ObsequiumMinaris
New member
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2022
- Messages
- 16
- Points
- 3
Let's get this ball rolling, shall we?
Pleased to meet you, I go by Minaris. I have been writing on FFN for several years now and recently self-published my first original story over on Amazon, with two more in the works as of the time of this writing, and hopefully many more to come afterwards. I have also helped other authors over the years - I currently have around 80 reviews published on various stories over on FFN, and I am assisting several friends of mine with their own stories, providing feedback whenever they ask for my help. All this is to say that I've given feedback before, and it's generally been very well-received.
Now that my boring qualifications are out of the way, I'll get to what you're really here for - I will read and provide feedback on your first chapter, completely free of charge, no strings attached.
"Why should I have you read and critique my story?" you may ask.
That's a fair question. My answer is this: Because good feedback is hard to come by, and I pride myself on providing good feedback. I will not be rude or mean or anything like that, either - we're all here to learn and get better. My job as a reviewer is to lift you up, not put you down. By the same token, if there's something I think could use some improvement or adjustment, then yes, I will mention it along with possibly a suggestion for what can be done to work on it. I was once a beginning author, myself - I know what it's like to desperately want feedback, and yet be unable to ask for it out of fear of having my work just torn to shreds before my eyes. You have my word that I will not be that kind of reviewer. I'm here to help you, not hurt you.
Writing is hard. If it was easy, everyone would do it. My job is to make it easier for everyone who so desires my help by being as supportive as possible, but also to make sure they're improving as a writer, too. I am not going to just heap praise on your story, but at the same time, I'm not going to just rip it to pieces, either. Good constructive criticism is a two-part process - it is both insightful and supportive. It's a two-way street, basically.
Just as well, writing is not a zero-sum game. One person's success does not take away my success, or anyone else's for that matter. it does not help anyone to just rip into someone else's work without mercy. With that in mind, the best and most logical thing to do is to help each other out however we can. This is my way of doing that. In layman's terms: If you want help, I'm here for you.
"What do you get out of this, anyway?" you're probably wondering. "Why volunteer to help a bunch of random strangers for free?"
Aside from the warm and fuzzy feeling that I'm helping a fellow author out, you mean? Well, I get to read more, which is always a plus. I also get to learn more about writing myself by explaining it to other people - after all, the best way to learn something is to teach someone else how to do it. And, admittedly, if I'm trying to grow my brand as a writer and get my name out there and hopefully sell some more of my books, this is a good way to do it. But even if I don't end up selling more books, the knowledge that I'm helping people out is more than enough for me.
"Okay, I'm sold. How is this going to work?"
Drop a link to your story's first chapter in this thread and I will take a look at it and provide feedback as soon as I am able. Fair warning - I work a full-time job and also have my own slew of stories that demand my attention like a baby screaming for a diaper change, not to mention other hobbies of my own. But I will get to your story in time, count on it. It might be later in the night, or maybe at a later day in the week, but I will get to it. And if you've posted here and I haven't gotten to it after a while, by all means, please send me a message either here or on FFN kindly - emphasis on kindly, please - asking me to take a look, and I will. Odds are, I'm at work/working on my own stories/otherwise indisposed by something else, and could use a reminder that I need to take a look at your story.
"What kind of feedback will you give me?"
If you're looking for purely grammar-related feedback, you're probably in the wrong thread, because I go through life following the PVC Rule - that is, if it reads like it was written by a Pirate, a Viking, or a Caveman, then it's probably wrong, unless the character in question happens to actually be a pirate, a viking, or a caveman. That being said, I will certainly do my best if that's what you're looking for, but my areas of expertise generally lie elsewhere. What I can provide in terms of feedback, or at least what I'm most confident at providing feedback in, is everything else - plot, prose, characterization, how your story simply feels to read, etc. All the good stuff, basically.
"Why only the first chapter?"
Because I'm unfortunately a very busy man with a very busy life. Much as I would love to read your entire story and provide an in-depth review of the whole thing, I simply do not have the time for it. Limiting my feedback to your first chapter is unfortunately necessary if I want to help the most people I can. That being said, if there's a specific other chapter of your story you'd like me to look at that isn't the first, by all means, post it here with a request for me to look at it, and I will, so long as it's just the one chapter. At least for now, please do not post multi-chapter requests.
"Are there any stories you won't read?"
There are stories/genres I'm not particularly fond of, obviously, but I'm willing to look past my own tastes if it means helping someone else out. I am not much one for smut, for example, but if you have a smut story you'd like feedback on, then I'll give it a shot, and I'll do my best to set aside my own taste and be as impartial and helpful as possible. That being said, I'd obviously appreciate not being inundated with such requests, but if it happens, well, I made the thread and the offer of no-strings-attached feedback, so that just means I did it to myself, lol.
Now then, that's my overly long sales pitch done. If you're at all interested in some free feedback, please post your story here, and I will get to it as soon as I am able. Thank you, and I look forward to seeing what you've been working on.
Pleased to meet you, I go by Minaris. I have been writing on FFN for several years now and recently self-published my first original story over on Amazon, with two more in the works as of the time of this writing, and hopefully many more to come afterwards. I have also helped other authors over the years - I currently have around 80 reviews published on various stories over on FFN, and I am assisting several friends of mine with their own stories, providing feedback whenever they ask for my help. All this is to say that I've given feedback before, and it's generally been very well-received.
Now that my boring qualifications are out of the way, I'll get to what you're really here for - I will read and provide feedback on your first chapter, completely free of charge, no strings attached.
"Why should I have you read and critique my story?" you may ask.
That's a fair question. My answer is this: Because good feedback is hard to come by, and I pride myself on providing good feedback. I will not be rude or mean or anything like that, either - we're all here to learn and get better. My job as a reviewer is to lift you up, not put you down. By the same token, if there's something I think could use some improvement or adjustment, then yes, I will mention it along with possibly a suggestion for what can be done to work on it. I was once a beginning author, myself - I know what it's like to desperately want feedback, and yet be unable to ask for it out of fear of having my work just torn to shreds before my eyes. You have my word that I will not be that kind of reviewer. I'm here to help you, not hurt you.
Writing is hard. If it was easy, everyone would do it. My job is to make it easier for everyone who so desires my help by being as supportive as possible, but also to make sure they're improving as a writer, too. I am not going to just heap praise on your story, but at the same time, I'm not going to just rip it to pieces, either. Good constructive criticism is a two-part process - it is both insightful and supportive. It's a two-way street, basically.
Just as well, writing is not a zero-sum game. One person's success does not take away my success, or anyone else's for that matter. it does not help anyone to just rip into someone else's work without mercy. With that in mind, the best and most logical thing to do is to help each other out however we can. This is my way of doing that. In layman's terms: If you want help, I'm here for you.
"What do you get out of this, anyway?" you're probably wondering. "Why volunteer to help a bunch of random strangers for free?"
Aside from the warm and fuzzy feeling that I'm helping a fellow author out, you mean? Well, I get to read more, which is always a plus. I also get to learn more about writing myself by explaining it to other people - after all, the best way to learn something is to teach someone else how to do it. And, admittedly, if I'm trying to grow my brand as a writer and get my name out there and hopefully sell some more of my books, this is a good way to do it. But even if I don't end up selling more books, the knowledge that I'm helping people out is more than enough for me.
"Okay, I'm sold. How is this going to work?"
Drop a link to your story's first chapter in this thread and I will take a look at it and provide feedback as soon as I am able. Fair warning - I work a full-time job and also have my own slew of stories that demand my attention like a baby screaming for a diaper change, not to mention other hobbies of my own. But I will get to your story in time, count on it. It might be later in the night, or maybe at a later day in the week, but I will get to it. And if you've posted here and I haven't gotten to it after a while, by all means, please send me a message either here or on FFN kindly - emphasis on kindly, please - asking me to take a look, and I will. Odds are, I'm at work/working on my own stories/otherwise indisposed by something else, and could use a reminder that I need to take a look at your story.
"What kind of feedback will you give me?"
If you're looking for purely grammar-related feedback, you're probably in the wrong thread, because I go through life following the PVC Rule - that is, if it reads like it was written by a Pirate, a Viking, or a Caveman, then it's probably wrong, unless the character in question happens to actually be a pirate, a viking, or a caveman. That being said, I will certainly do my best if that's what you're looking for, but my areas of expertise generally lie elsewhere. What I can provide in terms of feedback, or at least what I'm most confident at providing feedback in, is everything else - plot, prose, characterization, how your story simply feels to read, etc. All the good stuff, basically.
"Why only the first chapter?"
Because I'm unfortunately a very busy man with a very busy life. Much as I would love to read your entire story and provide an in-depth review of the whole thing, I simply do not have the time for it. Limiting my feedback to your first chapter is unfortunately necessary if I want to help the most people I can. That being said, if there's a specific other chapter of your story you'd like me to look at that isn't the first, by all means, post it here with a request for me to look at it, and I will, so long as it's just the one chapter. At least for now, please do not post multi-chapter requests.
"Are there any stories you won't read?"
There are stories/genres I'm not particularly fond of, obviously, but I'm willing to look past my own tastes if it means helping someone else out. I am not much one for smut, for example, but if you have a smut story you'd like feedback on, then I'll give it a shot, and I'll do my best to set aside my own taste and be as impartial and helpful as possible. That being said, I'd obviously appreciate not being inundated with such requests, but if it happens, well, I made the thread and the offer of no-strings-attached feedback, so that just means I did it to myself, lol.
Now then, that's my overly long sales pitch done. If you're at all interested in some free feedback, please post your story here, and I will get to it as soon as I am able. Thank you, and I look forward to seeing what you've been working on.