A Cat's Thoughts

   Ouch!

I recently posted my story "Lady of Swords" on the OWW, and it has been slowly gathering cirts. Very slowly.

Last night I finally worked up the courage to read the 2 crits I have recieved, and they were painful. The first complained that the plot was too straight forward and wanted to see more differenciation between the characters. The hardest word to read in that crit was "predicatable" which was used several times. He also questioned whether the story was appropriately within the genre which came out of the blue as far as I'm concerned.

The other was the harder to take. She'd rated my plot at the lowest possible level. Said that my characters were all stereotypes and complained that the whole story was just male bashing and uninspired. (OK, I'll admit men don't get the best light in that story, but they aren't all clods). Then she said some things that made me wonder if she actually read the story or just skimmed it. She complained that one character wouldn't have been disrespectful of the lady when that character was in fact being very respectful - but someone else was whispering disparages. She complained that all the women were orphans, but they aren't. So now I'm left to wonder whether this critter is worth listening to and it's my fault that she didn't get it, or was it her fault for not reading closely enough and making assumptions that are belied by the text.

Either way, a story I thought would just need some polishing, needs a complete overhaul. And I was in need of some serious hugging - fortunately Sweetie was able to provide the hugs.

Posted by Becca at September 2, 2005 10:45 AM