McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft

"It's nice."

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meg_evonne:
I don't know what is more frustrating; receiving 'It's nice' or their anger when you actually critique their work. Ouch! Your instructor should be helping. Just remember to give back what you get. I always start gently. Creativity can be squelched far too easily. (Yeah, I know... They'll find out later that they need a thick skin...)

FishStampede:
Hah, that's funny. I went first in our peer review group, and then when the other people had their turn, I really tore into them. Mainly because they did have good ideas but they were executed very sloppily. One girl wrote a deeply personal autobiographical piece almost entirely in the passive voice, where she made a life changing decision with the powerful, moving line:

"The decision had been made." :o

The other girl in my group wrote poetry that I really liked, but she needed to work on her subtext. She accidentally made an ode to a beloved, deceased uncle make him sound like a drunken child molester. She was not happy when I pointed this out.

If I'd gone last, they probably would have torn into me out of pure revenge.

the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:

--- Quote from: FishStampede on October 16, 2012, 02:35:23 PM --- One girl wrote a deeply personal autobiographical piece almost entirely in the passive voice, where she made a life changing decision with the powerful, moving line:
"The decision had been made."

--- End quote ---

What on earth is wrong with that ?  Gives it a sense of power/inevitability that you just don't get by saying "I made the decision."

FishStampede:
Given the entire point of the piece was her struggling with making the decision, and emphasizing it was her decision, I really disliked her externalizing it like that. Turning the entire point of the work into an edict from on high just fell really flat to me. That is, of course, just my opinion.

the neurovore of Zur-En-Aargh:

--- Quote from: Lanodantheon on October 13, 2012, 10:42:15 PM ---Actually there is worse feedback than "It's nice." IMHO: None at all. No reaction. No comments. Not even a flame. Just nothing.

--- End quote ---

I find holding their heads under water can help with this one.

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