Amanda Meuwissen's Blog - Posts Tagged "trolls"
Positive Reinforcement for Writers
I don’t think it can be said enough that reviews, comments, and simple little nudges of encouragement, are not only wonderful to receive as a writer, but the very foundations of what makes us want to write more. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure I’d write even if I never received a single accolade, but when I do receive positive comments…it’s this insane confidence builder, this rush that wow, I connected with someone because of something I literally poured part of myself into, and this person/people liked it!
But one of the other reasons it can be so important to let your favorite writers know how you feel about their work is because those same people, who you might love but maybe aren’t the type to review or ever do more than beam that they wrote a new book, or posted a new chapter online, is because your positive reinforcement can help combat the negatives they are almost certainly also getting.
One single bad review/comment can completely eradicate the good feelings created by positive ones, because that’s just how humans are built. 7 good reviews and 1 bad—you instantly forget all the good and start second guessing yourself, why do I even do this, and the only thing that can help is time and, frankly, that next positive review. It really does help to go back after some time has passed and see another glowing comment to combat the bad.
Now, I’ve been lucky lately, it’s been a LONG while since I had a straight up mean review, and I’ve had some very helpful criticisms lately that were well-stated and didn’t bother me at all, just made me nod along like, yep, you’re right, I’ll work on that for the next thing I write, or that during a story has helped dictate how I proceeded and things I ended up including to combat a reader’s concerns. Those types of comments don’t sting the same as something purely negative but spur me on, like, oh I got this!
But as I have in the past dealt with some pretty awful reviewers, and have sadly seen very recently the effects that type of thing can have on others when it happens to them…I’d like to put out a plea to all you readers out there to remember that every little kind comment even just an ‘I love this’ means so much to writers. Because sure, we’re writing for ourselves, but we’re also writing for you, and what makes me want to attack that next project most is seeing how happy my work can make others.
So please know how grateful we all are for your comments and support, and consider offering positive reinforcement where you can, because we all know how awful it can be to deal with bullies and trolls in this world, and what a better place it would be if we were all just there supporting each other instead.
As for you bullies and trolls…suck it.
But one of the other reasons it can be so important to let your favorite writers know how you feel about their work is because those same people, who you might love but maybe aren’t the type to review or ever do more than beam that they wrote a new book, or posted a new chapter online, is because your positive reinforcement can help combat the negatives they are almost certainly also getting.
One single bad review/comment can completely eradicate the good feelings created by positive ones, because that’s just how humans are built. 7 good reviews and 1 bad—you instantly forget all the good and start second guessing yourself, why do I even do this, and the only thing that can help is time and, frankly, that next positive review. It really does help to go back after some time has passed and see another glowing comment to combat the bad.
Now, I’ve been lucky lately, it’s been a LONG while since I had a straight up mean review, and I’ve had some very helpful criticisms lately that were well-stated and didn’t bother me at all, just made me nod along like, yep, you’re right, I’ll work on that for the next thing I write, or that during a story has helped dictate how I proceeded and things I ended up including to combat a reader’s concerns. Those types of comments don’t sting the same as something purely negative but spur me on, like, oh I got this!
But as I have in the past dealt with some pretty awful reviewers, and have sadly seen very recently the effects that type of thing can have on others when it happens to them…I’d like to put out a plea to all you readers out there to remember that every little kind comment even just an ‘I love this’ means so much to writers. Because sure, we’re writing for ourselves, but we’re also writing for you, and what makes me want to attack that next project most is seeing how happy my work can make others.
So please know how grateful we all are for your comments and support, and consider offering positive reinforcement where you can, because we all know how awful it can be to deal with bullies and trolls in this world, and what a better place it would be if we were all just there supporting each other instead.
As for you bullies and trolls…suck it.
