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765 Public Reviews Given
968 Total Reviews Given
Review Style
When I review an item, the criticism offered aims to address the main problems I personally feel the writer has at the moment. So, if I critique a story that is full of typos, lacks a clear plot and a sympathetic character, I'll tend to ignore the typos and focus on how the writer can craft a better plot and protagonist, while if the story is near perfect yet full of typos, I'll focus on the typos. I don't enjoy reviewing poetry. This isn't because I don't enjoy poetry, but because poetry is a very personal statement of feelings, and it's difficult to comment on such without upsetting the author.
I'm good at...
Critiquing opening chapters and offering advice on hook, character development, plot development and initial setting. In real life, I love to read novels, so I particularly enjoy reviewing opening chapters.
Favorite Genres
Fantasy, sci-fi, speculative and historical fiction — I especially love time travel and YA fantasy/sci-fi
Least Favorite Genres
Poetry, erotica, romance, crime, thrillers, horror
Favorite Item Types
opening chapters and short stories
Least Favorite Item Types
poetry, lyrics, interactive stories
I will not review...
Your shopping list. Anything else goes. *Bigsmile*
Public Reviews
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151
151
Review of Tortoise Lessons  
In affiliation with SIMPLY POSITIVE GROUP  
Rated: E | N/A (Review only item.)
Hello, turtlemoon-dohi

What I liked

I like how your sijo follows the traditional line structure with a clear break around the middle of each line, and I love the theme of learning patience and enturance from the turtle. Clearly, you have quite an affinity with such creatures. You use some strong words to put across your meaning.

What might need work

I hope you've read the article about writing sijo poems:
http://www.ahapoetry.com/SIJO.HTM

Reading your sijo, I didn't feel that the first half of the third line formed a twist or surprise. Instead, it was a continuation and repetition of the same theme. You might like to think about making your final line more of a departure from the theme developed in the first two lines in order to make it more of a sijo in nature.

In the opening line, I felt that the last two words (and protect) were maybe added to make the necessary syllable count because there wasn't anything in the described action of the turtle within the context of your poem and the actions descibed that seemed protective. Now, I don't know anything about turtles and so for all I know they're very protective, but i simply mean that within the contest of your poem, of what you've written, that small statement stands out as disconected from the rest imho. It's essentially irrelevant to the core theme of the slow steady movements of the turtle being a sympbol of determination and patience. I personally feel you might benefit from narrowing the scope of your metaphor to ensure that it's all internally consistant and as clear and powerful as it can be.

Thank you for sharing!

Best wishes,

Bob *BigSmile*

Simply Positive Signature


*Gold* My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!.
152
152
In affiliation with SIMPLY POSITIVE GROUP  
Rated: ASR | (4.0)
*BalloonR* Welcome to WDC from "Newbie Welcome Wagon! *BalloonR*


Hello Hossman!

I'm offering this review because you're a new member. Please remember that everybody has different tastes. This critique is the opinion of only one person and offered in the spirit of constructive criticism with a hope that it will prove useful if you decide to further develop or edit your tale. Approaching your writing, I'm searching for specific elements that I shall address under separate headers.


Hook — does your story opening have something that grabs my attention and makes me want to read on?
*Star**Star**Star**HalfStar*

The opening is a little confusing because it's not clear from the offset where the narrator actually is. When you get to the point he's looking out of the window, it becomes clear he's inside his house but not exactly where. If you simply show where the headphones are as he picks them up then the whole beginning would be clearer, eg. "I moved to clear the breakfast dishes from the kitchen table when next to my daughter's half-eaten bowl of Cocoa Pops I spied those headphones she took from school yesterday." and queue backflash.

The hook of the headphones is fine, though.

Characters — do they feel like real people?
*Star**Star**Star**Star*

Dad is a sympathetic character since he's trying to do the right thing and he also gets hurt doing it. However, he's not very well sketched beyond what's required for the plot. For example, why's he at home rather than at work? What does he do? What are his interests? I know it's only a short story, but a few well placed objects around the house would say a lot about his life and help make him a more rounded character. For example, "Last night after the Dodgers game on TV had finished, I checked in on my daughter since she was being unusually quiet in her room rather than playing that loud screaming music some kids play today. Why they can't listen to Frank or Gene like civilized folk I can't imagine." From asides such as that the reader learns what sports he likes and the kind of music he listens to, which helps make his character feel more three-dimensional.

Plot — does your story contain a clear plot with a strong resolution?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**Star*

Although it's a tad melodramatic, it does work well. There's a clear conflict and he resolves it, receiving an adequate and well deserved reward at the end.

Pace — does your story feel like it's going somewhere?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**Star*

Your pace is fine.

Language and voice — can a reader feel your story?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**HalfStar*

Generally clear and easy to follow. Just two notes:

I take off like a sprinter outrunning a drug test - this is a great simile! However, avoid too many comparatives close together because it's like adding too much salt to the soup. A little makes it taste much better. Too much, and you can't eat it. Here you have the great simile to begin this paragraph, but then you end it on a comparison with famous people. It's an action scene, so it's better to focus on the action and put aside the flowery language and description a little.

I almost trip but with my gymnastic-like skills - either 'gymnast-like skills' or 'gymnastic skills'

Dialogue — are your characters' voices distinct, and do they add to character building?
*Star**Star**Star*

The backstory conversation between father and daughter in the opening was presented as indirect (reported) speech. It would have engaged the reader better had it been presented as direct speech, ie. with quotation marks showing the backscene rather than telling the reader about it.

When the father speaks to himself towards the end, if you want to make it look as though it's a conversation then you need to begin a new paragraph for each 'person' speaking. Otherwise, you'd only use one set of quotation marks to contain the whole speech there since he's the only one speaking and he voices a continuing stream of sentences.


Settings — have you grounded this reader in 'real' scenes?
*Star**Star**Star*

Although that I get he was inside his house, I've no idea where and so his movements were quite difficult to see inside my mind. I mean, why go to the garage rather than through the front door? Where in the house were the headphones? You need to show where he is at the beginning, ground the reader in that location, and then give the reader landmarks on his journey so that they can 'see' his progress for themselves.

Themes — is this reader blown away by mind-blowing philosophy or originality?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**Star*

Wonderful father loves daughter and kids leaving traps for parents style themes going on here. Very nice.

Conclusion — a summary of how this reader personally felt about your story.
*Star**Star**Star**Star*

The actual story premise and plot are wonderful. If you can make Dad feel like more of a real person and ground the reader in the scene a little better then this could be a good short story.

Thank you for sharing your story with me. Since you're a new member of this community, please check out "Invalid ItemWe want to award the best new authors on this site, so please enter either a poem or a short story. Read the rules before posting an entry.

 Invalid Item 
This item number is not valid.
#1873271 by Not Available.


Best wishes,

Bob *Bigsmile*


Simply Positive Signature


*Gold* My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!.
153
153
Review of Trace Jenaris  
In affiliation with SIMPLY POSITIVE GROUP  
Rated: E | (4.0)
*BalloonR* Welcome to WDC from "Newbie Welcome Wagon! *BalloonR*


Hello Mona !

I'm offering this review because you're a new member. Please remember that everybody has different tastes. This critique is the opinion of only one person and offered in the spirit of constructive criticism with a hope that it will prove useful if you decide to further develop or edit your tale. Approaching your writing, I'm searching for specific elements that I shall address under separate headers.


Hook — does your story opening have something that grabs my attention and makes me want to read on?
*Star**Star**Star**Star*

The initial set up is good. You've got a sympathetic character and she's got a clear initial goal (she wants to read that scroll). It's not particularly exciting, in that we don't get a feeling at this stage that it's a life and death situation. However, the bigger problem is that the initial hooks, of the scroll and then what happened to her parents, not only don't get resolved in the story, but they're actually completely irrelevant to the story action that later unfolds, so maybe even making the reader feel a little cheated.

Characters — do they feel like real people?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**HalfStar*

Trace likes animals and wants to be one with the universe, so that's pretty likeable. She's a young druid who's just finished her education, so we get she's a young adult and bright. She's a half elf, so that's interesting.

You might like to bring in a bit more physical description, if you can, to help us gain a better visual of the protagonist in the beginning, eg. "Trace brushed a stray lock of blonde hair behind her ear, which was fortunately pointy enough to hold it in place so it wouldn't bother her awhile."

Plot — does your story contain a clear plot with a strong resolution?
*Star**Star**Star*

The initial set up with the scroll is interesting, and the action of the fight scene is great. However, the story arc is a little strange. You begin with foreshadowing involving a scroll and her parents' death. To any reader, this sends a huge signal that the main conflict of this story is going to be her finding out what happened to her parents and avenging their deaths. But then the story turns out to have absolutely nothing to do with either her parents or the Pit, and actually all that information you've given us about the Pit, the journey there and her parents is irrelevant to the action of the story with the hobgoblins.

The death of the hobgoblins is a nice resolution, but her final act of handing over the decisions to her chief prevents her from ending this story as a proactive protagonist, ie. she's setting aside the problems she's uncovered and passing them on to another character.

The actual death of the hobgoblins is a little too linear. In an action story, you want to feel that the protagonist is in real danger, and you like to see a disaster towards the end that you can't see how they can win until they suddenly pull a rabbit out of the hat and do so. Their technique for winning should be well foreshadowed, and yet still be a surprise. For example, in your story Trace might only see two hobgoblins, and then engage them. They turn out to be really good fighters, but she's winning and about to kill them when suddenly three more appear behind her and she's outnumbered. At that point she might, for example, decide to do something she's never done before because it felt wrong to her but she knows how to do it, and turns herself into a direwolf. As a wolf, she's able to do what she couldn't do as a druid and wins against five. With this kind of story structure, you set up what's sometimes called a try-fail cycle, ie. Trace attempts to fight the hobgoblins, but they're better than she expects, she begins to win, but then more appear, she can win, but in order to do so she must do something she really doesn't want to do. In this way you can up the conflict, making it not only a simple physical conflict but also an internal conflict with herself.

Pace — does your story feel like it's going somewhere?
*Star**Star**Star**HalfStar*

Because the beginning of the story is essentially a different story to the action scene, your story effectively has two starts: the first when the scroll is introduced and the second when the hobgoblins appear. This second start rather ruins the momentum and significantly slows the pace. Then, imho, the fight scene in the second half is too fast in pace. It's over in seconds, so you lose the opportunity to really show Trace's skills in action and to give her worthy adversaries to make her look cool.

Language and voice — can a reader feel your story?
*Star**Star**Star**Star*

Your narrative is generally easy to understand, but you have a few issues with changing pace and grammar. Here are a few points:

‘But, why wait?” - you begin the story using 'single' quotation marks for speech, but swap to "double" in this sentence. It doesn't matter whether you use double or single, but it's important to be consistent within a story or novel.

What had happen there to cause her mother to return - happened

Their hair color ranges from dark reddish-brown to dark gray.
- up until this, the narrative was in past tense. Here you change to present. Be consistent. Use the same tense throughout unless you're showing a backflash or in dialogue or thoughts.

She vowels o herself as she pulls a dagger - She vowed to herself as she pulled a dagger

thought she’d have to report this to her Chef right away - to her chief - unless she's planning on a gormet lunchion of hobgoblin flesh. *Wink*

Settings — have you grounded this reader in 'real' scenes?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**HalfStar*

The initial setting is good. We can see she's in a woods full of cute creatures and we're clearly not in Kanzas. However, you miss a lot of opportunities for sensory details that would enhance the story. For example, do the hobgoblins stink really badly of something you can describe, like rotten eggs or sulphur? Does the sun warm her face? Does the parchment of the scroll feel dry and brittle, like it's going to flake into pieces at her touch?

Themes — is this reader blown away by mind-blowing philosophy or originality?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**HalfStar*

Nice fantasy setting and light versus dark is always a good theme.

Conclusion — a summary of how this reader personally felt about your story.
*Star**Star**Star**Star*

There's a lot of potential in this story, with a great half-elf protagonist and some fantastic action. However, you need a smoother story arc with consistent pace, imho.

Thank you for sharing your story with me. Since you're a new member of this community, please check out "Invalid ItemWe want to award the best new authors on this site, so please enter either a poem or a short story. Read the rules before posting an entry.

 Invalid Item 
This item number is not valid.
#1873271 by Not Available.


Best wishes,

Bob *Bigsmile*


Simply Positive Signature


*Gold* My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!.
154
154
In affiliation with SIMPLY POSITIVE GROUP  
Rated: 13+ | (4.0)
*BalloonR* Welcome to WDC from "Newbie Welcome Wagon! *BalloonR*


Hello Katie-James Grace !

I'm offering this review because you're a new member. Please remember that everybody has different tastes. This critique is the opinion of only one person and offered in the spirit of constructive criticism with a hope that it will prove useful if you decide to further develop or edit your poem.


What I liked.

What you have so far is very powerful. Your word choices are great and your protagonist interesting. The premise is also a good one. I presume this is for the "Quotation Inspiration: Official Contest. If so, I think that if you worked on this a little more then you could have a strong entry.

What I feel may need improvement.

In your brief description, you state that your story is 1411 words long. It isn't. It's actually 1411 characters long, but only 271 words long. That's far too short to work well in a contest where the word count limit is 2000 words, unless your story is particularly stunning.

As I said, your writing is powerful. I got a good feeling for Clair's mindset. Also, I did feel that her problem made her a sympathetic character. However, I didn't get much more about her. I mean, what's her big issue with Loki? How old is she? What's her job, or is she a schoolgirl? Is she Icelandic, since her nemisis has an Icelandic/Norse name? What are her interests other than killing Loki? Does she have any friends or family. Of course, you don't need all of this in a short story, but you do need some background worked in to make Clair feel like a real, three-dimensional person.

The plot you have so far is interesting and certainly has tension/conflict. However, it's not really complete because the reader doesn't have a clear idea of "what's at stake" (ie. why does she feel an urge to kill Loki? eg. does she need to kill Loki in order to prevent him blowing up the Earth or simply to stop him stealing her grandmother's pantaloons from the washing line?) and the ending doesn't supply any "resolution" or "closure".

Settings also need a lot of work. What country are we in? What season is it? What time period is it? What culture does Clair belong to? What does her bed feel and smell like? Such sensory details can add a lot to a story. For example, if when in her bed "Clair stretched out and stroked the comfortingly smooth silk sheets and breathed in the calming scent of lavendar" we'd get a very different feeling for the situation to if "Clair wrinkled her nose at the sour stench of stale beer waftling from her bedsheets and vowed that today she'd do some laundry. Turning, the sticky sheets followed her out until gravity peeled them away. Perhaps she should just throw them in the trash and buy new sheets."

I'd recommend you take a look at a few good quality entries to "Quotation Inspiration: Official Contest in order to get a feel for the kind of length and quality you're aiming for as well as examples of how better to present a character. Here's one written by a respected member of the site who has performed well in contests over a period of time.

STATIC
The Trouble with Resurrection  (18+)
Aaron was back. Now what? Quotation Inspiration Winner, Feb 2017
#2111353 by 🌕 HuntersMoon


Conclusion.

You're clearly a talented writer, but if this is an entry into the "Quotation Inspiration: Official Contest then it needs some serious character and setting development as well as a more complete plot arc.

Thank you for sharing your poem with me. Since you're a new member of this community, please check out "Invalid ItemWe want to award the best new authors on this site, so please enter either a poem or a short story. Read the rules before posting an entry.

"Invalid Item

Best wishes,

Bob *Bigsmile*


Simply Positive Signature


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155
155
In affiliation with SIMPLY POSITIVE GROUP  
Rated: 18+ | (5.0)
Hi Ken, my beloved! *BigSmile*

What an awesome take on the prompt. Now I'm envious I didn't come up with this approach. (Makes mine look downright boring!) *Laugh* Let's just see what holes I can pick in your masterpiece to make me feel just a little bit better about my inferior entry.
*Wink*

I hope that this review proves helpful to you. Please remember that everybody has different tastes. My critique is the opinion of only one person and offered in the spirit of constructive criticism with a hope that it will be useful if you decide to further develop or edit your tale. Approaching your writing, I'm searching for specific elements that I shall address under separate headers.

When approaching your story, I'm searching for specific elements, and each will be addressed under a different header.



Hook — does your opening have something that stops this reader putting down your story?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**Star*

Awesome opening hook, damn you! How dare you make it so good. I mean, I suppose you could add some sensory detail, like it's absolutely freezing/boiling hot, or it stinks of sulphur/smells of rose petals. But it's great as is, you swine.

Characters — are they well rounded?
*Star**Star**Star**Star* *HalfStar*

A man killed for something he didn't do is truly sympathetic in a big way, so Aaron is a cool character. You could have shown more about who he is, though, such as him at least being happy he wouldn't have to spend another day in the office helping divorcees to get as much money as possible from their exes in court or something like that and also a wonder how he could have possibly died when he was only thirty and in great health since he jogged every morning and attended Judo classes twice a week, or something like that just to round out his character a little more. Of course, if you made him and the wife both elementary school teachers in the story, it would provide foreshadowing for her later accusation in the backflash he gets and make the whole thing more powerful, ie. him being a teacher with daily access to very young kids would make her accusation more urgent and plausible.

Plot — does your story contain a clear plot with a strong resolution, or hook if it's a chapter or serial?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**Star*

Awesome. Sublime. Wonderful. I truly hate you, Ken! *Frown*

Pace — does your story feel like it's going somewhere?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**Star*

Pace is spot on. Did I mention I hate you?

Language and voice — does this reader 'feel' the story?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**HalfStar*

Ah! At least you're not perfect. Aaron's voice is great, but consider these two small points:

Aaron managed to do so and saw a small, red pinprick of light - this is the third time you've used 'managed' within about ten paragraphs. What is it with you and this word? *Laugh*

He wasn’t going to ignore the beauty around him anymore.
-> he wasn't going to ignore the surrounding beauty anymore/he wasn't going to ignore the sublime majesty of creation any longer.

Dialogue — are your characters' voices distinct, and do they add to character building?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**HalfStar*

Aaron and L are fine speech wise, but consider these points:

“What in the hell?” he managed to croak. -> "What the hell?" he croaked. - tightening suggestion since word count is tight. You don't need to tell us he managed it since you're showing it. *Laugh*

“Ummm, technically you’re not in hell,” -> "Um, technically you're not in Hell." - You're using Hell as a proper noun, a placename, so it needs a capital.

“Wwwhat? Wwwho?” he managed to stutter, trying to turn his head
-> "Wh-what? Who?" He tried to turn his head, but - Don't overdo stutters. There's a fairly standard method for showing stutters in speech, but unfortunately it's not how you've shown it. *Smile* Basically, you use a hyphen to separate out the repeated initial phoneme of the word, like 'ch' or 'sh' or 'b'. If you're showing stuttering, it's pointless to tell it in the dialogue tag. You've already used 'managed' a few paragraphs up, and it's a stall word.

http://fandom-grammar.livejournal.com/14121.html

“Come on, Aaron. You’re an intelligent … man.” / L’s voice caused him to jump.
- for me, the speech was so long that when I got to the 'he jumped' it was too late, I mean, there's a notion that in order for narrative to flow smoothly the reader should receive the information in the same chronological order that it occurs to the viewpoint narrator. However, here the 'jumped' appears in your narrative two sentences on from the point where he actually jumps, if you catch my drift. Perhaps just have the "Come on!" then the 'L's voice made him jump' then the rest of the speech?

“We’re in this together until the end,” was the curt reply.
- only add a tag if it actually adds something to the story or clarifies who spoke. Here' it's obvious who spoke and you've shown it to be curt, so it's pointless to also tell us it's a curt reply.

“It’s Gods punishment and it serves you right,”
-> "It's God's punishment, and it - possessive apostrophe and comma between two distinct clauses - oh, sorry, forget that second point. I'll leave that comma for Schnujo is Late to Lannister to pick up later when she reviews this. *Laugh*

she yelled, turning and leaving the room
- this tag isn't really necessary since it's clear from her words she must have yelled, imho. Try, She spun and stormed out the room.

and say hello to Lewis Carrol when you see him.” -> and remember me to Lewis Carrol when/and say hello to Lewis Carrol for me

Settings — is this reader grounded in 'real' scenes?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**HalfStar*

Overall, you had sufficient scene setting for a story with such a tight word count. However, you could have added a little more sensory information in the grave where it must be cold and damp and also in the town square/park, where he could smell roses or something. I don't recall that you made time of year obvious with snow/yellow leaves/spring flowers or anything, but that may be me being blind.

Themes — is this reader blown away by mind-blowing philosophy or originality?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**Star*

Far, far, far too good. You should consider writing worse stories to give others like myself a better chance of winning the contest. *Frown*

Conclusion — a summary of how this reader personally felt about your story.
*Star**Star**Star**Star**Star*

Yeah, it's official. I hate you. This story is far too good!

*Laugh*

All the best of luck in the contest, my friend. You deserve to win!


Thank you for sharing your story with me.

Best wishes,

Bob *Bigsmile*


Simply Positive Signature


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156
156
In affiliation with SIMPLY POSITIVE GROUP  
Rated: E | (5.0)
Hello, Enneazetton

Awesome poem!

What I liked

I loved the image of the fake-faced council official and how he/they dodged the problems, ignored the issues, but then arrived to take credit as soon as something remotely positive occured. Great structure and rhythm.

My favourite lines were like celebrities they visited and as crooked as the pavement, one old lady said.

Fantastic internal rhyme in the concluding line.

What might need work

but those in the hall, - perhaps 'town hall'. I presume you mean Halifax town hall here? Calderdale, isn't it?

the canal and river trust - shouldn't this be capitalised, the Canal and River Trust?

Since you enjoy writing poetry, consider joining: "The Poet's Place and also think about possibly entering some contests, like: "Invalid Item and "Invalid Item

Thank you for sharing!

Best wishes,

Bob *BigSmile*

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157
157
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Rated: E | (4.5)
Hello, 🌕 HuntersMoon

What I liked

Wonderful emotions, and so much more genuine than my own paltry effort! *Laugh*

Fantastic rhymes and wonderful flow. You've correctly flowed through the timeline of your love and arrived at a conclusion within the final couplet. "Most" of your poem is even written in iambic pentameter. *Rolling*

I like this much better than mine!

What might need work

Now, we've had "THE TALK" twice now: that thing where I explain iambic pentameter and then you tell me you can't hear the stresses. So… there's only four lines in this sonnet that aren't in iambic pentameter, so instead of explaining what doesn't work with the metre, I'm just going to show you a corrected version of each line and then allow you to decide if you want to correct it or not. The second non iambic line actually misses a syllable, so you really must do something about that one. My offered re-writes don't change what you've said, they only rearrange it a little to achieve better metre.

Here goes:

you touched my heart like no one ever could;
-> you touched my heart in ways no other could; - this also more accurately expresses what you actually mean, imho.

reveal my heart's desire and delight
(9 syllables!) -> reveal my heart's desire and its delight

that the harsh touch of time cannot erase.
-> that harshest touch of time cannot erase.

We've shared a life of laughter and some tears
-> We've shared a life of laughter, love and tears - or - loss and tears - or - grief and tears - or any other word you can think of that fits here. The point is that 'and' is never stressed, so you need it in unstressed position 9 in the line in order to ensure that your final metric foot is a true iambic foot. The final foot in a line is the most important one and so is the only foot that most poets will never make a spondee or a trochee

Thank you for sharing!

Best wishes,

Bob *BigSmile*

Simply Positive Signature


*Gold* My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!.
158
158
Review of The Shadow  
In affiliation with SIMPLY POSITIVE GROUP  
Rated: E | (4.0)
*BalloonR* Welcome to WDC from "Newbie Welcome Wagon! *BalloonR*


Hello Timepilgrim

I'm offering this review because you're a new member. Please remember that everybody has different tastes. This critique is the opinion of only one person and offered in the spirit of constructive criticism with a hope that it will prove useful if you decide to further develop or edit your tale. Approaching your writing, I'm searching for specific elements that I shall address under separate headers.


Hook — does your story opening have something that grabs my attention and makes me want to read on?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**Star*

Excellent opening hook. The shadow is introduced, and it's creepy as! Any avid reader of this genre would be hooked by that.

Characters — do they feel like real people?
*Star**Star**Star**Star*

Anna is a well sketched character because she has clear interests that make her feel like a real person, such as her interest in poetry and her sketching. Harold isn't so well presented, even though he's the main viewpoint character as we read, because he doesn't ever think of anything outside of school, like where he wants to go tonight or how he maybe wishes they were studying computer games rather than poetry or something. I didn't find the teacher very plausible. I mean, there are bad teachers in the world, but his attitude was a little unbelievable.

Plot — does your story contain a clear plot with a strong resolution?
*Star**Star**Star**Star*

The premise is good, about a shadow who appears and causes riots, but there are a few issues with execution. Take the line: She and Harold had forgot about the man who was in the back of the room. - this was a bit weird after both of them had been so freaked out at first. I mean, there's a 'shadow beast' and they're not screaming and running for the hills? Haven't they ever played Slenderman?! *Laugh* The ending of the story is a little abrupt with no shown explanation of why the other kids (who up until then had appeared to think Anna and Harold were acting weird) suddenly appear to respect and follow them.

Pace — does your story feel like it's going somewhere?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**HalfStar*

A little slow and the start and a little abrupt at the end, but overall not too bad.

Language and voice — can a reader feel your story?
*Star**Star**HalfStar*

I can understand the story but you do appear to have wide ranging issues to deal with concerning grammar, punctuation and style. Your narrative would improve if it were more concrete and succinct. I've made a few notes for your consideration:

standing out from the fluorescent lights that hung from the ceiling ,
- beware stating the obvious in narrative as it adds to word count (thus slowing the pace) but adds nothing to the story. Here, where else would you expect fluorescent lights to be?

The shadow wasn't very tall, standing below 5'10, and it didn't have any eyes or mouth.- two issues. First, with small numbers it's considered better style simply to write them out rather than use numerals, eg. five feet ten. Second, here you say the same thing twice, ie. 'he's not tall' and 'he's five feet ten'. Of course, everybody has their own idea of what's tall and what's short, and to me this would simply be average height rather than 'not very tall', lol. But, once you've stated the exact height in feet and inches, telling us a subjective approximation of his relative height adds nothing to the story.

which for a moment blazed in the gentle rain, before being put out by it.
- aim to be succinct and use stronger verbs where possible, eg. which blazed awhile before being extinguished by the gentle rain.

"Woah, that was pretty cool" Said Anna, who gawked with a childlike gaze at the now burnt and broken tree.
- two issues here. First, the tag after dialogue is actually part of the same sentence as that dialogue, even if the speech ends with ! or ?. So, here for example, your punctuation should be 'Woah, that was pretty cool,' said Anna, who… You actually repeat the same issue with most of your dialogue, so you might like to take a look at a decent style guide and brush up on punctuation, eg. The Oxford Dictionary of Style. Second, think about viewpoint when making comparisons or creating similes. Here you describe Anna's gaze as childlike. However, they're in school so, in fact, they are children. To say that a child is childlike is a bit weird, lol.

Harold could see clearly that the monster had short hair, brown and a little unkempt.
- this is a tad strange. If he's a shadow, how can Harold know what colour his hair is?

"Quiet! Whats with all the noise, - what's = a contraction of 'what is'

Quietly whispered Harold - whispers are usually quiet.

crafting something from nothing from the simple led tip of a pencil.
- lead not led.

She had an angry gaze though, watching with jealousy, at least to Harolds knowledge.
- Harold's requires a possessive apostrophe. At moments like this, a simile might work better than vague statements about jealousy and viewpoint, eg. She glared at the window like a crow examining a peacock. - terrible example, but do you get what I mean?

The young man looked around, his eyes piercing into the soul of anyone he stared at.
- again, you've got to think about viewpoint. To you, the writer, the teacher may appear to be a young man, but to the protagonists' viewpoints he's not, ie. Anna and Harold will think he's a man, but not a young man.

The prison was being assaulted by cannon and shot, the stone being wiped away by the power of led.
- lead, but I don't think artillery shells are made of lead anyway.

They couldn't stop thinking about what they had saw. - seen, not saw

"What in the blazing hell are you too doing?!" Shouted the teacher. "I am quite tired of you two! You may be good at the work and such, but you're awful people! I swear, if school doesn't model you into good citizens, then what will? Maybe you should just go home and stay with your stupid mothers and retarded fathers! Now shut up and listen to the story!"
- beware over using exclamation marks. The more you use them, the less powerful they become in your narrative. The words you're using in speech make it obvious he's angry without the !!!

Im gonna f***** loose it. - I'm, a contraction of I am, needs an apostrophe.

Settings — have you grounded this reader in 'real' scenes?
*Star**Star**Star**Star* *HalfStar*

I liked the storm and the sounds it made. The classroom setting was clear.

Conclusion — a summary of how this reader personally felt about your story.
*Star**Star**Star**Star*

If you can tighten up your prose then you'll have a good story. Your main problem, imho, is that Anna and Harold's reactions to the shadow at the moment are implausible. It's something very scary, but they somehow lose their fear as it gets closer and closer.

Thank you for sharing your story with me. Since you're a new member of this community, please check out "Invalid ItemWe want to award the best new authors on this site, so please enter either a poem or a short story. Read the rules before posting an entry.

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This item number is not valid.
#1873271 by Not Available.


Best wishes,

Bob *Bigsmile*


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Review of Tweet  
In affiliation with SIMPLY POSITIVE GROUP  
Rated: E | (4.5)
Hello, Chris Breva

What I liked

Awesome rhymes and a wonderful theme, Chris! I'm much impressed! The than bauk form is not easy to master, but you're doing a fine job of it so far.

What might need work

"Their" in the opening line is plural, ie. more than one bird. "Its" in line three is singular, ie. one bird. Consider changing one of those pronouns to match the other so that your poem makes better sense.

Thank you for sharing!

Best wishes,

Bob *BigSmile*

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Rated: E | (4.5)
Hello, Schnujo is Late to Lannister

What I liked

Awesome! How could this possibly fail to win the contest when it's all about Pink Fluffy Unicorns?!

I love the strong flow of iambic tetrameter that flows through each of your wondrous quatrains. You use suitably strong and magical imagery. I adore the theme. This is magnificent!

What might need work

Think also about the other qualities of pink fluffy unicorns: they don't just dance and look cute, they also fly and have magical horns. Work in a little more marvellous magic. *BigSmile*

I see them dancing by the bay - prancing seems a verb better suited to an equestrian subject

They seem to wrestle, laugh, and play - seem is a weak verb. Consider "They love to wrestle..."

These pink and fluffy unicorns - to my mind, "those" would work better here than "these" because it implies more of a mystical distance between the narrator and the mythical creatures.

They're dancing, prancing, filled with glee - try to avoid repetition of the same verb (you've already used "dancing" and "prancing" is practically a synonym. Consider: "They are a constant source of glee"

Upon my soul and give me pain - it's just my opinion, but I think "and bring me pain" would sound better.

And they are meant to roam, be free - consider: "to wander free"

Thank you for sharing!

Best wishes,

Bob *BigSmile*

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Review of The Magic Book  
In affiliation with SIMPLY POSITIVE GROUP  
Rated: E | (4.5)
*BalloonR* Welcome to WDC from "Newbie Welcome Wagon! *BalloonR*


Hello Cloud

I'm offering this review because you're a new member. Please remember that everybody has different tastes. This critique is the opinion of only one person and offered in the spirit of constructive criticism with a hope that it will prove useful if you decide to further develop or edit your tale. Approaching your writing, I'm searching for specific elements that I shall address under separate headers.


Hook — does your story opening have something that grabs my attention and makes me want to read on?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**HalfStar*

Your story soon becomes interesting when the protagonist becomes invisible but the actual opening sentence doesn't contain anything that hooks. You might want to take a look at the first two sentences and see if you can't bring in your hook earlier.

Characters — do they feel like real people?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**HalfStar*

Alliana is well described. It's clear she's a little girl who somehow can leave her body while she's asleep. Some interest outside the plot would help make her more 'real' though, eg. if you make the book she reaches for more specific, like a book on horses, and maybe have some showjumping rosetes pinned to the wall. Alternatively, it could be her favourite, say, Harry Potter book, and have a Hermione poster on the wall beside the bed.

Think also about the candle lighting bit. It seems unlikely that a parent would leave matches out for a very young child to light a candle with, but everything else indicates she's a really, really young girl.

Plot — does your story contain a clear plot with a strong resolution?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**HalfStar*

I do like the mysterious ending. That's good. It'll have readers wanting to read more of your stories.

Pace — does your story feel like it's going somewhere?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**Star*

Very fast paced. Nice.

Language and voice — can a reader feel your story?
*Star**Star**Star**Star*

Generally your narration is clear and so the story is easy to follow. However, when writing first person narrative it's really easy to find yourself beginning too many sentences with the word 'I'. Try to vary sentence structure a little more.

She left and I got up and went invisible. - since she'd already 'bounced up from bed' she didn't need to get up. Also, she was already invisible because she'd noted 'I suddenly couldn't see myself'. Beware repeating information you've already given.

his torn cap sat upon his head.
"Excuse me, are you lost?" they asked me
- this part of the story is a little confusing. You'd stated that he was a man, but then used 'they' instead of 'he' here. I get that the narrator then discovers that it's actually a woman, but it's strange to use 'they' here if the narrator thinks it's a man.

Dialogue — are your characters' voices distinct, and do they add to character building?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**HalfStar*

Nice speeches. I like how you add personality with words like 'kiddo'.

"Do you need help finding home kiddo?" - when someone is addressed in dialogue it's mandatory to place a comma between their name or form of address and the sentence spoken to them, ie. "Do you need help finding home, kiddo?"

Settings — have you grounded this reader in 'real' scenes?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**HalfStar*

The invisibility is cool, but think more about the sequence of incorporeality, ie. if her hand passes straight through her favourite book then clearly she's already incorporeal when she gets out of bed, so how was she able to light a candle?

Themes — is this reader blown away by mind-blowing philosophy or originality?
*Star**Star**Star**Star**Star*

Cool ghost/psychic hybrid story. It's great that we don't know exactly what the little girl is - if it's her dream or reality.

Conclusion — a summary of how this reader personally felt about your story.
*Star**Star**Star**Star**HalfStar*

I really enjoyed this story. I've highlighted a few places where I thought the narration was a little confusing, but otherwise it was great.

Thank you for sharing your story with me. Since you're a new member of this community, please check out "Invalid ItemWe want to award the best new authors on this site, so please enter either a poem or a short story. Read the rules before posting an entry.

 Invalid Item 
This item number is not valid.
#1873271 by Not Available.


Best wishes,

Bob *Bigsmile*


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Review of Pyramid Scheme  
In affiliation with SIMPLY POSITIVE GROUP  
Rated: 18+ | (4.5)
Hello, 🌕 HuntersMoon

What I liked

This is an awesome story idea! I love what you've come up with from that prompt. It's a much better story than mine. And the naughty inuendo is absolutely inspired!

What might need work

Obviously, the picture is a specific prompt. In your story, you do produce this image of a pyramid in their dialogue. However, consider actually having them making the pyramid in the story, trying it out. I feel that would better meet the prompt.

Jennifer came bounding into the barn. “The farmer’s gone. We can talk now,” she said, scratching behind her ear - this is a small point about dialogue tags. The opening sentence here SHOWS that it's Jennifer who does the talking. To then write 'she said' TELLS us the same information. When it's obvious who's speaking, or has already been established, then you don't need the 'she said'. Instead just have the action, ie. …we can talk now." She scratched behind her ear, making her collar jingle.

purred Angelina, her whiskers flashing in the sunlight,
- you've just said that they're inside a barn. If it's like most barns, there won't be all that much light inside, especially not sunlight as described here.

“Spoken like a cat,” Barclay laughed. - use a period, not a comma, to end the speech as 'laughed' isn't a way of speaking, so it's a separate action.

and would like to see about joining Zoo-manity” - missing period at end.

Barclay thought for a minute. - because the man just said 'quick' a minute is too long a waiting time. A second might work better here.

myself – a beautiful - he was introduced as an old mule, which isn't beautiful. Perhaps introduce him as a mule in his prime earlier in the story rather than as old?

I do hope these notes help. Not that you need it; I'm sure this story is a winner! Thank you for sharing!

Best wishes,

Bob *BigSmile*

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Review of Odin's Eye  
In affiliation with SIMPLY POSITIVE GROUP  
Rated: E | (4.5)
Hello, 🌕 HuntersMoon

Yes, when I saw that Community Challenge in the newsfeed, I suspected it might cause me some trouble! *Laugh*

What I liked

I love ballad metre, so it's great to see you put it into action here. You use a rather clever feminine ending to your rhyming lines in the second quatrain.

Your theme is wonderful. You've chosen a very interesting topic from Nordic mythology to inspire your piece.

What might need work

Let's look at this stanza as an example from your poem:

The small arrow that he carried
he claimed would guide the way
to the halls of great Valhalla
and its ice covered quay.


This may be a British English thing, but to me "way" doesn't rhyme with "quay" because it's pronounced like "key". Perhaps you say it differently. I've checked it on Rhymezone, and interestingly they list both "key" and "way" as rhymes suggesting two alternative pronounciations:

http://www.rhymezone.com/r/rhyme.cgi?Word=Quay+&ty...

Other than this tiny, British English quibble and non-issue, the rhymes are great.

In your notes you mention that ballad metre is traditionally rendered in alternating lines of iambic trimeter and tetrameter. I feel that if you believe these lines are written in iambic metre then you may need to revise your understanding of iambic foot.

To express it simply, an iamb is two syllables where the first is unstressed and the second stressed. Iambic tetrameter, as an example, would produce a series of syllables that sounded like "and one, and two, and three, and four", like a dance teacher calling out the pace and stressing the numbers for when the dancer moves.

So, when writing iambic feet, it's important to know which syllables are stressed. Take the word arrow. In your first line here, you've placed it where "a" should be unstressed and "row" stressed. However, if you check on the website "How Many Syllables" you'll find that it's the opposite way around, with "a" stressed and "row" unstressed:

https://www.howmanysyllables.com/words/arrow

And again, at the end of the line there's the word "carried" in a position where "car" should be unstressed and "ried" stressed, but check the root word "carry" on"How Many Syllables" and you'll find that "car" is stressed while "ry" is unstressed:

https://www.howmanysyllables.com/words/carry

Articles, prepositions and pronouns are usually unstressed, though they may become stressed by position if the other syllables beside them are unstressed.

Focusing on the last two lines of this example quatrain, note that your stress patterns are:

to the halls of great Valhalla
and its ice covered quay.

https://www.howmanysyllables.com/words/valhalla

It seems you have the correct syllable count for a line of tetrameter followed by a line of trimeter, but the stress patterns do not follow that of iambic metre. In fact, the first of these two lines is a perfect example of trochaic tetrameter, a series of four trochees in a row, metric feet where the first syllable is stressed and the second unstressed: "one and two and three and four and." *Smile*

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trochaic_tetramete...

Of course, you could simply rectify this problem by removing the statement that this poem is written in ballad metre. The rhyme and structure is generally fine if it doesn't need to follow metre.


Hope my waffling helps you in some small way.

Thank you for sharing!

Best wishes,

Bob *BigSmile*

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Review of Galaxies  
In affiliation with SIMPLY POSITIVE GROUP  
Rated: E | (4.0)
Hello, Soulraider

What I liked

As always, your article is an informative introduction to the subject providing interesting information.

What might need work

You stated "They are one of the biggest structures in the universe". You might want to clarify what's bigger. You mention clusters later, but not here.

"the smallest called dwarf galaxies contain up to a billion stars" - I believe the smallest galaxies actually contain a few billion stars each, but the phrase "up to" implies they contain less than one billion.

"Galaxies can be further divided into galaxy groups, clusters and superclusters." - this is not a 'division' of galaxies into types, it's a description of the larger structures in which galaxies play a constituant part.

"These contain 50 or less gravitationally bound galaxies" - numbers of a hundred or less should be written out rather than using numerals.

"These contain hundred to thousands of gravitationally bound galaxies." - a hundred to a thousand, or, hundreds or thousands? I'm not clear what you mean here.

"There are more than a 100 billion galaxies in space, each containing up to a billion stars each." - the last clause "each containing up to a billion each" contradicts what you wrote in the opening paragraph, ie. if only the minority of dwarf galaxies contain a billion stars and most galaxies contain more then it's incorrect to state that each galaxy in the universe contains up to (ie. </=) one billion as most contain many more.

Thank you for sharing!

Best wishes,

Bob *BigSmile*

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Rated: E | (4.0)
Hello, Imran Butt

What I liked

There's something poetic about your rather philosophical letter. It avoids precision and achieves universality in that, like many poems, each reader will gain a very personal and often quite different understanding of what you mean — an understanding rooted in their own life experiences — that may also be a completely different meaning to what you originally indended or to what originally inspired your text.

What might need work

A few suggested line tweaks (take 'em or leave 'em!):

To my ideological being, this maybe the most difficult letter that I am writing - To my ideological being, this may be the most difficult letter I ever wrote…

but is also a pursuit to an uncertainty which I have brought on myself. - but it is also the pursuit of an uncertainty that I (have) brought upon myself - the (have) is optional. It changes the line to pluperfect, but it isn't essential to the meaning, doesn't look attractive in the sentence, and is one of the naughty words you should fear overusing. I changed the first article from indefinite to definite (a -> the) because it's a specific rather than a general pursuit.

due to circumstances, dilutions and apprehensions.
- did you mean 'delusions'?

the one you had cherished to - again, 'had' makes it pluperfect. Since the first part of the sentence is present tense, you can get enough prior aspect with regular past tense here.

The chances of failure in expressing such emotions may not be reciprocated
- I think here you mean: ['There is the chance my feelings may not be reciprocated, and so my approach may fail to achieve the results I desire, but…'

there is a part of me that still has you and only you
- I'm not sure what you mean here. If you use a clearer/stronger verb than 'has' then it will become clear, eg. 'still loves you' or 'still misses you' or 'still longs for you' or 'still pines for you' etc.

My way towards my destiny is through this encounter, - This encounter is the route to my destiny, - changes from passive to active.

a rebirth is needed but without closing all the chapters this transaction is impermeable - a rebirth is required, but without exausting all my options the transition is impossible. - whether you change the text or not, a comma is required before 'but' and a period at the end of the sentence.

I hope you understand as maybe I didn’t understand myself and still in a metaphor
- I hope you comprehend, since my own understanding is vague and still trapped in metaphor. ???

Toward the end, you miss out a lot of periods. Is this stylistic or simply an omission?


Marked and Sealed in Blood - this is rather a strong statement. It evokes ideas both of a truly heart-felt resolution to do something, but also the supernatural or occult. I'm not suggesting it's wrong or that you should change it, but I'm just pointing it out.

“To be or not to be” is a point one can’t stay too long on but the evolution of - “To be or not to be” is a point one can’t dwell too long on, but the evolution of

secrets and maybe now it’s my time to give back which I had taken for granted
- secrets, and maybe now it’s time to give back that which I had taken for granted

God bless you and good luck!

Thank you for sharing!

Best wishes,

Bob *BigSmile*

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Rated: E | (5.0)
Hello, Dragon is hiding

What I liked

What a wonderful concept. You've gotta love this! Such wonderful Trinkets too and a very colourful page. Love it! *Heart*

What might need work

One small point. It's not 新年快乐 it's 春节快乐 because 新年 is the new calendar year, whereas 春节 is spring-festival, ie. what we call the Chinese New Year. While you can say 新年快乐 to Chinese folk during the Spring Festival and they'll understand you, they'll also think you're a strange 洋鬼子 *Laugh*

You may also wish to mention that this 春节 witnesses the birth of the Year of the Rooster (鸡). At the moment you only mention that it's the Chinese New Year, not that it's the Year of the Rooster.

I note that you use modern simplified Chinese characters for your text and so have used the same in this review, though there's nothing to stop you using traditional, more complex characters, ie. 春節快樂!

Hope these points help. Thank you for sharing!

Best wishes,

Bob *BigSmile*

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Rated: E | (4.5)
Hello, Veronica Duquet

What I liked

The core message of your poem is wonderful. It touches the heartstrings and communicates your emotions just like real poetry should do. Brilliant!

What might need work

You have a small typo in the title - pone where I believe you meant phone.

Consider why you changed the rhyming scheme from the sixth quatrain to the eighth inclusive. Usually, a significant change in structure is used to emphasise something, such as the change from quatrains to a couplet at the end of a sonnet which is used to mark a reversal in the theme. Reading your poem, the significant moments are the fifth quatrain when she finally plucks up the courage to make the call, the seventh when sudden emotional pressure causes her mind to go blank, and the ninth where you have the true climax of your story - when she actually says goodbye. Perhaps fiddle with your structure so that any changes to rhyming pattern occurs in those stanzas, or simply have your secondary AABB scheme run from the fifth to the ninth inclusive - the exact duration of the phone call.

Since you enjoy writing poetry, consider joining: "The Poet's Place and also think about possibly entering some contests, like: "Invalid Item and "Invalid Item

Thank you for sharing!

Best wishes,

Bob *BigSmile*

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Rated: E | (4.5)
Hello, Schnujo is Late to Lannister

What I liked

I love the theme of your Christmas Carol and how you get to the heart of the meaning of Christmas. The story told flows logically through the lyrics. I love the refrain.

What might need work

There aren't enough pink fluffy unicorns in your song. No song can be a true classic without copious numbers of pink fluffy unicorns and monotonous repetition of the mention of said pink fluffy unicorns throughout the whole length of the lyrics.

Think about the kind of tune your lyrics would be set to. Though your verses appear uniform, they contain very varied numbers of syllables. Attempting to sing them to a set tune would require some syllables on short count lines to be stretched, while those on long counts would have to be squashed. Many traditional carols and hymns are set to either hymnal metre or common metre. I suggest that you research those forms a little.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_metre

Alternatively, you could think about a song, carol or hymn that you really love, then edit your lyrics to fit its tune, i.e. use the same number of syllables per line as the old song. It's better still if you can match the metre (beats/stress placements) and rhyme positions of the original lyrics.

In your latter verses, you capitalise the pronouns related to our saviour. In the earlier ones, you do not. Though I personally prefer capitalisation, there's no fixed standard today, but you should be consistent, ie. choose one or the other and use it throughout.

Consider joining: "The Poet's Place if you're not already a member.

Thank you for sharing!

Best wishes,

Bob *BigSmile*

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Review of Un-PUN-ctilious  
In affiliation with SIMPLY POSITIVE GROUP  
Rated: 13+ | (2.0)
Hello, 🌕 HuntersMoon

What I disliked

Wonderfully awful puns and humour depending on jokes that fall far short of the mark. Well done, Ken! *Smile*

What might not need work

Sorry, but this is too good for one *Star* as it stands. It has relatively good punctuation and story flow, as well as good humour and well developed characters — especially Sarah!

With the basement door, on first read I thought Sarah was locked in the basement and barking to be released. Perhaps make it clearer that she's on the same side as him, perhaps by having her awaken him by tongue… a slobbering, dog-breath tongue! *Laugh*

With her, it's "OK, Sarah, Sarah!" - I must confess, it took me three reads aloud to work this out. *Rolling* Consider: …with her, it's"—he burst into song—"okay, Sa-rah, Sa-rah!" to emphasise that it's a pun concerning song lyrics and make the sound nearer to the lyrics.

Thank you for sharing — I think! *Rolling*

Best wishes,

Bob *BigSmile*

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Review of Skratch  
In affiliation with SIMPLY POSITIVE GROUP  
Rated: E | (4.5)
Hello, 🌕 HuntersMoon

Hello again!

I saw this creepy poem in "Poetry Newsletter (January 4, 2017) and thought I'd take a closer look! *Laugh*

What I liked

I love the eerie tone of the poem and the consistent metre and rhyme. Your poem is a wonderful response to the contest prompt and sounds wonderful read aloud. I love the Poe and Dickens references. *Smile*

What might need work

A sudden sound comes on the wind, - consider 'floats' rather than 'comes' and possibly 'eerie' instead of 'sudden'.

“Ominous.” The perfect word - you only have seven syllables in this line, and ominous is stressed on 'om', so maybe: 'Is ominous the perfect word / for feelings that I cannot shake?

Perhaps the sound of Dicken’s chains - I think you mean Dickens' chains.

Imagination begins hatching - nine syllables, but then it's a feminine ending, so that's okay I think.

thoughts of monsters on my stair. - 7 syllables - maybe upon to balance?

I listen; faintly I hear scratching - again, 9 syllables, but a feminine ending.

and my minds screams out Beware! - mind or minds? Only 7 syllables here.

What demon spread’s this wintry blight - did you mean spreads, or is this a contraction of 'spread is'?

This creature – Skratch – resembled - only 7 syllables

a snowman from my youth - 5 syllables. From this point onward I wonder if the 8 syllable count to almost every line in the first few stanzas was just a coincidence rather than planned. The problem for me with this is that if you've begun the poem by giving the impression that there's a specific pattern of 8 syllables, it feels wrong if you vary from that pattern, unless it's a deviance with an obvious structural purpose or for emphasis in the 'storyline' of the poem.

Thank you for sharing!

Best wishes,

Bob *BigSmile*

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Rated: E | (4.5)
Hello, Chris Breva

What I liked

Your acrostic has great structure and end rhymes. The theme is appropriate to the contest you've entered. It's familiar but well tackled.

What might need work

After all what is there to do - this is a question, so you need a question mark?

Even if we succeed what then - this also ia a question.

Thank you for sharing!

Best wishes,

Bob *BigSmile*

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Rated: 13+ | (4.5)
Hello, THANKFUL SONALI 17 WDC YEARS!

What I liked

A wonderful premise, and a great way to honour your WDC friends. You write really well, with few flaws and originality.

What might need work

There was a little confusion twice in the story.

In the beginning when Mrs. Claus appears, there's a tendency to assume that she's Santa's wife rather than his mother ( because Santa is always portrayed as an old man and he has a wife in many modern stories) so the first time she mentions a son, I thought you meant that she wanted to get Santa's son to take over his father's job. Somehow you need to make it clear that Mrs. Claus is his mother immediately.

Then about a quarter way through the story it gets confusing with the line "Which is what Mrs. Claus did." That sentence implies that Santa's mother is going to do the job. But, actually, she isn't at all. Elle is going to do the job. Because of this, it took me s long time to understand that it was Elle and not Mrs. Claus who would be taking the presents to the kids.

One part of the prompt was to explain how the new character introduced would do Santa's job. You don't really explain how Elle is going to visit a billion or so homes within twenty-four hours, or how she'll get inside them all. I mean, she's human not some kind of fairy. Perhaps you could make it out that the WDC Angel Army are in fact real angels just masquerading as humans and so get around this. There's also an opportunity for humour with this by adding to what you already have about Elle being really slim an saying " at least she won't have any problems sliding down those chimneys". *Wink*

Another issue is characterisation. The contest is What a Character, and Elle is the character you must introduce since she's Santa's replacement here. So... you need to introduce her in much more detail. What you have already is wonderful, but you've got plenty of available word count to really go to town about what she looks like, her age, nationality, personality, interests, day job, any relatives etc. We learn much more about Mrs. Claus in this respect than we do Elle.

Thank you for sharing!

Best wishes,

Bob *BigSmile*

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Rated: E | (4.5)
Hello, Jay O'Toole

What I liked

Awesome premise. I love how you contrast his simple needs and pleasure in Creation against the monochrome capitalists of NYC.

What might need work

that expressed a turtle highest level of elation. - turtle's possessive apostrophe.

In the hippy section, consider adding long hair with flowers all over their clothes to make more obvious these are hippies.

Consider a few more historical moments, like uniforms for WWII and maybe men of different shades fighting for civil rights movement. Also, maybe add a few more examples of the majesty and beauty of Creation.

Thank you for sharing!

Best wishes,

Bob *BigSmile*

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174
Review of Double Wide  
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Rated: 18+ | (5.0)
Hello, 🌕 HuntersMoon

What I liked

I really just wanted to say that I think this poem is truly awesome! I read it two weeks ago, but decided not to tell you until the results of the Journey Through Genres was released, because then you might misinterpret my enthusiastic applause for brown nosing. *Rolling* I'm halfway through the Southern Vampire Mysteries, so your scene settling really tied in with that. I laughed all the way through and found the whole to be rhythmic, a joy to read and hilarious. You're a talented poet!

What might need work

our passion has not been abated - consider: our passion has never abated.

Thank you for sharing!

Best wishes,

Bob *BigSmile*

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Review of Family Tree  
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Rated: E | (4.5)
Hello, Jade Amber Jewel

What I liked

A wonderful testament to a fantastic family!

What might need work

A few thoughts:

Next in our family tree, / is the aunts, uncles and cousins, - "are" would be more grammatically correct because the relatives are plural.

'tis would be too sad. - I think you mean: 'Twould be too sad.

I could keep going on and on and out,
but I feel the need to walk-about,
my eyes weary,
my stomach empty,
and my mouth full of drought. - this whole last stanza doesn't seem to fit in with the mood of the preceding poem. I mean, you're talking about how great your family is, but this stanza sounds like a hike through an unfriendly environment alone. However, if you preceded it with some comment along the lines of "If such kin I were without, I would feel the need to walk about.." then it would blend in well. Perhaps that's what you intended!

Thank you for sharing!

Best wishes,

Bob *BigSmile*

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