Now, I'm used to critiques (both good and bad), and appreciate any and all comments. I have three reviews so far on my latest story that I have sitting in the workshop, and this is normally enough to get a general idea of what needs to be fixed. However, on these reviews, there doesn't seem to be a consensus of what things I should fix (develop characters, settings, add dialogue, etc.). I have a hard time with revising and editing already, mostly due to lack of discipline, so I'm wondering what others do in such cases?
Two concerns I have:
1.) I will bend to the will of all reviewers and change things to the point that nothing is what I had intended.
2.) I ignore comments when there are still holes in my story.
Is it merely a judment call in the end? What say you?
Matt
Well clearly in this case you should simply listen to my review and ignore everyone elses.
And I mean, it sounds simple, but at the end of the day, you should write and fix the stuff you either agree with, or that appeal with you. Yes, the generally accepted idea is that if enough people comment on a part of your story, then you probably should fix that, but at the end of the day, it is your story. Just because(to use Flesh and Bone as a specific example)I would like to see more focus on the online part of the story, that doesn't mean it'll automatically make it better. In fact, if you don't like that idea and write it anyway, there's a bigger chance you'll have a worse story at the end.
That said, it never hurts to stretch out and write in a direction you might not necessarily believe in and see where it takes you. So uh, do whatever you want?
Also, if this is a way to try to get more reviews, I wholeheartedly approve.
Thanks. I kinda realized what the answer would be towards the end of writing my post. Getting more reviews wasn't the intention, but I have to admit it did get me one more. And that one disagreed with my previous three. I thought that was pretty funny.
I say just use what's said to you as an interpreted guide rather than a literal one. If someone tells you something and you say, "Oh yeah, that's a good point. I can see that," then good, go with it. If a number of people point out something they saw as a major weakness or big error, it's something you should probably look at regardless of your own opinion, at least try to keep an open mind about it and see if they aren't on to something you just can't see. If various people are giving you conflicting information, don't worry about it unless it's one of those things that strikes you as helpful toward your original vision. If you have the "aha" moment like above, where you realize they've shown you something helpful, then awesome. If it's something that seems stupid to you or totally against what you wanted to do, screw it.
The rarest case is when a lot of people think a certain way about your story but you still disagree with them. That's taking a big risk, but it's still up to you. Maybe you just can't change that story no matter how hard you try, and maybe that means it'll be the perfect thing when it finally finds its niche, or maybe it means that story is one you're going to have ended up writing just for yourself. Or save it for after you're finally rich and famous and everyone loves your junk no matter how it's written.
You'll figure it out. Go with your gut.
Thanks, I think I'll just go with that.
We are all, ultimately, subjective. Take what makes sense to you, dismiss the rest.
If this was an attempt to get more reviews, it worked. It's why I reviewed your story. Considering the question you've asked, that may be a bad thing...one more opinion to agree with or ignore.
Good luck figuring out your vision for your story. I think this is basically what you're asking -- how do I know if my vision for the story is being served by other people's comments. Probably one of the toughest questions every writer deals with when reading a critique. I agree with M.J. Riser - your gut's your guide.
