Top Critters
Yes, I know there is a magic button you can push to see who the top 100 or so commentators are, but I would like to hear everyone rattle off some names of members who do actually go out of the way to help others improve the quality of their writing.
This would give the newer members an idea of who they can turn to in a time of crisis when that pesky pome they are tossing about is more word salad than magic bean sprouts.
This would give the newer members an idea of who they can turn to in a time of crisis when that pesky pome they are tossing about is more word salad than magic bean sprouts.
Hmm, I wonder if raffle was intentional? The winners being those who get real critiques if they're bold enough to ask the named critiquers?
The only true critiquers I've seen, that are still here and still critiquing, are Todski, yourself and your mate JohnnyBlaze. I do so on a limited basis, more often via PM than in poem comments.
So much of critiquing is opinion based and I think that most feel their opinions are aren't valuable or that even if they could potentially be, that they won't be well received.
The only true critiquers I've seen, that are still here and still critiquing, are Todski, yourself and your mate JohnnyBlaze. I do so on a limited basis, more often via PM than in poem comments.
So much of critiquing is opinion based and I think that most feel their opinions are aren't valuable or that even if they could potentially be, that they won't be well received.
You could always count on HollyDove to point out a defect or a flawed premise before a poem was consumed by hundreds of readers. Same with that little weirdo Peanut Butter Troll. Though neither have been around in recent months. They are sorely missed.
Savaja was another that had a keen eye for the most subtle of misspellings, the kind you didn't notice were in your poems for years.
You can find lepperochan in the Critique Me thread here and there putting out some in depth analysis.
Savaja was another that had a keen eye for the most subtle of misspellings, the kind you didn't notice were in your poems for years.
You can find lepperochan in the Critique Me thread here and there putting out some in depth analysis.
Trixareforkids said:Hmm, I wonder if raffle was intentional? The winners being those who get real critiques if they're bold enough to ask the named critiquers?
The only true critiquers I've seen, that are still here and still critiquing, are Todski, yourself and your mate JohnnyBlaze. I do so on a limited basis, more often via PM than in poem comments.
So much of critiquing is opinion based and I think that most feel their opinions are aren't valuable or that even if they could potentially be, that they won't be well received.
You need to zoom in on your Smarty Phone. I actually wrote "waffle" ......
Johnny is here way more often than I am. I have a life.
Dishing out in depth criticism can be labor intensive; another reason for it's scarcity.
The only true critiquers I've seen, that are still here and still critiquing, are Todski, yourself and your mate JohnnyBlaze. I do so on a limited basis, more often via PM than in poem comments.
So much of critiquing is opinion based and I think that most feel their opinions are aren't valuable or that even if they could potentially be, that they won't be well received.
You need to zoom in on your Smarty Phone. I actually wrote "waffle" ......
Johnny is here way more often than I am. I have a life.
Dishing out in depth criticism can be labor intensive; another reason for it's scarcity.
After giving detailed critique for about 8 years on another poetry site where they encouraged it, I found that more than half of the poets who asked for it took offense at anything less than positive comments. So I became a commenter. I used to teach English and enjoyed the poetry chapters immensely. Somehow being in a classroom with a group of students who had little experience with writing poetry was a whole lot easier than critiquing people who already think of themselves as poets.
Also, seriously and honestly critiquing poetry takes a great deal of thought and time. I used to get paid to correct grammar and spelling errors, now I get angry words in exchange. So when I do any kind of correcting or suggesting, I do it in private messages and save the comments box for positive reinforcement and commentary on the content of the poem.
As everyone knows, or at least I hope everyone on this site feels as I do, poetry is very personal. Our poems are like our children and we don't want anyone telling us how to raise our kids, even if we haven't got a clue. It took me ten years after I started writing poetry before I realized the criticism of my poems was all justified. Before I understood what they were talking about, I spent a lot of time calling people a-holes for criticizing my poems. Now I'm never sure what is good or bad because I never get criticism. I guess the grass really is greener on the other side...
JJ
Also, seriously and honestly critiquing poetry takes a great deal of thought and time. I used to get paid to correct grammar and spelling errors, now I get angry words in exchange. So when I do any kind of correcting or suggesting, I do it in private messages and save the comments box for positive reinforcement and commentary on the content of the poem.
As everyone knows, or at least I hope everyone on this site feels as I do, poetry is very personal. Our poems are like our children and we don't want anyone telling us how to raise our kids, even if we haven't got a clue. It took me ten years after I started writing poetry before I realized the criticism of my poems was all justified. Before I understood what they were talking about, I spent a lot of time calling people a-holes for criticizing my poems. Now I'm never sure what is good or bad because I never get criticism. I guess the grass really is greener on the other side...
JJ
I hear you loud and clear Poetryman. There's always someone with an ego who comes up with excuses for why their work shouldn't be biopsied and put under a microscope .
However, critiquing the poetry of others is one of the best ways to improve your own. Discovering what works and what doesn't along the way is a bonus.
No bullshit.
However, critiquing the poetry of others is one of the best ways to improve your own. Discovering what works and what doesn't along the way is a bonus.
No bullshit.
JohnnyBlaze said:
However, critiquing the poetry of others is one of the best ways to improve your own. Discovering what works and what doesn't along the way is a bonus.
No bullshit.
This is why I've been pushing myself to devote more time to it.
I find my biggest hurdle is that I have no desire to critique a piece that I don't like enough to feel the crit is worth my time and the author's (whether they are actually able to use what I offer up or not). If I can't see how the piece can move from decent to good or from good to very good, etc. then it feels like a pointless exercise to me
However, critiquing the poetry of others is one of the best ways to improve your own. Discovering what works and what doesn't along the way is a bonus.
No bullshit.
This is why I've been pushing myself to devote more time to it.
I find my biggest hurdle is that I have no desire to critique a piece that I don't like enough to feel the crit is worth my time and the author's (whether they are actually able to use what I offer up or not). If I can't see how the piece can move from decent to good or from good to very good, etc. then it feels like a pointless exercise to me
I think that people only accept good comments. It s very difficult to accept corrections, though it s the best way to be better. If you don t like a poem, I think you don t have to comment on on it. You don t like it and that s it. But if you like it and you see that you can give a feedback in order to make it better, it should be accepted from the writer. I wish we could get some nice feedback here, even in the competitions, many hosts they don t bother to give a feedback... and that takes away the interest of it. But that s ok, we have to accept that we are not perfect anyways ;)
Trixareforkids said:
This is why I've been pushing myself to devote more time to it.
I find my biggest hurdle is that I have no desire to critique a piece that I don't like enough to feel the crit is worth my time and the author's (whether they are actually able to use what I offer up or not). If I can't see how the piece can move from decent to good or from good to very good, etc. then it feels like a pointless exercise to me
I see it as a trial and error process. Most poems can be improved. Great poems can still be slightly improved. So you have to learn to identify which can become great poems, which could be used as a teaching lesson and which could be great if you just wrote them from scratch yourself using the basic idea.
But you don't want to rewrite someone else's poems by simply suggesting better phrases and more choice words, because that would cheat the writer the opportunity to arrive at those same conclusions. Let them make their work better.
This is why I've been pushing myself to devote more time to it.
I find my biggest hurdle is that I have no desire to critique a piece that I don't like enough to feel the crit is worth my time and the author's (whether they are actually able to use what I offer up or not). If I can't see how the piece can move from decent to good or from good to very good, etc. then it feels like a pointless exercise to me
I see it as a trial and error process. Most poems can be improved. Great poems can still be slightly improved. So you have to learn to identify which can become great poems, which could be used as a teaching lesson and which could be great if you just wrote them from scratch yourself using the basic idea.
But you don't want to rewrite someone else's poems by simply suggesting better phrases and more choice words, because that would cheat the writer the opportunity to arrive at those same conclusions. Let them make their work better.
MayRayn said:Much of the advantage of this type of site is getting real and thoughtful feedback. I've been here for too short a time to know - when people say they want honest criticism, do they really mean it?
I guess we're in the process of finding that out by who chimes in. Learning who the critiquers are would also be learning who is open to being critiqued.
I guess we're in the process of finding that out by who chimes in. Learning who the critiquers are would also be learning who is open to being critiqued.
