Negative opinions of nice writers

[ireactions]

There is a certain, rather prolific writer who seems to find work in just about every media-tie in range I ever come across. S/he's written novels for almost every sci-fi fantasy TV show I've ever wanted to read books in. And s/he is, quite probably, one of the poorest writers I've ever come across. His/her language is dull and clunky. His/her descriptions come across as the directions one might find in a shooting script rather than words that present the atmosphere, tone, pacing and dynamics of the scenes. His/her dialogue is so indistinct and dull that when it isn't attributed to a character, I have to stop and think to figure out who's talking. This is a writer who can't describe a driver starting a car without finding some way to screw it up.

And yet, this writer is just an incredibly nice person. Pleasant, polite, approachable, humble, thoughtful, etc.. I feel a rising sense of panic at this writer's constantly rising output, which, at its current rate of increase, will make him/her responsible for 60% of new English literature by 2012. This writer's name is constantly on the books that are based on serieses I was kind of hoping to see some decent books from.

And I can't say a thing. Because s/he is just too nice.

How do you critique work you absolutely loathe when the person responsible is rather lovely? What's the procedure?

- Ibrahim Ng

 

[KRAD]

^ Simple. Critique the work. That's fair game. As long as the criticism is polite and backed up (e.g., explaining why something didn't work, not just that it didn't), and focuses solely on the text, it's really not a problem. As long as it isn't personal, all should be well.

Speaking only for myself: I got started in this business in 1989 writing reviews, and I wrote plenty of negative ones. Now that I'm on the other side of the fence, it'd be the height of churlishness to complain when I get the same treatment.

 

[Lonemagpie]

How do you critique work you absolutely loathe when the person responsible is rather lovely? What's the procedure?

- Ibrahim Ng

The same way you should critique when you *don't* know what the person's like:
Constructive criticism - "This prose doesn't convey the ideas well, the killer's identity is telegraphed far too early, there's too much info-dumping/technobabble/etc that could be scaled back."

As opposed to "This guy sucks, he should be banned from the series!" etc

I'm just hoping it's not me,* but then I've only done novels in two TV franchises and am expanding more into comics than other tie-in novels, so the description doesn't quite fit...

(*- for the benefit of anyone else, I'm not suddenly convinced I'm the centre of the universe, just recognise the OP from the Outpost Gallifrey Doctor Who Forum, which is the other forum I frequent every day!)

 

[Therin of Andor]

And yet, this writer is just an incredibly nice person. Pleasant, polite, approachable, humble, thoughtful, etc.

Two thoughts...

Most readers never get the chance to discover that an author is, in reality, a "pleasant, polite, approachable, humble, thoughtful" person. Most readers make their value judgments/assumptions through the work only, perhaps supplemented by a print interview or an "About the author" blurb. Don't let your personal contact affect your reviews.

Your reactions to their work are simply your reactions/opinions, and you're allowed to have them. We don't have to agree with you. Indeed, if the author is managing to be so prolific/successful as to being represented in a wide cross-section of genres, and thus manages to please a range of publishers and editors with the frequency and quality (and sales) of their output, then perhaps it's you in the minority as to their work's quality. But if you write a well-defended, constructive review that is controversial, that's fine.

 

[Strider]

Okay come on who is it?

 

[Lorraine Anderson]

On the other hand, if this person is constantly being published, then there must be something there that editors see.

(And I wish they would see it in my work!)

edit: Oh. Therin already said that... Note to self... read answers thoroughly...

 

[Adam Holmberg]

I agreed with all of the above...and it's funny KRAD responded because I once emailed him to let him know, overall, I love his work, but I had to tell him that his novel Dragon Precinct disappointed me over all...and I had really been looking forward to reading it. He sent a nice email response back, and I continue to admire his work.

As KRAD said...talk about the work, not the writer. Unless that writer is your next door neighbor and shot your dog for peeing on his rose bushes...your discussion shouldn't even concern them either. Any work of art should be like that. If you know something about the writer (ie F. Scott Fitzgerald's alcoholism) that may affect the work, I suppose that is fair game to consider, if that colors or impacts the quality of the work.

If - and I hope you don't mind me using you Keith - KRAD can't take, for example, me coming along and saying "KRAD, I hated Q&A, your handling of the Q character was nothing like the character from the show, your characterization of the new counselor didn't match JM Dillard's, and I think you use too damn many commas" (and by the way...I haven't yet read the whole book yet...but this does NOT reflect how I feel about it at all), then he's really in the wrong business, or he shouldn't read his reviews. Your review of the work should have nothing to do with how the writer may take it.

 

[KRAD]

Heck, my favorite review of my work is from Amazon: "This book sucks, and I'm embarrassed to own it." This was regarding my World of Warcraft novel (which, BTW, is the novel of mine that's sold the best; go fig').

Anyhow, I like negative reviews. They keep me humble. It's way too easy to buy into the praise and believe you walk on water. It's good to recall how much room for improvement there can always be.

 

[Lonemagpie]

My favourite review of mine was for an audio rather than a book= "This is a crap sequel exactly like how Empire Strikes Back is a crap sequel..."

And no, no irony was intended!

 

[William Leisner]

I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the idea of a nice writer. In my experience, they're all incredible bastards.

Yes, I'm looking at you, Pearson.

 

[Rush Limborg]

Anyhow, I like negative reviews. They keep me humble. It's way too easy to buy into the praise and believe you walk on water. It's good to recall how much room for improvement there can always be.

Yeah, I agree, KRAD. The one kind of "cricicism" I despise the most...is false praise.

Close second...pesonal attacks.

Bottom line, as KRAD says, critique the work.

DON'T attack the writer. And DON'T say something vague like "This book is ."

Say exactly what is wrong with the book, and frankly, the writers will love you for it.

 

[PaulSimpson]

Say exactly what is wrong with the book, and frankly, the writers will love you for it.

I think that might be going a bit far! At the end of the day, anyone who's been in this game (fiction or non fiction)for any length of time has a pretty good idea of how good a particular piece is, compared with their other work. (And an editor will always tell you if you don't know yourself!)

Whenever I've edited, I've always applied a rule of thumb that says that constructive criticism is ok - if it's backed up with good arguments. And most writers will not respond with "well if you think you're so much better, do it yourself!" (although there are a few...!)

Paul

 

[kissthestar]

Nobody likes negative criticism. Good luck with that.

 

[Dayton Ward]

^ You could just be like me, and not care.

 

[FalTorPan]

Heck, my favorite review of my work is from Amazon: "This book sucks, and I'm embarrassed to own it." This was regarding my World of Warcraft novel (which, BTW, is the novel of mine that's sold the best; go fig').

Anyhow, I like negative reviews. They keep me humble. It's way too easy to buy into the praise and believe you walk on water. It's good to recall how much room for improvement there can always be.

This post sucks, and I'm embarrassed to have read it.

Just kidding. Couldn't resist.

 

[Jim Johnson]

^ You could just be like me, and not care.

This.

Though I will say one of the more entertaining reviews I've received was: "An OK story, but a little pointless."

What else can you do but smile and keep writing.

 

[T'Bonz]

On the other hand, if this person is constantly being published, then there must be something there that editors see.

Someone can be a good writer, yet still write stories that some fans won't like. Personal taste and preference comes in here. Some prolific authors (not sci-fi genre, speaking of mainstream fiction here,) make me wince when I see their names on a book cover.

This isn't the case with what the OP here is saying here, but if the author is selling books and doing well, the writing must be at least adequate, if not well above-average. I've seen some bad writing in contest anthologies, but when it comes to books with sole authors, the mechanics are all there.

 

[FalTorPan]

Does this also apply to comic book artists?

 

[TerriO]

You can't please everyone all of the time, no matter how much you may want to try. There's always going to be someone who thinks you suck like a supermassive black hole on steroids and they could out-write you with only a dictation machine (been there, done that, on both sides). But that person just may have some insight into a vital point about the process that you've been missing all along, and it may be the key to changing something in your writing, if you can see their point and assimilate it into your thought process.

Negative opinions are educational, IMO. I pay very close attention to those when I see them. Having someone tell you you're wonderful all the time really doesn't do anything more than give your ego an extra stroke. And as someone whose job it is to keep KRAD's ego in check, you can imagine my workload just dealing with him.....

Having someone telling you you're wonderful all the time and explaining the reasoning behind the opinion? Much better, IMO. Same goes for negative reviews. Give me a review I can learn from, not one that's just an egoboo. If I'm doing something right, tell me what I'm doing right. If I'm doing something wrong, tell me what I'm doing wrong. In both instances, knowing helps me going forward.

And I'm all about the constant learning thing.

 

[TGTheodore]

Nobody likes negative criticism. Good luck with that.

You think Judd Apatow doesn't love it when "stuffy old adult" critics knock his films, since it acts as a seal of approval for his younger target audience?

Lousy reviews can be turned into gold in many instances.

As for learning from negative opinions, I agree -- but only when they're informed opinions (as frequently mentioned above). "I hated Q & A because of its overuse of elephants" is not an informed opinion.

Although a few elephants might have been cool ...

--Ted