Don't ask me To review.....

lots of people ask me to review. Read this, if you still want me to review let me know I will be happy to.

you don't want that.

You ask me,
I would like you to review these words.
But when I do,
you are stung by my honesty.
You say I am mean,
But I just want you to get better.
You say I am unfair,
but in the end what I say is the truth.

Because in the end I don't give a crap about your feelings,
In the End I only care about your work.

So don't ask me to review.
you can ask me to read and not offer my ideas.
you can ask me not to look at all.
but, don't ask me to review.

because, I take writing very seriously,
and if I see something wrong with a piece I will not stand by,
I will not say you are a great talent unless you are.
I will not lie, or help your ego
I am here to improve my work,
and to help others improve theirs.

I don't know what you are here for,
but don't ask me to review....
Your sweet little heart can't take what I have to dish.




 

Reviews

[Marlena]

I think you're right when you say that people shouldn't ask for a review on something they wrote if they aren't prepared for blunt honesty. However, I disagree with the fact that blunt honesty has to be something to hurt their ego. If I'm going to review something and say it had it's faults, I wouldn't say it in a way that hurts the person's ego, because they weren't acting conceited at all, they were just looking for help, you know?

Though I think everyone appreciates a good, honest and clear review, I don't think a person should be nasty about it. I also think (actually I know this as a fact) if a person has low self esteem, then they're going to jump in and defend their work if they think that you're telling them they all out suck in the writing field, which is probably a response you've gotten to some reviews. Really, if you're going to be honest then don't be nasty, is all I'm trying to say. ^_^

[C. Porter]

Nice one. The only thing is, you capitalize random words throughout the poem like:
In the End I only care about your work.
And also you have the beginnings of some lines capitalized and not others.
All in all, though, goo poem.

[Kyari Hasutto]

I personally rather be told that it was awful and know exactly why, then just have someone say, "Great piece!" It doesn't help me improve something that I know needs to be improved upon.

It's definitely worth the tears to obtain the joy of a well-written piece.

Congratulations on a well-written, honest piece. Personally, the capitalization (or lack of) bugs me, but that's my own thoughts. Otherwise, I quite enjoyed the frankness.

Feel free to review any of my work, but seeing as how there's many others who happen to be asking the same thing, you don't have to bother.

[Alice Oiseau]

If you choose to come by my page, I welcome you and your honesty.
Cheers.

[Violet Rose]

I need someone who isn't afraid to scratch my pride. I hate the sugar-coated, "Oh, that was nice. You're a good writer." If I was a good writer, people would voluntarily read my works without me begging and bribing (which, sadly, I do.) If someone were to say, "Your imagery is terrible; your story moves too quickly; the conflict isn't realistic" or something of that sort, surely I'd be a little hurt, but I would be better in the end and the appreciation I receive for my better work and the pride I could then take in the masterpiece would be all the worth it.

So, Mr. "Meanie", you may (and I ask you to) review my work and say all the mean things. I will only be grateful :)

[spence]

This is very well said. It comes across as a seminar from a uni lecturer and though it may appear uncompromising it is necessary, in that context, to remain objective in order to offer unbiased and congruent opinions. People seem to have vastly differnt motivations for publicly displaying their writing, but I'm afraid that more often than not the ego is the driving force. It seems to have become a fundamental aspect of western culture that its citizens require instant gratification of their every whim as some type of emotional panacea for their ills. In laymans terms, 'they are soft as s**t pampered little pricks that don't know the meaning of suffering', but that's my subjective opinion. Far too much reality TV and talentless celebrity has shown whole continents that 'THEY TOO CAN BE A STAR'. I find it all quite pathetic, but it seems to keep people nicelty distracted.
It also takes a certain mindset to accept criticism, no matter how constructive. I have seen some very reactionary statements, that were tantamount to threats of violence and aggression, to what I considered fairly inocuous comments.
For my own part I am quite broad minded and feel I can take criticism, but don't feel qualified to dish it out. I guess I review from the heart rather than the mind and I'm far more likely to rate as the overall piece makes me feel rather than the measure of competence and/or adherence to set parameters.
Anyway- good poem, it's a shame that we fell it necessary to write these sort of statements to justify ourselves, but I have found it necessary in the past too.
I will find an example of your 'usual' work to read asap as I found that I had to review this in terms of subject rather than form and flow, take care, spence

[dreamwriter77]

That was great, very well said. What most people don't realize is a good critique is an honest one. You will never be aware of your strengths and weaknesses if someone is just trying to save your ego. Kuddos !

[Original Time]

Wow... i wish everyone would review like that. I hate when people just sugar coat how they feel about a poem because they don't want to hurt you. If a poem is trash, they should be notified, so amen for speaking the painful truth.

[Jen]

Amen! I do that too, and have been chided here for doing so. When I say "Tear this apart." I really do mean it. How can we improve as writers if we don't know where we are weak? You are welcome to look at anything of mine and rip it apart. Also, if you have anything you want me to look at, just ask, I will.

[Rick Puetter]

Dear V. Lucien Maier,

An interesting write and thought provoking. I think every serious reviewer on WC has had these thoughts from time to time. And yes, there are many on WC with fragile egos. Fragile egos, however, don't stand up very well in this world, and if you have one, it will be very hard to move forward and become successful since you'll never improve, and EVERYONE can stand improvement and will be closer to success if they improve. So that's a nice point. However, let's get to some specifics of your piece.

Now I do have some disagreement with some of the things you say. First you say:

"but in the end what I say is the truth"

And who's truth would that be? I think this is over stated. Now I am willing to concede that perhaps your opinion is better than many, but still, your opinion is only an opinion. It is overstated to say it is the truth.

You also say

"Because in the end I don't give a crap about your feelings,
In the End I only care about your work."

This sounds good at first flush, but do you have to crush the flower to improve its scent? There is something to be said for cheritable criticism. Knowing that some people on WC can be a bit fragile, do you really serve the purpose of improving their work if you are highly critical to the point that they clam up and can't move forward. I think not. This is not improving THEIR writing. I urge gentle criticism to those that will benefit from gentile criticism. I encourage blunt (not harsh) criticism for those that can take it, as this will improve their writing the fastest. I presume this is the spirit of your comment.

All-in-all, however, I understand what you are saying. We can't walk on egg shells over everything we say. To make an omelet, eggs must be broken and criticism must be heard. Nonetheless, in the end, we must not lose sight of the fact that criticism is a matter of opinion. Some, of course, have more informed opinion than others. And those reviewed need to weigh the merit of every criticism. It is also, I think,the duty of any good reviewer to only suggest change when there is real benefit. We must recognize that some of our suggested improvements will only be improvement to us, the reviewer. Our suggestions may actually be detrimental in the view of others. Reviews need to be careful and broadminded.

This is a very thought provoking write and I know where you're coming from.

Now, I'm going to ask you for a few reviews. I'll be very interested in your opinions. I learn much from my reviewers, and I am ready to learn more. I'll start with some of my strongest pieces because I am most interested in improving those and I hope we may even enter into productive conversation about these poems. I think I know which are my weaker pieces, and I'm less interested in those.

Very best regards,

Rick

P.S. BTW, high marks for this one. Greatly enjoyed.

[Nichole]

Personally, I love brutally honest reviews. They keep me from getting too much of an ego and I like having different perspectives on my writing. Every critic has something different to say; some point out grammar and punctuation errors, some tell you what's wrong with the plot itself, etc. It's just nice to hear someone's thoughts other than my own (and that of the people who have nothing to say but "lol awesome, keep up the good work" even if you type the most godawful piece of writing known to man).