Review Me!

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I'm dropping this in the Writer's Challenge section because A: it involves writing, and B: it involves challenging people to DO said writing, so here goes!

I want reviews of my work. Not necessarily my published books (though you can review those here too, if you like!) but of my writings available here on the site. Be as critical as you want. Talk about how I use the first person too much, or how bad my ability to finish stuff is (even though I AM working on that!) or anything you want! Rank my stories from best to worst, or compile quotable quotes! Just do it all within a review, either of me as an author on the whole, me as a contributor to the community, or an individual story of mine. Use a ten point scale, or a five star scale, or no scale at all, even. Just let us know what you think of my work, good, bad, ugly, all of it.

Do it. I dare ya.

Melanie E.

PS: I'll read all the reviews posted here. The review I find most useful to me as an author -- whether it be through constructive criticism or simply pointing out errors -- I will contact the writer of and name a character after them in an upcoming story, if they so wish. Heck, if I find a part of your review intriguing I might very well contact you anyway to get input on how I might improve my stories in the future!

Daring!

I just watched "Chef" which is all about the relationship between a chef and a critic. That movie made what you're proposing seem like begging for a root canal.

Jill

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

Maybe so, Jill :)

Every time I see someone get upset because people don't read or comment on their work, I make a point of PMing them about the importance of writing stories for yourself, not for others. I try my best to keep that attitude when I write as well: I write the kinds of stories I like and want to read, and generally I'm happy with the response as well, because just because a story doesn't appeal to everyone doesn't make that story bad, just different.

Honestly? I don't think there's a lot anyone can say about my writing that would genuinely upset me. I want to be made to think about what I write, because even writing for myself doesn't remove the need to improve whenever I can, and it's very hard to be objective about one's own work. All criticism can be constructive in its own way, so I'm honestly looking forward more to negatives people bring up than the positives, since those will be the ones that will help me improve my writing the most.

About the only one I'll likely ignore is if anyone complains my stories don't have enough tension in them :P

Melanie E.

Nice challenge!

I like a great challenge. I also like that you bring it around to 'constructive' criticism in the end. It is easy to 'criticize'; it is also pretty easy to 'critique'; it is really hard, at times, to constructively critique... I think that is what you are after, am I right? Otherwise, you are just going to get a lot of "I hate this", or "I love this"...without legitimate, actionable reasons to better your style/writing. :)

Good luck with this. You are one brave soul!

Hugs,
Shauna

Thank you!

On Amazon I've received one bad review since posting my books there, and I actually emailed the person who wrote it to try and get their input on what would have made the work better, though I never got a response.

Constructive criticism is the best kind, but I'm a big girl: I can take a hit or two, especially given that I've never seen anyone here hit all that hard. It's also pretty easy for me to ignore outright abuse, since hey, this is the internet! So I don't think anything bad will happen.

I'm hoping, if this works out well for ME, it will help other authors be brave enough to try the same. Everyone can improve their skills in writing. Sometimes it takes a kick in the tuckus to make us see where something isn't all it could be though, so here's the target, people: let the feet fly!

Melanie E.

To me...

It is not about being creative. It is about being...well, useful...

I LOVE hearing that someone likes my story! If I know why--so much the better! :)

If someone does NOT like it--well, knowing why is useful. If it is because they don't like the style or the genre--well, then I am not really worried about it. Everyone has their likes and dislikes--and I write more for ME than anyone else. But, if it is because they can't follow the story--or it is riddled with mistakes...then I DO worry...and try to fix it and do better the next time...

So, long story short, if you just tell me you love the story, I will take it and wish for more. If you just tell me you hate it, I will wonder why you had to comment at all... :D

Hugs!