Dealing with Criticism

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Because I never had much criticism or hate, especially to the point that my mental health suffers, I'm not sure how sound my advice is. Especially since I believe that everyone handles this topic differently.

First of all, don't feed the troll. If someone could be a troll, or is just hateful, don't interact with them. Ignore them.

I could say you could bomb them with hyper niceness, suffocate them with friendliness, but I think that could backfire easily.

Keep a cool head. And use the block and delete function of the sites you post at.

That said, not every criticism is hate or trolling.

"This is bad because it is shit." is probably hate.

"This is bad because (insert actual weakness in writing), here is how you could improve it." is criticism. Albeit the improvement pointers is optional.

A hater just hates, someone with real criticism has something to point out and can explain why it is a problem.

You have to accept you aren't perfect. No one is. Your writing probably has some mistakes in them, especially if you don't edit your writing.

I often get mistakes pointed out. This guide is probably littered with mistakes. Feel free to point them out. I try to fix them or remember them when I write another work in that Fandom. (Anyone else struggling with lore?)

Just thank someone for pointing out mistakes, acknowledge you can learn of it and don't bitch about being told you did something not perfectly.

Just don't be rude yourself. Negative energy, like misery, likes company.

All in all, don't overthink criticism.

Not to mention, at least on AO3, comenters refrain from criticism unless the writer explicitly asks for constructive criticism, so you probably face criticism not a lot anyway. Then it probably is a troll or hater. Don't feed the troll.

If you feel overwhelmed, take a break and go offline. Delete Twitter, I mean X. Take a break.

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