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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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GD asks: what progress have we made? I want to hear about who's having trouble punching their way forward. And how they're coping.
I'm reading, for inspiration and for a break from 'Sly!' And I'm revising a new piece.
On Gaudy Night is a romp by zany critters on Midsummer Eve, known to them as Gaudy Night.
Is there a place on BC for short, sweet, verse?
Actually, Gaudy is neither all that short, nor all that sweet. Here's the introduction:
On Gaudy Night, at summer’s height, it's said
that anyone with any sense is snug abed.
Hobgoblins, nasty things, cavort. Beware!
As much as you might long to spy on them, forbear!
To cause distress - to damage, to destroy, to injure -
gives these fiends their greatest joy.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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If anyone, especially GD, wonders what is going on with my post above, it keeps changing! It's screwing up, big time.
I had copied and pasted centered verse from another application, and it's been a total nightmare. I make the slightest change and everything - the font size, the leading - goes ka-plooey.
I just tried to make one long line into two short ones, and the whole second half of my type has disappeared. Gonzo!
I give up. I've had it.
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Joined: 4/26/2011
Posts: 77
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Years ago, I had an office mate whose mother was not a native English speaker. He wanted to marry, but his mother meddled. I heard him say on the phone,
Lay off, let be, or the whole thing go ka-blooyey.
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Hi Philip!
I've been meaning to tell you: I have seen a piece on Huffingtonpost, or Daily Beast, or Salon, one of those three sites. Scientists have succeeded in putting digital information into a human cell. Is this something you can use?
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Joined: 4/26/2011
Posts: 77
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Hi Mimi,
An old friend of mine, Joe Weinstein, said "I'm an unsuccessful science fiction writer. It all comes true."
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Joined: 10/14/2012
Posts: 229
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Hey Mimi
A request for advice here....
I'm joining Bookkus, wat wif mi nuely revized buk.
Unlike here, which is purely for gaining reiews to help with improvements, the Bookkus set up is with a hope, however faint, of progressing through the stages.
I see you are prolific on that site so I was wondering how one goes about getting fair reviews. I reckon if you don't do reviews, you won't get any back... I don't want to give falsely wondrous reviews, I'd rather be honest, like we do here and like I'd hope to attract.
The fear of course is that it only takes you to offend one sensitive soul with a less than complimentary review, and they can scupper any hope you had of earning the 4 star cut off with one angry shot, and you're dead in the water.
I'm not after false flattery, but don't want false criticisn either. I want my book to fail on it's own merits............... hell, or even indeed succeed.
Have you any ideas on how best to proceed?
Mike
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Joined: 10/14/2012
Posts: 229
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Would you post reviews for ones you genuinely love, and bin/delete reviews for ones that don't float your boat?
Or am I being paranoid?
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Hi Michael. I review at random. Well, not quite at random. If I see that a book has four reviews and needs five to qualify for the next round, I jump on it.
I really don’t think that people retaliate. I don’t think that anyone wants to get a comforting review, as opposed to an honest, helpful one. A worse situation, and I see it all too often, is that an unsophisticated reader thinks something is fabulous, when it’s not. Or, being a lover of a particular genre, he fails to see the value of a quirkier piece. But that’s the chance we take. There’s no way around it.
Sure, join Bookkus. The action ebbs and flows on these sites and it’s good to have a back-up.
I’ve joined a new site, Scribeophile. It’s full of good discussions. I’ve posted a piece in the latest contest, ending today, for which I had to do five reviews to earn the points to be eligible. Next up is a piece on Bookkus. After that comes The Desolate. Keep the faith!
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Joined: 10/14/2012
Posts: 229
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Maybe I'm just an old cynic. 
Thanks and best of luck,
mike
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Reviews are my problem: I sense a divide between good writers and good reviewers. Perhaps good reviewers spot weaknesses writers never see. (Sometimes even after it's pointed out to us
Michael's right, Bookus needs impartial reviewers. I'm also on Bookus & it appears they attract writers more than reviewers.
I lack the expertise and experience to tell anyone past the 6th grade how to improve their writing. So I limit the few I do to works where I see promise. It's fun to encourage people.
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Joined: 10/14/2012
Posts: 229
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Hehe...
"I limit the few I do to works where I see promise."
Now anyone who doesn't get a review from you will belief you've looked at their book... weighed, measured it and found it wanting... hehe... excellent...
Hey, hold on. You haven't left a review on mine!
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Joined: 11/17/2011
Posts: 1016
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Oh, GD! Oh, Michael!
GD has intimidated me now. I'm wondering, am I full of shit?
Michael, I need to add to that review I just posted of Seer on another site: The following advice is my opinion only. Take it with a grain of salt. You've seen how far my choices have gotten me with my own work. But I hope I've given you something to think about. I want you to succeed.
GD ... "I lack the expertise and experience to tell anyone past the 6th grade how to improve their writing."
I don't believe that for a minute.
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