Critters at the Keyboard . . . . Welcomes Gregory Delaurentis
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HOW TO HANDLE NEGATIVE CRITICISM
by Gregory Delaurentis
I have read and heard a
lot about how to handle negative criticism. Before I took my first step to
self-publish my book, I hardened my skin into a sheet of leather by studying
how to handle and to expect negative remarks about my writing. The most helpful
information came from a movie by Jamie Kennedy, on hecklers and critics. In the
movie, which was a documentary, he was very hurt over what these two types of people
do and had done to him. Therefore he went on a form of retaliation against the
few critics that commented negatively on his acting and comedy.
Watching him in this, I
could feel his pain, but there was no solace in his efforts. He did not find
any relief or respite from his actions. And I realized that the best defense
against such a heated offense as a bad review is to do nothing. I’m not saying
to ignore a bad review altogether, because some reviews, even though bad, are
given in a helpful spirit and can have positive effects. But then there are
those that are just negative for negativity’s sake. These you can ignore,
because they offer nothing.
If you reply to such scathing offense in kind, you will not reach the person who is giving it, and you just might turn off other readers for being too sensitive. The truth of the matter is that everybody is not going to like your writing, some violently so. So, what is your recourse at this point? To run about putting out fires, responding to all the negative criticism as if you are too thin skinned to deal with it? Do you jump up on a soapbox to justify yourself until you are over-justifying yourself? Or would you rather let people have their own opinions, which they do, and leave it at that.
If I need to reply to someone, I would rather choose to reply to individuals who enjoyed my work, and thank them for their patronage. Those that take the time to give you praise, should be praised in return. I’d rather not lower myself to the standards of those who tear down, but to rise above them, and enjoy the company of those who encourage. It’s my choice, as well as yours.
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Please enjoy this excerpt from Cover of Darkness
David
first opened the door to a closet on the left, searching it with the gun
muzzle, before approaching the door at the end of the hall and kicking it open.
An angry, naked man stood on the other side, his anger changing to fear in
seconds once he beheld the gun pointing in his direction.
“Get
back into bed,” David ordered.
The
pale-bodied man responded as he staggered backward. The foot of the bed struck
the back of his knees, sending him seated on the mattress. The woman on the bed
had by this time covered herself with the sheets, and curled her legs up.
While
Kevin stood nervously in the doorway, David searched the room and the closets,
the muzzle of the shotgun again serving as a probe, but found no one.
“What
the…?” Chase asked David.
After
searching through the room, David tossed the shotgun to Kevin.
Suddenly,
Chase went white-hot heat, crawling backward into the arms of his woman in
sheer panic screaming, “What do you
want?!”
“I
want information,” David demanded, going to the foot of the bed, standing
before them with Kevin directly behind him. “I want to know who whacked
Osterman.”
“How am I to know?!” Chase shouted back.
His hair was a wild tangle, his eyes wide as saucers with fright.
“Don’t
yell at me,” David said calmly. “I want answers. I’m not interested in killing
you.”
“You
bust into my crib and start throwing guns around. You’re crazy, man, what do
you think I’m thinking?”
“You
were moving dope for Osterman,” David persisted, ignoring Chase’s remarks.
“Osterman! He jerked me.”
“With
the Colombians.”
“Damn
right.”
“And
you didn’t like that.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“So,
you had one of your soul brothers do him in.”
“Oh
hell, no. My people don’t kill. We don’t mess with weapons like you do.”
“And
the reason for that?”
“More
jail time . . . What are you? A cop?”
“Don’t
worry about what I am,” David growled back. “You are moving weight. I want to
know what happened after Osterman jerked you.”
“He
jerked me. That’s all.”
“That’s
all? You didn’t go to the Colombians? Liar!”
“Yes,
yes, I did that!” Chase corrected. “I went to the Colombians as soon as I knew
he jerked me. I begged them to give me another chance. They said they would, if
I replaced their one hundred kilos. One
hundred kilos! How do I do that?”
“Put
bullets into Osterman for revenge.”
“How
is that going to get me my one hundred kilos?”
“Let
me explain it to you, genius. The Colombians trust Osterman enough to give him
a heavy shipment. You find it, whack him, and take his shipment back to the
Colombians. Paid in full.”
Chase
thought that over for a second or two. “But that’s not what happened.”
“Convince
me otherwise.”
The
word “Freeze!” were suddenly heard
from the doorway. David frowned as he glanced over his shoulder to see a
scruffy looking black male, armed with his
own shotgun.
AUTHOR BIO:
Gregory
Delaurentis spent his adult life roaming from job to job, working for Lockheed
in California, various law firms in New York, and financial firms on Wall
Street. Throughout this period of time, he was writing—unceasingly—finally
producing a large body of work, albeit unrecognized and unpublished . . . until
now. Cover of Darkness is the first in a series of upcoming books that
include Edge of Darkness, Pale of Darkness and Cries of Darkness.
These novels follow the lives of three individuals who do battle bringing
criminals to justice, while they struggle to understand the complex
relationships that exist among themselves. This intriguing trio has absorbed
the attention of Mr. Delaurentis for the past year and a half, so much so he
decided to self-publish their stories to bring them to a wider audience. [AUTHOR’S DISCLAIMER: These are works of
fiction. Name, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the
author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual
persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.]
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