9/31 The Editor is Tired

Once up on a time, I took a Clarion workshop in which the instructor, a published author of speculative fiction, did That Thing to a friend of mine.

The friend submitted a promising story in a style beyond her skill level--a good idea naively executed. The instructor singled it out as the one submission in the class that was simply too bad to be critiqued. As far as I know, my friend never wrote anything again.

Anyone who loves stories enough to try to write one deserves better than what that lazy, thoughtless published author did to my friend all those years ago. That's why I felt compelled to spend three hours last night commenting on the novel whose author was spamming us all yesterday.

Now I need advice. When the author solicited "comments" I think she meant "praise and encouragement". When I asked her to clarify, she said she would welcome any feedback I wanted to give. I think my comments provide a concise fiction-remediation course, but she might see it differently.

Here's a representative sample of my remarks. Should I send them or not? Too harsh? Don't bother? Waste of electrons? Give it a shot? Helpful? What do my fellow writers think? How would you feel if these were comments on a story of yours? Would you get any value from them, or just feel bad? Am I wasting my time? Tilting at windmills?

Feedback is genuinely welcome.

( Fiction Writing 101: What Not To Do With Your Interesting Story Idea )

10/31 SPN

How can a show going on nine years old suddenly become so good again? Is it just me being sentimental, with the return of the fundamental Supernatural "he ain't heavy he's my brother" theme? I really enjoyed 9x01.

Edited to add this because it's the perfect accompaniment to my nostalgic, fannish feelings this evening.