I recently received a dm saying that I had bland description a that I am unoriginal and my novel is not good and that I will have no success, and that I have no potential and that I should stay as a reader and quit writing, as well as that my writing dry and arid
And for some reason I broke out in tears, I am sorry for asking this for no one I ask through other means usually answer me , I am trying my best and as well as trying. My best at my novels
How do I take criticism,
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Well, we can understand your despair, because some of us received the same, or even, worse, criticism.
But well, it's life. Even in other fields, everything we expose ourselves to criticism, it's what we got. Criticism. Be it praises or not, we can't always expect life to be kind.
In fact, this 'DM' may be right. But it shouldn't be taken as if stones were thrown at you. Sorry I fail to understand how you got a DM since Webnovel doesn't have this feature and the only novel with your name has no means of contact like an IG account.
Yeah, I went the trouble to look for your new novel. Nice cover.
You didn't put a synopsis on it.
I'm sure you have a hard road of improvement ahead of you. Like most of us do. Like I do. But you posted less than ten chapters and have a single comment. It's a start, dude. It's a start.
Even if it's not too encouraging, you will get a better result every time you write.
You can do a lot of editing in your first chapters, make a synopsis to attract readers, and keep improving your writing. There's a lot of places with free tips for writers.
Anyway, good luck!
Workaholics_inc damn, that's f*cked up
I recommend you to take a walk outside and observe your surroundings, like some form of meditation/relaxation or even search YouTube for tips
Criticism of writing, alongside all other forms of art, I'm sure, tends to cut quite close to the bone. Art is personal, and in some sense, an expression of who you are or would like to be. Firstly, allow me to preface the rest of this reply with something: You are doing a thing most writers find immensely daunting and arduous. Constructive criticism will help you grow and improve your writing. You shouldn't stop learning new things about writing at all in your life--at least not if it's something you wish to pursue. While the descriptions you curate might be bland, you can fix this through practice and feedback. Nobody knows if you'll have success or not. I assure you, however, that you won't find success if you don't put yourself out there. You won't achieve any of the great things you want without experiencing turmoil and distress. As for potential, any seed can blossom into a meaningful, vibrant plant so long as it's given the proper resources and environment to flourish. I suppose what I'm trying to tell you is that writing isn't something you ever become "good," at. You only get better at it. I'm still new to writing as well, and in my limited experience, people who say you should quit are bitter and resentful about themselves deep down. The fact that you're trying, continuously putting effort into the long, taxing journey that is art, is enough to drive plenty of people up the wall. I've never seen your writing, thus I'm not quite comfortable in assessing your current stage. Perhaps part of what they said was true. I don't know. What I do know, with absolute certainty, is that if writing is something you yearn to do, keep putting it out there. The strongest steel is forged by the hottest fires. Likewise, the greatest writers are tempered by the harsh spiels of individuals who have fallen short of their hopes and dreams, all due to a lack of persistence and hard work. Again, if you want to get better, keep writing. It's a constant battle, friend, but with enough effort you'll succeed.
Criticism exist everywhere, even for the greatest novel of all time. Instead of listening to people who straight up insult/yell at you without any logical reason, you can simply ignore them.
Constructive criticism is what you should care about as they took the time to read the novel and points out your pros and cons while giving advice on where to improve.
I have received a harsh criticism when I started writing my novel and I didn't broke out in tear. I rebuke him with logic and reasoning because he was illogical and just want to push new writer down. These people are simply jealous because besides giving negative comment with zero reason, they have nothing else to do.
Hmm... Something's off here. I'd suggest a closer look, nothing else. No need to reply, I rarely visit this place. All the best.
It's something that never stops hurting, but you get to the point where you're able to ignore the pain.
As a writer, no matter how much we try, no matter how much we pour our hearts into our writing, there will always be people who tell us it's bad.
Does that mean it's bad? I got no idea. If going off other people's ratings was what led me to think that my writing is good or bad, I wouldn't have written so much. There have been times where I was reading my own novel to edit it where I cried. There have been times where I've laughed so hard I've fallen over. There have been times where I've been shivering at how epic it was.
If my own writing can make me feel something like that, then how on earth could it be bad? Even if there are many people who tell me it is, I honestly think they're just full of shit.
Who knows? Maybe I'm just an egomaniac who is lost in his own delusions, and my writing is the garbage of the garbage. But even so, the fact that I enjoy it remains.
And to you my friend, I will tell you this.
Strive to improve. I've considered heavily all the criticism that comes my way, and I find that I put so much more though into.... every little detail. There are so many more things I consider now when I write than when I first started because of how many things I've learned. To be good at writing, I think, comes with experience and failure.
But so long as you are learning and improving, don't ever let anyone tell you that your writing is bad. I've seen things which have made me depressed, like stories that are written by people who can barely speak English and a whole bunch of readers being supportive and helpful, encouraging the writer when the only comments on my story are "Badly written" and "Quit here"
But such is life.
To cry at some criticism over something you poured yourself into, I think this is natural. There have been times where I've wanted to smash my fist into a wall when someone tells me that my story was bad or uninteresting.
However, as I said before, as long as we continue to improve we will get better and maybe those haters will one day be outshone by the number of supporters. I've gained a number of supporters after a very long time of writing, and I've come to realize that many people who read and enjoy are actually just silent about it. Many who complain are just the loud majority. As much as I wish that this silent majority would speak up, this is the internet. People will do as they wish.
Workaholics_inc I literally got told by a reader that my story and characters are shitty, and he bluntly told me that I should never write again.
I considered taking his advice because, quite frankly, he is correct. I am an awful writer who will never amount to anything. After being insulted and smacked about verbally so many times, I am very tempted to just give up. It makes me think that investing all this time and effort to write is not worth it at all.
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These comments can evoke emotion. Especially when you're a new writer. It's hard not to feel the joy sucked out of you when a comment like this one is in your face.
On the positive, a human felt passionate enough about your story to post such comment. Whilst it's a hard one to take now, it's actual feedback to work from once you can read it objectively.
This comment is the start to an author's path. Being a writer and author is a hard journey for the soul. It's a passion that demands a lot and will require a strong will. Especially when there could be little to gain. For most writers like myself, little is gained outside of the joys of sharing a story.
To be honest, the worst comment is nothing given at all. No writer can develop well from silent feedback.
So, know that you're not alone. Every well-known writer has received their fair share of comment war scars like these.
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Workaholics_inc Adding to my earlier post. If you truly want to give up, take his advice.
If you're wanting to keep writing. Keep writing, and know that there will always be people who'll see what you're lacking in the content that you've shared.
Sometimes the expressed feedback on what you lack can help your development towards being a good writer.
Always honestly see what is of value for your growth. Forget the rest that's whimsical noise.
In 2019 Jan, I was so motivated to write a novel that I start publishing without even know what is Plot called and what is an outline. I posted 19 chapters on that novel.
at that time I thought, I am writing fking great until someone comment on that.
he told me I am a horrid writer, my grammar, punctuation, spelling are trash.
it felt so bad at that time, just a single comment, and only comment. I stopped writing for a whole year, can't even write a simple essay or reports.
until at the beginning of 2020, I found myself jobless, having no money can teach you some valuable lessons. I again looked up to my desire to write, and start researching, reading blogs, buying how to write books, joining the community, talking to like-minded people.
I start my own blog, write scripts for videos, learn to animate, hone my drawing skills. I am honor to say that now I am living a very satisfying life with a good income and helping people through my services.
Everybody starts a zero, A journey to thousands of miles starts with a single step.
They mocked you for your better, embrace your weakness and work on your weak points.
nobody is there outside who can say "I never failed, never being mocked, never suffer"
If you have the passion to write, be ready to suffer.
I loved webnovels so much that at that time I start publishing without even knowing what the heck is PLOT is, lol
Writing your thoughts, bringing life to just a character, creating a whole new world- it's a wonderful feeling.
If I still stay the same after that one comment and stopped writing forever. maybe I didn't saw what can I do with writing.
It's up to you to decide what you wanna do, still gonna write, or you put a full stop.
It's up to you to decide if you wanna correct your shortcoming and grow.
SUCCESS IS NOT FINAL, FAILURE IS NOT FATAL: IT IS THE COURAGE TO CONTINUE THAT COUNTS.
Show a middle finger to all haters and write, write and write!
Keep writing; practice makes perfect!
I find that criticism and setbacks requires the right perspective. For example it may hurt your feelings if someone says disparaging things about your work. However if they are correct then it is actually a blessing in disguise if it makes you reflect and improve. If you are doing something wrong you definitely want to know as soon as possible so you don't walk further down the wrong path.
I'll also add that in my opinion talent is overrated as a concept. The really important thing is time and effort. It's not for nothing Edison said "Genius is 1 Percent Inspiration and 99 Percent Perspiration" so if you're willing to put time and effort to master the technique rest will come easily.
If giving advice I'd defer to Picasso who said “Lesser artists borrow; great artists steal”. So basically by that it means you should find authors who you consider to be good, find what you think is good about their works and incorporate it into your own writing style.
I'll also add that success can also be down to luck. For example if you see novels like Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey they aren't particularly well written or deep but as authors got lucky they made a fortune. However they did still put in the effort, gave it their all and were rewarded for it while if they instead thought they were no good as a writer and didn't bother then they would have never succeeded.
Cry? Now that is a bit of an extreme reaction, isn't it? To succeed you need to be strong and prepare for critics. Being all positive and overconfident in expectations can lead you to be disappointed.
notlair dude you made my day
You shouldn't take anything so strongly to heart, especially when you are just beginning. Practice, practice, practice. When it comes to writing everyone has a bad start, but it is important to keep at it. And read a lot as well, taking note of what style you like. You will definitely improve.
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Workaholics_inc I can really empathize with you. Back when I wrote my very first novel on this site my novel got flooded with flamers who told me that my protagonist is a "beta" and that he wasn't even good enough to be a side character. One of my readers even threatened me! I still remember the pain of waiting for the first comment on my chapter only for it to be some kind of complaint. I really had put a lot of effort into my novel and I started thinking that I really am not good at writing and if I really should stop writing. However, instead of giving up writing as a whole I just stopped writing my novel and decided to polish my writing skill and one day rewrite it. A lot of time has passed since then and I have become a lot better at writing. I also had lots of time to think about the bad comments who were haunting me like a ghost, and I came to the conclusion that...they all were idiots. After thinking about it for a long time, I started noticing that their comments were not fueled by a desire to help me but by their own insecurities and immature beliefs. None of their complaints were helpful or objective in any way and were only there to put me down or to start arguments. All of them complained yet none of them were able to point out the real flaws my novel had. Everyone complained how "unmanly" my protagonist was because he broke out into tears, but none of them were able to tell me that my pacing was WAY too slow or that my summary and cover were incredibly misleading. What I want to say is that you shouldn't be worried about one reader who is being incredibly rude and vague with his criticism and just tell him to piss off. That reader attacked you as a person and if he shows no respect toward you or your writing why should you respect him or that what he writes? Constructive criticism should never be rude to a writer or his work and should try to be as objective as possible. I hope that I was able to help.
Leporidere my novel got flooded with flamers who told me that my protagonist is a "beta" and that he wasn't even good enough to be a side character. One of my readers even threatened me!
I got the exact same experience. Someone swore to hunt me down, claiming that he can track my physical address through my IP address, and will murder me if I continue writing my shitty story. Also, I don't get this whole "beta" thing. Just because my protagonist is humble and avoids conflicts, he's suddenly a...beta. Whatever that means.
Well, I have people define the term to me before, but I find it...dumb.