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Critics who treat adult as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence.
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me being interviewed by author and comedian, matthew whiteside.
a friend showed me her WIP for a "detroit" fanfic she was working on. i gave her my honest thoughts (it was a good start and she needed to find her voice. and to read more of that genre to get more ideas on how to improve) and she pitched a fit at me. saying i was "condensing" and that she felt insulted. and she just said she needed some space from me.
i asked a few other people their thoughts so i'll ask you all: should i be pissed?
No. People are always going to feel defensive of their work. I have worked with a bunch of writers as an editor and navigating those interactions is very tricky.
You also may well have been condescending or come across as insulting. Again, it's very difficult to have these discussions amicably, even more so through text.
Give her space, perhaps consider apologising if it seems the damage to the friendship is bad. You don't really have any right to be more than a bit annoyed.
Irritated, sure. But no, you shouldn't be pissed at her. As Nik said, writers are always going to feel defensive of their work and aren't always going to be readily receptive to criticism, especially if it's worded too bluntly. I know you didn't mean to come across as condescending and she may understand that you were just trying to help once she's calmed down, but give her space to mull it over. You are probably going to need to fully explain your intent to her that you weren't trying to insult her story and probably apologize to clear the air between you.
Ichigo: What even *are* you?!
Kenpachi: Some say my mother was a train. Some say that I'm a rejected Godzilla monster too strong for the series canon. But everyone says: I'M THE KEEEEENPACHIIIIII!!!!
i would like to clarify that i didn't say anything really bad about it. it was actually pretty good. i would've probably said more but "Detroit" is a fandom i know nothing about. i just said it needed a bit of work. and i went about it as nicely as i could. she just blew up at me and wouldn't give me a chance to say much of anything before saying leave me alone.
edit: it also doesn't help things that people blowing up at me like that is a pet peeve of mine.
Ichigo: What even *are* you?!
Kenpachi: Some say my mother was a train. Some say that I'm a rejected Godzilla monster too strong for the series canon. But everyone says: I'M THE KEEEEENPACHIIIIII!!!!
If someone asks for feedback and you give it in good faith while trying to avoid being cutting about it, and then they blow up at you because they can't handle it, that's likely on them.
But creative works can be really sensitive things for people, and people don't always deal with sudden surges of such emotions well either. Nervousness, embarrassment, pride, ego, love, defensiveness, it can be a tight mess waiting to explode and the creator might not even realize it.
Healthy communication, I find, is usually the best solution. Give her space to cool off, that's generally a good idea following a blow up (or ideally in place of one!). But communicate out of a desire to build understanding. If both parties are lashing out for their own self-satisfaction, well, that's unlikely to go anywhere good. Just communicate and evaluate what your relationship with her is going to be like moving forward.