people are really funny
So, this is going to be a ramble about the ridiculous people on fictionpress. (And I'm not referring to everyone by any means at all - just a couple of people who were having a "review war," if you will.)
Haha, this got REALLY long, so if no one reads it, I will completely understand. A lot of it was just me getting some of my thoughts out. It feels soooooo good!
Awhile back, I got a review on a piece of mine - "Play It Again" - which was a crappy piece by all means. I wasn't too bothered by the review, because it was concrit and all, and I appreciate that, I was just a little annoyed that the reviewer didn't even have the common decency to say even one thing that worked about the poem and was just a little rude in the review. But whatever, enough about me.
So, today I'm looking at this person's work (because, hey, he at least had the balls to sign in when he left the review) and his work is admittedly not that bad, but I was looking at the other reviews, and apparently another person is having a review war with him to see who can leave bitchier comments. It's really hilarious, because these people are so fucking pretentious and have nothing nice to say about anyone's work but their own. I really hope they never become editors in the future. I'd hate to have to come across them while submitting pieces.
And that got me thinking. Okay, fictionpress is not a site where professional writers post their work, obviously. No one there is a professional writer. We're all there for the same reasons, so why people feel the need to be incredibly rude and act like they know absolutely everything about writing when they don't - because NO ONE DOES - is beyond me. I am always courteous to other people when reviewing, and a lot of the time, I won't review pieces if I'm like, wow, this is really bad, I don't even know what to say, because I go by the saying, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" when I'm reviewing. We're all there for the same reason - to get feedback on our writing - and by being both praising and critical at the same time, you get a hell of a lot more feedback. I prefer concrit over anything else (though I will admit that I like praise, because who doesn't?), because that helps me prevent those same mistakes in the future, and my writing can only get better. I just wish those people who are so incredibly rude and critical of everyone would realize that this site is nothing to take so seriously. Jesus. It really amuses me. I was ranting about the one person in a review to someone else the other day, but that was just because I was annoyed with him that day - there's no need to be rude when you're reviewing someone's work! It's one of those things where you ask, how would YOU like it if someone left really rude reviews on your work? Stupid.
And yeah, I read an essay on how to give constructive criticism and put a link to it on one of my fictionpress profiles, because people really need to read that. I like getting reviews that are like, I really liked this, blah blah blah, but they aren't useful at all. I always try to leave thorough reviews, and I have actually had people email me and tell me how much they appreciate that. I know that's what everyone would like on their work, and that's what I would like on my work, but not everyone gets it, so if I can be that one person to actually help someone's writing get better, then I'll be that one person. And my mom (yes, this is turning into a slightly longer ramble than I intended, and my mom has nothing to do with fictionpress at all) is all, you should spend your time looking for a job, etc., but I was looking today, and guess what? I can't fucking find anything. So I'm going to spend my time doing something that I feel is worthwhile, aka reading and reviewing a lot of different types of poetry and fiction, because I feel like I'm improving as a writer, and if I want to go into editing, that's also something that's useful for me. So I'm just improving myself by doing this on a daily basis, so when I apply for a job in that field, I'll be able to say, even if I don't have the professional experience they're looking for, I do have the experience that's necessary.
And oh, I was going to mention that the concrit aspect was one thing I really really loved about my advanced creative writing class. Most of the people in that class were good writers - there are about 4 guys in there in particular that I have so much respect for as writers - and there were a few people in there that needed a lot of work, but we workshopped a LOT of pieces in there (we had I think 20 people in the class, and we workshopped everyone's short stories and then 2 poems by each person), and that way, we got to see everyone's different writing style and learn so much more about writing than if we just gave our work to the professor and nobody else got to see them. Sure, I got some really ridiculous critiques of my pieces, but for the most part, they were honest and helpful. I do kind of feel bad for some of the people in there who weren't that great of writers, and that's not me being a bitch and saying they sucked just because I didn't like what they wrote about, but that's me being empathetic, because some people are good at writing technically, like they know a lot about how to form a story or a poem, but their ideas just aren't anything new or special, or the people have interesting ideas but just can't format them into anything appropriate. And some people you just can't help. But the thing with a class like that is that these people are either creative writing majors or minors, so that means they like writing enough to want to do it as a career (or at least that's what I would think). That's why I was a creative writing minor. I have wanted to be a writer since middle school. I have always loved to do it, and I keep learning and getting better as the years go by. That's one thing I will miss about school - being surrounded by professional authors who can tell me what I need to do to get better. But I am also loving living with 2 other writers. While I haven't really talked to Lindsay about writing much, Jo and I talk about it a lot, and she's already written a novel (which is crazy because I have never been that ambitious, so awesome for her), and I've read her writing, and she's really good, too. God, we just sit up all night talking about so much stuff, and we're so alike in so many ways. I love that.
Anyway, those are my thoughts on writing and concrit and ridiculous people on fictionpress and other random shit. Sorry it was so long. I doubt if anyone even read this far. :) But just knowing I have this outlet makes me feel so good. I love it.
Haha, this got REALLY long, so if no one reads it, I will completely understand. A lot of it was just me getting some of my thoughts out. It feels soooooo good!
Awhile back, I got a review on a piece of mine - "Play It Again" - which was a crappy piece by all means. I wasn't too bothered by the review, because it was concrit and all, and I appreciate that, I was just a little annoyed that the reviewer didn't even have the common decency to say even one thing that worked about the poem and was just a little rude in the review. But whatever, enough about me.
So, today I'm looking at this person's work (because, hey, he at least had the balls to sign in when he left the review) and his work is admittedly not that bad, but I was looking at the other reviews, and apparently another person is having a review war with him to see who can leave bitchier comments. It's really hilarious, because these people are so fucking pretentious and have nothing nice to say about anyone's work but their own. I really hope they never become editors in the future. I'd hate to have to come across them while submitting pieces.
And that got me thinking. Okay, fictionpress is not a site where professional writers post their work, obviously. No one there is a professional writer. We're all there for the same reasons, so why people feel the need to be incredibly rude and act like they know absolutely everything about writing when they don't - because NO ONE DOES - is beyond me. I am always courteous to other people when reviewing, and a lot of the time, I won't review pieces if I'm like, wow, this is really bad, I don't even know what to say, because I go by the saying, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" when I'm reviewing. We're all there for the same reason - to get feedback on our writing - and by being both praising and critical at the same time, you get a hell of a lot more feedback. I prefer concrit over anything else (though I will admit that I like praise, because who doesn't?), because that helps me prevent those same mistakes in the future, and my writing can only get better. I just wish those people who are so incredibly rude and critical of everyone would realize that this site is nothing to take so seriously. Jesus. It really amuses me. I was ranting about the one person in a review to someone else the other day, but that was just because I was annoyed with him that day - there's no need to be rude when you're reviewing someone's work! It's one of those things where you ask, how would YOU like it if someone left really rude reviews on your work? Stupid.
And yeah, I read an essay on how to give constructive criticism and put a link to it on one of my fictionpress profiles, because people really need to read that. I like getting reviews that are like, I really liked this, blah blah blah, but they aren't useful at all. I always try to leave thorough reviews, and I have actually had people email me and tell me how much they appreciate that. I know that's what everyone would like on their work, and that's what I would like on my work, but not everyone gets it, so if I can be that one person to actually help someone's writing get better, then I'll be that one person. And my mom (yes, this is turning into a slightly longer ramble than I intended, and my mom has nothing to do with fictionpress at all) is all, you should spend your time looking for a job, etc., but I was looking today, and guess what? I can't fucking find anything. So I'm going to spend my time doing something that I feel is worthwhile, aka reading and reviewing a lot of different types of poetry and fiction, because I feel like I'm improving as a writer, and if I want to go into editing, that's also something that's useful for me. So I'm just improving myself by doing this on a daily basis, so when I apply for a job in that field, I'll be able to say, even if I don't have the professional experience they're looking for, I do have the experience that's necessary.
And oh, I was going to mention that the concrit aspect was one thing I really really loved about my advanced creative writing class. Most of the people in that class were good writers - there are about 4 guys in there in particular that I have so much respect for as writers - and there were a few people in there that needed a lot of work, but we workshopped a LOT of pieces in there (we had I think 20 people in the class, and we workshopped everyone's short stories and then 2 poems by each person), and that way, we got to see everyone's different writing style and learn so much more about writing than if we just gave our work to the professor and nobody else got to see them. Sure, I got some really ridiculous critiques of my pieces, but for the most part, they were honest and helpful. I do kind of feel bad for some of the people in there who weren't that great of writers, and that's not me being a bitch and saying they sucked just because I didn't like what they wrote about, but that's me being empathetic, because some people are good at writing technically, like they know a lot about how to form a story or a poem, but their ideas just aren't anything new or special, or the people have interesting ideas but just can't format them into anything appropriate. And some people you just can't help. But the thing with a class like that is that these people are either creative writing majors or minors, so that means they like writing enough to want to do it as a career (or at least that's what I would think). That's why I was a creative writing minor. I have wanted to be a writer since middle school. I have always loved to do it, and I keep learning and getting better as the years go by. That's one thing I will miss about school - being surrounded by professional authors who can tell me what I need to do to get better. But I am also loving living with 2 other writers. While I haven't really talked to Lindsay about writing much, Jo and I talk about it a lot, and she's already written a novel (which is crazy because I have never been that ambitious, so awesome for her), and I've read her writing, and she's really good, too. God, we just sit up all night talking about so much stuff, and we're so alike in so many ways. I love that.
Anyway, those are my thoughts on writing and concrit and ridiculous people on fictionpress and other random shit. Sorry it was so long. I doubt if anyone even read this far. :) But just knowing I have this outlet makes me feel so good. I love it.