I’ve been thinking about this topic for a long time. More so when I joined a Creative Writing group in January. And then I sort of forgot about it until I saw this article and realized maybe I should mention it here to get some feedback on the whole topic.
Writing novels in third person POV is the most common way to tell stories. Meaning to say, that the details within a particular story are pretty partial to one’s own thinking or opinion. So, with that being said, I sort of have a difficult time working with the following types of observations or critiquing:
- Your character doesn’t sound realistic
- Your character is not likable because he is a womanizer
- Why would your character have a close relationship with his mother. That is odd
- Why does she hate her mother? She is a brat
- Your character sounds spoiled and I don’t like that in a person
- Your character is flirting with his friend’s female companion. That is a no-no.
- How could he have a one-night-stand with a married woman!
- He sounds selfish
- She sounds desperate and maybe too anxious
- He smokes too much. She drinks too much
You get the point?
So, I wonder…what criteria do people use to critique writings outside of the grammatical stuff. Is it mostly a reaction because, what they are reading reminds them of a bad time and place in their own lives? Or…I would love to understand.
What do you think?
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