Ranting against reviewers of new authors who don't offer constructive comments.

Why? Because I feel like it (read drunk off my ass on pain meds). You know what I have noticed over my long stint lurking on this site? The complete and utter bullshit that gets spewed every twenty seconds by a select few self entitled pricks in the reviewing circuit. I'm not saying these are bad people, nor am I saying that they are somehow less or should be looked down upon for what they do. . . oh wait, I am. There are a number of individuals I have come across, I refuse to name names or point fingers, that do more harm in a single review than a legion of angry reviewers. These people tear apart a story, rip apart all of the words and sentences chosen by a budding author. . . and then walk out and leave a bloody mess on the floor, laughing all the while. It's like if a doctor told a man he was diabetic, then walked out without prescribing any medication or giving the bastard any information at all. Okay, poor analogy, but it's the best I can come up with.

Reviewers, especially those of the Rage variety, have a duty to these young word smiths to tell them why they fail beyond just taking parts of their story, pasting it in a quote box and then spending a few lines mocking it, and how they can fix it. Or at least how to avoid that mistake again.

And that does not mean telling them to quit writing.

New authors tend to fall into plenty of traps that more experienced authors can avoid, certain tropes and clichés that insure a place in reviewing hell. The most common? Self inserts and wish fulfillment. By God does it grind my gears when I see a 'I go to Equestria and have fun times!' fic or 'I'm so emo, not like the others' fic in the new story box. But that does not mean that they deserve to be torn asunder by some asshole with 200+ followers looking for some laughs by tearing apart some new kids story. I am not saying to not review the story, I am saying that if you are going to review the story, at least hell the poor bastard out.

I'm not saying do it for them, I'm just saying that if your taking the time to deconstruct the millionth HiE self-insert wish fulfillment where the protagonist is destined to save the world and bone the princesses, you might as well tell them why it's a bad idea to write a HiE self-insert wish fulfillment where the protagonist is destined to save the world and bone the princesses.

And, let's face it, the first story most people write is terrible. But you don't have to be a dick and not help the poor newbie.

Tell them what could have been done better, point them in the right direction, don't just leave them to flounder around to their own device to repeat the same mistakes. Bad grammar or spelling? Send them to one of the many, many groups on the site that is willing to preread and point out such mistakes. Lacking a certain amount of content, that meat to cover the skeleton of a story they have? Give them a few pointers or ideas on ways to flush out their story. They fell for any of those clichés that makes you want to punch a baby (seal)? Explain why the idea was bad, and maybe give them some ideas for a new fic, not necessarily a great, or even good one, but something passable that wont end them with eighty down votes for their four up votes (one of which was most likely themselves).

If you just end your review with a finalized 'this is crap, try again', more than likely they will not try again. And what's worse, your review could draw the attention of a hundred hecklers that will needle this budding author over ever single damn mistake and follow them until they just quit. I know this happens, I've seen it.

And it's a sad thing too.

I have seen brilliant ideas poorly delivered be crushed under an onslaught of negative comments, driving the author to finally give up. I have seen people completely revise their story many, many times to try and please a group that would just not be impressed, until they just lost sight of what their story was supposed to be about.

I'm not saying this is common occurrence, nor am I saying that it is uncommon. But I will say this, in the past year of my lurking, signed in or no, I have seen half a dozen talented young authors leave this site after being 'reviewed' by fairly well known reviewers. And not one offered, to my knowledge, any constructive comments or any amount of assistance in the area of creative writing.

I don't know. I just had this all pent up inside of me and felt I had to put it out there. If this does not make any sense or offends anyone, I am sorry.

~Aku.