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697 Public Reviews Given
700 Total Reviews Given
Public Reviews
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Review of Old Glory  
Rated: 13+ | (5.0)
*Hotair3* Just a quick review from me to you! *Hotair3*

Thanks for sharing this and congratulations on getting it published! It certainly deserves it!

*Blocko* *Blockv* Things I Liked *Blockv* *Blocko*
As a war vet, I feel like you accurately portrayed a lot of what is described here. Excellent work! It was also appropriately moving and brought tears to my eyes. FYI, less than 6 weeks after you wrote this, I was headed to "the sandbox" but didn't know it yet. (I got very little notice.) Thank you for this tribute and the description of this Marine. Is it modeled after you or someone you know? I am impressed with how well he's doing with the fireworks. It's been 5 years and I have started just using ear plugs and sleep meds, going to be early to avoid the flashbacks and possible hospitalizations.


*Blocko* *Blockv* Suggestions & Comments *Blockv* *Blocko*
Impressive piece.


*Blocko* *Blockv* Overall Effect *Blockv* *Blocko*
Thanks again for doing this piece. FYI, I found it in the Writing.com Newsletter for Authors. I can't provide a link because I'm a newbie and can't find it. Sorry. But again, great job!



It's a surprise!

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Rated: E | (4.0)
*Hotair3* Just a quick review from me to you! *Hotair3*

Remember these are just my comments and opinions. Use what you like, ignore the rest. lol

*Blocko* *Blockv* Things I Liked *Blockv* *Blocko*
I totally love patriotic stuff and so when I saw this on the newsfeed as something recently written, I had to jump on it and I'm certainly glad I did. I have never heard of the USS Batfish before and actually thought (before reading the synopsis) that it was a joke. lol Nope. Very real and very cool! Thank you so much for sharing this!!! I love learning about the military, war, etc.

Some of my favorite lines include:
A command was given, the lines slipped away,
and
While underway, they had little time to sleep,
Despite being a sub, they rarely dove deep
Rest came when they had a moment to doze,
And yes, for days they wore the same clothes.
and
She survived the war, and was decommissioned,


*Blocko* *Blockv* Suggestions & Comments *Blockv* *Blocko*
Really great poem, but I think you got a little comma crazy. lol Below are some places I don't think you needed commas. In all, I'm referencing the middle comma.
And once again the Batfish, was underway
Her men honored Neptune, and other Gods (Also, "gods" should be lower case because it's not referencing "the" singular diety.)
She survived the war, and was decommissioned
Back then men were men, and ships were steel

Also, you and I seem to count syllables differently. lol Unless you weren't trying to have the same number in each line location (or whatever you'd call it). For example, the first line of each stanza has different syllable counts, as does the last line of each...well, I mean some are the same, but they are all the same. I don't mean the 1st and last lines have to be the same, but traditionally, the first line of each stanza would be the same, as would the following ones in their respective location...the 2nd line of each stanza, the same as each other, etc. But really in general, very lovely poem and I'm really glad I found it!

*Blocko* *Blockv* Overall Effect *Blockv* *Blocko*
I love the sense of respect and honor I get from the poem! It makes me feel good and proud and makes me want to read more about this faithful sub!

Thank you again for sharing this!



It's a surprise!

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Review of A Voice, A Tune  
Rated: E | (5.0)
Hello, Newbie! I'm a newbie too! I'm writing this review for "Invalid Item. Newbies Unite! lol

First, I read your brief bio and it seems to suggest that you've been published. If this is the case, I certainly hope you will list your stuff on the sections of this site where you can advertise your items. If you go to Shop on the left hand side and click, you'll see Authors in Print where you can list your books. http://www.writing.com/main/authors/action/in_prin... There is also the page, "List of Published Books by WdC Authors . Good luck and please do add anything you've done!

Now, to your poem...I find it interesting that you compare intuition to a tune. I suppose on some level, it's like being in harmony with our bodies, but in my opinion, on another level, it's not harmony at all but something more like fingernails on a chalk board, telling me when something is wrong. But perhaps that's just how MY intuition sounds. lol Either way, it's an interesting comparison and you do a nice job with it.

My favorite sentence is "A cadence that enchants." That's just beautiful!

I also really love your line breaks. Actually, the above sentence is a great example. I would have put it all on the same line, but it really works how you did it. Excellent work!

Beautiful poem! Welcome again and keep writing!


*Gold* My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!.
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Review of Welcome Home  
Rated: E | (5.0)
Howdy fellow newbie! I'm writing this review for "Invalid Item. Newbies unite! lol

I like that in your synopsis you tell us why you wrote this and the prompts. That helps us to understand why you made some choices, like why it's not longer or something. *Smile* Another way to do it if you don't have room in the synopsis, I've seen and started doing myself is to type it in the body and then change the color to grey. Most folks do it at the end of the story, though, being a rebel and wanting folks to know about the writing before reading it, I do it at the beginning. lol Anyway, just more options in you want them.

One of my favorite sentences, "Every school has a homecoming game, where the alumni return to act like kids again, showoff their success, and get their pockets picked by school administrators."

That second paragraph really made me feel for the team, and especially the seniors at the end of the season!

The third paragraph really piques my curiosity about what game you're talking about!

Wow! That ending is chilling yet inspiring. I love it! Great story! It makes me wonder if the people mentioned are real.

Excellent work! As a Soldier (soon to be medically retired), I especially loved the ending! Keep writing!


*Gold* My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!.
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Rated: E | (5.0)
Welcome to WdC! I'm a newbie too and am writing this review for "Invalid Item. NEWBIES UNITE! lol

I was intrigued by your title and synopsis. Honestly, I wouldn't have written the synopsis that way, but yours is MUCH better than I would have done! *Bigsmile* One point on the title, though...all the words except "as a" should be capitalized. But it certainly makes the reader think about reading this article. Great job!

I love your description in the first line, "...pulling hairs out of my scalp..." The normal saying of "pulling my hair out" just doesn't have the impact that yours does. Yours sounds much more painful!

AGAIN you did something different that works MUCH better than the normal way! "...unemployment can be a real bi...eh, witch..." I love your writing style!

One thing about that first big paragraph. You put the period outside the quotation marks. If you live in America, periods and commas always go inside (question marks and exclamation marks depend on if they are referring only to the quote or to the whole sentence). If you live in Europe, though, the period and comma can go inside or outside, depending on usage.

You were selling car wash kit cans? lol I TOTALLY bought one of those! *Bigsmile*

Your description of the work hours is totally hysterical! (Though I'm sure it wasn't at the time!)

"The customers were less than excited (pissed)..." You have a fabulous sense of style!

I like the ending encouraging folks to be nice to direct sales people.

This is a WONDERFUL piece and I'm glad I chose to read it! Keep writing!
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Review of Tiny Dancers  
Rated: E | (5.0)
Super cute! You're a very talented writer! Of course, this makes me NOT want to write because I often find your writing in contests I'm considering entering. lol

My favorite lines are:

I watch them circle ‘round my head
and land within Mom’s flower bed

and, of course,

and all because they made me (achoo!) sneeze.

Very well written. Keep writing!
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Review of See Worthy  
Rated: E | (5.0)
DARN YOU 🌕 HuntersMoon , I wanted that badge! I like to scope out the competition before entering contests and now I know not to hold out hope. Oh well, EXCELLENT WORK! Keep it up! But keep it out (of contests I want to enter lol)!

My favorite line: a carving made from night's dark stone.
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Rated: E | (4.0)
What a lovely poem. *Smile* However, I think in the line "Always hold up high," you meant to say "Always HELD up high." My favorite line is "I give peace to the eyes." I never would have come up with that. Wonderful line!

Keep up the good work!
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Rated: E | (4.0)
Very interesting poem. I like the circularness of it all. *Smile*

My favorite lines are
Who liberated their bullets
– From their oppressive barrels,

I was a tiny bit confused about this part...
Themselves liberated by the fact
They are no longer

the liberator

the invader

the warmonger.

I thought that was referencing the Turks, but then thought maybe the parts about "the liberator..." might be referencing the Americans. I wasn't 100% sure.

Nice work. Keep it up!
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Rated: ASR | (4.0)
Wow! ESL? Fantastic! *Bigsmile* Thanks for posting!

I have a few corrections...

"...2nd price..." should be "2nd prize"
The way you listed all the people was by nationality, so instead of Afghanistan, the country, it should be Afghan.
"(lay down, sturt crazily)" I had to look up "sturt" because I've never heard of it and the first dictionary didn't know it either. You might want to choose a more common word. *Smile*
"...for te b-b-b-bomb?" "te" should be "the." Also, in the line above that, the British are talking to the Germans and say "But I need them for the bomb!" When you say "them," I think you are talking about the Chinese who just left. If you mean you need the Germans, say, "But I need you..."
When the Japanese say, "What! What do you mean!!!" you should use a question mark in there too. "What?! What do you mean?!?" Or something like that. *Smile*

Great job! I'm very impressed!
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Rated: E | (3.5)
Howdy! Sorry it took me so long to get back to your story! It looks a LOT better now. :) But there are still things that could be cleaned up. However, I'm very impressed with what you've done with it. :D

First, the title should have more capital letters. Always capitalize the first word, then after that, capitalize most of the rest of the words except for little meaning words like "a," "the," "but," and "and." (There are more, but those are examples. You can google "what words do you capitalize in a title" next time if you're not sure. :) So, the title should be "Jake's Fat Story/1/Summer Holidays."

Also, in the description, you need another comma. Sorry, I didn't notice either of these things before. Anyway, "...teen boy, Jake, who is..." You know you need a comma because if you take out "Jake," then "...teen boy who is..." still makes perfect sense--little tip for the future. ;)

Don't forget to add an extra line space between paragraphs so it's easier on your reader's eyes. (Some of us are older. lol) You can do this either before you drag and drop it to WDC by just having your original story double spaced (or if it's already double, use triple to be sure it carries over), or you can edit your story afterward and put in extra line spaces (like I have in this e-mail) to make it easier to read.

Now, for the story! I copied it into the review to help. I'll use capital letters and parentheses ( ) to draw attention to my changes so you can find them more easily. I'll also put any comments in parentheses. As for the comments, remember, these are my opinion. If you disagree, don't change it. It's your story! :)

Hey, I'm Jake. I'm fourteen years old, I have brown hair and eyes and this is my story. (I like this a lot more with this little intro. I still don't think the brown hair and eyes is necessary, but it's better here than where it was before and I really like the rest as an intro. I can almost see Jake talking to us.)
(Note: Extra space)
It was a hot summer day and I was swimming with my family. When I took off my T-shirt and put on my swimwear, my mom said(,) "Hey, looks like someone has gained some weight." (Erased 1 period--In American English it always goes on the inside, though a question mark or exclamation mark depends on the sentence. I hear British English has different rules.)

"Wh-What?" I RESPONDED. (I like that response. lol New paragraph because it's a new speaker. Also, again, watch your tense.)

"Look at your belly(,)" she said. (Pretty much always add a comma when you are saying someone said something.)

I looked down. (New paragraph because action moved from her talking to you looking.) She was right. My belly had gotten flabby. It was hanging at least one inch over my now skintight swimwear. Where did that fat came from? I hadn't notice that until now. I must had gained at least 15 lbs. I touched my belly. It was kinda soft, but I was feeling better than when I was skinny. I BENT (You changed from past to present tense. Stay one tense. I do it ALL the time. It's my most common mistake, so don't feel bad. lol) down to check THE temperature of the water and my swimwear ripped.

My older brother Luke was laughing. He was 17, tall and muscular with blond hair and blue eyes. He was pretty (In English, we don't usually call a guy pretty. Girls are pretty, guys are handsome.) and he was ON his school football team. Girls liked him, but he was so horrible jerk. ("...so horrible." Or "...SUCH A horrible jerk.") Sometimes I really hated him for his acts, because he only wants to raise (Usually we say "...BOOST his ego.") his ego.

On the way to home, we stopped for fast food. I was really hungry. I had three burgers, a large cola and large fries. When I finished, I ordered one milkshake. It was so good. When we arrived home, I checked the scale. It was showing 130 lbs. At my height, because I'm only 5'6, it was really noticeable. (Changed location so new paragraph.)

I went to my room to put on my black tight jeans. They were tighter than I remembered(.) I didn't wear them for the whole summer, so I must have gained weight this summer. I didn't need to wear a belt anymore. I went to the kitchen for some chips and chocolate. (Love them both! lol) I brought them into my room, sat on the sofa and started playing videogames, as I do every day. My brother was hanging out with his "awesome crew".

The next morning, someone was knocking on the door.

"Move your lazy bottom, fattie, and go open the door!" shouted my brother.

So now he will tease me about my gain, great. I went downstair(S) and opened the door. It was Kyle, my best friend (same age, athletic body, black hair and green eyes). (I don't think the info in the parentheses is important, but it's your story.)

He was holding a basketball ball "Hey, Jake, wanna go out and play some basketball?" he asked.

"Sure, of course!" I responded.

We went to the playground. After an hour, I sat down and I took off my T-shirt, because I was really sweaty.

He noticed my little weight gain. He touched my belly and said: "WHOA, looks like you had gained a couple of pounds(.)"

I told him about my little gain and how my brother teases me about it.

"That's cool, I think that you look great when you are soft(,)" he said.

I was happy that he liked it, because I like it too. He is a good friend, always on my side. After 15 minutes, we head to the fast food RESTAURANT and we bought ourselves some food.

In the evening we were at my home, because he was sleeping at my home this night. We were eating pizza and playing video games. It was a great time.

The next morning, my mom baked a cake for breakfast. I ate twice much cake as Kyle and my clothes got really tight.

My brother came downstairs to get his breakfast. "Hey fatboy, leave me some cake(,)" he said to me.

I was ignoring him. After breakfast, me and Kyle went upstairs to my room and we sat down on my sofa. I took off my T-shirt to feel comfortable. Then Kyle took his T-shirt off too. My mom brought us a dozen donuts. I offered some to Kyle, but he said that he's not hungry so I ate them all. Then my favorite black jeans popped. We couldn't stop laughing. He SLAPPED my belly. It was pretty jiggly. I liked that. I was slowly gaining to the end of summer.

At the end I was about 145 lbs. My old clothes didn't fit me anymore and I couldn't pass my jeans OVER my bottom, so I went to buy new ONES with Kyle. (Jeans and pants are pretty much always plural.) I bought new black jeans, A white T-shirt, red swimwear, blue shorts, gray sweatpants and new underwear, because my bottom couldn't fit in the old ones anymore.

I was starving so we went to a nearby restaurant. I bought some burgers.

"What about trying out your new swimwear?" offered KYLE to me. ("To me" isn't really needed.)

"Why not(?)" I RESPONDED. We went to the swimming pool. My new swimwear was fitting me nicely.

"Hey Jake, I didn't noticed that you had gained more. What's your weight now?" told me Kyle. (I'm confused. Either "I NOTICED that you..." or "I didn't NOTICE that you...")

"Yeah, I was eating a little more lately. I'm about 145." said I.

"Good work, I mean, that fat FITS you nicely." he told me. "Thanks." (Erased 1 comma.)

I went home after two hours. I was tired, so I took a pack of chips, laid down on sofa and started watching TV.

In the afternoon, I went to the bathroom wearing my green boxers. I looked AT my belly in the mirror. It was so soft and doughy. What a crazy HOLIDAY. It's the first of September TOMORROW and I thought, "What will my classmates say about my weight gain?"

MUCH better! :D Good job! I can tell you worked hard!


*Gold* My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!.
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Rated: E | (5.0)
What a great quilt and an even better reason for making it! Thanks for sharing! :D
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Rated: E | (3.5)
Welcome fellow newbie! I hope you enjoy your time here and learn lots. :)

Interesting poem, but I'm not sure I get it. It's advice to black women to keep black men from going to white women instead. But what's the advice? Blink? I don't get it. (Maybe it's a cultural thing...?)

Also, I think your second line could benefit from a comma--"For your insecurities, a solution is here!" When I first read it, I thought you just meant it like "insecurity is" but you were smooshing it together for literary effect. After the 2nd time reading through, I decided I was wrong and a comma would help prevent confusion. :)

Also, and of course, it's your poem, so do what you like, but I don't care for using "soon" twice in the last line. "Soon your fears will be soon forgotten!" How about "Soon your fears will ALL be forgotten?" Just a thought. I hate to criticize without a suggestion. ;)

My favorite line is "Blink fast and blink often." Funny, because I don't get it, but I like the flow and it sounds nice. :D

Finally, I think it was a good idea that you said in your intro that you didn't mean any offense to anyone. Good choice. You never know who is reading.

Anyway, keep at it! You have a good idea brewing here. I think you can do a lot more with it. Good luck and keep writing! :D
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Review of View  
Rated: E | (4.0)
Welcome fellow newbie! :D

I really like this poem. Admittedly, I needed the intro to get it, though. I think generally a poem needs to stand on it's own, but when I know what it's about, I think it's wonderful! Very creative way of describing the experience of mental illness.


*Gold* My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!.
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Review of Twilight  
Rated: E | (4.5)
I really like this poem! (And I hope it's not based on a true story. If so, I'm sorry.) Your description of "a crumpled face" is amazing! I'd never have thought of it that way, but you're totally right! Because you show your true talent there, I suggest you work on "gnarled fingers." I've heard that lots before. I know you can do better. ;)

Also, I'm not Super Punctuation Queen, but I THINK there might need to be a comma before "Dad." But maybe I'm wrong. Actually, I think after the 2nd "yes" as well. "Yes, you do, Dad." Hmmm...maybe "Yes, you do Dad." Well, I seem to recall some rule about if you can take out the middle, it needs commas and "Yes Dad" can do without the "you do" but it's been literally decades since my last grammar class, so do what you think is best. lol

Anyway, great poem--clear and descriptive. I love it! Keep it up and welcome to Writing.com! :D


*Gold* My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!.
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Rated: 13+ | (4.0)
Nice poem. Very clear about the descriptions and the events...I love that!

In your last stanza (or whatever it's called for poems), you need to change the semicolon in "can't" to an apostrophe. ;)

My favorite part is this stanza:

When I displayed
my fabulous spread
Each member of my family
just shook their head

I can totally see that. lol Nice work. Keep it up.


*Gold* My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!.
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Review of Honest Appetites  
Rated: E | (5.0)
WOW! What a wonderful job you did! I haven't checked yet, but I assume you won. ;)

Your way with words is phenomenal! All I can say is WOW!
"...apples
crisp as morning rain, carrots
snappy as newfound insolence,
cucumbers knifed thin enough
to be used as bookmarks..."

I'm also pleased that your poem is so clear. I hate when I can't figure out what's going on. Excellent! I didn't bother tackling this prompt because I felt no inspiration and had no idea how I could make it interesting, but you've shown me. Well, you've shown me how YOU could make it interesting. I still say this prompt wasn't for me. lol

Anyway, GREAT work! Keep it up!


*Gold* My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!.
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Review of I Am The Unknown  
Rated: E | (4.5)
Very clear poem here. I really appreciate that I understand what's going on. :) That may seem like a silly comment, but believe me, clarity is sometimes a special treat in some of the poems I've read. ;)

Why did you choose that spelling for "phantasy"? I looked it up and still don't see the purpose here.

The only thing I'm sad about is that I don't know what the situation was. Maybe you don't either, but my curiosity is killing me. lol

My favorite lines are "Sometimes you just have to do what needs to be done" (YES!) and "Thus I walk on my own in the shadows forever Nobody will ever know my name." That last part makes me feel sad, but gives me a tremendous respect for the speaker, willing to sacrifice as they do.

Great work! Keep it up!


*Gold* My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!.
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Review of Refrain  
Rated: 13+ | (4.0)
Interesting comparison. I like your comparison of their relationship to singing or a song. I was a little confused about whether the relationship was over or they'd simply grown apart.

My favorite part was:

My voice, your heart, and the art
in the harmony would fill the air,

I like how you break the phrase "and the art in the harmony" between the two lines. Nice touch.

I can feel the sadness and sense of loss of the speaker. Good work!


*Gold* My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!.
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Review of GAS FLARING  
Rated: E | (4.5)
Welcome, fellow newbie! :D

Interesting piece. To be honest, it's not my usual reading, but just from glancing at it, it didn't seem to hard to read and/or understand, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. :)

You opened with an attention grabbing, "Gas flaring is the singular and most common sources..." First, I think that should probably be "source," not "sources." But, I'd suggest you cite that claim. I've heard others claim other things were, so to give your paper more credence, I suggest you cite your source for this, all important opening sentence.

I did get a tad lost in the equations, but just glancing over them without putting a lot of effort into understanding didn't cause me to lose the main point and they were good for those who are more interested in the science behind it all.

I remember when I was young, my grandfather's sight was failing and my mom wanted to do something nice for her father-in-law. She spent a good part of the morning outside working away, attempting to clean his beloved picture window in front of his desk. She was really sad at the results and said it couldn't be improved because the glass had been etched by acid rain. I haven't heard of acid rain being a real issue in years, but I'm glad that you're bringing it to people's attention, though not glad that even 40 years later, apparently it's still a problem.

Nice work on this piece. Though it's not something I'd normally read about, you kept it interesting and informative without distressing me over the minutia of it. Well done! Keep up the great work!


*Gold* My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!.
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Review of Corrupt-A-Wish  
Rated: 13+ | (4.5)
Really creative twist to my popularity. I love that even the sharks find me popular. As a Soldier, I'm pleased that my death saved the lives of others. ;) I'm also happy that they celebrated me afterward. Isn't a common fear that we will be forgotten after our death? I feel better now. :)

The cat thing below...seemed out of place. Is that just like your signature line or something? lol I thought my squad leader in Hawaii would get a kick out of it, so I sent it to her. :D
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Review of Robopets  
Rated: E | (4.5)
Lovely essay. :)

I'd suggest you edit this and put in some spaces between paragraphs. It makes the reading easier. I assume you originally did this on Microsoft Word and simply transferred it over. Mine also need added spaces when I do that. If I'm writing in Word specifically for WDC, I double space between paragraphs. It looks weird in Word, but it comes over here perfectly fine. :)

I really like your point about the important lesson of caring for other beings--something that can't be learned from a robopet. Excellent!

Keep it up!


*Gold* My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!.
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Rated: E | (5.0)
What a delightful story. I really enjoyed reading it. :)

I've never been to Ireland, but I could totally hear the accent of the leprechaun ghost. Well done.

I love how you take an everyday thing, like the fairy rings in lawns, and transform it into a story. So creative. I've heard of them and had them and never once thought they might be a portal to the world of the Fae.


*Gold* My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!.
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Review of Unmasked  
Rated: 13+ | (5.0)
Hahaha--Very funny piece. And informative...I didn't know zorro meant fox. I like that I get to learn and laugh.

And as always, I'm impressed with your ability to see things differently. My favorite description here is "...giving the hacienda a piebald appearance. Barely discernable, a darkness moved in the inky pools of quiet shadow." So well said, I can practically see it!

I'm grateful you're on this site. You're writing educates, amuses, and inspires. Thank you!
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Review of Silent Witness  
Rated: 13+ | (5.0)
Wow--Your creativity know no bounds! :) "Crimson wreaths?" Awesome, but "Anger sing?" I never, not in a 1000 years, would have come up with that!

I love that your speaker is sad about what happened, rather than feeling a sense of power. That makes me feel for them, rather than despise them.

Incredibly well written! Keep up the great work!


*Gold* My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!.
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