PinkBubbles

My rating philosophy

First, I have decided to add a quote of the day. It is more for my benefit than others, but if it strikes a cord with someone else that is great!

Confucius
It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness.

I have read so many posts and heard so many opinions how the rating system should be handled. I think it something that is a matter of a personal opinion. There is no wrong or right way of going about it and there is absolutely no reason to get upset if someone is an easier critic than you are.

I used to and still can get upset if someone gives me a low rating, it is all about that darn ego. I tend to be less upset if they give valid reasons for why they rated the way they did. I may not always agree with their assessment of my work, but at least there is a reason and I have the opportunity to look into how I could have improved the reading experience for them. I also do not care to just have an auto rating put on my piece without hearing why there may be a star missing, even if it is just half a star. I get many reviewers that state my piece is perfect, wonderful, etc. (not saying that the piece is or was) but then gives it four stars. Why? I asked one girl who praised one of my stories up and down, telling me it was perfect, marvelous, when will I continue the story and she gave me four stars. Fine, four stars...but with THAT review I wondered what I could have done better if it was as perfect as she said. When I inquired what I could have done to earn that last star, she told me, "Nothing, I am just saving my stars as i just got back on the site." Did the site limit stars before I came? LOL I was clueless and just took my rating and thought, 'it is the review that counts'. Isn't it? I have actually learned from quite a few reviewers. I have a couple of people I go to for 'hard core' critiques as I know they are the best at whatever facet of writing I am looking to improve upon. They are honest but not hurtful in their assessments. I want to thank them here and now for encouraging me to continue in my growth as a writer without making me feel like I was less of one than they are for my lack of current knowledge of certain aspects or rules Thank you!

I am a generous rater. I know many people have been published here, but that does not mean to me that that are not fallible or that they are suddenly editors because they published a book. There are many ways to get published and some publishers are just too eager to take whatever comes to them, many times not even asking for editing. We are not discussing what constitutes being a true published author though....we are talking about ratings

I am learning how to write, again. I have been out of practice and am currently enrolled in a class for punctuation and comma usage. This stuff was taught in 3rd grade. I write and have always written to purge. I write so others might feel what I am feeling. When I am rated and reviewed, I want to know how the reader felt. That is my main objective in asking for reviews is to know how my writing affected the reader. It is also helpful to know if things are misspelled and such. I cringe when I visit one of my forums I used to frequent and look at my posts. I posted without thought to typos (I am typo queen) or how the finished product would look. There, people saw through the spelling mistakes and typos and responded to the writer. Here, I have learned to pick up these small mistakes-for the most part.

A perfect rating means that you think an item is ready for publication(according to many). I will give a five star if I do not notice any mistakes and I love the piece. Who am I to say whether or not a piece is ready for publication? Like I said, I think almost everyone can be published somewhere. Depends on what the e-zine or magazine is looking for, where you submit it, etc. I feel justified in rating work with no spelling or grammar errors, that I immensely enjoyed, with a perfect score.

I tend not to rate lower than average on any given story. You average writer in society writes with errors. I may offer ways for them to change or 'fix' their stories or poems (with what limited knowledge I have-I am NOT an editor) and will tell them to please mail me so I may read and rate it again. I shudder to think how many could be authors are turned off of WDC because of some of the harsh reviews they get here. Some of these authors are also young teens. I TRY and review carefully. I do not want to turn anyone off to writing. This site is not called 'Good Writers.com' but with a little love and support, these people can become better writers.

When the subject of a story is something I disagree with, I can still stay objective enough to rate and review it. If I can not, I walk away from the piece. I had someone recently read a poem of mine. It was actually written and inspired by a native American friend of mine (and will be published in her book once final editing is done). She obviously missed the point of the poem.

I Stand Alone  (E) Standing alone can be a beautiful existence. Written for & inspired by a great friend :-) #1577317 by Just call me Omni

In this poem, I am talking about a person who is comfortable with themselves. They can stand on their own morals, never falling to the elements around them. They feel the beauty within themselves as well as realizing that while they are indeed beautiful, they are one of many. lalala

Anyways, this person actually wrote me a review that said:

This poem made an interesting read for many reasons. Firstly knowing your extensive community and group involvement I would never have associated you with this poem.
That aside this poem makes good use of imagery but the problem I have is that the imagery doesn't support the theme you are trying to express. When I think of trees I think of ecosystems and how each tree is supported and influenced by the surrounding trees. Maybe if you said "Like a single tree standing on its own" etc but every tree doesn't stand on its own. Sure it grows singularly but its entire future is affected by the environment.
I love that you feel so confident that you aren't afraid to speak highly of yourself.

Here, she misses the point. Trees roots are not intertwined. But what really got me is her barbs at me thinking highly of myself. She does it again:

"Like the sun that shines
emitting it's own bright light
fueling itself through secret prayer
I shine a brilliant glow"

Some people may not like that or consider it arrogant but I commend you. No one should
feel like they can't love themselves.

All I can say to this is OMG! LOL I have had many people review this and not one called me arrogant. The poem could be written for anyone. We are all truly beautiful in my eyes, or at least have the potential to be. I do not find any of my poem to be vain...especially considering that it was written about another

When I review, and I hope you do too, I take into consideration that perhaps it is just I that have missed the point, that I do not know everything. I have many faults, one being terrible, terrible punctuation. i get fill and feel mixed up all the time and yes, I know the difference. Does this mean my work is not worthy of being read or even written? No. The same goes with any person who wants a chance to tell a story. I think this site was founded wanting to encourage other to Write on! not tear down. We, as fellow humans, should want to help another tell their story...whatever it may be. We should reach out and show people the resources offered here, the classes, the poetry groups, etc.

I am so happy I found WDC as I have become a better writer in less than 6 months. If I continue growing at this rate, who knows what I might be able to produce. This is not vanity, this is a possibility....and not only for me, but for everyone. I just ask, rate as you would like to be rated. I do not ask you to give empty praise but to be honest and thoughtful. I challenge myself to do the same.