I'm getting really frustrated, and not sure how to handle this.
I have a good friend who is always asking me to look over his writing, but freaks out when I offer any substantive criticism (even when he's specifically asked for it.)
He has some good ideas, but his grammar and sentence structure are quite awful, and he tends to be repetitive and flowery. I've mentioned this to him before, always with the caveat that I really do think he has good content: he always gets mad, says it's a personal attack and wonders what I'm dealing with that would make me so mean to him. Even on basic grammar, he insists that it's unimportant, and that he was never good at it anyway, and it's the content that really matters.
Lately, I've just taken to saying "Nice," or "sounds good," but he got tired of hearing that, and will respond with something like, "Just 'nice'? that's all you have to say?"
Tonight I was working on some stuff, and had the following conversation:
Friend: want to read so far? jus tot tell me what you think, not for grammar and crap\
Joi: I guess so, how long is it so far/
Friend: 465 words I think but never mind
Joi: oh, ok. I was thinking it might be several pages and I'm trying to work on some stuff tonight, and didn't know if I could read that much, but that length is fine
Friend: That response was not cool, I mean i am always enthuastic to read your stuff, even when I am busy and if I am too busy I would say something like "Depends on how long it is because I have a lot to do"
Joi: sorry, it came out rather differently than I intended
Friend: It came out as a "If I have to I guess I will but it is a rather large imposition
Joi: that was very much NOT what I meant
Friend: okay then
At the moment, I'm going over a book he wrote and is self-publishing (not my idea of a good time, but he was willing to pay $100 and I need the money). Quite frankly, it's awful. There's almost no structure, it's ridiculously repetitive, rife with basic grammar mistakes, overly complex sentences, and highly outdated phrasing. In short, it needs to be rewritten from scratch. Obviously, I'm not going to say that to him! I'm marking in red all the simple grammatical errors that must be fixed, and in green all the stylistic things that would make it flow somewhat better.
But honestly, I'm tired of dealing with this crap. I'm certainly not a perfect writer, but I've got good grammar, and know how to construct a readable sentence. Hell, I get PAID to do that. If he asks for my advice, and only gives me attacks in return, I'm really not interested in commenting on his stuff anymore.
I'm just wondering...how do I say "no" next time he sends me something without wrecking the friendship? He really is a nice guy, and I'd hate to alienate him, but this is getting REALLY old, and I'm tired of walking on eggshells just to spare his fragile ego from the realization that he might not be the best writer in the history of EVER.
I have a good friend who is always asking me to look over his writing, but freaks out when I offer any substantive criticism (even when he's specifically asked for it.)
He has some good ideas, but his grammar and sentence structure are quite awful, and he tends to be repetitive and flowery. I've mentioned this to him before, always with the caveat that I really do think he has good content: he always gets mad, says it's a personal attack and wonders what I'm dealing with that would make me so mean to him. Even on basic grammar, he insists that it's unimportant, and that he was never good at it anyway, and it's the content that really matters.
Lately, I've just taken to saying "Nice," or "sounds good," but he got tired of hearing that, and will respond with something like, "Just 'nice'? that's all you have to say?"
Tonight I was working on some stuff, and had the following conversation:
Friend: want to read so far? jus tot tell me what you think, not for grammar and crap\
Joi: I guess so, how long is it so far/
Friend: 465 words I think but never mind
Joi: oh, ok. I was thinking it might be several pages and I'm trying to work on some stuff tonight, and didn't know if I could read that much, but that length is fine
Friend: That response was not cool, I mean i am always enthuastic to read your stuff, even when I am busy and if I am too busy I would say something like "Depends on how long it is because I have a lot to do"
Joi: sorry, it came out rather differently than I intended
Friend: It came out as a "If I have to I guess I will but it is a rather large imposition
Joi: that was very much NOT what I meant
Friend: okay then
At the moment, I'm going over a book he wrote and is self-publishing (not my idea of a good time, but he was willing to pay $100 and I need the money). Quite frankly, it's awful. There's almost no structure, it's ridiculously repetitive, rife with basic grammar mistakes, overly complex sentences, and highly outdated phrasing. In short, it needs to be rewritten from scratch. Obviously, I'm not going to say that to him! I'm marking in red all the simple grammatical errors that must be fixed, and in green all the stylistic things that would make it flow somewhat better.
But honestly, I'm tired of dealing with this crap. I'm certainly not a perfect writer, but I've got good grammar, and know how to construct a readable sentence. Hell, I get PAID to do that. If he asks for my advice, and only gives me attacks in return, I'm really not interested in commenting on his stuff anymore.
I'm just wondering...how do I say "no" next time he sends me something without wrecking the friendship? He really is a nice guy, and I'd hate to alienate him, but this is getting REALLY old, and I'm tired of walking on eggshells just to spare his fragile ego from the realization that he might not be the best writer in the history of EVER.
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