Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-29742724-20160824150548/@comment-28266772-20160825201437

Professoryackle wrote:

I have to say, following your reply, that I feel like slinking off with my tail between my legs and not ever posting here again. So, way to go on the encouragement front. I am sorry you feel this way. Rereading your story I see what you're going for, and I recommend trying again. I can offer a more detailed response tomorrow where I provide specific suggestions. Typically I will annotate a story, but I was stuck for time today. You shouldn't let this negative critique go against you, you just need to try again and read a lot. I have been writing on and off for around twelve years, but I haven't really produced anything worth reading until the last year or so when I came back with some gusto. Persistence is a necessary quality for a writer. Perhaps my biggest suggestion from here on in is to say that you should re-read your story and look out for the awkward wording, and try to be clear. A valuable set of tips I link to again and again are the writing tips of Kurt Vonnegut, who more than anything recommends a no-nonsense approach where things are as clear as possible. I don't just recommend them out of personal taste either, it's a lesson for most budding writers that they should keep things simple, and manageable, until they are more skilled. After all you don't give a pianist The Flight of the Bumblebee on their first lesson. Similarly new writers should be careful when trying out complicated stream-of-consciousness styles.

By no means are Vonnegut's suggestions concrete rules to follow, some of them I even disagree with. But his underlying message of not wasting your readers' time is a critical lesson to hold onto. Either way you will find that if you do post, you will receive a lot of harsh criticism. You can look at any of the suggested reading and scroll down and see a plethora of negative comments that can range from mindless dislike to seething hatred for no real reason at all. Also it's really not my job to encourage you. That's up to you, and there's a reason writers go hand in hand with alcohol and depression, and it's because it's one long string of disappointments. Like I said, persistence is key.

Finally, I have been on here since April. I am a new user, to a degree, but I'm very active. You can look at my profile to get a deeper sense of my contributions, but to sum it up simply I'm active everyday with an emphasis on the workshop and my stories are usually well received. I have won Pasta of the Month, and you will see my talk page has a fair share of review requests because my advice is valued. I am not a fantastic writer, but I consider myself competent. I have worked tirelessly and I know enough about writing badly to have some insight on the matter.

If you would like you can also message any one of the admins for feedback (while they are busy this does not mean they'll bite). Or if you'd rather, I can come back tomorrow and offer more in-depth feedback?