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story assessment

summernightsummernight
edited May 2006 in - Writing Tales

Comments

  • summernightsummernight
    Has anybody had a short story assessed by the Writers' Workshop for Writers' Forum? My comments came back today; the story hasn't been accepted but it says Highly commended and it gave me good feedback I can use in the future. Do you find this kind of assessment useful or do you think it's just a way to feed our ego?
  • HippoHippo
    Hi Summernight.  Yes, I've sent in two stories to Writers' Forum and got their feedback sheets.  I also got some positive feedback, but I don't get the sense that it's just flannel, as I was scored lower on some areas, eg dialogue, so it wasn't blanket approval.  I also met someone at a festival last year, who'd had one of his stories rejected out of hand by WF, with quite negative comments on it, so I think they are pretty straight about things.  The thing to bear in mind, though, is (of course) how subjective their view might be - I've read some awful stories in Writers' Forum and have been amazed that they've got through.  Awful in a technical sense, eg viewpoint shifting all over the place, so something else must have won the judges over/blinded them to what seemed to me glaring faults!  I don't think, though, that they are feeding egos.
  • HippoHippo
    PS Forgot to say - congratulations on the Highly Commended.  You should be very proud of that.
  • Stan2Stan2
    Congratulations on the Highly Commended, summernight. 
  • CarolCarol
    Getting highly commended is a good sign, well done.
  • KangarooKangaroo
    Congratulations Summernight!
  • HelenHelen
    Congratulations from me too, Summernight!!
  • GaryGary
    cool :O) well done

    gary and Carol
  • Jay MandalJay Mandal
    Well done!
  • HelenHelen
    Is this the one where you can submit by the 5th of every month?

    Thanks
  • summernightsummernight
    Thank you all for your nice comments, they are very much appreciated.

    Amboline. Yes, the critique is a tick-sheet format but there are also extra personal comments which I think are useful. 'Moments of pure elegance infuse a simple tale with charm through to its poignant ending.' is one of them ... sorry I can't help being a bit proud of it!
    Anyway, I still only got 136 points out of 230!!!!

    Helen. Yes, that's the one. 
  • Kathy MorganKathy Morgan
    Very late congratulations from me, summernights. A friend of mine has had some very good feedback from WF which has been very useful to him. Keep up the good work.
  • TaffetaPunkTaffetaPunk
    I have to be honest and say I haven't been that impressed with WF.  In the last issue I bought, one article alone was riddled with errors (6 on a single page, if I recall), and it ruined my enjoyment, managing to put me off WF after that.
  • TillyTilly
    Congratulations on being Highly Commended summernight. That's another one for the writing c.v. I would be interested to know how long it took WF to reply. I sent a story for assessment about five weeks ago but haven't had it back yet.
  • CarolCarol
    Last year our Writers Club received a free copy for a few months, of WF, and I find the lay out horrid. I couldn't sit down and read it for more than a few minutes. Something looks too cluttered.
  • summernightsummernight
    Hi Tilly, I hope you received your answer; mine took about four weeks, maybe it's time for a polite reminder?
  • TillyTilly
    Hi Summernight - I still haven't received the assessment that I sent on 11th April - nearly six weeks now!  Oh, well,maybe tomorrow...
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