The 'I am the best' attitude

[missmouse]

Has anyone ever ran into one of these?

Newbies, for the most part, who write complete garbage (MarySue falls into the past and watches as all the Outsiders get it on... with one another, or one of the members of the gang sneak out every night to make love to another members non-existant sister (who just happens to be exactly like the author... etc.)) and think that they are *the* person, *the* writer, *the* most wonderful, terrific author of the century. They are certain that they are only one step behind JKR and Stephanie Meyer.

You give them concrit, and rather than considering what you've said, they reply to you, calling you all kinds of names and calling your story 'suxky crapp!' and call you a 'rly meen jerk!' before ending, claiming that you are being so mean because you're just jealous of their tremendous writing skills. They frequently will say "UR TEH NOOB!" even though you've been there for years and have over 20 completed stories, while they joined three days prior and have a 200 word chapter of one story.

Occasionally, you'll even get a mention on their next update! "2 al u flamerz, SKREW AWF UR STORIEZ SUCK!"

While I find these people hilarious, I also have to feel bad for them. Do they seriously think that they are amazing, or are they just doing that to see how many bad reviews they can get? I kind of pity them- one day they'll wake up and reality will slap them in the face. I never know whether to reply and rip their 'replies' apart one piece at a time to try to get them to see how insane they look, or to smile, nod, and let it go.

Do you run into these people often? How do you deal with them?

[Tensleep]

Ah, you see the reason I stopped reviewing. It seemed like every new writer I came across had this "writing god" complex and I just got tired of reading it over and over again. I just didn't get it - if the writer is so fantastic, why are they writing fan fiction? And again, if the writer was that high up, why all the mistakes, lack of decent plot, and total OOC characters? And you know, when I started, I was terrified no one would like my writing. I was quite humble, rather than so cocky no one could stand me. Oh, how things have changed.

But I'm getting away from myself already. I did at first work to give constructive feed back in my reviews, only to have it either ignored or to receive lovely replies like you mentioned. Fortunately, there were no review replies back then, so they were always PM'd or e-mailed or inserted right into the opening paragraph of the story - annoyingly so.

My theory behind this is response is that it is a defense mechanism, you know? Until they build up a shell to criticism, until they can get over themselves, this is what they do. And I get it. It's easier to be on the offensive in your own defense. And they are hilarious in their immaturity.
But - and saying this makes me feel so old, which I suppose I am, seeing as there were only like 100 stories in the Outsiders section when I started reading/writing - I got tired of it of all the newbies and their complete rejection of everything that the older writers worked at - constructive criticism, warm reviews, developed friendships, writing partnerships, and even going as far as to share original characters. Now, the writers just can't learn. I'm not saying it's all of the newbies, but it is such a common occurrence now.

So to answer your question, I have separated myself enough so that I do not run into these people often. It's a little lonely, a lot disconnected, but I guess it happens to all dinosaurs . I still get reviews that are "OMG!@!$#%!!!!!! plz up8 snnnn!" *goes to find an ice pack* Aside from that, I can remember some criticism I handled wrongly when I started out, but I like to think I learned from it and that maybe so will these people after they clue into the fact that this is not how you make friends and influence people.

How I deal with it now is by ignoring it. I translate the netspeak, appreciate the effort it takes to be so incorrect in spelling, and move on. But I just don't review anymore. When I feel I should, I look at the reviews given so far and see if any of the previous comments have been taken into consideration. If not, I know nothing I say will be absorbed, and I just pass on. But if by some chance the writer seems to learn from the reviews, then there's where I'll make comments.

I guess I also feel sorry for these people, but at the same time, I can't say too much, since I don't tend to read from the section anymore. I guess I've been Mary Sue'd, netspeaked, and cheesy romanced out after all these years. Sad, but true .

Hopefully you won't give up on it - reviewing is a lost art these days! - but don't put up with the abuse either. Be smart about who you try to help and hopefully your words will matter! Good luck!

[Nittanylizard]

I think Tens has it nailed - even if the writer doesn't think they're all that good, their first response to the sting of criticism might be to get defensive. This seems to happen even more if they have one or more real-life, or online, friends who are also on ffnet supporting them.

I mostly review the stories and authors I'm already familiar with because I'm so busy, I'm usually behind on even those. But sometimes, I pick through and find a new author who has just started a story and could use some feedback. So far, I've only gotten either no response, or a reply/PM saying thanks for the help.

There are some newer writers out there who just get angry with anybody who gives them concrit, while I think with others, the reaction is related to the tone of the review. Even established writers have to brace themselves for criticism, so I think that when you're just starting and you don't know all the rules of writing (I certainly didn't when I started ), and then somebody reviews as if they are personally insulted that you made mistakes or are still at an early stage on the learning curve of writing, you might get upset enough to tell the reviewer they're a poopy head. ;D Yeah, I'm not around kids all that much.

So getting back to the question, I haven't personally had any writers get nasty with me, but I know what you're talking about. And believe it or not, there are adults who get the same way when agents reject their projects or proposals, so I'm sure there are people out there who will just never improve because they are unable to separate criticism of their story from criticism of themselves. Mostly, though, I think it just takes a little time and maturity to be able to look at your writing more objectively and accept criticism.

[missmouse]

That's some pretty good insight you guys have into new writers minds, lol. I guess because we've all been new writers, we can put ourselves in their heads, but since they've never been, er, more mature writers, they can't be expected to understand the frusteration that people experience at seeing their 'stories'.

I hardly ever review stories with typos, you know, or where you can tell that they're really young. I think maybe age has a bit to do with the reaction (although like Nittanylizard said, some adults get king of irate too)... You know, in your teens you're so insecure with yourself already!

Once, not too long ago, I reviewed a story (really bad story), pointing out what she was doing wrong, and I was really happy when she replied thanking me and saying that she'd work on the things that I pointed out in the future because I was the only one who had taken the time to tell her what she was doing wrong. Of course, she didn't actually change anything, but maybe with future stories she'll think 'Hm, I got a review once recommending that I not use my name for my OC's!' I guess you just never know!

[Keira]

I haven't read or reviewed in a while, but when I first started out I tried to review everything I read, whether or not I left any critiques. Anymore, though, it's pretty easy to pick out the writers who can handle critiques and who you would be wasting your time on (and possibly ruining their fragile pre-teen self-esteem). For these kids - I'm 100% certain that no review is better than a "helpful" review.

Let the others at their level praise them. It's not hurting anyone.

As for receiving awful reviews - I used to laugh them off. Sometimes they stung, but who cares? Often times, people who are TRYING to be nice, and fail, aren't trying to hurt your feelings. If they ARE trying to hurt your feelings - they aren't worth paying attention to. I know, it's easier said than done, but you can't please everyone. Not even JKR pleases everyone and she's the most successful author there has ever been. Well, at least in the modern day monetary sense, lol. Shakespeare MIGHT be up there with her