'Helpful' comments

I am not usually one to start threads in the forum, but this has bothered me for a while now.

Why do people sometimes use their comment to point out an error (or perceived error - it might not even be wrong!) in the story? I have seen comments that mention everything from typos to incorrect tense to incorrect word usage to inconsistent names.

This happened to me once, and the commenter was wrong, but it made me feel quite bad to have that negative statement as part of the story record. We are all amateurs, at least most of us are, and we are going to make mistakes now and then no matter how carefully we edit.

If the story hasn't been validated yet, odds are that the error will be corrected at that time. But, even if it has and even if you feel the need to say something, wouldn't a private pop-up message be kinder?

Sometimes validating doesn't catch things. I just had this happen to me in one of my latest stories, and I was actually glad to receive it. I asked Flopsy to change the word. You're right, Fi, and I've said this all along that comments are meant for appreciation of the story. We all make mistakes. I've been published many times, but still edit my work over and over again, and still I find errors before sending. It's been a while since I sent one with a word used in the wrong context. Spellcheck does not catch these because the word may be used wrong, but is spelled correctly.

Even the GREAT ONES make errors in their novels. Editors are only human.

I'll let grammar pass if it's a rare slip but if it impacts the story (or the author doesn't seem to grasp how word tenses are supposed to work) I'll say something. A bigger issue is name consistency. I've read novels where the author didn't have the correct name and it completely changed my thinking, which lead to confusion later on. Two characters saying the same thing could have different impacts on the plot.

As for private pop-ups, some authors don't have them enabled.

Personally if I make a mistake I don't mind it being pointed out as long as someone is polite about it. I prefer to take it as an opportunity to improve as a writer, rather than take it personally. That said, some stories take so much effort to write, it can sting a little if someone seems to dislike it or finds errors.
Comments does seem the wrong place to point things out though, a private popup being a nicer way of doing things. If the writer doesn't have popups I can't help but think it unlikely they are monitoring the comments either.
Just my two cents,
Nswitch/thereader0987

I'd let a minor typo go, but if a glaring error affects understanding, I think a better option to pointing it out publicly (if the story has already been validated) is to go to the author's page, click on the 'check', and submit a validation error report.

I often leave lengthy, in depth comments, and, while I always find something good to say about a story, I don't shy away from commenting on elements of the story which I find less than positive. That includes grammar, spelling, misusing a word, tense issues, and character name inconsistencies, as well as more subjective comments regarding style, plot, pace, POV, and anything else I can think of, which, in my opinion, could have improved the story. The key words here are "my opinion." I'm making the comment, and it is just MY opinion. I don't mind if the author disregards it, disagrees with it, thinks I'm wrong and likely a maroon for making it, or if he/she agrees with it. He/she may be right, and I may be wrong. Doesn't matter to me, and - again, in my opinion - it shouldn't't matter to the author either.

If we want comments on our stories - and I think most of us do - we should be willing to accept negative comments along with the adulation. At the very least, don't get upset by them. It's rarely personal -in my case it never is - and it is just one person's opinion (which, as most people know, are like noses - everyone has one).

It is true that few of us here are professional writers. I am not, for sure. But I don't see what that has to do with positive vs. negative comments. I assume most of us who write want to write the best story we can, whatever our topic. If we keep making the same grammatical mistakes over and over again, and no one tells us they are wrong, how does that help anyone? The reader sees the error, but chooses to keep his/her head in the sand, and the author keeps going on, oblivious to whatever errors he or she has made. The same is true for any other type of technical error; how can an author write the best possible story, if he or she is not aware of the rules of the game?

In the stories I've read for the challenge, I have come across random misplaced apostrophes, and other words which required apostrophes, and had none. I have come across misspellings, and misuse of words (two stories used the word "discrete" when the author probably meant "discreet," - for some reason, this error rankles me, and I pointed it out). I have read at least two stories in which the POV changes halfway through, without warning or an obvious purpose, other than the author might not have been able to tell the story without doing so. Several stories had confusing character name issues, mixing up one character with another, or, in one case, putting in a character name which hadn't been seen before, and wasn't seen after either. I commented on many of these errors.

Do I make mistakes? Yes, tons of them! I have probably done all of the things I just mentioned, and also done dozens of other things of which I am not proud. Do I like having them pointed out? No. Do I appreciate having them pointed out? Yes, very much. Maybe it will make me more careful in the future. Maybe I didn't even know I made an error, or didn't know what rule of language I had broken. Or maybe a comment on plot, pace, character development, or something else will teach me a thing or two, and help me write a better story next time.

I agree with DarkRiver about the popups - some are not enabled. Also, I don't always receive popups others send me, at least not right away, so they may be a bit unreliable. But, even if that wasn't so, I still prefer to leave a public comment on a story. The story is there, in front of me, and I am commenting on it. I don't believe I should have to separate my commets into positve and negative, and then post the positive part, and send the negativepart via popup. Doesn't make sense to me.

Take it from someone who gets an average of about 2 comments for every 100 reads (and that includes challenge stories, on which the average is much, much higher - so you can imagine how low the comment ratio is on my non-challenge stories): I want every comment you can muster; positve, negative, neutral, useful, funny, ridiculous, long, short, critical, whatever. Just comment, baby.

I would guess one has to decide whether they want to forgo a 'comment' because a reader worries something the author may not like is included or not?

I for myself and only me would rather have the comment then have a reader worrying about me not liking things they may write in the comment. However that is me and only my opinion that may not be shared by many.

CS

I think most of us appreciate constructive criticism and to be constructive one doesn't have to be positive. In many cases negative criticism can be better for a writer than constantly positive, as long as it is constructive.

If you see something worth mentioning (positive or negative) in one of my stories, please mention away. No need to "blow sunshine up my butt". Any substantive comment is likely to help me improve my output.

That said, worshipful and effusive praise is always appreciated.

I have to disagree with the comments that relate to the writing. We authors write our asses off and keep a lot of people happy. One of my stories had 109 reads and ONE comment. Another author had 110 reads and not one comment. Then people want to rain on an authors parade about a few errors? This annoys me. I have a new story where I used 'road' instead of 'rode', and it was pointed out to me in a comment and I truly appreciated it. However, the way some people go on in this thread they seem to forget that not all LSF writers are published authors. I am, many times, but I still make mistakes.

I've seen commas missed, periods, apostrophes, two characters in dialogue in the same paragraph, and a lot more, but I still comment on the story without making the author look foolish. Comments of that nature may deter someone from reading a story an author worked so hard on to make some people happy. If you want to be constructive and teach then do it privately.

Sorry, but that's the way I feel right now.