What hurts more for you?

[FoxZero]

Originally Posted by bluebell80

HAHAHAHAHA! That's hilarious Fox. Luckily, I don't know anyone who thinks they are a writer, so I've dodged that bullet for the most part. Except once, my hubby asked me to read a paper he was submitting for a college course. We didn't talk for a week after that. I was hard on him with the red pen, and he couldn't hack it. He got over it though after he got an A+ with my fixes, after getting a C on his last paper without my help.

lol Kind of reminds of my dad, he flips out if you correct him on anything, and of course I have no problem telling him when he's wrong lol. I think a lot of us get like that, but with me I turn it around to a positive light and am thankful to now possess the correct information.

I have a bunch of friends that are straight up blunt, and then there's a guy who can't handle being told he's bad at a video game. We're conditioning him though. He's got a big ego too, that might just be it. Some of us get so full of ourselves that when we're not told we're the hottest stuff we flip out. Just an idea.

[Shadows]

Well I would say it hurts the most when people I know do it. I really appreciate when they tell me what they liked and what not and not just oh you're good. That's why I'm opposed to showing my writing to some people. If someone else does it and gives me a review telling me what they don't like, I think that makes me a better writer. That's why I try to tell people if I liked what they wrote and If I liked it I don't think there would be anything bad to say.

[lavendershy]

Probably people close to me. I have little difficulty posting something on here or another online forum, but I have a super hard time handing things to my mom, and don't even get me started about my brother. Not that they criticize me, generally - usually with people my mom shows my poems to it's oo-ing and awww-ing, but I hate showing my work to people I know well. Maybe it's because they don't critique it.

Cheers,

lavendershy

[writewizard]

I usually don't get offended by critques unless they are highly sarcastic and intended to hurt, and even then I try and simply let them roll off my shoulders. However, that doesn't mean it always works...

[Coldwriter]

I hadn't had a story critiqued in over 6 years before posting a story on here. Someone who critiqued it proved that by her comments! haha....no..

It had been a long time and it was a jolt. After the initial sting, I got over it and am a better writer, but maybe more importantly, a more focused and challenged writer than i was before. I don't love harsh words, and I have found reviews to be respectful in their honesty for the most part. But I do relish the criticisms and things that might make me cringe because, as many of you have already mentioned, those words us better.

[FoxZero]

Hmmmm... I just recently got this from a few friends,

"It's pretty good so far. I haven't finished it yet though."

My response, "It's less than 3000 words and you read really fast."

I don't even know what to think of that. Either way I'm not sending them anything new, I haven't even mentioned the new flash fics I'm writing.

[fantasy girl]

When your friend says 'thats really good' or that's great' and gives it back, and then they moan at you when they ask you to help them with English Coursework and you give them a constructive critique

[DragonGrim]

People I know won’t give me negative feedback *sigh*

I’m forced to post random pieces of writing on the internet to get constructive criticism. And then sorting through what advice to embrace and what to discard is no easy task.

But every comment I get that is not praise stings with the unbearable pain of a thousand needles

[Irish87]

Let me preface this reply by admitting I did not read most of the comments, so if I am repeating somebody else... whoopsy-doodle.

Anyhow. What bothers me more between those two options? Well, let me go out on a limb here and admit that both suck out loud. I hate it when somebody reads my work and finds faults, why wouldn't I? I suppose I could be higher than thou and pretend it's awesome to have either a close friend or a complete stranger pick apart a piece of work that I love. Not only are you being judged, and being judged sucks, but you're being rejected. I'm sorry but when I ask somebody out on a date and they give me a laundry list of things I need to improve in order to pay for a dinner for them and try my hardest to entertain them I am immediately turned off. I know, I'm odd.

I know, I know, I must be immature and unable to deal with criticism... your damn right I am. I hate being judged and told by others my work is wrong or otherwise bad. However, I'm coming from the position of a writer who writes for the enjoyment of writing, not to appease my fan base - to which there is no one... except my mom. In fairness, I've never really tried to get my work published, it's something that is secondary. So I suppose that I am an unfair person to ask this question.

In the end I hate being criticized because I hate failing myself. As a writer, somebody who is absolutely addicted to the process of telling a good story, I am disheartened when I fail.

[nacht]

Originally Posted by ArckAngel

When somebody, anybody says "That's great." And gives me my writing back without anything constructive said. That's what hurts the most.

I agree, but I generally attribute this to those of my critics that don't generally know anything about writing or literature. Even though I was the kid in the back of English class drawing instead of reading, I knew exactly what we were doing, and how to do it. I could critique other peoples' writing, I could teach them how to read the subject, I could beat it into their head as long as I wanted -- they just wanted to get through the class. That's the kind of dote I usually deal with in these circumstances.

As for the question of what hurts the most, though... I would have to say when they refuse to do it due to either laziness or inability. "English, motherf*****, do you speak it?!" usually runs through my head at this point.