An Introductory Look Into the Dangerous World of Criticism
May 27, 2014 3:45:32 GMT
melcaroni likes this
Post by Bun Bo Hughes on May 27, 2014 3:45:32 GMT
An Introductory Look Into the Dangerous World of Criticism
A tale of a writer who wanted advice.
This killed him.
This killed him.
Chapter Zero : Introductions
Welcome, foolish mortal. If you are reading this, I am to assume that you are of the writing persuasion and are currently seeking out another's opinion in order to improve your ability. Congratulations, you found the primary purpose of this entire forum. I am so proud of you. You really have demonstrated a versatile ability in the creation of wise ideas and good intentions. I do hope you feel that you are improving right now, because you are wrong and you could at least remain optimistic. I have been tasked with criticizing what you consider your "works of art" and teaching you how to be better. I received this assignment because God hates me because I once cheated in a game of poker with him and HE WILL NEVER LET THAT GO! GET OVER YOURSELF, GOD! IT'S NOT LIKE YOUR SOME DIVINE DEITY HERE! *ahem* So stick with me as we work our way through this potentially life-ending road of self-worth destruction and dream crushing agony.
Chapter One : So You Want to Not Die?
As said in the opening, one needs to be careful when following a writer's path in life as this is one of the most life-threatening decisions one can make in life - right in front of choosing to breathe, and right behind choosing not to breathe. Yet most lifeforms can come together to agree on one simple declaration - death sucks. No one likes it. People pretend to like it, holding parties and celebrations over it,, but that's just them trying not to hurt Death's feelings. Death is a very sensitive young woman who only wants to be one of the cool kids. She's actually a very kind, gentle soul who volunteers for animal shelters on the weekends, and is currently trying to build a new shelter for the homeless of her city. It is just unfortunate that those who live in her city are all dead, and therefore, require no homes. So let's try not to die, shall we? When you're a writer, you can practice not dying by following these simple steps.
Welcome, foolish mortal. If you are reading this, I am to assume that you are of the writing persuasion and are currently seeking out another's opinion in order to improve your ability. Congratulations, you found the primary purpose of this entire forum. I am so proud of you. You really have demonstrated a versatile ability in the creation of wise ideas and good intentions. I do hope you feel that you are improving right now, because you are wrong and you could at least remain optimistic. I have been tasked with criticizing what you consider your "works of art" and teaching you how to be better. I received this assignment because God hates me because I once cheated in a game of poker with him and HE WILL NEVER LET THAT GO! GET OVER YOURSELF, GOD! IT'S NOT LIKE YOUR SOME DIVINE DEITY HERE! *ahem* So stick with me as we work our way through this potentially life-ending road of self-worth destruction and dream crushing agony.
Chapter One : So You Want to Not Die?
As said in the opening, one needs to be careful when following a writer's path in life as this is one of the most life-threatening decisions one can make in life - right in front of choosing to breathe, and right behind choosing not to breathe. Yet most lifeforms can come together to agree on one simple declaration - death sucks. No one likes it. People pretend to like it, holding parties and celebrations over it,, but that's just them trying not to hurt Death's feelings. Death is a very sensitive young woman who only wants to be one of the cool kids. She's actually a very kind, gentle soul who volunteers for animal shelters on the weekends, and is currently trying to build a new shelter for the homeless of her city. It is just unfortunate that those who live in her city are all dead, and therefore, require no homes. So let's try not to die, shall we? When you're a writer, you can practice not dying by following these simple steps.
The Writer's Rulebook for Getting Shit Done Without Dying
Step One: Write something
Step Two: Don't die while fulfilling step one
Step Three: Repeat
Step Two: Don't die while fulfilling step one
Step Three: Repeat
It's actually very simple when you break it down like that, no? Now mind you, I'm not going to direct you through the writing process because that's not what this is about. Every writer has their own way of getting to an ultimate point of mediocrity that no one can avoid. So follow your unique way of getting to being a waste of human flesh and get something finished. That's when the fun part of this dangerous journey begins.
Chapter Two: Wait, You Actually Want People to Read Your Work???
Wait, you actually want people to read your work? Are you insane? That's what this forum was designed around, why would you ever follow the original concept on something? And on such a dangerous concept such as letting other people judge your work! Receiving criticism is the number three killer of aspiring artists, world-wide! Number two is the job market and number one is, of course, rabid gerbils. No one expects a rabid gerbil to be the one to kill them. No one. Receiving criticism is a sure fire way to get people criticizing your work, and as all writers know, having people tell you how to improve means that you could improve. Be able to improve means that you're not doing good enough now. Not doing good enough now means your family and friends will hate you, disown you, burn everything you care about and you will die a slow, painful heat death of shame over your inferiority to whoever your literary idol is. My idol is George Lucas, as admiring him means that I will never die that death of shame, thereby making me immortal. It's a good loophole, and one that you can never learn.
But let's say that you decide to take this chance and risk your life for the mild possibility at getting better at putting words next to each other. How do you do that, exactly?
Chapter Two: Wait, You Actually Want People to Read Your Work???
Wait, you actually want people to read your work? Are you insane? That's what this forum was designed around, why would you ever follow the original concept on something? And on such a dangerous concept such as letting other people judge your work! Receiving criticism is the number three killer of aspiring artists, world-wide! Number two is the job market and number one is, of course, rabid gerbils. No one expects a rabid gerbil to be the one to kill them. No one. Receiving criticism is a sure fire way to get people criticizing your work, and as all writers know, having people tell you how to improve means that you could improve. Be able to improve means that you're not doing good enough now. Not doing good enough now means your family and friends will hate you, disown you, burn everything you care about and you will die a slow, painful heat death of shame over your inferiority to whoever your literary idol is. My idol is George Lucas, as admiring him means that I will never die that death of shame, thereby making me immortal. It's a good loophole, and one that you can never learn.
But let's say that you decide to take this chance and risk your life for the mild possibility at getting better at putting words next to each other. How do you do that, exactly?
How To Do That Exactly in Three Easy Steps
Step One: Come to the Critique Area (You've already done this, you've come so far)
Step Two: Have something you want critiqued
Step Three: Create a thread in the Critique Area detailing your critique request
Step Four: Wait for someone, out of the kindness of their own heart, to tear your hopes and dreams apart
Step Five: Cry
Step One: Come to the Critique Area (You've already done this, you've come so far)
Step Two: Have something you want critiqued
Step Three: Create a thread in the Critique Area detailing your critique request
Step Four: Wait for someone, out of the kindness of their own heart, to tear your hopes and dreams apart
Step Five: Cry
Chapter Three: Making The Mods (Me) Not Hate You
It's too late, I already hate you.
But really, go die. I don't like you.
Chapter Four: Minimizing Mod Hatred & Maximizing Critique Effectiveness
And so the high lord of Gordon Ramseying did declare a surefire method to making the mod not despise your guts. This is also the only real important part of this guide. I don't know what you expected, to be honest.
A critique request should state a few things in order to assist the critic and make their job easier, while also helping making it more effective of an aid to you as a writer.
BAD! BAD! BAD! BAD!
And that's just the post itself. The thread is pretty terrible as well, though. To begin with, the title this mystery poster went with gives no confidence in his writing ability, and also makes it a pain in the ass for Mod's to organize and chronicle this shit. The body is nothing but a summary, and tells the critic nothing about what the poster actually wants. Even for a general overview, this is a terrible post as it is so brief and badly formed that I doubt I would ever actively choose to critique it if I weren't the mod and a nice guy under this horrible person persona here. I mean fuck you let's look at a better example.
I'm not going to do the second one because I feel this illustrates my point enough. First off, and this is an important rule, each poster may only have one thread for requests. They simply have to update their original posts with their priority requests, and remove ones they feel no longer are required. I will restate this in the rules section, but this is relevant to the title area. It should be concise and to the point. Whose thread is it and what is the most recent request time for critiquing. This will help people know when stuff is actually updated and relevant.
The body is improved by having my detailed, yet streamlined details on the character and their placement in the world. Billy Bob McGee is explained simply, allowing those who are in your RP to gain insight into how you see them, and those who are not enough information to not go in blind. It states the character's circumstance (poor farmer who is loyal to family), conflict (potential poverty due to failing crops, daughter is kidnapped), and details of the world outside the character that relate to them (crops were poisoned and daughter is taken by same man). This information is vital for not going in blind and dumb into a post.
Thirdly, and most importantly to getting good critique, this post informs the critic of what to focus on. Every request should have an expressed focus. Tell your critic what they should look for. This focus can be something you feel weak in and you want advice on how to improve, something you think you did well and want a second opinion on, or anything in between. Try to make sure that it is not simply one-dimensional (is the grammar good), but a two-dimensional request that reflects characterization (does the grammar used in this post accurately reflect the voice of a poor, most likely uneducated farmer?)
Extremely detailed, keeps everything brief, goes into absurd levels of detail that reflect high levels of planning. This is the stuff I dream of. It tells me you know what you're doing and you know how to present it. Keeps critics in the loop and highlights techniques they may have missed. Even if you aren't on this level of planning out posts, the format of paragraphing summary, theme, request is a wonderful way of categorizing everything neatly. I don't expect this of anyone, but if you do this, I'll love you.
Chapter Five: The Writing Commandments
Chapter Six: Death
I-
It's too late, I already hate you.
But really, go die. I don't like you.
Chapter Four: Minimizing Mod Hatred & Maximizing Critique Effectiveness
And so the high lord of Gordon Ramseying did declare a surefire method to making the mod not despise your guts. This is also the only real important part of this guide. I don't know what you expected, to be honest.
A critique request should state a few things in order to assist the critic and make their job easier, while also helping making it more effective of an aid to you as a writer.
- Bad Request Thread - Will need to be re-written
Title: HOW I BETTER WRITE??>??
Body: http://vietnamesenoodles.freeforums.net/thread/TheBestRPEver/Post34351/Madeupformat
This is a post from the point of view of Billy
Bob McGee. He's old and a farmer. His daughter just got
kidnapped by Satan's ninja army. I tried to make it sad
because he's sad that he daughter was
kidnapped. Tell me what you think!
BAD! BAD! BAD! BAD!
And that's just the post itself. The thread is pretty terrible as well, though. To begin with, the title this mystery poster went with gives no confidence in his writing ability, and also makes it a pain in the ass for Mod's to organize and chronicle this shit. The body is nothing but a summary, and tells the critic nothing about what the poster actually wants. Even for a general overview, this is a terrible post as it is so brief and badly formed that I doubt I would ever actively choose to critique it if I weren't the mod and a nice guy under this horrible person persona here. I mean fuck you let's look at a better example.
- Good Request - You're good to go!
Title: Bun Bo Hughes's Request Thread (Updated May. 26/14)
Body: I have two things I would like critiqued today.
The first [link] is an RP post in The Best RP Ever. In case you don't know, my character is named Billy
Bob McGee. He is a poor farmer whose family depends on his income from farm work and is currently going
through a hard times as the crops are not developing properly due to their poisoning by his rival farmer,
Jack Ash (though he is not aware of the poisoning.) This post focuses on the kidnapping of his daughter,
Maylene, by masked men secretly hired by Ash. This post tries to capture the emotional state of Billy -
extremely distraught and panicked - and also advance his sense of loyalty to his family. I'd like help
with knowing how I captured those two areas in this individual post, but I wouldn't mind some extra on
looking at how it interplays with the rest of the RP.
I'm not going to do the second one because I feel this illustrates my point enough. First off, and this is an important rule, each poster may only have one thread for requests. They simply have to update their original posts with their priority requests, and remove ones they feel no longer are required. I will restate this in the rules section, but this is relevant to the title area. It should be concise and to the point. Whose thread is it and what is the most recent request time for critiquing. This will help people know when stuff is actually updated and relevant.
The body is improved by having my detailed, yet streamlined details on the character and their placement in the world. Billy Bob McGee is explained simply, allowing those who are in your RP to gain insight into how you see them, and those who are not enough information to not go in blind. It states the character's circumstance (poor farmer who is loyal to family), conflict (potential poverty due to failing crops, daughter is kidnapped), and details of the world outside the character that relate to them (crops were poisoned and daughter is taken by same man). This information is vital for not going in blind and dumb into a post.
Thirdly, and most importantly to getting good critique, this post informs the critic of what to focus on. Every request should have an expressed focus. Tell your critic what they should look for. This focus can be something you feel weak in and you want advice on how to improve, something you think you did well and want a second opinion on, or anything in between. Try to make sure that it is not simply one-dimensional (is the grammar good), but a two-dimensional request that reflects characterization (does the grammar used in this post accurately reflect the voice of a poor, most likely uneducated farmer?)
- A Request I Will Love
Title: Bun Bo Hughes's Request Thread (Updated May. 26/14)
Body: I have two things I would like critiqued today.
The first [link] is an RP post in The Best RP Ever. My character, Billy Bob
McGee, is a poor farmer who is to inherit his father's farm now that he has
fallen ill, and take up the responsibility of ensuring the well-being of
his loved ones. His grandmother rejects him, idolizing his older brother
who has left the family to pursue life in business in the city. His
father loves him, but fears he is ill-equipped to bare the
responsibility of farm ownership. His daughter adores him and will do
anything to help him succeed. Problem arises when a rival farmer and cousin
of Billy, Jack Ash, poisons the family crops during a supposed family
get-together. This post explores McGee's emotional destabilization as he
learns that his daughter has been kidnapped under his supposed supervision.
This kidnapping is another act of cruelty from Ash. Through this post, Billy
is put through many emotions, feeling guilt, sadness and anger over his
inability to protect the ones he loves.
- Overarching theme of character: Loyalty to family, exploration of the cultural view of father as
protector
- Theme of post: Sense of loss, self-blame
- Techniques used: Poor grammar to accurately show a uneducated man, water imagery to reflect emotional
state, little dialogue to show retreat into self
Request: Tell me how well I captured the emotional state of my character and how you felt this post
reflected the theme of family.
Extremely detailed, keeps everything brief, goes into absurd levels of detail that reflect high levels of planning. This is the stuff I dream of. It tells me you know what you're doing and you know how to present it. Keeps critics in the loop and highlights techniques they may have missed. Even if you aren't on this level of planning out posts, the format of paragraphing summary, theme, request is a wonderful way of categorizing everything neatly. I don't expect this of anyone, but if you do this, I'll love you.
Chapter Five: The Writing Commandments
- Thou shalt have but one thread for each account
- Thou shalt organize their thread neatly
- Thou shalt be detailed, yet brief, in their summaries
- Thou shalt include an explanation of the goals of the post up for criticism
- Thou shalt clearly state what thou is looking to improve on
- Thou shalt cry because he is inferior to me in every way
- Thou shalt hopefully be able to understand this clearly so I don't have to rewrite it and make it less convoluted
Chapter Six: Death
I-