Leaving
OK, well Gauri said that she wanted people to tell the others that they're leaving so that they don't get barred ignominiously. I'd prefer to slip away without saying anything, but here is why I'm leaving.
The main reason for my departure is that I am not happy with my writing at the moment. The secondary reason is that I'm not happy with the quality of writing in the community. I need someone who is good enough that I can really learn from their writing: not through them pointing out the bad parts of my stuff, but from me being able to learn from the good parts of their stuff.
All of the critiques on this community are really aimed at errors. There is nothing really examining the big ideas, which are what really make pieces work. I'm not saying that criticism is a bad thing: not once has someone said, "that sucked because it wasn't creative enough".
I didn't get any better at writing in this community, although I want to make clear that the fault is almost entirely mine. But the thing about other people's advice is this:
"'I never called everything by the same name that all the other people about me did,' said Dorothea, stoutly.
'But I suppose you have found out your mistake, my dear' said Mrs Cadwallader, 'and that is a proof of sanity.'
Dorothea was aware of the sting, but it did not hurt her. 'No,' she said, 'I still think that the greater part of the world is mistaken about many things. Surely one may be sane and yet think so, since the greater part of the world has often had to come round from its opinion.'"
In short, there is a lot of advice out there. I felt unsure about which to trust because of the merits of the critiquers' works. I came here to learn and failed to do that, not because I was much better at writing than anyone else, but because there was no-one else who was much better than me. That's the problem: there's no-one who's really ahead of the pack, no-one to nick ideas from or who could help people with the deeper problems in their writing.
I have no real suggestions about how to do so other than stick around and pick up a reputation. Writing communities are like football clubs: there is a gap between large and small based on performance and history. That gap is an unfair one, being hard to change: but if you were a young footballer, where would you rather be trained?
The main reason for my departure is that I am not happy with my writing at the moment. The secondary reason is that I'm not happy with the quality of writing in the community. I need someone who is good enough that I can really learn from their writing: not through them pointing out the bad parts of my stuff, but from me being able to learn from the good parts of their stuff.
All of the critiques on this community are really aimed at errors. There is nothing really examining the big ideas, which are what really make pieces work. I'm not saying that criticism is a bad thing: not once has someone said, "that sucked because it wasn't creative enough".
I didn't get any better at writing in this community, although I want to make clear that the fault is almost entirely mine. But the thing about other people's advice is this:
"'I never called everything by the same name that all the other people about me did,' said Dorothea, stoutly.
'But I suppose you have found out your mistake, my dear' said Mrs Cadwallader, 'and that is a proof of sanity.'
Dorothea was aware of the sting, but it did not hurt her. 'No,' she said, 'I still think that the greater part of the world is mistaken about many things. Surely one may be sane and yet think so, since the greater part of the world has often had to come round from its opinion.'"
In short, there is a lot of advice out there. I felt unsure about which to trust because of the merits of the critiquers' works. I came here to learn and failed to do that, not because I was much better at writing than anyone else, but because there was no-one else who was much better than me. That's the problem: there's no-one who's really ahead of the pack, no-one to nick ideas from or who could help people with the deeper problems in their writing.
I have no real suggestions about how to do so other than stick around and pick up a reputation. Writing communities are like football clubs: there is a gap between large and small based on performance and history. That gap is an unfair one, being hard to change: but if you were a young footballer, where would you rather be trained?