How would you react when someone says your story or writing is trash?

Literally ask why, anybody can say it's trash but if they have something negative to say, use that and make the best of the situation. That there is a vocal part of your audience giving you feedback, if you ask why and they give you their actual thoughts.. it's an oppurtunity for you to grow! If you can make changes and keep the story you wanna tell intact, that's great! If not, let 'em know!

If you ask why and they just insist on being a prick though, just block 'em. What are they gonna complain that they got blocked bc they were being rude as hell?? Nah, keep 'em out lol

Someone who can't communicate what they dislike and maybe they just resort to that canned response? I might either see if other commenters talk to them or if there's something worth approaching for.

They're just saying that to get a rise out of me? Well, agreeing or disagreeing is getting a rise out of me. They want something to happen. Not caring or responding in a deadpan way is the only way to get one over these people - they strive for attention, no real attachment to see the comic get better or any vendetta against its contents.

I would actually be okay with it. I haven't had any comments like that at all. In fact, I think people say too many nice things about my work.

Is it too much to ask for someone to dump on my art? It might hurt, sure, but at the same time it would also be validation that what I'm doing is enough to bring out strong opinions, good, or bad.

Well as someone who's first work (different version of RotH) was hated and insulted to the ground by one i do hate these kind of replies. Especially if they have no constructive criticism. I once asked the guy who left hate on my episodes if he'd provide some feedback. He said it was not his problem.

I swear i was so pissed then. It was on webtoon so i couldn't even block the guy. At best i could ignore him. But if i met someone like that who kept pestering me irl i'd give them a strong right punch and perhaps pull something out. Like an eye.

Don't pester webcomic artists please.

I`m a practical person. If the person cant give objective advice on how i can improve, i just ignore them. Truth is that people who give solid advice will not deal in absolutes by calling a story trash.

Now, if people point out flaws in my story and writing and give advice on how to improve, i will take it into account in the future. I would only change story elements i consider absolutely neccesary, to avoid being stuck in a remake loop.

A person being that harsh are likely doing so to get some kind of reaction.

Having said that, I just read a comic here last night and my first thought was literally "wow, this is trash". I just closed it and moved on with my life however, I didn't respond to their thread and declare as much.

If they called my story trash i would
1 say what story
or
2 Agree

theres not really anything you can do as the author to fight back. if you respond negatively you look unprofessional, if you have a large following and you respond at all, it could be interpreted as calling your followers attention to it to respond for you (no matter how polite your response is).

i wanna say as a smaller creator i have some elbow room so i'd probably go for a jokey 'hell yeah it is' answer. honestly an 'its trash' comment is better than total radio silence when it comes to feedback lol..............................................

I habitually brutally roast people on complete accident when they say things like this to me. I don't mean to, it just comes out like a sneeze or a flinch (but I intimately feel terrible afterwards). So if someone told me my work was trash, personally, I'd probably verbally make them regret the day they slid from their mother's womb. Though I certainly don't recommend doing it. That just opens up a whole can of worms.

The best thing to do is just remember that some people can't grasp concepts the same way you or your readers do, or perhaps they have different tastes. So if one sour patch kid tells you something like that with a complete lack of constructive criticism, don't take it to heart. You can ignore it and be the bigger person. There's a chance they just don't like it because of differing personal preferences....or maybe they're just an idiot.

If they don't have a constructive criticism or anything that makes sense about why our content is not satisfying enough to the readers than they are not worth our attention. They are obviously trolls and would like to get our attention and waste our time.

If there is one that points out the flaws either on our characters, stories or even world buildings and made valid points, then we must hear and read what is the problem for the sake of improvement.

I'd ignore them. But I'd secretly agree D:

i would just say to the individual at i have something that they can't even do or create.

I ask why politely and then secretly laugh with my friends behind their back when they can't provide criticism and hem and haw because they didn't expect to get this far. Tactic never fails.

I simply think that the story was not created for them. Take a look around. Even the wildest story finds its readers.

I'm really dyslexic so if they are talking about bad grammar/awkward sentences, I would have preferred if they would have addressed it in that way. Saying "Your writing is trash." doesn't help me. Maybe if their profile doesn't look like an edgelord, I might ask why because I am open to fixing those mistakes. I know there are people who just have no tact and are not trying to be trolls, they feel they have to put in their two cents.

If they said "Your story is trash", I would be confused. My stuff might be boring or confusing to some but I don't understand why their word of choice would be trash.

Would probably agree with them, to some extent and then tried to defend my story a little, I had this happen with my sister and it took a week of debating to finally agree XD. I'm happy we did cause I went and fixed it and now I'm happier with the result

Ignore them if they're not trying to be constructive.
If they are being constructive take notes and try to improve after getting some other form of feedback here and there.

I kind of take comments with a grain of salt because I think if someone is trying to communicate something meaningful they will usually do it in a space where other people aren’t going to engage and upvote and receive attention for posting their opinion. That doesn’t necessarily make it invalid but people can and do opt for more private means of communication like DMs or email when it comes to matters that could be sensitive.

But if someone is just trying to push my buttons I’d ignore it. Those people want you to engage and react in one way or another and if you just refuse to give them the time of day they’ll usually just go away eventually.

"Aren´t we all trash in some way?"
No, but seriously, either I ignore the comment or just give the "K" reply.

Kill them with kindness. I try to be very sweet and polite, and sometimes that just riles the person up more, which is a good indicator they're more interested in trying to get a rise out of you than give real feedback.

I generally might respond with something along the lines of "I'm sorry you feel that way/I hope you find something more to your taste." Though I don't mind engaging in the criticism if the other party is actually interested in talking and not just talking crap.

If it's a person I know in real life I'm WAY more sensitive though. I'd probably cry?

I'd pity them and just smile. What else is there to be done?

Every story has his flaws. And every story has its good points. There are ways to express one's opinions in a constructive manner, in a manner that would permit for the author to elevate his work to the next level.

However, using words with negative connotations, such as trash, is certainly not one such manner. In fact, using such words generally denotes unhappiness, irritability. It implies an emotional response to something. That something may not be an author's story. In fact, it most probably isn't. When such words are used, there is a inherent desire to hurt the receiving person. Insults do not come from a happy place. Misery likes company. Unhappy people sometimes want to make others unhappy too.

The truth is, when I consider a work unworthy of my time (gosh, this sounds mean), I do not go to the trouble of commenting at all, I simply banish it from my thoughts and move on. But someone was so irked, triggered, as we like to say, by something about that author's behavior, story or by nothing at all, really, that that someone actually took the time, even if it is 10 seconds of his life, to a write a mean comment. Those are 10 seconds of his life he will never get back.

Damn, I am sorry for that person just thinking about it ...

Honestly I would get very offended hahaha. but I would act like I don't care, after I would get sooo angry , then I would be all worried, "what if they are right?" and finally I would cry and feel terrible. I am very sensitive
But I would keep writing and drawing, what else can I do! It's what I love!!

It really depend whether the person criticizing ACTUALLY said the story is trash, or if the person receiving the criticism INTERPRETED as 'this person says my story is trash', because the criticism is harsh.

First case: I would have pretty much no reaction. I don't care. 'Not constructive: next!'. I may not be very confident in my beginner comic skills, but there is no way there is nothing more to say than 'it's trash'. I think any work where the creator put some effort worth... more effort than 'it's trash' as a critic.

Second case: I personally love harsh constructive criticism. Also love nice constructive criticism. As long as it does the job of making me think, evolve and reconsider, I love it.
But I understand sometimes, people need things to be said more nicely. So I would say, if someone is in this situation of receiving very harsh, but constructive criticism, and is upset and depressed by it: remember that for some people, criticizing harshly means they think you have what it takes to be much better; that they have faith in you and think you can improve significantly. Now, obviously, that is not what's behind all harsh constructive criticism. But I think it worth remembering, that it's not necessarily an aggression. Sometimes, ot's a compliment.

If it was online, I'd probably ignore it. If it happened IRL, I'd probably laugh awkwardly and leave.

People leave comments like that to get a rise out of people--if you respond, it gives their argument validity, it gives them a rush, it encourages their bad and childish behavior. So, the best response, IMO is no response and a firm block.

If it's just constructive criticism I might not block but I probably won't bother responding. Too many people get waaay too wrapped up in webcomics and expect them to be this high art when it's like...yo I'm making this for free. You get what you get.

But tbh all of my comments on my comic have been very nice. I think mean comments is mostly a problem for people who have a very large following.

I really dont have time to waste on opinionated arguments. If someone were to say it, and their opinion doesnt matter to me, I basically shrug & keep it moving. In this day & age there are too many folks who think their opinion holds some type of weight or value to it; even more so when they arent even a student in the respective field. Then there are others who think that for a work to be "to a standard" it has to have "this element" and/or "that element" and if it doesnt have these things then the work isnt "to standard"- that is bullshit as well...

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These memes sum up my reaction to that LOL

well, some of my reader said i need to improve my grammar and it helped me a lot so i often do a improvise to my chapter.
right now im working on a Light Novel and i enjoy it so much.
critiques is needed even sometime deep in your heart is hur.t

If they can't muster to tell why exactly they think my story is trash, i would roll on the floor laughing. Too many people these days think they're entitled to an opinion while forgetting what it takes to form one.

If they break down why my story is trash, i'd feel a bit sad.

Tbh, I know my writing is trash. That's why I'm making an experimental comic and posting it on line for free. I'm just learning. If I was great at writing and art, I'd probably try and sell it or something.

So, I'd probably just say 'Thanks for pointing out the obvious! What do you think about my art though?'

If someone said my art or character designs were trash, that's what would upset me more. I know I've got a looonnggg way to go in my artistic journey, but drawing really is my passion, so I'd be upset that they couldn't actually say something constructive, or see any value in my art at all.

I'd thank them. I'd make an effort to not sound too sarcastic, though I might throw in a, "Well, bless your heart."

I might ask for suggestions on how I should write, and ask them to cite a specific area that needs improvement. If they can't do that, reframing their trash review as a constructive critique, I just shrug it off. Maybe I'd silently stew for a bit about useless criticism.

First, I ask them to elaborate.
Communication, communication, communication...

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If they can put their experience into words in a more constructive way, I thank them for that.
Not everyone knows how to give a good critique, and even good critique can hurt. But it's helpful to know what people think.

But we also have to keep in mind that not everyone is going to like what we do, regardless of how well they may or may not be expressing themselves. Tastes differ.

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If they just keep going in the same way, being hateful etc, I'll tell them that I hope things take a turn for the better for them soon. Which I genuinely mean. It's not a snide remark from my side. I believe that people who seek attention this way, or feel the need to use the comment section as an outlet for negativity, are struggling with something - one way or another.

I'm not saying this justifies their behaviour, or serves as an excuse.

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At the end of the day, you should never feel like you have to deal with this behaviour if you can't / don't want to. Check in with yourself, and put your own mental health first. <3

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The only approach I don't feel leads anywhere, is answering negativity with negativity.
Then it is better to block/ignore and move on.

I have had people tell me that. It stings for a while and then I move on. I can't change their minds and they're obviously not part of my target demography then.

I've also come to learn if they can't elaborate on why they think it's trash and how to make the novel not trash, then I don't really care about what they have to say. They're obviously not offering an actual critique, but are most likely just bored or something. So meh.

There will be always people like that. Trolling and hurting people for their own amusement.

And then sometimes it can even come in the form of friendly advice.
Years ago someone from my close family came to me while I was drawing. She looked at my art, watched as I drew, and then said: "You know sweetie, no matter how hard you try, how much you practice, you will never be a good artist."
Feels like a kick to the stomach even after all this time.

What you can do is ignore these remarks, and keep on going. The more you practice, the better you are.