Playing the critic (and also, coffee)
Jan. 26th, 2020 11:41 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
plonqI did up a quick critique on a stranger's story yesterday. I am normally reluctant to do that because some authors can be very defensive about their writing, but after I pointed out a minor error near the start, he let me know he'd welcome any more feedback I wanted to give him. I warned him that much of it would be in the realm of negatively constructive and he was okay with that.
I hadn't intended to read the whole story at first because it had a painful Gary Stu in it (a Saiyan whose only flaws were that he preferred to win easily - not that he ever lost - and he could occasionally get angry). He was aware of the Gary Stu, and assured me that it was intentional. I pointed out that there was a reason why they are considered a bad story trope, and then concentrated on four other key areas where I thought he could work to improve. He pushed back a bit, but ultimately agreed that he had room to improve, and said he would take my comments to heart and work on those aspects.
And that made the critique worthwhile. I think the two most powerful tools an author can possess are a dissatisfaction with their own writing, and a drive to improve it.
I don't really have much to say on the coffee side of this post. I have started using the inverted brew method with my Aeropress.
In theory, this change should not affect the taste of the coffee because everything else remains the same (grind, amount, water temperature, timing, etc).
In practise, I have no idea what's going on. I chose a terrible time to change up brew techniques because I have not entirely regained my sense of taste from this recent encounter with Rhinovirus, and because I am also trying a different coffee blend in the grinder.
Ultimately, I think that I will keep using this method because it is a bit less fussy than the other method, and it should produce the same reults.
I hadn't intended to read the whole story at first because it had a painful Gary Stu in it (a Saiyan whose only flaws were that he preferred to win easily - not that he ever lost - and he could occasionally get angry). He was aware of the Gary Stu, and assured me that it was intentional. I pointed out that there was a reason why they are considered a bad story trope, and then concentrated on four other key areas where I thought he could work to improve. He pushed back a bit, but ultimately agreed that he had room to improve, and said he would take my comments to heart and work on those aspects.
And that made the critique worthwhile. I think the two most powerful tools an author can possess are a dissatisfaction with their own writing, and a drive to improve it.
I don't really have much to say on the coffee side of this post. I have started using the inverted brew method with my Aeropress.
In theory, this change should not affect the taste of the coffee because everything else remains the same (grind, amount, water temperature, timing, etc).
In practise, I have no idea what's going on. I chose a terrible time to change up brew techniques because I have not entirely regained my sense of taste from this recent encounter with Rhinovirus, and because I am also trying a different coffee blend in the grinder.
Ultimately, I think that I will keep using this method because it is a bit less fussy than the other method, and it should produce the same reults.
no subject
Date: 2020-01-26 06:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-01-26 07:08 pm (UTC)I am using a fairly fine grind for this coffee, but I also stir it thoroughly after I add water to prevent it from forming little clumps of dry coffee.
I have slowly adjusted the grind size and time on my coffee to come up with what I am using now, though I may need to go back and revisit some of it. I have been trying to maintain a 1:17ish ratio of coffee to water, and that may have gone out of balance with some of the adjustments I've made.
Perhaps I'll brew another cup after we get back from shopping today and see how my ratio is standing up.