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I'm going to indulge in a little shameless self promotion here. My novella, Ghost's Sight, is being released today on Torquere Press, and I wanted to share that bit of good news, along with a link: Ghost's Sight by Morwen Navarre There's an excerpt there, but for anyone too shy to venture over, I'll post it here as well: Did I whet your appetite? Good! Ghost and Gerry would love it if you wanted to read more!

Doubt I will live long enough for that to happen, DG, but I do understand your point. I am far too old at this point to see the lesson get learned I figure. It is a sad thing to say, but no less true. I want to share the love of writing with others, as Gary once shared it with me. Too bad things are so very different from the 80's when concrit was considered a type of high compliment because it told you that the reviewer believed you could produce something fantastic with a revision. Now concrit is an ego attack, so I am well and truly out of my depth in this case.

You have the talent and then some, my friend! The brilliant thing about being a writer is that there's no age limits on us. It's fine to bloom early or late, the latter being my case. Not to mention that it helps to have PW encouraging you!

Users CAN'T delete reviews on FFN. At least not logged in ones.

Glad to hear it! You'll find that those of us in the forums are rather an open-minded - if passionate - bunch. Now: as to an example of what I mean on the rules issue - This is the disclaimer as it appears now (don't worry, the mods will warn on it, if they haven't already) Yes, it's a fanfiction, and the rules for disclaimers are different than in originals. However, given the fact that the author didn't name the fandom, only states that they are not making profit from the characters (neglecting any other element of fandom) and feels a declaration on an adult site that adult content is included is necessary, I know that reviewing this story will likely give me a headache. It was one of the rules I made for myself when I started reviewing for the R.A. here in the forums - if you can't get the basics right, it's not worth my time to bother with your story, and I'll move on to the next person. That might sound uppity, but look at it from my perspective: that story is likely going to be hidden or deleted. Why waste my time explaining to the author that the ampersand doesn't belong in prose -ever- and that I'm not quite sure how come (cum) can "quirt"? (It is a word, by the way, which our horse handlers here in the forums will recognize immediately.) I'm of the opinion that it's not worth my suffering, so I'll move on to someone who actually wants to know what people think of their writing. By the time you're old enough to be posting here, you should have moved past the "I don't care how I present my stuff as long as it's out there" phase and into the "I'd really like to know if my writing's worth a damn" phase. Sadly, that isn't always the case. What I would do is pick one section of originals - say, SciFi (and subsection) - and give concrit there for a week. If the authors there aren't receptive, move to another subsection and so on until you find the niche with people that want well-balanced concrit.

This.

y'know, one can only hope that with time and a bit of maturity, the young ones will learn that concrit is your friend.

Personally, I thank you for your thoughts on this subject, bryosgirl. Sorry if this comes across harsh sounding, but I am completely disgusted at this point. Since people have an ego boost mentality about raw drafts they post in these free archives, I won't bother wasting my scheduled free time on reading anything without a request for a Read and Review extended by the writer for the time being as a safety measure. Over time I hope to make a list of people's names so I can confine my reviews to such fellow writers. Seeing it with my own eyes and knowing the trend of how many people swear they have a book in them is at the root of my discontent with this whole mess. You have no idea how many lame excuses people come up with for not trying. However, I saw plenty of it when I was a career editor. I curb my reviews deeply, and yet reviewing is an exercise in futility when false pride is involved. This is the bottom line. Evidence has stacked up that supports the reality of people no longer caring about creating quality stories, only getting told good job even when not deserved. The younger gen gets it from the public education system. Therefore, forcing myself to wade through raw tales is a lost cause. As was pointed out in this thread: Other writers do not want to improve their talent nor their stories. So the point of trying to give them tips on making a story truly enjoyable is mute. Also pointed out was the thought that people presume quality reviewers are snotty when we aren't, so our thoughts are not welcome. These are my all time fave Gary Provost quotes which I adhere to when writing anything, and when giving anyone a concrit review. Gary Provost: “Never let perfect grammar interfere with a great storyline!” & “Know when to toss out grammar rules to make the story real.” I adhere to that advice and know when to toss out grammar rules, so do not qualify as a grammar fanatic. Why should I expend any more of my precious time and personal energy in trying to communicate when the review is going to get deleted anyway? Since it takes too much effort to force my way back into a poorly framed story repeatedly, because the writer's constant character POV shifting mid paragraph, or I can't figure out which character is holding POV at all, I'm better off going to the bookstore to buy something I can actually enjoy reading without the disrespect factor. Wasting my time is not worthwhile since I am not someone who has plenty of play time to waste. To Rogue: I tend to agree with you on many fronts and thank you for your input also. Characters have to hold the story together and when they can't it is a dead story from the first paragraph. Even in established fandoms, plenty of very flat and dead tales exist that I never bother reading past 3 paragraphs. I only reviewed things that I felt have real potential for becoming great reads. Still, when I have to go to such extremes to keep my Red headed temper under wraps because of egotists, it is very hard to not rant because of my personal frustration.