How honest to have to be?

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  • #16
    Re: How honest to have to be?

    As everyone else has said, be brutal but support your brutality with valid reasons and suggestions.

    And to elaborate on Totiwos, please remember in your critique that it is not YOUR story. Don't suggest character/plot/dialogue changes that don't really need changing just because that's not how YOU would do it if you were writting it. It's one of the biggest pitfalls I've found in reviewers.

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    • #17
      Re: How honest to have to be?

      Originally posted by Hairy Lime
      Always start with the positive, move to what needs some work but deserves to stay, and end with what was really sh-tty and needs to be flushed. By starting positive, you keep the writer's mind open to subsequent criticisms. By moving to small points next you keep that mind open while hopefully showing them that you paid attention and have good advice to share. That'll leave them much more open to the hard stuff at the end of the critique.
      I agree with Hairy. If you start with "this is good," they're more likely to listen to the "and this is where it could be better" part. Someone (don't remember who now) suggested putting it all in general terms and to not get too specific. I tend to learn by example. If someone can show me how it could work better, I'm more likely to get the point. I need the specifics.

      As an aside, if you (the writer) have to explain it, then it's not clear on the page. Taking a defensive position and blaming the reader isn't going to help your script. And personally, it drives me right up the wall when someone starts making excuses for the way they've done something that isn't working by responding "but Taranto did it that way." Hello? You're not Tarantino, the scenes are totally different, and you completely missed how and why he did it that way in the first place. (I feel much better now that I've gotten that out of my system and am now going to go apply everything I've learned from Tarantino to my fluffy little romcom. )
      It's kind of fun to do the impossible - Walt Disney

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      • #18
        Re: How honest to have to be?

        There is honest criticism then there is opinion that is used to criticize.

        Criticism should be supported by sound dramaturgy and any criticism should be as honest and accurate as a analyst can make it.

        Opinion used to pronounce judgments on the script (or worse - the writer) should be kept to a bare minimum, or to none at all. In this case, honesty is still the best policy but so is respectful, professional and tactful behavior that should make a reviewer to censor his/her comments so as to not unnecessarily or gratuitously injure or insult.

        My .02
        Fortune favors the bold - Virgil

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        • #19
          Re: How honest to have to be?

          I'm competing against everyone here. If your script sucks, I'm gonna tell you.
          ~* Kelsey *~

          http://kelseytalksaboutmovies.blog.com/

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          • #20
            Re: How honest to have to be?

            Originally posted by Kelsey
            I'm competing against everyone here. If your script sucks, I'm gonna tell you.
            Then the smart thing to do is tell them it's great.
            http://wasitsomethingiwrote.blogspot.com/

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            • #21
              Re: How honest to have to be?

              I'm always honest. I try to base most of my critique on the 'big picture' versus a dissection of each line. The things I focus on are character-driven actions, and character motivation. Why is the character doing what he/she is doing? I tend to ask questions of the writer in my critique, instead of the cut/paste/rewrite style of review.

              I don't really mind if the writer is defensive and argues. That, to me, is human nature, and we all learn how to deal with that sooner or later. The thing that does bug me, is if I take the time to read, think about, and then offer some critism/questions but the writer never replies. If I took time out of my day to read, and really think about your piece, and comment on it, at least a tiny little thanks is in order, no?

              In the end, the goal is to help the writer who has asked for the review. If even one small note or suggestion of mine helps them on their way, then that is good enough for me.
              Don't repeat it; create it.

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              • #22
                Re: How honest to have to be?

                True. But I take pride in the "your script sucks" thing.
                ~* Kelsey *~

                http://kelseytalksaboutmovies.blog.com/

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                • #23
                  Re: How honest to have to be?

                  Originally posted by Kelsey
                  True. But I take pride in the "your script sucks" thing.
                  I (I'm sure we all have) read one script that was so bad, I couldn't think of anything to even say. So, I just told them, "I'm sorry there was nothing in this script that seems worth redeeming." Although, now that I think of it, the "your script sucks" might have been more helpful!
                  Don't repeat it; create it.

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                  • #24
                    Re: How honest to have to be?

                    With new writers I'm still honest and maybe a little harsh, every now and then adding in one of those smilies, so they know I'm not out to "get" them or purposely discouraging them. But with more experienced writers, you don't get any smilies.

                    Steph
                    "Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." --T.S. Eliot

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                    • #25
                      Re: How honest to have to be?

                      I've always liked to give constructive criticism to help people improve.

                      Works for cooking, coding, screenwriting, whatever.

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