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Post by silentreader on Nov 6, 2016 13:29:10 GMT -5
[I'm deliberately not mentioning the writer I'm thinking about in this post. He's not here (as far as I know) to defend himself. Also, I want to ask about less-than-positive reviews in general and not just focus on the one author.]
I have been reading a serial novel being published at another website which encourages readers to provide public reviews of the stories. I'm mostly continuing to read this one novel because the author has created an interesting-to-me dilemma and I really am very curious to see how his characters solve their unique problem. Having said that, I find his characters annoying because they don't seem to be nearly as mature as I would expect grown-up men their ages to be.
Part of me wants to write a review saying that I am really enjoying how the interesting dilemma is being handled - but that the startling-to-me immaturity of the characters is off-putting.
Another part of me is ashamed for even thinking such a thing. After all, the author is giving me a free gift of his work. It seems to me like it would be incredibly rude and unkind of me to respond to his free gift with negative comments.
What do others think?
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Post by Lugnutz on Nov 6, 2016 14:45:25 GMT -5
Is set in modern times? Usually the author has final say with their characters. Is it a page turner or do you drop it after a chapter? In the SS stories, it's set in their own universe. The places don't exist in real life.
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Post by silentreader on Nov 7, 2016 0:03:48 GMT -5
Is set in modern times? Usually the author has final say with their characters. Is it a page turner or do you drop it after a chapter? In the SS stories, it's set in their own universe. The places don't exist in real life. Yes, I understand that an author has the final say over his own characters. I guess my question is: is it rude or ungrateful to praise the plot of a story in a review while saying that the characters seem more immature than grown men that age usually are? (This would be at a website that encourages readers to write reviews.) The story I'm thinking of is set in modern times in the USA, so I guess I'm expecting the characters to "act their ages"... Really, as I think of this I realize that it is all personal preference. This author's characters act less maturely than I'm expecting - but the characters are the author's, not mine, of course. I find the characters' immaturity a little annoying - it distracts me from the plot just a bit - but the main dilemma the characters face is an interesting one. I expect to continue reading it mostly to learn how the author will have the characters solve their dilemma (not because I feel a connection to the characters).
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Post by Lugnutz on Nov 7, 2016 0:46:21 GMT -5
Feedback is feedback. As far as acting their age, locale may have a lot of bearing. Country vs city. I would voice it but keep it neutral.
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Post by Nico Gray on Nov 7, 2016 11:47:25 GMT -5
Authors need feedback to improve at their craft. It's the gift you can give them in exchange for the gift they're offering to you.
That being said, not all authors really appreciate all feedback. What you might consider doing is sharing your thoughts on this story while being as diplomatic as possible. When offering criticism, it's always good to offer two positive observations for every negative your share. And try to express the negatives in clearly subjective terms so the author understands you're not making judgments about his skill, merely observing how something made you feel (e.g., "I thought the dilemma the author created for the characters was really clever and I'm fascinated to see how it will turn out, but the characters would have felt more realistic to me if their decisions appeared to better reflect the knowledge that I'm sure they have. I really like the characters but found it hard to relate to them when they did...").
You also might consider submitting your review directly to the author via e-mail first and asking if he'd like you to publish it to the public review section or keep it between the two of you, perhaps as part of an ongoing conversation about his story. That way he can receive the feedback that might help him develop his skills but can make his own decision about whether to have a partially negative review published to a public forum.
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Post by Dabeagle on Nov 7, 2016 16:17:54 GMT -5
Personally, I prefer getting whatever feedback the reader has for me. Of course, there are immature adults just as there are quite staid, mature ones. We have but to look at religion or politics to see how we apply something like maturity to a person, a subjective opinion.
I do think that the author should get your praise as well as critical feedback. If they respond negatively, I'd simply not speak with them - some writers are very, very sensitive and unable to accept a critique of their work. This should not put you off, in my opinion, of giving the author your insight and, perhaps, engaging in a productive dialogue that allows an author to explain where they were going or what their thoughts were. Sometimes we strive for something with a character and fail to achieve it. Sometimes it helps us to hear readers, in a constructive way, let us know we didn't achieve our goal. It's just as important as hearing that you loved what we wrote.
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Post by paul on Nov 7, 2016 16:54:17 GMT -5
If you're going to give an author feedback, I think it should be framed in terms of whether something either worked or didn't work for you personally, and giving reasons why, rather than offering blanket pronouncements of "should" or "shouldn't." People don't like being lectured; doing so understandably gets a person's back up and then any exchange can easily become personal.
I'd also say that I'd be interested in hearing what the author thought about my observations; that would convey that you're going into this with an attitude of mutual respect and are interested in a productive exchange of ideas.
As to whether I give feedback at all, I only do it if I've found the work itself to be particularly to be to my liking, and I'll say so, either in general terms or in specifics. But if it's clear that it's just not my cup of tea subject- or execution-wise, I don't see any point in commenting.
Expressed this way, I'd expect an author who, regardless of age, was emotionally mature, to respond with at least a thanks for my interest rather than by lashing out or becoming argumentative. If the latter, though, I'd just move on.
I'll add that when it comes to offering specific advice or making suggestions, I'd wait to see if the author responds positively to my first message, and then ask if those would be welcome before actually putting them forth.
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Post by TeddyBower on Nov 15, 2016 21:26:01 GMT -5
I had a teacher who always said that when criticizing someone try to do privately and begin by pointing out something positive, then move to the criticism, and then back to something positive.
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Post by Dabeagle on Nov 15, 2016 22:37:01 GMT -5
I had a teacher who always said that when criticizing someone try to do privately and begin by pointing out something positive, then move to the criticism, and then back to something positive. The compliment sandwich.
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