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May I suggest that members who read others short stories post their thoughts in the original F&F thread. None of us should be afraid of criticism and the feedback is very helpful to all members. It helps us to begin to see common weaknesses. Also it helps us to see how different ones actually crit. Whether it’s a grammatical crit or a plot development crit, characterization crit or a “this has been done too often before,” crit… etc. It helps to see that it’s not hard to do something even if you don’t feel qualified. On top of that it’s very, very good for you to do. Nothing will help you grow faster than pulling your mind out of your own stories and analyzing others. Often, the things you point out to others, you suddenly realize you were blind to in your own writing.
Another benefit is that when members see feedback that shows that the critter has obviously read the whole story, all members would be prompted to participate on the level that makes this group the best there is. As it is now, nobody is sure how much follow through is really going on. Some might reason, all I have to do is comment on a few first thirteen’s and then someone will help me with my writing. And we probably will, there are no meanies here, but you would really be missing out on the greater benefit of this association with fellow writers.
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Thank you for encouraging this, Tracy. People are certainly welcome to post their feedback in the topic created for the story.
We only ask that it be general comments, not quotes of the text with corrections, as some do with their 13-lines feedback. The only person who can post quotes of a manuscript is the author, and we only let an author post 13 lines.
[This message has been edited by Kathleen Dalton Woodbury (edited March 17, 2007).]
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I think that general comments shared would be great for all of us to learn from one another. Wbriggs - if you find yourself writing an email summarizing some key observations, that seems to me to be the thing that could be shared in F&F. If you don't, well, that's not how you happen to give feedback. The detailed edits on the MS are immensely valuable, the writer will certainly benefit. If there's a way for others to benefit as well, BONUS!
I'm grateful for the time everone spends critiquing. I've learned a ton in just a few weeks, and have enjoyed offering my thoughts and opinions as well.
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