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Reviews are meaningless if you aren?t being honest

Does anyone remember when honesty used to be the best policy? I'm not sure it is anymore.

Hello again. I am not new to Fanstory, like many other users I have talked to, I have been a user of the site for many years, on and off depending on life circumstances and my time. Moving on...

Nobody likes criticism. I don't even like criticism (but I have learned to deal with and appreciate it.) Why? Because it conflicts with an angry monster named pride that comes to the defense. Let's be honest, if we were all the most astounding writers out there with no improvement, we would all be published. I think there are a number of writers here who certainly do deserve to be published and haven't been because of time, money, and luck. There are also plenty of people here who THINK they should be published, and I would disagree. I don't even think of my own work as good enough to publish. There is so much that I still learn from reading other people's work and even in the last year, I have improved, on and off this site. Now, I would honestly say there are a good number of people here who genuinely want to improve their poetry. There are also a fair amount who really just use this site for community which I think is equally wonderful. That is what this site was for. But, it is not meant to boost each others egos, it is to improve the quality of our craft and make some friends along the way if we can.

The stars are worth...Nothing. It is clout. A way to brag amongst 50-100 people (maybe). It used to be worth something, until they were turned into participation awards.

But now, because people have continued to only give 5/6 for reviews, it means absolutely nothing to me anymore. Your reviews mean something, your words and time mean something, but the stars do not.

Poetry and prose is subjective. Yes, there are areas of technicality, grammar, etc...but it is almost entirely subjective. Rating and reviews are subjective as well for the same reason.

What does everyone want? To get cheap brags or do you want honest meaningful advice that ACTUALLY improves your craft and not just your punctuation and grammar.

Then you need to start giving out fours and reviews appropriately and to be able to receive them with grace. Before you reply to a critical review, may I suggest that you don't reply for 24 hours if you are angry. It is never a good idea to send an angry email at work, it isn't a good idea here. Have a discussion, don't just argue.

Also, don't just put in your pleasantries to meet your 150 character limit and then bounce with your member dollars. That is robbery. Those member dollars are an incentive a payment for HONEST work.

When I read a poem, before I review it, I read it four or five times. I read for enjoyment first, sometimes one or two times, then I read it for the purpose of sharing feedback amongst craftsman. I think about all sorts of things. What would make this potentially better? Was there anything that didn't make sense, was there a different word or a way to rearrange the sentence...etc...And that doesn't mean it is a bad poem. The goal is that hopefully you end up with a poem you like more and grow!

Anyone who has received any review from me that has had any feedback can see that I actually think about it. I make sure that I am not just stealing those member dollars to boost my work at the expense of yours. Because I actually do care about a community of writers who wish to improve and share.

Author notes are a great place to share whether or not you want constructive feedback. If I read that someone is just sharing something personal, I read it as a memoir and offer no critique and just friendly conversation. But if your author notes are blank or leave me with no indication that this is a personal post, I will give you my time?. Honest, genuine time to help you improve. This doesn't mean I'm better than you. I've never once thought like that. I have had a number of you offer helpful suggestions. Believe it or not, I actually remember some of you from when I was 16 years old and I took your advice from those actually willing to give it. And I am returning that to you.