I always keep an open mind to young writers, and young creators in general. Some of the greatest classical music works were created by those who were in their teens or even younger. When it comes to writers on this site, I always try to be constructive if I think a story has potential. I give some general advice on how to make the writing come alive and point out of the good qualities while showing how to improve on issues. If I don’t feel a story has that potential, I don’t comment anything on it.
I think it’s so vitally important that we “older” folks (by that I mean anyone who’s not 13-18) be conscious about how we interact with and critique works on here, because we never know if it was written by an adult or by an impressionable young person. At that age, it can be very demoralizing to receive harsh critiques. I know that when I was younger, my love of writing was encouraged by adults who were willing to constructively engage with my work instead of tearing it down, and I want to pass on that courtesy as well and think it’s important to provide that to young, aspiring authors as well.
Good points, and I will only disagree with one part of this: all writers start out inexperienced. Lots of people start writing as a hobby (or potentially professionally) later in life. Writers who start late face different pitfalls than people like you and me – I started dabbling at twelve or so, and tried my hand at a novel at fifteen. It was quite awful, I promise you.
Writing as a hobby is fun and great. It doesn’t have to be a craft that you relentlessly hone for decades with the goal of publication in mind.
I think it’s important that we remain respectful in our criticisms at all times. I am a very harsh critic and always have been - my friends have always chosen me to redpen their work, because I don’t hold back - however, I try to always be respectful about my opinions.
Unfortunately, I’ve not always seen that in practice in this community. There are a few games that have garnered some disdain within the forums, and every time I see discussion about them, I cringe. Sometimes, we forget that authors are people first, especially when we don’t directly interact with them, so we say things that can be overly hurtful and critical.
I think it is very important to give your honest opinion about a work, but, frankly, if you can’t do so in a respectful way, maybe don’t say anything at all. It can be very discouraging, no matter your age, no matter your experience level, to have people pile on, saying mean things about your work of art.
