Novelr has an article, On Criticism and Online Fiction, and I find myself in agreement with the points made. Getting criticism for fiction is hard on your own sites, and a lot of this has to do with the sense that the blog or official web site are the writer’s place to brag about their stuff. It’s also true that readers of popular writers may worry about stirring up the fan base and catching crap over having a dissenting opinion.
On my blog, I’ve tried to encourage criticism and dissenting views. I’ve also tried to make it clear that I would let a bad review stand without getting pissy. But there’s still not much in the way of commentary about the fiction posts. What is there is mostly positive. (Like 99.5%)
I’m sure that some of this reluctance to criticize has to do with the fact that a lot of online writers–both pro and amateur–treat their blogs as their personal stomping grounds. Nobody wants to be the target of a bitter rant, so they don’t post anything that might make them a target.
I’d say that there is a fear of being attacked by the fan base here, but I don’t think that applies to my blog. It might be a problem on some other blogs, but I don’t have that many readers yet.
I have to assume that some of the reasons why people don’t offer criticism are 1) they see nothing bad enough to bitch over; 2) they see something they don’t like and stop reading without commenting; or 3) they don’t post criticism because they think I’ll censor or attack them.
This makes the challenge of building a community of avid readers doubly hard, because I have to first convince you to read my stuff first, and then I have to convince you that it’s okay to mention when something doesn’t work for you. For that matter, I need to remind you that it’s all right to disagree with me on my opinion pieces too, since they are just my opinion.
The Novelr article suggests that this message has to be reinforced with a blog audience over and over before a writer can expect results. I agree, and I think another factor is the “lurker ratio.” There is that certain group of people who lurk and who wouldn’t comment on a post even if I uploaded nude photos. Research suggests that the lurkers will exist in higher numbers than commentors. So first, I have to build up the population of commentors. The next step is convincing them to say, “Hmmmm…no, ma’am, I don’t like it.”
I think it’s safe to say that I’m still a long way from reaching the point where I could expect regular critiques. I’m still picking up a base audience, so I have to be grateful when anyone comments at all. This is true even if all they say is, “Great post!”
But before I reach that point of having a larger group of vocal readers, I’d still like to remind people that this is not sacred ground. If you dislike a story or dislike an opinion I have, treat my comments section like a forum post. If I didn’t want your honest opinions, I’d lock the comments on every post.
Some day in the future, I’m sure many of you will think of me as a broken record for repeating this stuff so often. But I agree that the best way to break the ice is to constantly encourage and solicit opinions. So please, don’t be afraid to comment. I don’t bite…often. =^P
I am a bisexual transsexual with bigender tendencies. I'm a former resident of Texas, but now live in Milan with my husband. I write in a variety of genres and have self-published ebooks through my 
I agree that many people are afraid to post an unpopular opinion or criticism. I’m a pretty vocal person and I have some strong opinions so rest assured if I don’t like something? I’ll tell whomever needs to know. I think people fear that if they have a negative opinion of something or someone it will come back to bite them on the butt. That is just a matter of low self-esteem. Just my un-humble opinion.
I do not read your stories because I like non fiction, not peoples muse or imagination. Facts is always more interesting, just as you are much more interesting than your muse.
The true history of Italia is much better than the tourist traps that there now.
You might like “Bread of Dreams”
It’s a tale of two Lisas. ^_^ Here we have one Lisa who is a fan of my fiction, and another who doesn’t like any fiction, but who shows up to read my non-fiction posts and harrass me to read more non-fiction. =^P
Both Lisas are welcome here, because even if Lisa, no P, does not read my books, she still reads my blog posts and comments when she’s in the mood. (And obviously, Lisa, with P, is welcome, since she’s a fan, and I can always use extra fans. ^_^ )
Lisa, with P, I hope that if you spot something you don’t like in one of my stories, you’ll let me know. The same is true if I opine something you don’t agree with.
Lisa, no P, I’ve looked up Bread of Dreams, and I’m not interested. I see no difference between our world being overly reliant on pills to get us by and the older, less refined drugs of the past. The only difference is that in our modern world, we have less patience for individual creativity. Where our older drugs made flights of fancy easier, the mind controlling pills of today deaden creativity and stifle the chemicals responsible for emotional reaction. We’re pill popping zombies who don’t think.
So which is really worse? The drug addicts of the past, relying on the herbalist for their fix, or the nervous, depressed modern human, relying on his fix from his pharmacist?
The culture of Italia had the younger killing the old people so they could get the property. In the newer age the children live with the parents till death. Food has been in short supply as many poor die as the rich horded it. At least today we can choose the contamination as most things are marked and more pure.
No I am not a pill popping zombie. I tried a few things when I was young but prefer the empirical physical reality to chemical flushes.
I would not suggest that you are a pill popping zombie. You eschew all forms of escapism, and while I might rag you about being somewhat Spock-like with your observations, I would never question your choice to view life without distortions.
But for myself, I need a few ways to escape, and among them I choose spirituality, the occasional recreational drug, and a steady supply of genre fiction. The thing is, I always say that this is the right path for me. I think everyone else needs to find their own way in life.
I think it’s true that there is a fear of offending the author when people review in their own space.
It’s also partly because a lot of people’s only experience with reviewing direct to the author is on the pit of voles (fanfiction.net if you don’t know), and to be honest it’s hard to give a critical review on there without being jumped on by the fans of the piece.
It’s also the fact that a lot of people don’t like to criticise at all. They think it’s destructive and get confuses when you explain the concept of concrit to them. It’s like there are some people who only ever give 5 star reviews on Amazon.
And there are books that get equal numbers of 5 star and 1 star reviews. Most of them deserve neither.
This is the other thing – people come to your blog to read your fiction for pleasure. People who decide they don’t like it won’t read it. So you’re going to have a heavy bias towards commenters who enjoy your fiction uncritically. Like the people who give 5 star reviews to well plotted but sloppily written books on Amazon they won’t criticise because being uncritical readers they won’t notice the flaws. (Note I’m suggesting your work is sloppily written I’m making a point about uncritical readers)
This gives you an extra problem – only a small proportion of readers will comment, and an even smaller proportion will be critical readers. Part of the problem is that a lot of people find it hard to enjoy something they read critically, so they actually go out of there way not to notice flaws.
Anyway I’m going to take a run at catching up with my backlog on your fiction in the next few weeks. I’ll try to give critical feedback as I do.
Becky
I do think alot of people take prescription meds as an escape. I prefer alcohol and occasionally a recreational drug. Fiction has been an escape for me since I started to read. I read other things but those are just my favorite ways to escape a humdrum life. Others use music or movies or fishing.
“I read other things but those are just my favorite ways to escape a humdrum life. Others use music or movies or fishing.”
There is the point. Do people have a humdrum life or do they just perceive it that way? If you do not perceive it that way you do not need an escape or entertainment.
Lisa said:
“If you do not perceive it that way you do not need an escape or entertainment.”
No, I’m going to have to disagree with that. I am for the most part happy with my life. Still, I DO enjoy the chance to indulge in the escape of a good book. Sometime escaping isn’t about boredom or dissatisfaction with one’s life. It’s just that folks have as lot of extra free time. I often choose to entertain myself in my free time by writing fiction, but many others choose to escape by reading or watching television. (an activity I despise with a passion, BTW.)
My roundabout point is that escaping isn’t always about dissatisfaction. Sometimes it is simply a way to use up one’s free time.
“My roundabout point is that escaping isn’t always about dissatisfaction. Sometimes it is simply a way to use up one’s free time”
The words have a negative feeling. Escape from what? Use up?
All my time is free for me to explore how ever I please. I read for knowledge and rest. All my time is enjoyed from cooking to walking, talking to friends and sleeping. I sometimes watch book TV to get to see the authors answer questions.
They only have a negative feeling because you choose to assign the value. Perhaps after a hard day at work, a person might want to take their mind off of work by looking at fiction.
And as for using up time, people like me have a LOT of free time. Theres’ nothing bad about that. I’m retired, so I have free time. I have to use it somehow, and the TV offer me nothing of interest most of the time. (there are exceptions, but not many.)
Now, I spend some of that time doing nonfiction research. But after a while, it feels like studying, and I wander off to read other things. Any time I’m doing research, you can be sure it will apply to my own fiction writing in some way. I’m sure your own research is more interest based, where mine is based more on what I need to know for the next story. It’s kinda like a forced cram session before a big exam for me.
Why not write about things you enjoy looking up?
Because I look up mythology to borrow and alter it, creating my own mythology. I am writing about the things I look up, and I enjoy both activities. I’m just wired so that I get off on making up new worlds with new rules.