Concrit is your friend, not your enemy.

[Solaris]

Concrit is your friend, not your enemy.

I have seen so many people give off hate filled concrits to writers who write fanfiction, actually there are groups on LJ or message boards, who fill their communities with that stuff. Basically, if you need to give a concrit to someone, do it how you would want to get a concrit back from an editor or a beta reader - politely! Actually, a beta reader and an editor are basically the same person but with different titles. Have you ever heard of this line before?, You get more bees with honey than with vinegar?

I see a few people nod their heads behind the monitor, so how would you rather get a nasty concrit telling you that you suck as a writer and you should just go crawl back under the rock you fucking came from or a polite concrit telling you where the mistakes are and how to correct it?

Yes, you would rather have a polite one, as that will endear you to the person who gave you a concrit of your story. And if they ask to become your beta reader or editor and they gave you a polite concrit of your story, TAKE THEM UP ON IT! They wouldn't have suggested themselves unless they knew they could work with you to help improve your story.

I even sent a story that I had written way back in the year 1985 to an editor back in 2003, she liked what I wrote and told me so but also she told me that I had many grammatical errors. She fixed the story with the mistakes made clear. I fixed them and ended up writing 30 more pages to the story itself! She was thrilled when I told her that I had written 30 more pages to the story. She loved what I did with the story.

She was a professional editor with whom I paid a good deal of money to edit my story. You may not need to pay your editor or beta reader to read your story, unless you are planning on publishing it one day like I am hoping to do one day.

But basically, concrit a good one can be your friend, instead of your enemy. A beta reader or an editor, depends on what you call them, can be a huge help to you, the writer to improve his or her story. So if someone offers you their help in editing your story, take them up on it. You can improve with a little help from an editor or beta reader. Who knows, you might be the next Stephen King or the next J.K. Rowling. But please don't become another Anne Rice, who refuses to allow her stories to be edited by anyone and look at how bad they are and yet no one really minds, the mistakes that she made in her stories.

So I end with this comment: Concrit is not your enemy if you let it become your friend, you will have a valuable asset in your arsenal of writing tools.

Beth

[Guest Monsterking]

I do Agree with soloris but i also think that the reader should at least acknowledge that this is somebodys story thier reviewing and attempt to be polite in thier story bashing

LONG LIVE GODZILLA KING OF THE MONSTERS!!!

[Guest MadameCookoo]

I agree. As a matter of fact, I'd much rather get a meaningful concrit then something along the lines of 'I loove your story!' without any information as to why they did so.

In response to Monsterking's point, I cannot see how anybody who has had the experience of posting a story (especially their first) and anxiously awaiting a first rating/review could possibly write such unhumane reviews to some authors whose stories for whatever reason (be it bad grammer, spelling, content etc) they don't like. Yet I see it happen often.

I personally think a good, quality concrit is every bit as important as consctructive praise. It helps you grow as a writer, a person. For example telling someone that their story 'sucks' for no apparent reason allows just as much room for growth and improvement as telling someone for no apparent reason or out of fear of hurting them that their story is 'the best'.

Obviously if a review upsets someone they are less likely to take any valid concrit on board too.

Lastly, on the matter of Betas, I have little experience of them, for I often use non-standard grammer along with standard grammer and I (and perhaps other writers) am sceptical concerning whether a Beta would be able to tell the difference (correct me if I'm wrong)

[greenwizard]

I don't sugarcoat. Never have, never will. If a story sucks, I will say so, but I always tell the author why it sucks. I don't believe in coddling an author because that will only encourage more bad writing. That being said, I try to be tactful at least. Flat out bashing someone doesn't do anyone any good.

A good beta is hard to find. If you are lucky enough to get a good one, give them lots of cookies and candy so they'll stay! Most betas will fix a few typos and tell you it looks great. Now there's a part of me that would like to believe that my writing is perfect, but I know god damned well it isn't. I have problem areas. A good beta is someone who is strong where you are weak, and will fix the weak parts for you as well as give you advice on how to improve. I'm good at grammar, and character dialogue. I suck at discriptions and character actions.

[cu-kid9]

I think a lot of the time people can't distinguish con-crit from just plain criticism. The writer takes everything personally, which I suppose I can understand given the amount of blood, sweat, and tears that some of them put into their work. However, I do agree that being able to take it is one of the most valuable things a writer can learn to do. I have a reviewer who constantly points out mistakes, or places that she feels don't work or are weak in my stories. She doesn't beat around the bush about what she feels is wrong, but isn't rude about it. I absolutely adore her for it and have come to look forward to her reviews almost more than anyone else's.

Lastly, on the matter of Betas, I have little experience of them, for I often use non-standard grammer along with standard grammer and I (and perhaps other writers) am sceptical concerning whether a Beta would be able to tell the difference (correct me if I'm wrong)

I think this depends on the beta and the story. I beta for someone whose native tongue isn't English. If I see certain non-standard mistakes, I'll point them out. But sometimes I'll encourage her to write in a way that isn't so rigidly correct. I think it really depends on the tone of the story and, I think, whose point of view it's from. If the narrator of the story is, for example, a street thug and it's written in first person, there's no way I would expect it to be written in a Jane Austen tone - I would expect slang, cursing, and a lot of improper English.