“When you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all.”
That’s the sort of advice I grew up with. Since I’m all grown up now, I question everything I was told; and since I’m a writer, I dwell on it extensively.
The other day, I finished reading a book, which was terrible. It was lacking in plot and in story and in good writing. Calling it a book felt wrong in the first place. Anyway, I gave it a meager amount of stars of Goodreads, but failed to write a review. There was maybe one redeeming aspect about it, but on the whole, it was terrible. My review wouldn’t have been very nice. Maybe the author would’ve appreciated it, though, because honest criticism is thought provoking (I’m speaking from experience) and often leads to improvement.
As an author, I enjoy criticism, but it’s easier to swallow if it’s cushioned by some positive comments. In a fiction writing class, I was taught to sandwich the negative between 2 positives. I do this automatically now.
Perhaps, I will return to Goodreads and review the book. If I received a poor rating, I would want to know why. Wouldn’t you?
So, to review or not to review? I say review, but be kind about it because not all of us are thick-skinned.