Oct 12, 2017
To:Aura
I've sometimes had to warn people my criticism seems harsh as a preface - I normally approach people I'm not familiar with (as writers) with a lot more openmindedness by telling them "you did X well and you can improve on Y" (notice how in my comment on this chapter, since she's only coming back to writing, I note, "There's been a marked improvement..."), but it can be quite subtle sometimes. If it's clear people have writing experience in some way, then I gradually scale back on the niceness.
However, as much as you think my style is harsh, people have seen better outcomes for their works by taking on my advice and others have noticed that. Truth be told, I spend about an hour or two on average on each comment (this one took me about an hour 45 minutes), and I often proofread at least twice.
Certainly, being an author means to be able to feel another person's feelings but it also means other things. This is a writing platform and not a social media site, so as much as building a positive rapport with other writers can pay off, I of course focus my input on the writing first and foremost.
Tl;dr: I have been caught out on this before and already proofread. I've tried to improve comments based on past complaints and I will take into consideration your feedback as well.
Now it would be best if we stopped flooding this space and let other users comment on this story.