I Don't Care!!!

A Rambling (poem) I did when I was first on Writers Cafe. I was struggling dealing with critical reviews, and people slamming me. And shows how I got past it and learned to accept every review.

Author's Note

Recently I posted a piece about reviewing that caused a stir.

I wanted to show that at one time on here I was much like the people who did not want their ego bruised.
This poem was me accepting that everyone was not going to look at my words the same. And as with most things when I realized the truth it made me a better author. (and person)
Tell me what you think

Reviews

[Stacey Watts]

I listened to this and I must say that people need to be more careful about the words they use in their reviews. We are all here for the same thing. That is to enjoy each other's work and to get some feedback on how we are writing. Critique is one thing but damaging someone's spirit is completely another. Thanks for sharing this.

[Here's What I Say]

I almost thought you were going to go Dr. Seuss on us and be like "I don't care if you review, I don't care if different is your view, I don't care if it's in a box, I don't care if it's with a fox" and so on and so forth...

So in essence you DO care. You just don't act like a whiney, over-emotional cheerleader who just got told she can't cheer because she failed every subject known to man.

Sorry if you're a cheerleader...

And THAT is what it means to be a writer: say what you need to say, and if no one cares or hates it, their opinion is not the means to your writing...only that your voice came out. =)

[Rick Puetter]

Dear Lucien,

I like this piece VERY much. Yes, there is an inside and an outside to people's feelings. There is a bit of defiance and hurt when one is criticised. The outward side typically shows the defiance. The inward side feels the hurt.

Now you are correct, negative reviews don't really hurt you. "Sticks and Stones", you know. But it is good to get a poll from other people. After all, we should remember that writing is more for the reader than it is for ourselves. So the piece needs to be effective from the reader's point of view. So if people don't like it, understand it, relate to it, etc., then the piece is not working and we need to think about how it can be improved.

How do I feel when I get negative reviews? Well, I'm certainly disappointed. I like to be thought of as a great writer and I put a lot of effort and passion into my writing. So I agree with you that we want our pieces to be accepted as insightful, helpful, interesting, and revealing of truth. It hurts when the opposite is said of our work.

What is my solution to this problem? Well, I think the goal of reading, writing and reviewing is to improve our skills, have fun, be entertained, and to be stimulated with new ideas and points of view. The entertainment part I think everyone understands, and this is simple when one reads a good piece. The problem comes when we read (or we, ourselves, write) a poorly written piece. What to do?

I have heard others suggest that you should simply only review the good pieces. This way you avoid huring people's feelings. I think it's a matter of how much work you want to put into the review process. Sometimes when I am lazy, I do just that, i.e., I skip over pieces that aren't very good and don't review them. But once in a while I'm more ambitious and write a more detailed review of a poorer piece. The only purpose, in my view, for taking the time to do this is to help the writer improve. So I try to be very gentle and constructive. At these times I also NEVER make the review public. I send it via private e-mail, and I will generally not publically review the piece unless the author makes significant changes. If the author is unwilling to make changes, I either don't review the piece publically or I write a short review pointing out the positive aspects of the piece. My goal is not to embarrass the author. He/she already has my private note, so my gentle criticism is already there.

What happens with negative reviews that I get? Well first I decide whether there is merit to the review. No matter how well your piece is written there will be some that don't like it. Spelling and grammar corrections are the simplest. I make these changes right away if I am in error and thank the reviewer. I always reply with personal e-mail to each reviewer and discuss their review and what I have done with their suggestions or why I disagreed with them. I will generally not comment openly on a reviewer's comments unless the same comments appear in the reviews of several people. Then it is appropriate to make a public comment.

So yes, this is a delicate subject. Your piece was very stimulating and greatly enjoyed.

Best regards,

Rick

[Mioki]

The contrast between your two poems is evident. It's nice to see that a person can see and talk from both sides of the table. It reinforces your last poems main theme, because this poem shows that your view point use to be different, and that it changed. It also offers your previous poem credential and backup, showing that you were not writing just to accuse, but to show what you had learned.

The music added nice emphases to the different 'voices'.
Outside, scary and intimidating music.
Inside, caring and thoughtful music.
It depicts wonderfully how the feelings and emotions change.

In all, this was a great poem, which served its purpose all too well.

[Sheila Kline]

Thank you for giving me more of a glimpse into the "former" thinking of one who is an indepth, and honest reviewer! I especially like hearing it told with your voice, and the music as it certainly makes it more personal!

How did you get the music and voice added? .....probably a dumb question, but I won't know the answer unless I ask!
And, I stand behind my belief that I shall always need improving! I must send you a couple of read requests to get your input.

[H]

Excellent. I love the change of tone in your voice and the background music.

I welcome critique, in fact, I look for it. Especially when it comes to grammar. It's when they compare me to someone else, a professional author or a fellow writer, that it gets to me. I feel how you feel, how we all feel, when someone tells me I'll never change instead of encouraging me to practice and become better.