Frustrated with Review

This is one of the hardest parts taking stuff to people for critiquing, deciding if the problem is, the reader isn't seeing enough of the piece, or, the piece they are seeing really is missing some key element.

 

The first critique, about setting, is idiotic and I wouldn't pay too much attention to that. First chapters need only be good. Additionally, his remark "Your jumping ..." is a clear indication, to me anyway, of how serious the comment ought to be taken.

Asking for feedback may not be the wisest thing to do, especially if the draft isn't finished.

 

Don't forget, for all those talented individuals, there must be millions of people that failed like them and continued to fail lol Otherwise, we'd have millions of success stories like them.

But in regards to criticism, yeah it sucks to be critiqued. But look on the other hand, if all they did was clap and applaud, they'd be useless critics. They'll have to give you something to improve on inevitably, and just take what you can out of it.

 

I don't feel that way at all. I went to my first critique group with the expectation someone there knew more than me. What they said to me was incredibly useful. I lucked out. Now that I've heard what more critiquers have had to say, I realize they don't all know more than me. Their comments don't suck except for the time they waste. That part sucks.

Your other comment said it all, you are there for a reason. If they only gave encouragement how do you grow from that?

 

Hearing those success stories has become and inspiration where deep inside I am not willing to give up. I have been advised in art school going through daily critiques that they have to be taken with a grain of salt because it is a matter of opinion. In my review I did clarify complete honesty where If one member did not like it and explained why (whether it was personal preference of genre or technical issues) I would be happy with the comments.

The main issue is that there are people outside of this forum (also inside I would assume because we are all human...I hope) that would make remarks that would think it would help the author instead of turning them away.

Last remark from a literature major stating "Go back to college" really set a fire from under me. Especially taking into consideration that I did not go to school for literature. However, my significant other told me that it could be an act of jealousy. To be fair, it was disrespectful to make such a remark. If I was a high school student and he told me to go to college and study literature that is one thing, however imagine if I was a high school student and the remark was "Go to college!" or "You really do not know how to write" is a slap in the face.

I was confused that in my first draft some of my readers wanted in the second draft to write in third person, and then commenting back that I should write in first and rewrite the first chapter in the second draft to not go into detail about the setting, only in the third draft to recant that and focus on the setting.

At this point I am having a feeling I might not show my next drafts to those people any more and find somebody else. Unfortunately my older sister who was a literary major and keeps in contact with her group of friends, I am unable to reach here virtually or through the phone due to her and her family recently moving and working on their farm.

 

"Go back to college"....for what? An English degree? That comment is stupid. That person basically suggested you take a pile of $120K and set it on fire. That person is an idiot.

Receiving criticism is hard...it is even worse when it is from an incompetent fool.

I guess what I want to know is what you expected from the critiques? Coming here is not going to help you much. Personally, I would respond to the people directly rather than venting.

 

Is an English major that useless? I mean, I did an HBSc, which I consider useless (lol), but I was thinking of going back eventually and taking some english courses. Science courses are mostly theoretical and aren't practical outside their limited fields, I was thinking that taking english courses would be useful in everyday life, but hey, I didn't get the chance to take Eng electives, so I wouldnt know.

 

The fact that you wrote HBSc and expected people to know what you were talking about is just sad.

 

Who needs to be asked?

 

How is that sad? People generally either get a BSc or BA in their undergraduate. HBSc is just honors bachelors in science. I think it's more sad that you assume others are as ignorant and clueless as you lol Is there anyone that doesn't know what a bachelor degree is?

 

I didn't know what you meant by HBSc. I've heard of Bachelor's in Science and Bachelor's in Arts degrees, and obviously I know what a bachelor's degree is. I have a B.A. and a J.D. I have many friends with M.B.A.s, Ph.D.s, Psy D's, Pharm Ds, and M.D.s. I also know some with Master's Degrees. I've never seen the "H" designation prior to the B.S. or B.A. I've only heard someone indicate they graduated with honors, or perhaps say they have a B.A. with honors. But I've never seen it abbreviated as HBSc.

 

It's not about how you start your book - it's about how you write it. Plenty of writers start their novels where nothing happens, or they start with setting, or character, or action scene - the types of opening are numerous and not a single one of them is "wrong". It's how you write it that determines whether it is engaging. Figure out for yourself how you should open your book, once you've found that, you'll be less easily swayed by contradictory advice. Something about what you have written simply didn't engage your readers, and it sounds like you've had a few test readers - so instead of changing what happens in it, change how you write about what happens. Also, remember, every reader will like something different, different openings hook different people. So who is your target audience? Write for them, find readers who like that kind of writing, and ask them to critique.

For example I hate long, long bulks of descriptions, esp right at the beginning. I am a fairly impatient reader. So if you're writing that sort of detailed prose, then I'd certainly be the wrong reader to ask. Does it mean your opening is boring? Well for me, yes, but you're writing for those who want this sorta lengthy descriptions, and for those people there's nothing more riveting.

 

ditto that for me... and i've been around for 3/4 of a century and have never come across that acronym before you used it, rod... so don't keep putting down anyone who can't read your mind...

 

Honors bachelors are the standard for university degrees in Canada, a 4 year undergraduate degree would be a hBSc, everywhere in canada except Quebec. I was responding in that way because Carthonn was trying to make a jab at my education calling it sad. Sorry, if you took offense, I will try to clarify every acronym from now on, and try to remember the cultural limits. For future reference, I'll probably add periods in between to clarify it further. I think hB.Sc would've made more sense for you.

 

Just a heads up for you - at least for me personally, hB.Sc would certainly not make more sense to me... In England we normally call it BSc - it's basically the H that makes it all confusing. For me personally every time I look at hB.Sc or HBSc, I'm thinking the bank, HSBC.

Maybe either just spell out the acronym or clarify what the acronym means - all you need to do is put in brackets (degree) or (honours) and I think it'd be self-explanatory enough

 

As a rule, I never take reviews that personally attack me seriously. On this other writing site I deleted my account from -*cough*Absolute Writers*cough* - I posted the first half of this short story I was working on, and this one guy critisized it for being set in the seventies and called me a "pathetic nostalgic". Really? Just for being set in a different decade??

Anyway, you should listen to critics of your writing unless it's for an obviously idiotic reason or attacks you personally. Yeah, I know it's hard to take and sometimes it seems as if they just "don't get it", but how can you become a fine writer if you can't take criticism of your work? I'm not saying you should always agree with it (I know I don't!), just that you should take it into consideration.

 

You might also keep in mind that this is an international crowd, even of those abbreviations are standard where you are. Is it really too much trouble to write terms out for clarity? Especially on a site for writers?

 

FWIW: I wouldn't have known what this meant, either. I think of Bachelor's degrees as either BS or BA -- or B.S. or B.A. The periods wouldn't have made any difference in my recognition of them. The small "c" after the "S," which I see is for "Science" and makes sense now that you've told me what it stood for, isn't what I'm used to seeing, so it's not something I'd recognize right away, if at all. The "H" designation is something I haven't seen at all -- I've seen designations such as "with honors" or "cum laude" but not the H abbreviation.

 

A film professor in school told me "It is not about the classes you take, it is about what you can produce out of them"

I graduated with a BFA in Photography and Film/Video production. That is not stopping me from writing. A literature professor from the college I attended opened me up to an alternative world of writing, storytelling and literature that influenced my creative ambitions and vision.

 

Same here. As Cog has said, not everyone knows what each initial is. Does it hurt to make it easy for people to understand?

 

Initials and credentials aside, if it were easy everybody would be doing it. Ignore criticism, accept critique, and do it your way.

 

For the record, I've seen HBSc before. One of the lecturers at my university was Canadian and had a HBSc on her wall.