KazG

I certainly blog less when I’m writing – or busy, generally. The Scribbles are sadly neglected at the moment…

I try to keep some level of engagement with the Den going, but when writing it can be either extreme; popping in to read but not comment, so I appear absent, or lots of posts asking for opinions or having a rant or despairing about the…[Read more]

You made me think long and hard Gerry because it doesn’t work like that at all for me. It tends to be when I am submerged in a writing project that I’m most active on my particular forms of social media either seeking help or discussing writing or just having a good moan about every part of the process from drafting to submitting. I’m quietest…[Read more]

Excellent … your fame is spreading, and rightfully so.

This story has just been accepted into the Mechanics Institute Review. Randomly named journal, but I’m pleased it’s found a good home. 😊

OK yep that all sounds good 🙂

Yeah, I’d agree, i think the comp works best as a pressure-free place for people to dip their toes in the water or play around a bit. Nice, encouraging comments are a great way of supporting that, but more critiquey comments, although a wonderful thing would perhaps be more useful in the critiquey Forum, or direct posting/messaging, and of course…[Read more]

‘Specific questions’? – yes indeed, particularly in the light of the current one – Raine’s saying “It’ll be judged purely on ‘how much do I want to read on’” (which strikes me as a genius note to strike when setting a competition.) Of those posted so far I would say there are those which I am unlikely to pursue, simply because they are not the g…[Read more]

I think this discussion is clarifying things. We want the monthly/bi-monthly/whatever frequency competition to be somewhere where people can post unfinished/half-finished/incomplete/never going to be finished/trying-things-out bits of writing as well as more finished and considered things. As such the tone of comments should be positive. If a…[Read more]

Entirely agree with Knicks and Jane. If critique is wanted it should be specifically asked for; where someone believes it would be helpful, a pm is the best place to start. For myself, comp entries are often little more than the flexing of writing muscles.

Compliments are what comes to mind when I consider the definition of positive commentary. Stating what you liked about a piece to encourage its writer. If someone specifically wants a critique they can ask for it plainly when posting their entry. But I think the general consensus is that this won’t really be the forum in which to offer…[Read more]

It is a tricky one, Jonathan, and I don’t have all the answers, but the monthly competition is IMO intended to be an encouraging place where writers at all stages of learning the craft can enjoy a challenge, try things out and so on. Or at least I think that’s what it should be. I’m not sure it’s the right place for full on criticism especially as…[Read more]

I know it’s always a tricky one, but what is the definition of positive commentary? Is constructive crit within that purview? What do we want to allow? I ask because in some instances it could be useful to see where a piece went wrong, though of course then again some entrants might not be seeking any kind of feedback. Going back to the point…[Read more]

THanks for the interesting post @richardb. 🙂 I did laugh at Harry critisising the very services that JW offer! I guess their taught courses are less in depth than an MA, but it’s the same principal. As someone said (@janeshuff?) I love that the SE course attracts a wide range of writing genres/styles so there seemed no gravitation towards some…[Read more]

Sorry for absence … Yes, I like the idea of (positive) commenting within the comp thread, and if sub-threading isn’t an option then tagging people is a fair second best, I guess. So yes please do jump into the current comp if you wish to comment. It will be a nice way for people to get a bit of feedback regardless of the comp results. As @daedalu…[Read more]

Thanks Squidge and Woolleybeans – really interesting.

What would be ideal is an option to indent and insert replies following an entry so that they were clustered after the entry to which they refer. I haven’t seen enough of WordPress or BBpress etc. to be certain, but I think that reply threading only introduces indentation to nest replies, in the same way that replies are handled for “updates”. All…[Read more]

I think you have to activate reply threading, but I don’t know for sure.