honest opions please

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cee1984

Adhsur

That is absolutely ridiculous. I wasn't criticising a random post, but rather I was indicating poor grammar on a thread specially asking for an honest opinion. Grammar is important for writing as I doubt anything written in poor grammar would ever get published. Gossip girl wants to get her work published so I was giving her some advice. As for grammatical mistakes on the forum, I don't think it really matters that much? None of our posts are going to be published. Of course, good grammar comes across well but to be fair, as long as the posts are readable, then who cares?

For your information, I don't know who gossip girl is, nor do I know what her online persona is.

Excuse me? Are you suggesting that because I am a moderator of this forum, that I am not allowed to enjoy it and have friends? If so, then you are very wrong. Being a moderator isn't at the expense of my enjoyment of the forum. Rather, I am a moderator because I love being here so much. Just because I like some people in particular on here does not mean that I will by any means exclude them from the forum rules. If someone swears or does something that warrants a ban, I will take out the necessary action be that someone I like or someone I don't know at all. And as a matter of fact, the people I like more are the ones that tend not to cause problems anyway.

Can you add bratcat to your list of names in your sig? Thanks. :cool:

Reply 61

Adhsur

cee1984

Can you add bratcat to your list of names in your sig? Thanks. :cool:

Lol.

Reply 62

4Ed

Adhsur

i made those points in the post above, dear :biggrin:

Reply 63

RieLouise

cee1984

Can you add bratcat to your list of names in your sig? Thanks. :cool:

Thanks, but no thanks. I may say many things here that people don't like and I've no intention of sucking up to the mods just because it seems like the right thing to do. I'm not into cliques or ass-kissing - as I've said before, I've been told it gives you backache.

Reply 64

4Ed

bratcat

Indeed. Hence, the use of the phrase 'off topic'. The fact that this particular mod has a list of 'favourite members' in her sig-file has concerned me for some time. I do think it risks compromising her impartiality. But maybe that's for a different thread.

but a mod can post what they like. as long as their modding decisions regarding post deletion/official action are correct, they are free to express themselves in their signatures, which is an identity mark.
Ollie has a note in his sig asking for free beer - i wouldn't call that a mod worthy note, but it's up to him what he puts in there.

I am a writer myself. (more poetry than prose) Perhaps you are unaware of the way in way in which some writers operate. Inititially, many writers begin with a 'stream of consciousness' approach and then they go back and correct grammatical errors etc. Personally, I think grammatical skills can be pretty easily taught. creativity, however, cannot.

i'm aware of stream of consciousness, in free verse poetry or when writing in a Woolf style.
but GG is narrating a story here (look at the extract), I would hardly believe that narrators have a 'stream of consciousness', they are there to be impartial, unless she specifically tells the tale through the eyes of a character.

I don't think that what she wrote was worthy of the name 'literary criticism'. Or did you not notice her tone?

an opinion on a piece of writing is technically literary criticism. whether it makes sense or not is another issue :tongue:

Reply 65

RieLouise

Adhsur

(Biiiig snip)

Excuse me? Are you suggesting that because I am a moderator of this forum, that I am not allowed to enjoy it and have friends? If so, then you are very wrong. Being a moderator isn't at the expense of my enjoyment of the forum. Rather, I am a moderator because I love being here so much. Just because I like some people in particular on here does not mean that I will by any means exclude them from the forum rules. If someone swears or does something that warrants a ban, I will take out the necessary action be that someone I like or someone I don't know at all. And as a matter of fact, the people I like more are the ones that tend not to cause problems anyway.

I wasn't suggesting that at all. I was suggesting that you should avoid advertising it. (Of course you're going to have your favourite members and it would be naive to suggest otherwise) I've been a members of many fora (and a mod on a couple as well) and I know of none in which this would be permitted.

Reply 66

Everdawn

bratcat

well you do seem to be snapping at those who dont like it. You cant make someone like it, if they dont they are free to say so, Gossip Girl was asking for honest opinions.

Reply 67

RieLouise

Everdawn

well you do seem to be snapping at those who dont like it. You cant make someone like it, if they dont they are free to say so, Gossip Girl was asking for honest opinions.

why is it in my interests to *make* people like Gossip Girl's work. What am I? Her literary agent.

I was disappointed at the callibre of the criticism. I would have expected more from the self-proclaimed members of thedefinitive Higher ED forum on the web. That's all. Was that too difficult for you?

Reply 68

Amy

to be honest, i was bored by the end of the first sentence, sorry, but i think it needs to have a good beginning to grab the attention of the reader

sorry

Reply 69

Trousers

Hi GG,

I'm an editor for a publisher, although I usually deal with non-fiction so I'm not the perfect person to give you advice. If you want to get published, from what I know of the business I can tell you the following things:

1. Don't let criticism put you off. Use it constructively and keep trying. If you enjoy writing, keep doing it and honing your skills. I'm no expert, but I'm certain the extract you posted wouldn't get published as it is. If you're serious about being a writer, though, something you do in a few years' time might be good enough.

2. You need to come up with some more original ideas, but until you think of something brilliant, don't worry about it being too cliched. Just keep practising, and one day a great idea will pop into your head. Until it does, your work isn't ready for publication.

3. You really should work on your grammar, spelling and punctuation. Even if you come up with the best idea in the whole universe, an editor will throw your work in the bin if he or she can't read it easily. Again, this will come with practice: just keep a dictionary next to you when you write, and PM me if you need help with grammar and punctuation. Small mistakes can be corrected by a copy editor, but if there are too many of them you won't get taken seriously.

The most important thing is to keep practising and enjoy it. You have a good, honest approach to story telling, so I think your work shows potential. PM me if you ever need more advice, and don't get disheartened if some people don't like your work. Keep posting it and asking for more help, and it will improve.

Reply 70

pink_lucie

omg all this went one while i was at school?
wow

Reply 71

4Ed

bratcat

criticism is criticism, be it good or bad; she did ask for our opinions you know.

Reply 72

SugarPlum

Basic plot/ideas etc = not bad.

You could do with working on grammar/ punctuation, but that's the easy bit that anyone can do with a little effort, so you should be fine.