Criticism is something we can avoid easily etc. Part 2

Recently, I've joined a new website which is meant to be a creative community for writers to share their work, to review and be reviewed.

Unlike the brilliant MoviePoet.com where I have been a member for 5 years and moderator for nearly as long, scripts are not anonymous. I really learned the value of this yesterday.


I reviewed a particular script, spending time doing so and offering praise for what was good but also constructive criticism for what needed development - which, in all honesty, was quite a lot.

This morning, I received the following from the writer of the above, with poor ratings, about one of my scripts (An extract - he did admit it was well-written)

"Does it make you cringe? yes...The storyline of the youngster dealing with burgeoning sexuality has beaten a well-worn path in the realms of indie-film making and this is nothing new. Worse still, this doesn't offer anything new:from Nico suffering at the hands of schoolmates on the football pitch right down to the feather boa and scarves at the climax. Not for me, but might find a home at a GLBT film festival in the 80s"

Constructive criticism? I don't think so. Apart from the fact he completely missed the main plot point in his haste to trash my storyline, if I were to listen to him, the only thing I could do as a result of reading it would be to consign my work to the waste paper basket. He left me nothing useful to work with. I am very happy to listen to constructive criticism. This was not constructive and verges on the homophobic.

Sour grapes, I think. (His, not mine)

What I love about posts like his is that it says WAY more about him than it does about the quality of my work.