Reviews for The Subtle Strife

Reviews For: The Subtle Strife

Miss Toadstool 2008-02-27 ch 1,	abuseThis is something I definitely need to keep in mind, as I make the mistake pretty often. :) thank you!
Harmonic Discord 2008-02-13 ch 1,	abuseWell said! Very useful advice, especially the comment about the quotation marks. I disagree, however, with your remark about description. I think for certain types of stories, well-constructed description (i.e. using adverbs and adjectives) can definitely be a plus. I do agree, however, with using the show-not-tell technique for emotions is generally a must. Might I add that your allusion to Pullman's "The Subtle Knife" made me smile? I just finished rereading the series - possibly one of my favorites. Why can't we have daemons?
fatbird33 2007-12-27 ch 1,	abuseyay helpful stuff. i like how you said that the reader is not an idiot. howver at the end of the story it is awfully fun to put THE END. although i do understand why it's pointless.
Girlbrainiac 2007-10-02 ch 1,	abuseYou need to develop this essay further As it is right now, it merely comes across as a rant with little evidence in support of it. I would suggest using more examples and explaining the few you've mentioned more fully. What does Phillip Pullman have to do with only saying things once? PROVE your points. As it stands right now, I would say this was more an outline for an essay... I see what you're trying to say, but it comes across as bland and uninteresting. Girlbrainiac
Joan of Snark 2007-09-21 ch 1,	abuseI am happy to say that I disagree with almost all of your points. If you need to state something bluntly then state something bluntly. If you need to be subtle then be subtle. It's simple. "So calling him ‘the evil overlord’ in the narrative would be overkill." -That depends entirely on what you're writing, the style you're writing in, why you're writing it, and what point you're trying to make. "some of us readers are just contrary by nature" -Then such readers are idiots. Unless the narrator is portrayed as unreliable then that's simply a refusal to suspend disbelief on the reader's part, and if that's the case then why the hell are they reading it anyway? "My major, major sticking point is words in quotation marks." -If you need to use them then use them. There's nothing wrong with it as long as you use them appropriately (and the same goes for any technique, obviously). "Use the subtle knife frequently. Shorter is better." -That's entirely dependent on what kind of style you're writing in, and resultantly, is a completely empty statement. "Always show instead of telling with one thing" -No. I appreciate that this is supposed to be humor, but I don't see that this says much that isn't either redundant or just plain wrong. In my opinion. If I'm honest it wasn't the most amusing thing I've ever read either. But that's quite possibly just me.
sincerely disregard 2007-09-21 ch 1,	abuseThank you, bravo, you have stolen my heart. Really this makes my day.

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