The Letter K

K is for Kindness

I’m thinking to myself that a lot of people may use kindness for the letter K, but I might have a different take on it from the writer’s point of view. Not too long ago, I read where a well known reviewer said if they can’t give a book at least three stars, they won’t review it. Is this a good thing? Or is this overdoing kindness?

In today’s society, we are told to be “politically correct” in everything we do. Don’t say this, or don’t say that. But are we really doing ourselves justice? Would you rather have someone give you constructive criticism, or just not say a thing? Someone once told me when you critique someone’s work, say something positive first, then point out areas where you think they might improve. Also, if you’re going to give constructive advice, offer it as an opinion. Writing is a subjective thing. What one person loves, another may hate. So if you’re the one receiving the “advice”, you have to decide whether you want to use it or not. It is said that if one person doesn’t like something about your writing, you can probably let it go, but if several people comment on the same thing, you might want to consider it. Writers, by nature, are kind to each other, probably because we all know the difficulty in getting published and the rejections we endure. But if you choose to offer advice on someone’s pride and joy, be kind in your approach.

I recently wrote a post asking my readers to be brutally honest with me on my novel, BLOOD BIAS. I want to learn from the experience. I wonder if I did the right thing.

What do you think?

Anyway, be kind in everything you do.