Comments That Make Your Day

[AwkwardlySet]

Correction: Stacnash just reached out to me via a PM, along with a screen shot of what she(?) saw. She saw exactly what I posted. So she didn't like it, which is a perfectly acceptable opinion to have; it is not, however, one that I agree with. Just the same, I appreciate her critique.

She said this as well:

Who the hell is Stacnash? She sounds so incredibly entitled to me. Almost feels like someone's alt. Also, that remark that she was going to review one story of every notable author here and "grade them" is just too amusing. All those things aside, she clearly intends to review some very different stories in the sense of category, style, and probably even length, if she is to hit so many authors. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Nobody can be an expert for every type of story we write here. It is very pretentious to even think so, in my opinion.

 

[Stacnash]

Correction: Stacnash just reached out to me via a PM, along with a screen shot of what she(?) saw. She saw exactly what I posted. So she didn't like it, which is a perfectly acceptable opinion to have; it is not, however, one that I agree with. Just the same, I appreciate her critique.

She said this as well:

Just a note to thank MediocreAuthor for clarifying a significant misunderstanding on my part regarding her use of diacritics in her story.

I had originally thought that the style was some kind of unintended glitch, that repeated throughout the document, and that it spoiled an obvious five-star story. However, the mistake was mine and the author sent a lovely message explaining what her intentions were.

For anyone interested, this is how it looks.



If anyone hasn't read Eldritch Pact, it's one of the best stories I've read in the last 20 years.

 

[joy_of_cooking]

Nobody can be an expert for every type of story we write here.

I don't think publishing your opinion of a story should be equated with making any claim of expertise.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I don't think publishing your opinion of a story should be equated with making any claim of expertise.

Of course not, but if you take a look at the tone in her comment it more or less implies exactly that. The idea to review all those stories doesn't just come out of sheer boredom in my opinion. You don't get the idea to read and review a story from each author unless you feel you are entitled to it - unless you feel you can do it in a competent way. Yet, it is the idea of rating and ranking them that tells the most. It is clearly not the Lit type of rating, which is all about how much a reader liked some story. No, this one is clearly about how good each story is. Why you indulge these characters is completely beyond me. I will refrain from saying more, but yeah, it feels strange to me.

 

[Stacnash]

Also, that remark that she was going to review one story of every notable author here and "grade them" is just too amusing.

I never realised just how amusing you must find it when your readers "grade you" by awarding you five stars at the end of your stories.

Your sides must be split when your followers go as far as to leave you a comment explaining what they enjoyed.

Stop me when I get to the part that's too amusing.

The absolute state of that post. If that's how you write, no wonder you're sweating buckets.

You're not on my reading list, so wipe the flop sweat off your brow and try to recover from being too amused. I'll just have to wait until I'm treated to your gifts. Some of the best authors on the site write in the Lesbian category, if you're half as good as they are, you'll be fortunate and I'll be amazed.

The next little while, I'll be reading the following.



Thanks to everyone who took the time to write the stories that I've enjoyed reading so much.

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I never realised just how amusing you must find it when your readers "grade you" by awarding you five stars at the end of your stories.

Your sides must be split when your followers go as far as to leave you a comment explaining what they enjoyed.

Stop me when I get to the part that's too amusing.

The absolute state of that post. If that's how you write, no wonder you're sweating buckets.

You're not on my reading list, so wipe the flop sweat off your brow and try to recover from being too amused. I'll just have to wait until I'm treated to your gifts. Some of the best authors on the site write in the Lesbian category, if you're half as good as they are, you'll be fortunate and I'll be amazed.

The next little while, I'll be reading the following.

View attachment 2258787

Thanks to everyone who took the time to write the stories that I've enjoyed reading so much.

Oh, this is rich. I couldn't possibly care less if you review one of my stories or not; if you put it at the top of your ranking or at the bottom. Your tone and attitude tell me you are someone's alt, especially considering how you decided to rate the stories of AH crowd, a crowd you are supposedly not a part of. Someone who isn't participating on the forum would never choose by that criteria. Have fun with your expert and "unbiased" review

 

[Stacnash]

[No personal attacks or trolling - including creating accounts for this specific purpose. Heated discussions are fine, even welcome. However, personally attacking / kink-shaming a fellow author or reader is not allowed within the Author's Hangout. Threads which devolve into the exchanging of insults will be closed and repeat offenders will be given a timeout, per the AH rules.]

 

[NoTalentHack]

I disregarded their ratings once I saw that they gave one of the best stories by one of the best writers here something like a 1 or low 2-star rating. That was only solidified when their review of my story hemmed and hawed with "Well, it's well-written, but it's not for me, only for the knuckle draggers in LW, so..."

It's fine to have an opinion. I don't write for everyone, and I have no problem with taking criticism from someone if they keep that in mind. But someone with no credentials, no stories published under their name, and a clearly subjective rating system that pretends to be even vaguely objective, going as far as fine-graining down to number grades like a frustrated English teacher? Nah, I'm good.

 

[NoTalentHack]

Oh, this is rich. I couldn't possibly care less if you review one of my stories or not; if you put it at the top of your ranking or at the bottom. Your tone and attitude tell me you are someone's alt, especially considering how you decided to rate the stories of AH crowd, a crowd you are supposedly not a part of. Someone who isn't participating on the forum would never choose by that criteria. Have fun with your expert and "unbiased" review

 

[NoTalentHack]

Getting back on topic...

I got one person, a real gem of an anonymous, come through and drop angry, hateful comments on almost every story I put in LW. Hey, SSDD, right? I deleted them for once, because they were SO stupid in general, but there was the bit that cracked me up. On Reassessing My Life, which features a heavily tattooed FMC, I got a long tirade about how Christianity forbids tattoos and piercings, and how good Christians shouldn't like stories with those and... I was just like, "Dude. You do understand what site you're on, right?"

 

[joy_of_cooking]

On Reassessing My Life, which features a heavily tattooed FMC, I got a long tirade about how Christianity forbids tattoos and piercings

I looked this story up because I wanted to know if your heavily tattooed and pierced FMC claimed to be an observant Christian.

"Yes, I ignored Cassandra's warnings. Yes, my marriage was a disaster. Yes, I'm aware of the irony."

Okay... I guess I didn't really have anything else to do tonight.

(Zoom out to a week's worth of cooking half done in the background.)

 

[Stacnash]

Just for the sake of transparency.

You're one of only three writers who refused to accept the feedback which was offered, which is your right.

However, you're the only writer who deleted the feedback and then clearly lied on the forum about what it said after it was erased. That's also your right, but thin-skinned diva isn't the flex you seem to think it is.

That puts you in a class all of your own. It's a shame you behaved that way, especially after I said that you're a good writer. Not great, but good.

Meanwhile, I'll leave it to the fair-minded observers to pinpoint exactly what was mean-spirited or nasty about my review of In Health.

Going forward, you should leave this thread for comments that make your day.

I’m a little thrown having read this as it wasn’t what I was expecting.

To begin, you’re a good writer and your creativity will stand you in good stead in the future. I enjoyed the beginning and thought it was engaging.

I made a lot of notes when I was going through it, but this is just one of those situations where the theme of what you’ve written doesn’t appeal to me. On the basis that the writing is good in places, it’s not really fair to point out everything I didn’t enjoy. However, this is clearly a play to target the segment of the Loving Wives genre that punishes women, known as BTB. But the chosen theme doesn’t really fit with that and I agree with the others who’ve correctly identified that the second half of the story falls down due to Nate’s reactions.

From a technical standard, you have a habit of bloating even your well-written sentences and you used some medical terms inaccurately. With regards to the characters, there were some small issues regarding realism. All those long chats about infidelity before any of the events had even unfolded, while they talked about illness as part of the vows but then Nate had never contemplated health concerns.

The single biggest issue I had was the concept of Nate’s compassion being lost. It’s a terrific choice, but the way you beat the point to death at the end was both inartful and awkward. You should trust the reader more to pick up on those details when you employ a more sophisticated writing style. However, it’s possible that because you wrote this as a BTB readership grab, you presumed you were dealing with knuckle-draggers who needed the point dropped on their heads like an anvil. Balance can be tough to achieve, but your writing is good, so it’s not a question of whether you’re capable or not.

Rating this is difficult because there are pros and cons. In essence though, this is a BTB story that missed its mark because the theme doesn’t align with that and Nate’s reactions were completely unrealistic. But this was really ambitious and I like to see that. My suspicion is that you’ve probably written a number of stories that are exceptional, and I’ve just started with one that doesn’t suit my individual tastes.

56/100.

 

[oneagainst]

Just for the sake of transparency.

You're one of only three writers who refused to accept the feedback which was offered, which is your right.

However, you're the only writer who deleted the feedback and then lied on the forum about what it said after it was erased. That's also your right, but thin-skinned diva isn't the flex you seem to think it is.

Hello Stacnash, nice to meet you! I think that was the second comment you left on my story that I deleted for being off topic, unless NTH did a similar thing. Don't want him getting blamed for something I did.

As an aside, does that mean I made your list of authors to read?

 

[NoTalentHack]

Just for the sake of transparency.

You're one of only three writers who refused to accept the feedback which was offered, which is your right.

However, you're the only writer who deleted the feedback and then clearly lied on the forum about what it said after it was erased. That's also your right, but thin-skinned diva isn't the flex you seem to think it is.

That puts you in a class all of your own. It's a shame you behaved that way, especially after I said that you're a good writer. Not great, but good.

Meanwhile, I'll leave it to the fair-minded observers to pinpoint exactly what was mean-spirited or nasty about my review of In Health.

Going forward, you should leave this thread for comments that make your day.

Sorry, I don’t memorize the notes from trolls whose comments I delete.

 

[Stacnash]

Sorry, I don’t memorize the notes from trolls whose comments I delete.

Don't worry, I got you. No fair-minded reader would think this is a comment from a troll.

It's better written than your story.

I’m a little thrown having read this as it wasn’t what I was expecting.

To begin, you’re a good writer and your creativity will stand you in good stead in the future. I enjoyed the beginning and thought it was engaging.

I made a lot of notes when I was going through it, but this is just one of those situations where the theme of what you’ve written doesn’t appeal to me. On the basis that the writing is good in places, it’s not really fair to point out everything I didn’t enjoy. However, this is clearly a play to target the segment of the Loving Wives genre that punishes women, known as BTB. But the chosen theme doesn’t really fit with that and I agree with the others who’ve correctly identified that the second half of the story falls down due to Nate’s reactions.

From a technical standard, you have a habit of bloating even your well-written sentences and you used some medical terms inaccurately. With regards to the characters, there were some small issues regarding realism. All those long chats about infidelity before any of the events had even unfolded, while they talked about illness as part of the vows but then Nate had never contemplated health concerns.

The single biggest issue I had was the concept of Nate’s compassion being lost. It’s a terrific choice, but the way you beat the point to death at the end was both inartful and awkward. You should trust the reader more to pick up on those details when you employ a more sophisticated writing style. However, it’s possible that because you wrote this as a BTB readership grab, you presumed you were dealing with knuckle-draggers who needed the point dropped on their heads like an anvil. Balance can be tough to achieve, but your writing is good, so it’s not a question of whether you’re capable or not.

Rating this is difficult because there are pros and cons. In essence though, this is a BTB story that missed its mark because the theme doesn’t align with that and Nate’s reactions were completely unrealistic. But this was really ambitious and I like to see that. My suspicion is that you’ve probably written a number of stories that are exceptional, and I’ve just started with one that doesn’t suit my individual tastes.

56/100.

 

[NoTalentHack]

Don't worry, I got you. No fair-minded reader would think this is a comment from a troll.

It's better written than your story.

You’ll have to do better than that if you want to keep me on the hook. I’ve been blocking obvious trolls since before the internet went commercial; I’m not dumb enough to keep engaging with one that thinks “clever” faint praise mixed with outright insults is a winning strategy. Better luck next time.

43/100, just as I’d expect from the boastful medium talent writer I believe you to be.

 

[Stacnash]

You’ll have to do better than that if you want to keep me on the hook. I’ve been blocking obvious trolls since before the internet went commercial; I’m not dumb enough to keep engaging with one that thinks “clever” faint praise mixed with outright insults is a winning strategy.”Better luck next time.

43/100, just as I’d e expect from the boastful medium talent writer I believe you to be.

Would anyone besides NoTalentHack be kind enough to point out the multiple "outright insults" in that review?

What a scandalous thing to say. If constructive criticism leaves you shook to that degree, you need to get some fresh air.

 

[PrincessArianrhod]

"I wonder what happens if I press this button..?"

"I wouldn't..."

"Oh."

"What happened?"

"A sign lit up saying 'Please do not press this button again'."

 

[PrincessArianrhod]

It's that Dixie humor again... I wish I were foolish enough to find it amusing. Intrafamily marriage?

Not a Douglas Adams fan then? Don't worry, nobody's perfect. He was English but I can't speak to his family's marriage history I'm afraid.

 

[PrincessArianrhod]

Oops, my mistake. I was confused by another instance of an incest-born lesbo.

Please do not press this button again.

 

[ElectricBlue]

The next little while, I'll be reading the following.

View attachment 2258787

Thanks to everyone who took the time to write the stories that I've enjoyed reading so much.

I have no idea who you (Stacnash) are, nor what criteria is used to get onto your list - half of this selection are AH regulars, the other half, I have no idea.

It would be nice if you'd introduce yourself, give a bit of background blah blah blah, if nothing else, to be polite, since you're about to rank a bunch of stories out of 100, using criteria no-one knows about.

 

[PrincessArianrhod]

I do not press buttons, I inject venom that has a long-lasting effect.

And make wild assumptions about the effects of your button pressing apparently. You often paint an amusing picture but have a tendency to put too much paint on the brush, as it were.

 

[Stacnash]

I have no idea who you (Stacnash) are, nor what criteria is used to get onto your list - half of this selection are AH regulars, the other half, I have no idea.

It would be nice if you'd introduce yourself, give a bit of background blah blah blah, if nothing else, to be polite, since you're about to rank a bunch of stories out of 100, using criteria no-one knows about.

That's fine, but over on the story feedback threads.

 

[ElectricBlue]

That's fine, but over on the story feedback threads.

Are you going to raise a thread in the Feedback Forum? It is a better home for what you appear to be doing (detailed feedback) - although usually, writers expressly ask for it.

 

[ElectricBlue]

The initiative to provide an unexpected review to bloated narcissists is welcome, but it would have carried more weight if the reviewer were a writer themself.

Agree, but they might be a brilliant writer someplace else, who knows?

Could be an alt, could be an asshole, could be someone you'd take home to meet your mum. They've got seven posts, and most of those are belligerent, so that's running a negative, thus far. But then, you started out belligerent, and now you're a fun guy, so people change.

Anyway, you're on the list, so you'd better poke your bloat with a sharp needle, like the rest of us.

And remember, Roger Ebert never made movies .