Why I Don’t Write Bad Reviews

Is that weird? That I don’t write bad reviews? If a book is bad, then why wouldn’t I spread the news?

There are lots of reasons to write a good review, in my opinion:

• It spreads the word to readers anxious for another good book in their favorite genre
• It often helps an author become more visible to the public, especially new and indie authors
• A piece of good writing, like any piece of art should be shared
• It will encourage the author to write more books that you’re likely to love in the future
• It sends something positive into the world, and can’t we all use more positivity?

And you’d think that writing bad reviews would be helpful too. After all, shouldn’t we warn fellow readers not to waste their time? Maybe. But my observation is that bad reviews can be far more damaging than helpful.  And truthfully, it’s more about the manner in which most bad reviews are written than it is the bad review itself. In my experience bad reviews tend to be:

• Snarky and filled with personal attacks of the author such as, name calling, insults to the writer’s intelligence, purely negative, with no redeeming qualities noted whatsoever
• Written personally, as though the author wrote the book to personally enrage or insult the reviewer
• Demeaning, bordering on bullying, as though the author has the life value of a bug and is undeserving of common courtesy
• Seems to intend to bring the author down for reasons known only to the reviewer

I’ve seen (far too often) bad review campaigns in which sometimes hundreds will attempt to destroy a book or author by posting countless bad and sometimes untrue reviews. Usually for reasons that have nothing to do with the book or quality of writing, but more the author’s ideology, the topic of the book, or  motives other than to assess the merits (or lack thereof) of the book. In other words, I’ve seen bad reviews used as weapons.

Constructive Criticism vs Bad Reviews

Full disclosure: In case you didn’t know, I’m also an author and have a built-in sensitivity to reviews. Good or bad, a review has an effect. Authors put an enormous amount of energy and pieces of themselves into their books and to see all that torn down in five sentences can be discouraging – sometimes devastating. As noted above, bad review are often not helpful.

However, constructive criticism is another story and can be enormously helpful to the author and the reader. What is constructive criticism? In terms of a review, since you aren’t doing a critique, rather than saying it sucked you could say that it dragged because of ____ and perhaps the author could have _____. If you are going to criticize at least please be specific you’ll help the writer and future readers, because the author will pay attention to your comments and seek to improve, if you can mention something concrete that they can improve. Also, throw in a few things that did work, that you did like – your reviewer’s license won’t be revoked if you do and your review will probably be taken more seriously. I’ve read books that weren’t wonderful but I loved the characters, or the plot twists were so inventive and fresh that I forgave other sins. Maybe you didn’t like it overall, but did  you like something? Mention it. The reader behind you in line might want to read it because of that very thing. Everybody has different tastes and preferences, right?

So, why won’t I write bad reviews?

There are several reasons I won’t write bad reviews and the following are just a few:

• There are already more than enough people willing to write them
• I don’t like to discourage writers (yes, that’s a bias)
• I’d rather spend my limited free time helping other writers, rather than hurting them
• Criticism, like family secrets should be shared selectively and discreetly
• It bums out readers and authors
• The world already has plenty of negativity without my adding to it

More full disclosure: I have been asked to review books and to provide an honest review and I have done so. However, if I found myself in a situation where I knew I couldn’t offer a somewhat positive review, then I would contact the author and tell them that I’d prefer to withdraw from writing a review.

What about you? Do you write negative reviews? If so, how do you approach that? What’s your take on bad reviews? Necessary? Unnecessary?

Feel free to share, debate or disagree in the comments.

Writer Chick

copyright 2014

 

 

What Do Movies Meme?

 

Using AFI’s list of 100 Top Movies, bold the ones you’ve seen, ital ones you’d like to see and add up to three that you think should be on the list.

1. CITIZEN KANE (1941) Brilliant mostly for its cinematic features, the story itself is over-rated in my opinion.
2. CASABLANCA (1942) A real classic – love it still.
3. THE GODFATHER (1972) To me, the epitome of gangster movies which meant for me I no longer had to see any more ganster movies which generally are boring as hell.

4. GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) a movie I was satisfied to see once.
5. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) a movie that was almost as hard to watch as Reds.
6. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) still afraid of those flying monkeys.
7. THE GRADUATE (1967)
8. ON THE WATERFRONT (1954) The speech with Brando and Malden in the cab is the best part.
9. SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993) Truly touched me.
10. SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (1952) Who doesn’t love this one?
11. IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) always gets to me.
12. SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)
13. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957) I never really ‘got’ this movie. What was the big deal?
14. SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959) Nothing funnier than Curtis and Lemon in drag.
15. STAR WARS (1977) Once was more than enough to see any of these movies.
16. ALL ABOUT EVE (1950) If  you haven’t seen this, you must the dialogue alone is worth watching it.
17. THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1951)
18. PSYCHO (1960)

19. CHINATOWN (1974) The sequel The Two Jakes is decent too.
20. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST (1975)
21. THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940) yawn!
22. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) yawn!
23. THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)
24. RAGING BULL (1980)
25. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982)
26. DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)
27. BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)
28. APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)
29. MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939) Classic
30. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)
31. ANNIE HALL (1977)
32. THE GODFATHER PART II (1974)
33. HIGH NOON (1952)
34. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962) I dare you to watch this movie and not feel changed by it.
35. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
36. MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969) Very sad and tragic I thought.
37. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)
38. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944) True Film Noir.

39. DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965)
40. NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) I was fascinated by the shine in Eva Marie Saint’s hair in this one. How did they do it?
41. WEST SIDE STORY (1961) Urban Romeo and Juliet which has never been improved upon.
42. REAR WINDOW (1954)
43. KING KONG (1933)
44. THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915)
45. A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951)  Blanche Dubois is one of the most unique characters ever written in my opinion.
46. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971) Ugh, hated this
47. TAXI DRIVER (1976)
48. JAWS (1975) One of the best scary movies ever.
49. SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)
50. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)
51. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)
52. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953)
53. AMADEUS (1984)
54. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930)
55. THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)
56. M*A*S*H (1970)
57. THE THIRD MAN (1949)
58. FANTASIA (1940)
59. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955)
60. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
61. VERTIGO (1958)
62. TOOTSIE (1982)
63. STAGECOACH (1939)
64. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977) The mashed potato scene is my favorite.
65. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991) Chianti and fava beans, yummy.
66. NETWORK (1976)
67. THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962) This version was superior to the recent remake.
68. AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951)
69. SHANE (1953)
70. THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971)
71. FORREST GUMP (1994)
72. BEN-HUR (1959)
73. WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)
74. THE GOLD RUSH (1925)
75. DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990) I only remember how I longed for this movie to be over.
76. CITY LIGHTS (1931)
77. AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)
78. ROCKY (1976) Despite all the terrible sequels the original was one of the best movies every made.
79. THE DEER HUNTER (1978)
80. THE WILD BUNCH (1969)
81. MODERN TIMES (1936)
82. GIANT (1956)
83. PLATOON (1986)
84. FARGO (1996)
85. DUCK SOUP (1933)
86. MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935)
87. FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
88. EASY RIDER (1969)
89. PATTON (1970)
90. THE JAZZ SINGER (1927)
91. MY FAIR LADY (1964)
92. A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951)
93. THE APARTMENT (1960)
94. GOODFELLAS (1990)
95. PULP FICTION (1994) totally over-rated and stupid.
96. THE SEARCHERS (1956)
97. BRINGING UP BABY (1938)
98. UNFORGIVEN (1992) Not bad, but did it really deserve all those oscars?
99. GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER (1967)
100. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942) It was a hoot to see Cagny dancing and singing after all those ganster movies.

I have seen 78 out of 100 – wow, even I’m surprised. The three I would add to the list are:

101. THE CAINE MUTINY
102. BODY HEAT 
103. WHITE CHRISTMAS

The three I’d remove from the list are:

1. Lawrence of Arabia
2. The Godfather Part II
3. Grapes of Wrath

What are your picks?
WC

I Didn’t Meme It…or Did I?

 

I snagged this meme from Interstellar Lass because it looked like fun and I’ve never done one.

Instrutions:
Look at the list of books below.
*Bold the ones you’ve read
*Italicize the ones you want to read
*Leave the ones that you aren’t interested in alone.

If you are reading this, tag your it!

1.The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) (sorry but YAWN)
2.Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3.To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee) (truly one of the best books ever written)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10.A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11.Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12.Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13.Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16.Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees(Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban(Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger) (forced to read this in high school and never would have finished it if I didn’t have to. Hated every word of it.)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie(Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand) (One of my personal top ten)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True(Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible (parts only)
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt) (beautifully written and yet almost too sad to read)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck) (another book I was forced to read which I hated)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald) (What about Tender is the Night?)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand) (Worth the read if only for the speech given by Roarke at the end in court)
63. War and Peace (Tolsoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving) (to me, the ultimate book about writers – the way the mind works for them and their lot in life – although too over the top which is Irving’s style)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams) (stupid book about rabbits – why did I even read it? I think I kept waiting for it to get good)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth(Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100.Ulysses (James Joyce)

I must say though I would add quite a few to this list:

1. A Movable Feast (Ernest Hemingway)
2. The Shining (Stephen King)
3. Lightning (Dean Koonz)
4. The Foundation (Isaac Asimov)
5. Stranger in a Strange Land (Robert Heinlein)
6. Up Country (Nelson DeMille)
7. Slaughterhouse Five (Kurt Vonnegut)
8. Farenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)
9. The Old Man and the Sea (Ernest Hemingway)
10. The Dead Zone (Stephen King)
11. Tom Sawyer (Mark Twain)
12. Letters From Earth (Mark Twain)
13. Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)
14. Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ray Bradbury)

And probably many more….what about you?
WC

American I-Dull

 

Boy does that say it or what? Now, I’ll admit I was an AI virgin last year and I suppose I got swept away with it all. But this year sucks so bad already I’m pretty sure I won’t be watching it anymore. It’s too painful to watch the slow slaughter of popular music that way. And frankly watching paint dry has more twists and turns.

Clearly, there are only 3-4 people who can actually sing. The best singer has absolutely no personality. In fact, when she isn’t singing it’s as if she doesn’t actually exist. Which is kind of spooky and makes me wonder if she is a virtual contestant or something. They can do everything else, why not that? And wouldn’t that, after all, be the epitome of the perfect contestant according to Simon Scowell?

I really am bummed though. When I watched last year I had so much fun being a fan. All of them had some talent and they were all interesting and had their own personalities to project. Even when the bad ones (like chicken little) were voted off I was a little teary-eyed. They were all so easy to love or ….hate. It was a thrill a minute and no one looked forward to Tuesday and Wednesday nights like I did. What’s happened?

Was last year a fluke? Pretty much all the losers from last year could beat the contestants of this year. Will anyone actually stay awake long enough to see who wins this snoozer? I can’t even remember any of their names. Or what they look like. Or even sound like. The guys are pretty much clones of one another. The most original one – the asian guy in bare feet (and sadly it was the bare feet that made him stand out) is gone. And I’m alarmed that it will take weeks and weeks to eliminate all the other bad ones, which by my calculations is about 20 of them.

Maybe the thrill is gone and Idol is now just more bad reality t.v. like all the others. There is a season for all things and a time for all things to come to an end. Could this be Idol’s time? Is that why they are starting that lame camp thing? To distract from the fact that out of hundreds of thousands of people who auditioned they came up with this crap as the best of the best? Are they fucking kidding me?

Dull, dull, dull, dull. I may give it another couple of weeks on the off chance someone with a pulse will actually end up on camera – but I’m pretty sure none of us will be jonesing for Idol this year.

What a waste!

WC

Bad Art!

Call me crazy but isn’t art supposed to be good? Isn’t the idea of art that it is supposed to uplift us, provoke us, make us think, make us respond, make us rethink? If so, I ask you, what does the above portrait make you think? Me? I think it kind of reminds me of Hillary & Chelsea without their makeup and good lighting. But for sure, this is not really improving my life in any way.

Now, I’m not talking about taste. People like and respond to different art forms and different forms of those forms of art. (Don’t worry Michael, we won’t be discussing (c)Rap today.) And while there are certain types of art that really don’t speak to me personally, I can still see it is art. That’s fine and well. It can be far out or whacky or like nothing you’ve ever seen – but if the artist really knows their stuff, like it or not, you’ll know it’s art. Right? To me, if the piece has a high quality of communication and the artistic skill & expertise is there it works.

But what about crap like, Andy Warhole’s campbell soup can? This is art? Huh? Or the famous piece of Jesus’ head in a jar of urine (real urine, mind you) – sorry I forget the name or the museum it’s in. Another of my favorites is a big blue box in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, called Big Blue Box. Now, what message am I to get from that? That boxes are big and blue? Eh? In my day I’ve seen plenty, whether in real life or in photographs, on the internet, etc. There’s a lot of bad art going around.

In fact, there is a Museum of Bad Art if you find  you simply can’t get enough bad art, or want an afternoon of bad art, this is your place. My particular favorite is called “Haircut” pictured below:

Hey now, how’s about you trim just a little off the top and please don’t stab my eyes.

Then there are these green monstrosities:

 

I’m not sure but I think they are in the nominations lane for entry into the Museum of Bad Art. Or maybe they are just bad and are floating around the universe with all the other really bad art. Like this one:

Spooky huh?

I’m wondering, is really bad art a result of really bad books, really bad television shows, really bad movies and really low standards that is now the American pop culture? Is do we have really bad television shows, really bad movies, really bad books and really low standards because of the the really bad art out there? It’s something to think about.

What do you think?

WC

Is There an American Idol Under There?

I have to tell you I am so not impressed with anybody so far. I know I am new to this American Idol thing – and really maybe I was only meant to watch one season and be on my way. And if the auditions so far are any indication that could be quite true.

For the most part we’ve seen the typical bi-polar individuals who look like they’ve got on their makeup and costume for the big scene in a horror movie – and who sound like tortured souls risen from the depths of hell.

Then there are the simply clueless bambi types who have that big-eyed disappointment when they are told no. As though they don’t understand what the word no, means.

Then the ones who look relatively normal but have way more confidence than talent – and when they flake out on the first song, start singing other songs, sometimes changing up to three times before the judges finally manage to shut them up. “Just give me one more chance,” they all say. “I need a glass of water. I need to go to the bathroom.” Whatever. Do they really think that the judges will forget how bad they were during the 3 minute break – or that they will instantly become genius after they empty their bladder.

I’ve seen 4 or 5 people who will likely make it to the top 24. The blonde girl, they guy named sundance, the guy who looks like a cross between Fidel Castro and a Hassidic Rabbi, the bald guy whose kid was born the day of the audition and the back up singer who looks like a young Gladys Knight. I don’t think we’ve met the idol yet. My prediction. And believe me, there is not a Chris, Kelly, Paris or Taylor among them yet. This could be a really boring year.

This part of the show is always somewhat painful from what I understand – but so far it’s really sucked even the weird auditions were weird creepy, not funny. Remember the mom and daughter look alike team? She had blonde hair and mom was a brunette. Weird glasses, frizzy hair, braless, horrible clothes – and this girl went on and on about how sexy she was. I’m telling you, the meds need to be upped, seriously.

Tonight is another night of agony. Not sure I’ll make it through unless they start showing at least a couple of people worth hearing.

WC

To Crit Or Not To Crit….

 

Writers are very funny animals. They love words, which I guess right there is pretty weird as far as most folks are concerned. They also like to do silly things like collect old dictionaries, odd and unusual reference books, old maps, time tables, train schedules – you name it. If it’s some sort of reference that might someday enable us to add authenticity to a story or essay we want it.

We also like people to read what we’ve written. Naturally. I suppose that isn’t so strange – but there is a bit of a catch for the reader. Oh yes, you don’t get away with simply reading it – you have to give feedback. Writers love many things, but nothing so much as feedback.

A few years ago, I got involved with an online writing group called Writer’s Village University. On the face of it, it sounded like a writer’s haven. Over 200 free courses, a chance to read and be read by other writers, message boards, forums, etc. all for a very modest sum. And off I went like the bright-eyed, hope-springs-eternal writer that I am – believing this was going to be an incredible experience.

Well, truly there were some  incredible things that happened. The biggest I think was meeting my buddy Michael whose writing talent slapped me upside the head like a train going 100 mph. I was actually in awe of the man. Wow, I thought, if only I could write like that!

To my utter amazement he seemed to like my writing as well. We sort of formed a bit of a mutual admiration society and sought out other writers to share in the fun.

Sadly, there were many wannabe writers there. Now, don’t get me wrong – I have admiration for anyone who aspires to anything and is willing to put in the work. But many I’m afraid were just looking for the atta boys (or atta girls) and didn’t take too kindly to actual criticism.

That’s the problem for writers. Even really good ones. It’s hard to swallow that criticism. It’s hard to see why someone wouldn’t love what you’ve spent so much time (possibly months or even years) crafting. But part of being in this group was to give what was commonly called a ‘crit.’ Many times these crits didn’t go over well. And feelings were hurt and sometimes worse. Or even payback so to speak was exacted upon the crit-er.

Within a few months both Michael and I were ready to leave the group for the same reason (which we learned in later conversations with one another) – people said they wanted feedback but in fact they wanted validation. Which to my way of thinking is not the same thing.

It’s hard to critique a person’s work – especially if you like them. It’s harder still when you’ve with the best of intentions critiqued someone’s work and they’ve blown your head off for it. Actually, it’s quite the trick to learn just how many eggshells one must trod upon lightly in order not to get your head blown off.

I think if you want to be a writer – or really any kind of artist, you must have or grow a very thick skin. And be willing to hear anything anyone has to say about what you write. Even if you don’t like it and even if you don’t agree. Because even on the really bad ‘reviews’ you learn something – if only who isn’t your public.

So despite it all – I’m one of those writers who wants you to tell me honestly what you think of what I have written. Whether you like it or not. Naturally I would prefer to wow you with my incredible skills but I’d rather hear that I didn’t – if that’s the honest truth – than to have you blow smoke up my skirt (much fun as that might be under the right circumstances. 😉 hehe).

So dear readers, please do feel free to say what you think and for that I will give you my eternal gratitude.

WC