There is no strict format for my feedback, but here is my general approach:
- I read your synopsis, then I read Chapter 1 until I stop. That could be the first paragraph, or it could be the entire chapter. If it interests me, due to personal preference, I will continue to the next chapters.
- I will tell you why I stopped if I think it might be constructive for you. When I don’t, it is usually along the lines of: I think you have a lot to work on and I am not qualified or patient enough to be your writing coach, or I don’t want to read generic, worldly, unedited AI-assisted content. I won’t use an AI checker, not that they are reliable anyway, so I will not accuse anyone of using it. I simply don’t want to continue reading.
- If I make it to the end of the first chapter with my low attention span, which is difficult, I will give you a 5-star rating. Even if a piece doesn’t grab me til the end, I’ll give it 5 stars if I think it’s outstanding. I don’t rate anything lower than 5 stars.
- If I really, really enjoy the work, I will give a constructive (or try to) review, and it can include criticism. But for me to write an essay about it, I have to like it first.
About me:
I am not going to brag about what qualifies me as a feedback giver. I will outright tell you that my feedback is subjective, personal, and it does not necessarily mean you are a bad writer if I stopped reading. It simply means the work did not interest me.
I'll settle for just my blurb (synopsis?).....
Five years ago, something unimaginably horrific happened to a sweet and innocent 14 year old girl. In many ways, what followed for the next four years was even worse. When she finally escaped, she naturally thought she had left the nightmare behind. It didn't take her long to discover the tragic truth. That no matter how hard you try or how far you go, you can't run and hide from yourself. She learned the sad reality of it all, that monsters are very real and life can become a living hell through no fault of your own.
Over practically the same time period but on the other end of the country, a young man went away and was taught to slay monsters. What was more was that he seemed to be good at it. But he quickly learned his own truth. There's no such thing as heroes and it takes its toll on you. And that's mind, body and spirit. He would tell anyone wise enough to listen, to be careful what you wish for because you just might get it. He escaped and found his way back to his roots. He thought that finally he was now content with what he once ran away from.
The victim finally scratched out some kind of new life for herself and found that one true friend she had always wished for. The reluctant slayer of real life dragons slowly figured out what the victim already knew all too well. Terrible things don't go away on their own, and many horrible things in real life? When left alone, things tend to go from bad to worse.
The victim already lived two very different lives and is desperately trying to make her third one work. Her friend is on her second life and has no idea she's about to have a third one come along as well. Seemingly the only person who can or will even try to set things right? Decides that maybe, just maybe, he has one more in him.
A victim who wants to forget, a not-a-hero who wants to remember, and her best friend who finds out she doesn't really know either one of them, not even herself. Nothing is as it seems, and real life can go from dream to nightmare in a flash. Flip a coin which one you get, and strap yourself in… because you can't wake up from either one.
If you want to stop a monster, you need to send your own monsters after them. Heroes and monsters have one thing in common. They aren't born, they have to be made. Nothing and no one is going to come out of this intact and unscathed.
The scariest monsters? Are simply all too real.
A three novel exploration of all the traditional American values:
Sex, rape, greed, power, corruption.
Love, betrayal, loyalty, friendship.
Murder, insanity, death.
Justice, revenge.
Survival.
No good deed goes unpunished.
Written as a trilogy, in true first person.
