Ton Ten Excuses For Not Commenting On Stories

Which is another reason for getting put back in the corner you sneaky hag!

I read a story and wish that I could write like that, so say so, knowing that if someone praised my story I would get a little shiver of pleasure. Then I write to the best of my ability and perhaps receive no response so feel that there is no point in continuimg to submit stories. Or perhaps I receive a comment in praise which gives pleasure but does not help me to write better stories. Pinky or Flopsy will on occasion offer constructive criticism, but most people are with few exceptions too kind and afraid of hurting feelings.It is the same with a writiers' group I belong to, we are all to damned polite and kind.

My excuses not to comment? Same as everybody. I comment one per seven which gives an average of 14.2%. It is not precise because I never comment on letters and articles collected from magazines. I also don't comment on stories I didn't like, or don't have something meaningful to say. I also don't read all stories. I favor longer over shorter, with sexual content over sexless, M/F/f over pure F/F/f and I usually don't read F/m or F/M and almost never M/M because they don't excite me, even if the author is very good, and some are excellent.

And a few stories are so good, or touch my buttons in a way that a comment almost writes itself.

Anyhow, long live commenters, if they are not the reason we write, they certainly are the reason we post.

Well, as far as constructive criticism is concerned, I don't give any in my comments because everyone can see them if they care to. If I have something to say about a piece I'll wait until that author sends me a thank you pop-up, that way it's private. Picayune things I don't bother with. I never stop reading a story unless it's something that disturbs me. In that case there will be no comment. To each his/her own.

I recently discovered that I am actually quite motivated by comments. Don't know why - it is simply a fact.

Work load and other factors had led me into one of those dry periods: no new ideas and the old ones not inspiring one to write.

And then Alef suggested, and Flopsybunny accepted, that "I remember her well" should be a story of the day.

In the next few days it got 200 reads and 8 comments.

It might be sheer coincidence, but my work in progress book has filled up again and writing has become exciting again. Perhaps, for some of us, public recognition of our efforts is the driving force that gets the subconsciousness churning away to produce the enthusiasm to turn sparks of ideas into completed tales.

In any case, I shall try to read more, and comment more, here on LSF.

Join the club. It makes a difference.


Funny how that works. When you know you are touching people, it's very different from writing just for the hell of it. I know that when I have a long dry spell, when I have few reads and fewer comments on existing content, I just tend to put my hobby on the back burner. But that changes when activity picks up.

Nibra makes an interesting and educational comment here. That's simply because these people who don't want to hurt feelings and are over polite and kind have no idea how badly it affects the authors writing. I do a lot of helping on Yahoo Answers with the young people. I see so many people like this who tell people that their writing is so great. In actuality, it's horrible. I tell these people (in a kind way) what they are doing wrong, and not to listen to people who simply grant lip service. It does their writing no good whatsoever.

I simply point out what they're doing wrong by editing and pasting the edited paragraph so they can see the way it should be. The way I see it, if I'm going to give a bit of constructive criticism on a piece then I call myself an educator. In that case I should act like one and teach like one.

I think critical statements on the public comment board are inappropriate. That comment will be there connected to the story forever and everyone who reads the story will see it and some might be swayed to echo. If I know the writer and s/he thanks me for a positive comment I've written, I might broach the subject on a return pop up. Others have used the same strategy with me. I appreciate the courtesy and take their advice to heart.

Any advice or pointers that I give are given in a private way... After all it is mine and other people's time that is given up editing stories while people comment 'well written' on it without realising it took an hour for someone to edit. So if an author can change certain things after some advice then all the better...