Most Common Writing Errors ✔️

How To Criticize A Story + How To Take Criticism

For starters, using F over C for weather makes more logical sense anyway. Secondly, unless I am writing a sci fi (like Adrift or LC), my stories take place in America. Why would I not use American terminology when my book takes place in America? I wouldn't expect you to use American terminology if your story takes place in South Korea, so why are you expecting me to use the terminology you use in my story?

It's not about you. Your country isn't the only one in the world. Just because other countries do things differently doesn't mean it's wrong.

One time I wrote a fluffy, short fanfic that was meant to teach a lesson about the importance of spending time with the ones you love. The story took place in America. It wasn't a serious fic, it was like ten chaps, and it was meant to be a feel-good fic.

But the comments didn't care.

Instead of enjoying the fic or leaving actual criticism, some people in the comments decided to argue with me about medical bills because of America's healthcare system. They consistently compared their country to mine.

Whether or not I like America doesn't matter. What matters is you're taking a fluffy, feel-good fic and making it political for no reason other than you can't get out of your bubble.

Americans do this too, so I'm not trying to call out any countries because it comes from everywhere, not just one place. It happens all the time and I get so sick of it. I don't care about your opinion on my country.

And btw there's a difference between saying "Here in *insert country here* we do this differently" and saying "this doesn't make sense." There's a major difference between pointing out these things because they're interesting and criticizing them. I'm talking about people who think it's a genuine error in the story that I'm using Fahrenheit over Celsius.

In general, there's nothing more frustrating than people coming at me for my country. I can't control where I was born. I have never, ever judged someone because of where they were born. 

Is it unfair to want people to do the same for me?

6) Silly Criticisms

While everyone is entitled to their opinions, keep in mind some of your opinions might be silly. You need to consider the context of the story and the target audience before you leave criticism.

For example, I write for an 18+ audience that is overwhelmingly American, Canadian, and Australian. I believe around 35% of my readers are from America. That may not sound like a lot, but considering how many countries are in the world...

There have been times people have criticized me for not considering the younger audience because I write BTS ffs and a lot of the audience for them is young.

Do you not see the giant 18+ mature warning in the story? If I am not writing for a younger audience, then that criticism means literally nothing to me.

Target audiences are important. Just look at the Barbie movie. Men, in general, did not like the movie while women adored it. Women were the target audience, men were not. It makes sense that men did not like it.

My target audience is mature. Not just 18+, but I mean mature in the way they consume content. I write speculative fanfics that are slow-burn. My target audience are people who read closely and want to think. I mainly write for people that can pay close attention to the subtle details, such as Park in LC using his four-fingered hand instead of his five-fingered one to represent what emotion he's feeling in that moment.

So when I get criticisms related to those kinds of things, they come off as super silly. It's fine if you aren't in the target audience, and you're entitled to your opinion. However, keep in mind it isn't going to change how I write if you're criticizing my story for having slow burn, a more advanced vocabulary, mature elements, etc.