Flames

[BlindedxxFalcon]

I'm just wondering...Why would anyone bother to flame a story? What is the point? I mean, if it's a long first chapter in a story, I read about half of it. That's all I have to do to decide if I like it or not...Sometimes I read the reviews of the first chapter to see what other people think, but basically my question is: Why do people flame?

[st.elmo-lover]

I have to quickly admit that I LOVE harsh criticism. It helps me a lot and it lets me know if the story I am writing isn't going in a good direction. And I take it more seriously.

As for flames, I don't now why someone would take the time. A FLAME isn't really a well thought out comment on a person's story. It's basically a put down. Not to mention, it doesn't help the author at all in finding out what's wrong with their story or what they need to change to make improvement.

[fairlane]

I agree with what Mars said. I would never flame a story, and I almost never leave harsh criticism simply because I don't have the time and interest to read stories that need that much work.

I did once leave a blunt review on a story that needed a heap of work. This is when I first started reading fanfiction and was more open to reading pretty much anything. The next chapter they put up, all the suggestions I had given them - mostly to do with grammer and formatting (oh and author notes in the story, a huge pet peeve of mine!)- had been taken, so that was pretty cool and its a pity theres not more of that sort of thing on that site.

[zevie]

I love criticisms, but, if I'm totally honest, I'd rather the really harsh stuff come from people I know and respect. From those people, I'd take whatever they'd give me, lol. If it's someone random, I'd probably fume, swear they don't know what they're talking about, and then grudgingly accept that they were right (if it really *was* good advice, that is). But, if this anonymous reviewer says something like: "This story has some good points..." at the beginning, or ends with something like: "If you fix these things, it'd be a decent work" or throws in a comment about something that was okay, then the acceptance/re-write process goes ten million times faster. For me. Not terribly proud of this, but I guess it's the truth. SO, my point is, if I'm going to tear apart a person's story, I will usually find something nice to say as well, unless I know the person, and know that they can take the harsh stuff. Cuz I'm a wimp, lol.

[Tensleep]

Again, Zevie and I share the same seintiments. I won't flame, but I will leave strong criticism when needed. Its just so much more...grown up.

For more on this, pop up to The Difference Between Flames and Constructive Crticism post under "Let's be constructie, shall we?" category.


wsotta.proboards47.com/index.cgi?board=constructivecritism&action=display&thread=1177567611

[booklover94]

I know no one's commented on this a long time, but I'm new to this forum and was kind of just looking around a bit and read this, and I just want to put forward an opinion on this.
I like harsh constructive criticism if it truly helps my story, but what I really don't like is when someone gives an opinion of my story in a trashy way. That sounds confusing so I'll try to explain what I mean:
An example would be if someone said maybe a name was poorly chosen, or if someone (not just me) writes a story with an original character in it, and a review says that that particular character (for the purposes of this example, say a sister of Two-Bit) doesn't have the personality of a sister of Two-Bit... something along the lines of the sister wouldn't fit in with Two-Bit's family. It bothers me because sometimes when someone is writing a story like that, that's the point, is to have that character stand out, not completely fit in.
Also, when a story is written in first point of view, I hate when people criticize the characterization of a character that's viewed a specific way by whomever's point of view is being used. Like, in Outsiders, Ponyboy's perception of Darry and Soda and Steve and the rest of the gang may not be exactly who those people are, just how he sees them. So when a story is written in a certain point of view, the view that character has of another probably ISN'T correct. So it bothers me when someone says the characterization of another character is wrong.
Basically, I'm fine with it if someone disagree's with my perception of a certain story, but if they completely trash my story based on opinion, such has that's not how they thought of a certain character. It's fine if they have that opinion, but I don't like having a story of mine trashed because of that.
Sorry that was so long, and probably confusing, and I repeated myself a lot, I just kind of wanted to put that out there.

[timshepardsgurl]

I used to find harsh reviews very offensive, I was hardheaded and never listened. Now, looking back over the last couple of years, I now realize people were only trying to help.

So, now, I would love it if someone were to at least give me harsh criticism or flame.