Is it considered bad form if you let your readers know ahead of time what you believe to be are some weak areas in your plot and or prose? To give them a sort of "heads-up," to pay particular attention to faulty areas that you understand aren't quite right along with all of the other rough areas.

Or is it better to just leave it be.

Thanks all.

[This message has been edited by mommiller (edited May 02, 2006).]

Sometimes you write something you know is just the best thing ever written in the history of mankind...and nobody else seems to think so. Other times you write something that you know nobody could possibly be interested in and everybody thinks its the greatest thing since chocolate ice cream.

As the author you are far too close to your work to be objective. Let fresh eyes search for problems. You may be pleasantly surprised -- or you may be told exactly what you expect to hear.

If you tell people there's something wrong though they WILL find something wrong. Then you still only have your opinion and there was no point to having anybody else read it.

Particularly on a board like this where you are dealing with near strangers, it might be best just to let them critique as they will.

On other boards where you are more familiar and friendly with the readers, its okay to ask for specific critique areas.

But if you let the critiquers go on their own you will more likely get critiques of the actual weak points rather than what you think the weak points are.