I Think That One Thing People Fail To Understand Is That Unsolicited Literary Criticism Coming From An

I think that one thing people fail to understand is that unsolicited literary criticism coming from an online stranger who is reading with no knowledge of what the authors intended goal is, is not going to be received the same as say: the authors beta reader or friends who know what the authors intended goal and has the sufficient knowledge and input to help the author reach that desired outcome.

"But I'm only trying to be helpful" How do I know you have the knowledge and literary skill for you to be able to actaully do that when we don't know each other and you are essentially a stranger to me? Are you applying this criticism based out of personal biased experience and desire to see the story or characterization be driven in another direction or tweaked, or do you know the author's intentions for the character? If the story is incomplete, are you basing your criticism of a character on the incomplete narration with only partial information available of them or are you building up a report until the story's completion? Did the author provide you with the information needed to make a fully informed criticism?

Have you discussed with the author what their plans are or are you assuming them based off the narration, especially if the narration is proven or implied to be unreliable or missing key points of the plot? Are you unbiased enough to help them reach their desired outcome for the characters and story regardless of your personal feelings towards the characters/antagonists and setting? Can you handle being told your specific input isn't wanted because you're a reader and/or have no written anything relating to their genre or topic? Do you understand and respect that the author's personal experiences might influence their writing and make it different than how you would have done it personally? Do you understand if an author only wants input from a specific demographic relating to their story?

If it's for fanfiction or other hobby media, are you holding a free hobby to a professional standard? Are you trying to give criticism because you feel like the author has produced 'subpar job performance' of their fic? Are you viewing their work as a personal intimate outlet or something that must conform with mass media? Are you applying rules and guidelines when the fic is shared for simple sharing sake? Is your criticism worded appropriately and focused on the parts where the author has requested input on rather than a general dismissal and or disapproval?

Have you put yourself in a place where you assumed you have the input needed for the story to evolve better, or have you asked what the author needs and what they're having trouble with? Can you handle having your criticism rejected if the author decides their story doesn't need the change and not take it as a personal offense against your character? Are you crossing that boundary because you think you are doing the author a favor? Are you trying to be helpful, or do you just want to be?

I think sometimes when people hear authors go 'please don't give me unsolicited writing advice or criticism' they automatically chalk it up to 'this author doesn't want ANY constructive feedback on their stuff at all' and not "i already have trusted individuals who will help me with my writing goals and- hey i don't know you like that, please stop acting so overly familiar with me'

Writing update 5/1/2025

I am continuing to write Sleep Laughing slowly but surely. I'm getting caught up in making the logs detailed, and trying to get myself to realize, "you need to write the skeleton of this idea before you can go into the depths of this character's suffering". And also, during the first logs he's so weak/in so much pain he's barely concious or thinking straight, so it makes sense why they're not as detailed.

Still, I managed to get extremely good progress for logs 7 and 8. Here's my favorite snippet (tw body horror and agony):

I've come to a conclusion. Even if I am in Hell, it really isn't such a bad thing. It just means I'm being punished, and, if I'm being punished, that means there's a chance to redeem myself, right? Every single agony I experience is a debt being paid, a sin washed away. This pain isn't a curse. No… …this pain is a blessing! It's giving me a chance to repent for everything. Oh God I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'll never do it again. So please, just let the light take me!

Also, I am looking for beta readers for my stories The Diary of Spinel Bramford and The Breeding Grounds. You can find their descriptions here. If that'd interest you, please let me know!

Taglist: @aweirdshipp

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writeblr writerblr original writing tw body horror tw injury wip update wip: sleep laughing

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moremysteries

1 month ago

☆⭐︎ The official Who Goes There? chapter hub ⭐︎☆

This is where I will catalog every chapter and chunk of my book that I post here on Tumblr in case you want to read everything in order. For more information about this project, such as its premise, content warnings and where else to find it, click here.

DISCLAIMER: This list will be modified as I go, so if you don’t see any updates or links for a while, just know I’m trying to format the new stuff in a way that looks somewhat appealing.

☂︎ Chapter one umbrella: ☂︎

Chunk 1.

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1 month ago

Beta reading isn't about turning someone's story into your own vision, it's about helping someone make their story into THEIR vision

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yep absolutely!

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1 month ago

signed hardcover giveaway!

A trope map for E.M. Anderson's The Keeper of Lonely Spirits, with text around the book's cover reading: "tired immortal who just wants to die; straight people? I don't believe they exist; vengeful spirit; found family; running competition to see who has the most tragic backstory; ghost-hunting? no. ghost-therapizing? yes; waistcoat enthusiast historian love interest; 'I'm fine' (but none of them are fine); ghosts. like, so many ghosts; grump and sunshine; someone actually goes to therapy?? stop the presses!!" Text and book cover are in a translucent textbox over an image of yellow flowers in the sunset.

my queer cozy fantasy THE KEEPER OF LONELY SPIRITS has been out for one month. to celebrate, I'll be giving away one (1) signed hardcover

the giveaway is open internationally to countries that can receive USPS packages. it'll run across platforms, but there will only be one (1) winner

enter by 5p.m. EST on Friday, May 2, by...

following me

reblogging this post

bonus entry: tag a friend

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Find an angry spirit. Send it on its way before it causes trouble. Leave before anyone learns his name.

After over two hundred years, Peter Shaughnessy is ready to die and end this cycle. But thanks to a youthful encounter with one o’ them folk in his native Ireland, he can’t. Instead, he’s cursed to wander eternally far from home, with the ability to see ghosts and talk to plants.

Immortality means Peter has lost everyone he’s ever loved. And so he centers his life on the dead—until his wandering brings him to Harrington, Ohio. As he searches for a vengeful spirit, Peter’s drawn into the townsfolk’s lives, homes and troubles. For the first time in over a century, he wants something other than death.

But the people of Harrington will die someday. And he won’t.

As Harrington buckles under the weight of the supernatural, the ghost hunt pits Peter’s well-being against that of his new friends and the man he’s falling for. If he stays, he risks heartbreak. If he leaves, he risks their lives.

click here to add the book on TheStoryGraph: link to The Keeper of Lonely Spirits on TheStoryGraph

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4 weeks ago

This description is so gorgeous, oh my goodness. /gen

For that, she blamed her mother, Adelaide Copeland, who was the first to teach her what it truly meant to be haunted. It seemed that while her mother had left Salvation, Mississippi behind—stuffing Sadie and a few scraps of their belongings into their car in the dead of night—Salvation had never truly left her. It echoed through the halls of their new hollow apartment in Georgia, tucked away in her muffled sobs past midnight. If it weren’t for the weeping, Sadie wouldn’t have known her mother to be human and sometimes, she still believed she was nothing but a blanket of flesh with no innards like the sheet of a ghost with nothing underneath.

— Excerpt from The Taste of Hallowed Earth

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others writing

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1 month ago

I love dandelions!

*puts a dandelion in your hair*

Reblog to put a dandelion in prev's hair

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1 month ago

No no you don't understand! I want to watch this show/movie, read this book, listen to this podcast, etc.! But I must be in the right mindset and the exact head space to begin, or I just can't!

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this is a painful mood and something I am working on getting over you really just gotta start these things then you'll find yourself getting oddly into it

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1 month ago

I talk a lot about using your local library, and as a person with a fantastic local library, I am privileged in that push. Unfortunately, it has become apparent in the new year that the budget for audiobooks has shifted. Whether due to inflation, changes in funding, or something else, my local library has not been buying as many audiobooks, which affects me as an audiobook reader deeply.

The secondary service I rely on after the library is, without a doubt, Libro.fm. So, if you want to help me get access to more books, and also enjoy an audiobook service I genuinely believe in, check out my referral link. If you use it, I get credits, which I use to expand my digital library when the library rejects my suggestions.

Here is my referral link: