Recent content by Kallisto

You see, I'm the opposite. "I don't feel Bob's pain" is terrible. And that's not because the person is wrong. They really aren't feeling Bob's pain, but they also are making the comment without really knowing where you're going with anything. It goes back to my statement about the tree not being...

Woah, hey! Chill out. We're just having a discussion about feedback. And everyone here has been nothing short of wonderful. Have you read the thread? There has been so much amazing advice and discussion about feedback and characters. Naomasa has been insightful, as usual. Stuart Dren is always...

This last time I put a story up for critique, I told the people that I didn't want to hear what they thought about my characters or the any of the story elements. I just want to know how I can improve the prose. I think I got the best feedback that way. Before, I'd get people saying things...

You probably would. That's very true.

Longer or not, you won't need the whole book. :)

I don't think you need a designated section for this type of thing. I think the workshops as they are, are fine for getting this type of feedback. The writer just needs to be very clear that they're presenting a messy paragraph and would like some help on wording it better.

This is true. I'm not pretending like if you only do this, you're suddenly going to have an amazing piece. You do still need people who will go and read it through from beginning to end because doing this is insightful, but limited. It will definitely never tell you whether or not your story is...

That's exactly what I meant. I hope, even in workshop, you're not just saying "Oh this is confusing" and leaving it at that. I how much good is that when you have a 2000 word manuscript? So yeah, I agree you can't give a person an answer in a workshop, but you shouldn't be so vague that you're...

Is it though? People would tell me often "Your descriptions are confusing." Okay... cool. And? How do I fix that? What specifically do you mean? I do agree there is merit to pointing out problems, but sometimes you don't have a clue! But I think that's a topic for another thread.

It depends on what you're looking for. If you're looking to see if your slow pace works, probably not. I would think that would require a read through. However, if you're question is, "I'm drawing out this long description of a table (or whatever) but I'm not sure I'm making any sense with what...

I believe I've seen this person around. Are you sure that's a character?

What is it? The One Paragraph Shred is where you post one very short excerpt of your story. I recommend less than 200 words, but I've posted up as little as a single paragraph before. Then you just let the forum go crazy on it. I've seen it in Critique Circle in their forums, and I really am...

It was a clear day. Remi knew that well before he even climbed out of bed or looked out the window. He knew before he went outside to check on the trees at the orchard or noticed no coals burning in the brazier of his room. It was the sound alone – or the lack thereof – that told Remi what sort...

Meet Sarah, the idealist. Sarah is brilliant young woman with a talent for science and heart to help others. She is the perfect person to start to find a cure for the zombie pandemic. But as each cure fails, Sarah crosses more and more ethical lines in determination to find the cure. She stops...

I'm going to echo what others have already said, without reading the book, it's impossible to tell whether something does or does not work.