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149 Public Reviews Given
166 Total Reviews Given
Public Reviews
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Rated: E | (4.0)
This is a really heartfelt piece that speaks volumes about the amazing love of God and the fact that we can have a relationship with him. Your questions are not revolutionary in terms of how people perceive God, but they are quite important and valid. Have you ever stopped to just try and wrap your mind around the notion of the perfect love He has for us? It's just so otherworldly that sometimes it feels like it can't be real!

You do a great job of balancing the seemingly unreal nature of God's love and relationship with us against the unworthiness we often feel because of our fallen nature. I like how you juxtapose a believer's efforts to be faithful to God until their death with the fact that we can be thankful that Jesus did not remain dead but instead rose from the grave.

Nice work.
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Review of Move On  
Rated: E | (3.5)
An inspirational piece which, though a bit repetitive, encourages the reader to progress rather than regress or remain stuck in the past. Indeed, we all ought to take the things that have happened to us, learn from them in whatever ways we possibly can, and then move forward in the knowledge of what these things have taught us...aware of the past, but not dwelling in it.

Good piece.
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Review of Sea Muse  
Rated: E | (4.0)
Has everything indeed been done before? Can we really create anything new these days? I'm not sure I entirely agree with the perspective you flesh out in this piece, but I certainly see your point. *Smile* It is an interesting idea that the muse might be rather fond of living by the sea. I've never thought of that possibility before as I've always subscribed to the idea that inspiration can be found anywhere, but reading that it might enjoy a specific locale is an interesting bit in this piece.

Good job.
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Review of left behind  
Rated: 13+ | (4.0)
This is a sad piece. You capture very well the feelings of abandonment that can come from one person leaving another, and perhaps the person who is leaving is completely unaware of how painful this is for the other person to deal with. I like the bit about the narrator not regreting loving the other person...love should be celebrated even if things don't work out because at least you got to be in that position once.

Suggestion:
--"the cries of wanting you gets louder" This should say "get" rather than "gets."
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Review of College Essay  
Rated: E | (4.0)
This is honestly the first college admission essay besides my own that I have ever read. It's kind of interesting to see what someone was thinking when they responded to whatever generic question the institution posed to them in their application packets.

I like how you encompass the nature of Rotterdam in your description of its youth, how they appear one way in public because it is cool, and yet live a completely different way when they are home.

Also of interest to me was your mention of the fact that you do not see writing as a craft that you can perfect, but rather something that you must always work at as both you and the writing evolve. That is a fantastic way to view it.

Nice piece.
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Review of Love you like...  
Rated: 13+ | (4.0)
This is an interesting poem to read. The similes are a mix of the familiar (wine) and the creative (the one about drums is a first for me), and offer varying reasons for their comparisons to the love you have for this person you speak of.

Suggestion: In this instance, "days" is actually "day's."
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Rated: E | (3.5)
I like the feel and subject of this poem, as it is natural to think upon someone who has passed on and yet meant so much to us while they were still alive. Love and memories are what keep them closest to us even though they are gone from this world. I like your approach to all of this, how you don't really even see your grandma as being gone, just in a different place.

Parts of this poem are written in an awakward manner though as you try to maintain a rhyme scheme. Some of it feels forced and disrupts the flow. The first two lines have extra beats compared to the rest of the poem, so it just makes the poem slightly uneven.

The last line doesn't quite work either, because the word "you" is not clear enough. The poem is directed toward the grandmother, but this sentence would seem to indicate that this feeling goes to a place that the living cannot see, so the subject of this sentence needs to be clarified in some way.

Good job.
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Rated: E | (3.0)
I am glad you have found this website and I hope that many folks will take the time out to help you learn to write English better here. *Smile*

Some suggestions:
--Remember that periods are used to end a sentence and begin another. For instance, in the fifth, sixth and seventh lines of your essay here, you could write it like this: "I'm Taiwanese. My official language is Chinese. Maybe I will make a lot of mistakes writing this, but I want to improve my English writing skills. I sincerely hope that people will make suggestions which will help me to write better.
--English is different from some other languages because of the way the sentences are often constructed. For instance, your comment, "the first time of budget trip," should more likely read like this, "my first budget trip." You can simply combine the fact that it's your experience and it's the first one for you. Hope this helps. *Smile*
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Review of Rainbow  
Rated: E | (4.0)
I like that you create meaning in such a short poem here. This person's voice is beautiful and pleasant, something that draws the narrator towards this other individual. The narrator longs to follow the voice until s/he finds the person who is speaking, and whether it be because this person is a friend or a lover, the ending is a good one.

Nice work.
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Rated: E | (4.0)
Nice, short, sweet and to the point. You are really crazy about this gal! *Smile* Indeed, life is better when you have someone to share it with. Most people are not meant to walk this earth alone and the joy you have in being with this girl is all the more poignant because of that. I only wish I knew what you were saying in that one line where you write something in a different language, ha ha!
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Review of Serenity  
Rated: E | (3.5)
This is a very calm, enjoyable piece of poetry. One can easily hear the sounds of the waves and the excited kids on the shore, see the sunset in the distance and smell the salty ocean water in this piece. As a series of snapshots in one's evening, this is very effective.

Suggestion: "The knowing of complete happiness" This is an awkward line because of extra words or tense. Perhaps "realization" would be a better word to use than knowing.
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Review of Remembrance  
Rated: E | (4.5)
Wow, this is a powerful poem. The tone goes along in one direction and then suddenly shifts to a different gear for the final stanza. The best part about that however, is that the sudden shift makes all the sense in the world and isn't simply done for shock value. It works.

You do a good job of bringing the reader into the moment and experiencing the narator's thoughts and feelings. Good work.
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Review of Silent Nature  
Rated: E | (4.5)
This is a fantastically languid piece of prose. You really made me want to go to wherever this dreamy place is. The sounds, the landscapes, the warmth--I was experiencing all of this in your wonderful descriptions: colors in the sky that look like water paint, grass that feels like silk, a chill as the woccasional bit of wind comes...this is quite the picture. *Smile*

Two suggestions:
--You might want to spell out 5-acre instead of using the number
--It seems like "maidens" might have been a better word to use instead of "maids" given the nature of your piece.

Excellent work!
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Review of In Dependent  
Rated: E | (3.0)
I imagine that most of us know people whom we haven't seen in some time for one reason or another, and hopefully we wish them the best despite having no clue what they've been up to. This story gives me that sort of vibe because of how fantastical it sounds. A parent who has abandoned their daughter twelve years earlier speaks of her being hit by a car without injury, of being fed without eating, of publishing a book though the child never knew it was a profession...this seems like a very hopeful piece, and that is good to see.

Some suggestions:
--Re-organize this story so that it has paragraphs and the appropriate separation of text whenever dialogue occurs. The exchanges between the parent and the students toward the end, for instance, would read better if put in quotations and such.
--"a brave girl a very brave girl" needs to have a comma separating "girl" and "a."
--"Landed to a class of..." This story seems to be oral rather than written, so you might try saying that a student heard this story and told it to everyone else.
--The point of view is confusing because for a long stretch in the middle, it appears that the parent is telling the reader the story of the girl, but then the story breaks down at one point and we sudden;y learn that a student has really been speaking to the teacher. Try denoting earlier on that the child is telling the story to the parent.
--When putting sentences in quotes, as you do in the beginning, only put a period at the end if you don't continue the thought outside the comment. Your quotes at the beginning as they currently stand, would need to have commas at the end instead of periods.
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Review of Dream  
Rated: E | (4.0)
Wow, I take it you really don't like the smell of vinegar! *biglaugh* This is an interesting and very odd little piece because at first it appears to be about whether this was a dream or a vision, but in the end it's really about...vinegar. You can't say that about too many written works these days. I like the memories this smell brings up in your piece.

Suggestion: "The clock read 12 after 4." Simply stating that it's four-twelve would probably be better.

Good job.
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Review of My Man  
Rated: ASR | (5.0)
This is a fall-down funny piece of poetry here! I like how different four-line stanzas are used to wax philosophical about the sort of man she may end up marrying. It's all just done so well and the way the lines roll off your tongue (and yes, the implication here is that this poem deserves to be read aloud) with the whole ABBB rhyme scheme is excellent too. I like the last stanza--it makes a great punchline. Fantastic job!
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Review of Touched By Grace  
Rated: E | (4.0)
This is a nice reminder of just how great the sacrifice of Jesus was and is. He didn't just die for all of humanity, he died for you, me, our parents...his sacrifice is individual-applied to each and every one of our lives. It's a picture of his love for us, that by his grace we can have life...we've done nothing to deserve this which is why the gift is so great. Nice piece.
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Review of Eclipse  
Rated: E | (4.0)
This is an unusual piece. Great imagery and sense as you paint these pictures that we can engage in in various ways. The dark figure is a strange one...a creature of unimaginable spite searching for truth.

Some suggestions:
--Watch the tense at the end...you suddenly move to the past from the present and it doesn't seem like that's what you should be doing. Considering chaging "had" to "has."
--"Engulfs the shadow and it's breath." Change it to "its."
--"its self" is actually one word.

Nice job.
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Review of Teen Love  
Rated: E | (4.0)
This sounds like a first love kind of situation and so it is sweet in a way. Oddly enough, this isn't just another poem though about this guy being all you can think about, but rather, you are sending up a prayer of thanks and request for this guy who is in your life. That is a unique approach and refreshing to see.

Suggestions:

"And now Dear Lord, its my intent" I would uncapitalize "Dear," plus "its" needs an apostrophe. I would also uncapitalize "Thank You" in the next line. Good job.
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Review of Little Brothers  
Rated: E | (4.0)
This is an interesting little piece about the bond between little brothers and older sisters. I am sure older siblings across the world have felt like this multiple times, that the younger child can be so annoying sometimes!

One suggestion: be careful with your spelling and contractions. In a lot of places you typed "out" when it should have been "our," "lightening" when it's lightning," "your" when it's "you're." Just some things to be on the lookout for. Good job.
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Rated: E | (4.0)
This poem is kind of funny...as though admitting to liking chocolate this much is a deep, dark sin or something, ha ha! You mention different sorts of chocolates, which makes for good comparisons and variety, though I was sorry to see that you did not include Ghirardelli chocolate--the best stuff on Earth! Anyhow, aside from that, this was fun to read. Good job. *Smile*
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Review of Sweet Nothings  
Rated: 13+ | (4.0)
This piece is done very well. The narrator writes in a way that seems to mirror her feelings exactly. The terse sentences are matter-of-fact, largely devoid of any emotion for some time, more of an assessment of what has happened than anything else. But then the realization sets in and the sentences string themselves out more as she lets loose with the feelings she desperately wants to bury and yet vocalize at the same time. This is a sad picture of how different the reality sometimes is when compared to the dream or fantasy.
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Review of Lingering Rain  
Rated: ASR | (4.0)
Rain can sometimes be a comfort to others, but as in the case of this poem, it only seems to make a person mournful, especially when the falling rain parallels the tears falling from the narrator's eyes.

A stirring part here is when the narrator speaks of the feelings in heart, as if it does not know that the object of his/her love has gone forever on this the anniversary of the other's death. Love can be that way sometimes (even if it apparently never came from the lips of the other person), and I think this detail resonates powerfully.

My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Go Noticed.
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Review of The Window  
Rated: E | (4.0)
This almost sounds like a children's rhyme. There's just something almost sing-songy about it. *Smile* Bright eyed and bushy tailed...I halfway expect to see a squirrel zipping in and then out of the room you describe here. *Wink* Deep down though, there is more here than that--this is indeed about the choices we are presented with in life and how we choose to deal with them. Some look upon new chances with fear, while others (like the person in this poem) view them with great excitement and interest. Nice job of giving people a chance to be encouraged by the unknown instead of begin afraid of it.

My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Go Noticed.
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Review of Swan lessons  
Rated: E | (4.0)
Interesting how one comment from a child that references an immediate action she plans to make can set you to thinking about how this moment will be a metaphor for the life you two will share way down the road. I never would think of something I like that, I suspect. It is a fitting idea though, so it is creative that way. I like the allusions to the child flying away someday while the mother waits for her child to make the occasional return to the proverbial nest, as it were. Nice imagery. Good job.

My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Go Noticed.
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