thoughtless remark. Do please think of what you are about to say and if you're happy, do it.
A comment can make someones day, it can also destroy it. Please be nice and if you need to critique do so gently or with a question so you can understand what was intended.
My thoughts, just another loony author pondering on imperfection
Kristina
Votes v Comments
Hi
One thing I've noticed is that while the number of readers has gone up, and Erin has had to cope with the higher usage, the number of comments doesn't appear to have increased. One thing that people seem to use instead is votes. "I have voted, so I don't have to comment."
I suppose votes are a good substitute in that you know people have liked the story or appreciate what you've written. But does that mean that if 777 people have read it, and I have 61 votes, then only 61 people liked the story and 716 people didn't? (even that is understating things as logged in users get 2 votes)
The issue with votes though, is that they don't give feedback to the person who's spent many hours/days/months writing the story how they feel about it. Did it make you happy, did it make you cry, did it make you think about something you'd never thought about before? If people don't say how they felt, good or bad, then how is this interactive? If you purchase a book, the writer is remote, protected by the publishing environment. One of the benefits of TopShelf is you can tell the writer how you feel about something, and the writer then can get closer to the readers.
One of the best comments I've ever had was when people said they hated the "no contact" rule in one of my stories. Some would have said that was criticising the story, but to me I was pleased. My writing had caused an emotional reaction and a big enough one for people to respond to. It made me feel that as a writer, I'd made contact. Just because I've written something happening in a story, it doesn't mean that I have to agree with it myself. What people might think hurts a writer, might not be - it just might make them glad you've spent a few minutes responding.
Karen
Guilty!
Hi all,
I guess you could say that I'm guilty of the offences Karen has outlined above -p.
I really enjoy a lot of the stories on this site, though have not really been here as long as some of the old-timers. Up till now, I have used the 'vote' function a fair bit when I've really found a good story, but in retrospect, I really do understand the value of commenting. If an author has spent countless hours bothering to produce a heartfelt piece on a subject, I guess its almost rude not to thank or at least post reflections.
So, next time I feel lazy and am going to hit the 'vote' button, I'll stop, think about the author's efforts and comment instead.
Cheers all,
jj
In many cases, it's not just the author...
who is putting lots of time/work into the pieces. MANY authors use one or more editors as well, and they put a LOT of time into their reviews/comments/suggestions to the author. I believe many (if not all) editors also review the comments.
On the comment point - The quick "I enjoyed the story" are nice. I appreciate them emensely (okay, I have an ego that likes to be stroked, too.) But, I find the thoughtful comments that pick up one or two points in my stories to comment on or speculate on are even more valuable. They help me see where I'm actually reaching people. The speculation has, on an occasion or two (okay more), even caused me to re-think where I was taking a bit of the story. Other times, speculation, even in jest, has given me ideas that I'll be able to incorporate (not the way they were presented normally) at some future time. (I'm really looking forward to seeing some of the Practical Jokes that ... Oops. I shouldn't say that.)
Well in any event. I've never gotten really BAD/HATE style comments (I don't think) even in PM. Some PMs have been VERY helpful as well. As a result of several PMs by one person, I reached out and found another editor for some of my writing... The VOTES seem to indicate this has been helpful, but i'm not sure from the comments. Some of my stories/episodes that have gotten the MOST votes, have gotten the fewest comments... Which seems counter intuitive to me.
Well, enough rambling, and re-stating what others have said.
Annette
Votes Versus Comments
Not that I am expecting Erin to change code, produce new or anything, but SOL has a different voting method where the user if he or she so desires, can give marks out of ten for the plot, the technical ability of the author and personal appeal, producing a three digit result.
Like BC, SOL has an extensive tag system which means that the reader can search for stories that fit a pretty tight genre, but as is all too often the case, not everyone makes use of the ability to send or leave comments.
It seems that whichever story site one uses, there are those who see it as a duty to let the author know what they thought and will do so within two days of posting. Outside of that time however, the comments and or votes are few and far between.
Remember the following:
Firstly:
The number of hits does not equal the number of reads. The author will bump up the number of hits each time he or she edits or accesses their story to read comments--as will others, so the number of hits could be far in excess of the number of reads.
Secondly:
The number of comments can also be skewed depending upon whether those who leave comments are actually conversing with another--hopefully with reference to the plot line.
Thirdly or lastly:
The number of comments a story or chapter of a story receives can often be little or no reflection on the technical ability of the author or how good their story is, so we as authors should not really take them to heart.
Now here's the crunch.
We can't help it. Don't take it personally is like being told that your pride and joy is crap and not giving a damn. Of course you give a damn and of course it's going to hurt.
Face it people, only a small number of readers comment or vote compared to the number of hits and yes, you're going to get stabbed in the back when you think you've produced your best yet, but don't let it deter you.
As far as the votes are concerned. Since most of the readers don't bother with comments, expecting the votes to mean anything is probably a bit much. It's a nice idea, but again it doesn't tell us anything.
Some serialised stories have a fan base and will get votes from the readers whether the episodes are good bad or indifferent, so there's nothing statistically telling about voting numbers. Some stories or chapters will get a higher hit rate but fewer votes or comments.
Does this mean that the latter is less good than the former?
No, but it WILL feel that way.
Being an author can be a bitch--get used to it.
At least professionals get paid for putting up with this shit.
I don't just look it, I really AM that bad...
Critzime rarely bothers me as ...
I *Know* my work is infullable... in falibl ... good.
Negative comments do hurt some but I'm fairly thick skinned so I can tolerate it And, I figure, maybe the critic, or for that matter the fan has spotted something I missed. One commenter got up on his her soapbox because of my heroine and her seriously underage boyfriend, not that they were actually doing anything and this is fiction but it rattled this readers chain. Several people leapt to my defense for which I remain grateful.
Still I wondered why this person reacted as they did. I took their comments with a grain of salt and realized I’d left a bit too much for the reader to infer on there own about the relationship. I added a small amount of material, a line here and their and tweaked a few others to emphasize the conflict my heroine and her younger boyfriend had about their desire for each other. I was able to keep the tension and desire in without my characters breaking the *law*.
Several of my now favorite characters were written in response to comments from readers pro and con so good can come from what at first seems bad. Some negative comments are because certain words or subject pushed a person’s buttons and they went off without thinking but the critic often have a point in mind that is worth considering. Put your self in the readers mind, unless he or she is a loony and the remarks will become less negative and more like useful feedback. When all else fails, you can always lampoon the skunk in your next story if you think their comments are stupid.
John in Wauwatosa
John in Wauwatosa
You want a NEGATIVE comment....
... Okay, you asked for it...
There, a negative comment.
Annette
Fact vs Opinion
When a complaint is about something objective, like a grammar mistake or a spelling error, or something geographically or historically wrong, I think those are appropriate for private messages, since there's nothing useful to be gained in discussing them.
But when a complaint is about what happens in a story, or even about the style in which the story is told, I think there's some value in discussing it in an open forum. If something really didn't work for a reader, sometimes you'll get other readers chiming in that it didn't work for them either, and other times you'll get readers saying they had no problem with it, and its useful to know how much of the audience you've lost. It also gives you a place to defend your decisions as an author, so if future readers have the same issues they can see your response.
I will admit that it's hard not to take it personally when people are telling you your baby is ugly, so what I do is tell myself that the complaining reader is just trying to make my story better in their opinion, and it's up to me to decide if the story they would rather read is the one I would rather write.
Walking on eggs
In the past, I've made a few blog posts about comments, and afterward deleted them. I've discovered a few things:
On the other hand, most of the comments I've gotten have been so kind and positive (even on my last story!), I really can't complain.
And if someone tells me they hated the story and that I wasted their time, I *do* want to know. THAT doesn't bother me. I'm disappointed, sure, but I need to know.
I try to be philosophical about comments. It's readers trying to participate in your story. It's flattery, even if someone comes to say, "I had to skip most of this chapter -- it didn't interest me at all."
It can be hard to take, but think about celebrities. This is their life. People run up to them on the street and say, "How could you kill that actress in that movie? I think you suck!" And, you know, the poor actor is just trying to pick up his shirt at the cleaner, but has some fan (more or less) shouting in his face about something that isn't even real.
So, you're in that same club now.
And as Karen J has tried to explain, you have made people *care* enough to make those comments.
Oh, Jesus, at the beginning of What Maisie Knew I was SO SO SO angry about endless, detailed emails I would get about Maisie's legal situation. About matters that "must be addressed". But you know what? Someone was thinking about my story. A LOT. And writing long PMs to me about it. It drove me nuts, but it was a sign of success.
Wasn't it?
A Kiss Is but a Kiss
THERE IS NO CORRELATION BETWEEN THE QUALITY OF THE STORY AND THE NUMBER OF VOTES AND'OR COMMENTS.
I have also noticed that a large number of guest readers doesn't add to the number of comments or votes, but it does seem to grow the number of hits.
If a reader cares enough about your story to make a comment about something in it that bothered her, that is a huge compliment. If that criticism is inane the bloom leaves the rose.
Authors votes count two. Judging by the way the votes come in the vast majority of the readers who vote are authors. Of my 41 stories that have received votes, 23 have a even total and 18 have a odd total. I realize two odds make an even, but a vote from one odd out of sixfteen voters would result in 31 votes, an odd number. This proves nothing through statistics, but my gut tells me conclusively that my stories are attracting mainly authors votes.
I recently posted a comment on a story that supposedly is taking place in the late sixties that spoke about a chain of restaurants that didn't start until the late eighties. This kind of error is easy to make. I've done it many times. We see them in movies all the time. If the author takes offense, that is clearly a character flaw . . . on the part of the author. For the most part I agree that anything negative should be done in a PM, but there is a limit to the nothing negative rule. A gentle criticism is NOT a negative. It is a messege that the story is important to the reader.
By the way -- psychologist have long ago proved the oreo method is not effective. The person hears the negative loud and clear and has shut down to the positives surrounding it.
I better rule of thumb is "A thousand 'Attagrrlzs' are wiped out by one 'Aw shit'."
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Deja Vu
Haven't I heard that "attagrrlz" Vs "Aw shit" somewhere before?
I'm just a comment junkie--what can I say?
Jessica Rabbit
"I hit him in the head with a frying pan and put him in the trunk ... so he wouldn't get hurt."
Heard that one before?
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Jessica Rabbit?
That's it. I've been sussed.
You got me, complete with tweety-birds flying round my head.
Shave and a haircut--two bits
Sue, I Confess
And I'm sorry if I hurt you. I didn't mean to, because I'm a great admirer of your stories. In the last episode of "Orphan" there was a typo where "bear" was substituted for "beer" and I thought in the context of Teddy being a significant member of the cast, that there was a bit of a giggle in there and centred my comment on that typo. It was meant to be facetious, not derogatory, and I thought I made that clear. However, if I didn't and you were offended, I most humbly apologise, and since I made my error in public then I will accept castigation in public and be more careful in future,
Joanne
Responses
Firstly, I'll admit that I don't have much experience as an author since I really need to get around finishing some stories I have in the pipeline before there's much for anyone to comment on. But let me share with you my personal feelings:
1) votes: I don't care about them at all as author and I find myself voting as a reader only very rarely. In particular, I'm not going to vote for every single episode of stories with many chapters.
2) reads: in the absence of comments, it's what I use to figure out how popular my story is. If chapter 1 has a 1000 reads and chapter 2 has 100, then I'd conclude that a lot of people dumped the story after checking the first chapter and thus I have a problem. If I only have 100 reads for the first chapter, then I guess I need a better title or teaser to catch readers. For authors who post their stories in one big part, it's a bit harder to draw conclusions, also because one reader might have to load it many times before finishing it.
3) comments: those are what I like the best, both using and receiving. Of course I like positive comments, but I like them a lot more if I feel the one making the comment means it and isn't simply being polite. Contrary to some other authors, I also like receiving negative comments (unless they only consists of hate-lines). I don't mind if a reader points out to me that something I wrote isn't possible and this for a couple of reasons:
- by telling me what I did wrong, (s)he's teaching me how to do better in my future stories and improving is one of my ambitions.
- by taking the time to comment on the story, even if only to tell me I did something wrong, (s)he's telling me the story was at least worth something. If I encounter a story I find very, very bad (rarely happens on this site) I won't even try leaving a comment.
4) public comments versus personal mails:
I pretty much never use personal mails on this website, because there's a very nice comment ability. AFAIK there are no other authors I know in real life, so I don't have anything "personal" to tell them. When I'm leaving a comment, I almost always take the time to read previous comments so I can avoid repeating things that are already said and maybe leave my personal comments on other comments. I can understand that an author might not like it if a mistake (s)he made is put up for all to read, but except for being a bit embarassing I find it only has advantages: you probably only get corrected once instead of receiving tons of separate emails about it, the commenter might be wrong and others might see that and point that out. Lastly readers who are also authors can learn from the mistakes of someone else just as much as from their own mistakes.
Hugs,
Kimby
Hugs,
Kimby
Looking from the other end
I used to comment quite a bit and although my comments tended too be a bit simple, they were always meant to be positive and encouraging. Most authors seemed to appreciate the comments and several even sent lovely PMs thanking me for my comments. But a few times a comment got read in a totally different context to what was intended and, from the reaction, I think "ouch! message received, I won't trouble you with my comments again".
Pleione
I've never
had a problem with the comments I've received. Admittedly, I tend to write pretty vanilla/mainstream stuff, so that's not saying much, but most if not all comments I've received were either
A- supportive, or
B- real issues, like names, history, or 'science doesn't do that' in a story meant to be realistic.
The only hurtful comment I've ever gotten the author was at least nice enough to do in a PM, and that was mostly telling me my story sucked because it was too 'forced femme' for them.
Melanie E.
Criticisms
Long before I ever put my first story up for others to read I was a military instructor. we were critiqued by the people we taught. Usually we were tore apart for our knowledge befoer the material was critiqued.
If someone takes a disliking to you as you present your idea the critique is going to reflect that dislike.
I learned that if I had one person who wrote a bad critique it was okay, they are entitled to their opinion. If an entire class wrote the same critique then I had a problem.
I see critiques good or indifferent as a linear movement. That is I did not fail, I had a moment of growth.
Angela has edited a lot of my stories. she would tell me what I was doing wrong I would write how "I" wanted it to be and send it back to her. After a chastising and telling me to not be so stubborn. I'd read her comments (not critiques) find one of ehr stories read a bit and realize if I was going to be successful then I needed to pay attention.
So gettting a bad critique may create a bit of huffiness, but in the long run it can be used for improvement.
Trust me Not every one is perfect. I am glad I am different it makes for a better world.
Jill Micayla
May you have a wonderful today and a better tomorrow
Jill Micayla
Be kinder than necessary,Because everyone you meet
Is fighting some kind of battle.
Used to comment a lot,
but not nearly as much anymore. Part of it is because I don't read as much, and when I start a story that I've more or less read before, I tend to drop it, but that ain't the whole of it, or even the essence of it. If the only remarks I'm socially permitted to leave publicly are positive, then, for me, it removes most of the point of leaving public comments. I like to think that being honest is more helpful to a writer -- and to people in general, for that matter -- than blanket praise.
I think it was Orson Scott Card who said that if an author says he likes to hear his work criticized, he's lying. I can relate to that. Nonetheless, in comparison to a couple of other sites I've been a part of, this site, and by that I mean the general "authorial culture," is freaking touchy where negative comments are concerned.
Sure, part of it is the nature of the site. Quite a few here write to get something off their chests -- or to put something on -- so criticism is often taken more personally than is taken by other authors on other sites, where the clear intent is to write good literature. Writing good comments is already hard enough. The dividing line between commenting on the nature of a story and the emotions it evokes is sometimes a knife edge, and easily crossed. Pity the poor reader who, after reading someone's personal fantasy, comments:
"I sort of liked your story, but I noticed that your hero/protagonist had a fourteen year-old girl and a boy before breakfast. I ... found this personally ["morally reprehensible" crossed out], ["repulsive" crossed out], ["difficult to identify with" crossed out], ah, premature."
Instead of a response like, "Well that's a personal fantasy of mine. I understand that some might not share it. I'm glad you liked my story, anyway," the reader reads, "How dare you. This used to happen all the time in Ancient Rome/Greece/Persia, and nobody gave a ****. AND, it's legal in Canada, you intolerant Neanderthal. It's just fiction, anyway."
Yes, the commenter appears to have crossed the line, and yet, it wasn't meant vindictively, and shouldn't a reader's personal reaction be important to the author? Gee, thanks, author, you've just made another honest commenter, comment-shy. He or she may never comment again.
Admittedly, that's on the extreme end of it. What's worse to me is how legitimate literary critique has become scandalous, and a fair consensus seem to think that it should be hidden in a private comment. Bad idea.
1. It gives the wrong impression to those who read comments that only positive comments are welcome.
2. A commenter who sends out negative comments in a private message has no way of knowing if anyone else is doing it, and who wants to stand out as "the criticizer?" Furthermore, I've noticed a distinct lack of civility in private messages compared to public messages. Too often the transmitter of "bad news" is burned. I have a strong feeling that the overall number of critical comments, including those in private messages, has dropped.
3. I'm not the first to say this in this thread, but it bears repeating: many read comments and it's perfectly possible that they may find a comment, meant for another, applicable to their own writing. A lot of the comments I used to write were not just directed to the author of the story, but to whomever-it-may-concern.
4. There are some fine authors here, but I've seen story after story, merrily written, from others who need guidance and aren't, as far as I know, getting it. I take it as a given that readers would rather read a truly first-rate, memorable story or two from an author, sadder, wiser, but finally enlightened of his weaknesses, than reams of blissful mediocrity.
5. This climate of tiptoeing around lends itself to an image of a site stocked with all-too-tender egos. I'd like to see us break free from that.
Aardvark
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
Mahatma Gandhi
"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony."
Mahatma Gandhi
Shot at and missed . . .
Well, I think everybody knows the finish to that. When I posted the first chapter of my K&K story, I got a lot of critical comments. I took the time to go back and rework the chapters posted, and they were right. I've since had several others point out things to me, and only one did I consider unreasonable, a criticism of a character's name. Since it wasn't based on anything I considered useful, (first PM was "Karielle Sucks Big Time", and the second was "Karielle Elyse Sucks Even Bigger"), I suggested she not bother to read any further.
But I've always thought the story itself was fair game for discussion. I was quite surprised that people wanted to know more about a secondary character in the story. Why she did what she did, what were her intentions, etc. I'd never really considered that part, she was necessary to advance the story and I hadn't thought any further.
I've since had several discussions about the actions and motives of the primary or secondary characters in a story by other authors. Some times it means the author didn't make things suffiently clear, sometimes it means I missed something. But they've all been useful discussions.
I did cross the line, in commenting on a story of Kris LS. It was a case of how she views certain types of fiction vs. how I view it. It could have possibly been a good discussion, but I reacted emotionally and responded strongly. Kris was absolutly right to be upset with me. I was wrong, and have since apologized to her.
But, a short time back, I posted a comment on a character in a long-running story. I thought I'd get one of several possible responses, ranging from a "you have a good point, and I'll look at that" to "didn't you read ****, I explained all that". What I did not expect is the author going ballistic on me.
To make a long story short, I informed Erin I'd be leaving BC, and I'd let her know what to do with my stories that are already posted. Erin convinced me it wasn't worth getting upset over. So here I am, still. (Sorry, folks!)
But I have almost totally stopped posting comments, except for a few people I consider friends. I can't say if my unposted thoughts would be of help or hinderance; we'll never know, will we.
So chalk up another bit of fall-out from the "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" argument. I'm reading, I'm voting, but I'm not commenting. If that's the way people want it, so be it.
Karen J. Taylor
"Being a girl is wonderful and to torture someone into that would be like the exact opposite of what it's like. I don’t know how anyone could act that way." College Girl - poetheather
“When a clown moves into a palace, he doesn’t become a king. The palace becomes a circus.” - Turkish Proverb