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so my last piece of writing wasn't as well received though objectively i don't think i did anything wrong with it. Can anyone give me some feedback to consider for the future.

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Don't Worry - Be Happy

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1.) Rape is NOT well-received as a general theme. I'm not sure what a "kudos" means anymore but dark material is rarely highly rewarded. Your writing is better than most, but could be much better. You have stories in you and just need to learn technique to become a better writer, if that's your goal. Or, you continue to tell stories and not care about the writing "craft." I read over one hundred books about writing in an effort to become better. If you would like some suggested titles, let me know.

2.) As a general rule, writing improves when you tell less and show more. Instead of saying, "We were led to the parking lot." try "His clammy, but surprisingly callous-free hand had locked onto mine making escape impossible, while he pulled me toward a parking lot covered with too green leaves that had prematurely lost the sustenance provided by a mature maple." Your goal is to bring in exposition without crossing over to a Bulwer-Lytton entry. It's best when exposition moves the story along.

3.) Don't worry about statistics. Kudos are not a precise indicator of anything. Number or reads could be a product of many other factors. Find a beta reader who you know and trust. If she likes what you write, be happy. Stephen King's beta reader is his wife. If she likes it, he's satisfied. I look for comments from one of about ten long-term readers. If they like it, I'm happy.

4.) And - most important. It's all about the journey. Hopefully, writing will becomes its own reward for you.

Jill

Angela Rasch (Jill M I)

It always happens.

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Daphne Xu's picture

It always happens. Everyone writes something that's not well-received. Also, what's well-received and not-well-received is often unpredicted. I think at some point, creators have to go over the hump and develop a thick skin. There's also a saying, no publicity is bad publicity.

Keep writing, and you'll improve. Conversely, procrastinate, and you'll procrastinate more.

Imagination needs to be exercised. Genius is 10% inspiration, 90% perspiration. There's always revision, if you're stuck trying to say something. Also, the best is the enemy of the good, and an obstruction to completion. (This comment took several revisions.)

I know I've made at least one enemy from comments. Probably several. (Sorry about that.)

-- Daphne Xu

I thought that your story was pretty well received

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We are our own worst critics. The story was pretty good and the comments you received looked good as well.

Try to put yourself into the heads of each of your main characters to tell us what they feel, see, and say. Of course, that means that you can end up with multiple personalities, but that is the price we pay as authors. :)

You could have chosen one or two of the girls to be your viewpoint characters and we could have seen how things changed for their victims after the Council and Laufey changed things. Right now, the girls have had their powers sealed while they learn their lesson.

So tell us, do all four of them grow up as adults and witches or do we lose one or two? What happens when they get their powers back? How have things changed as a result of the intervention by the Council? It seems to me that the future would still be different because of the changes the girls made and the Council might not necessarily have foreseen everything.

Be your best you.

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It is more important to be the best you, you can be. If your writing pleases you it is good. Being who you want to be beats being who others want you to be, every time. Please yourself and don't worry so much about pleasing others. But please continue sharing your efforts.

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