Great job! I've come to appreciate long, well-constructed sentences. The book Building Great Sentences by Brooks Landon has, for me, been an awesome guide for improving that skill.
BTW, I'm a psychiatrist trained in ECT and I appreciate anyone who makes an effort to de-stigmatize it and other treatments for people suffering mentally. As you say, every treatment has risks, but catatonic depression is no way to live•
I know just what you mean, btw, about entering a writing competition you don't want to win. The one that springs to mind for me is the Writers of the Future thing. I don't know if you're aware of that one, but all the winners (3 from each quarter) have to go to Los Angeles for a week of writing workshops and then there's a glamorous awards ceremony. I got a little excited during the pandemic because I could use that as an excuse not to go. It's not really the thought of being surrounded by scientologists - which I would've been totally curious and intrigued about (and doubtless got some good writing material for), it's the having to get personally outfitted and then get up on the stage in front of everyone and make a trite speech and get filmed and photographed doing it and knowing me I'd have to get roaring drunk and demand the finest wines available to humanity (here, and now - oh, and cake - I'm British). Would've been good for promotional purposes though and potential hobnobbing with bigwigs in the SF industry (possibly even some movie producers hey). And naturally the prize money would've come in handy. But I don't want to go to America. I wouldn't be able to trust what's in the food or the water supply for start. I am happy here in my comfort zone. Today though I think to enter America you have to have been covid-jabbed, which I haven't, so I do still have an excuse.
Anyway, fortunately I didn't win, just ended up with a whole bunch of Silver Honourable Mentions and the certificates to prove it. That's how much they think Unofficial Katy is worth, clearly. The winning ones seem a little formulaic and commercial anyway, so sod them.
Hmm, quite a few long sentences in there. Not as long as your one, though. Long sentences are good, in moderation, naturally.
I subscribe to that award's newsletter. L Ron's crew pays but doesn't play. Several big name authors got their start with the award. You don't need a covidian jab to pass US Border control. Just lots of patience, a strong bladder and no joking about. So get crackin', U-Katy.
What do you mean by pays but doesn't play? Honest question.
Yeah, I'm aware of a few of the names that got their start there. That Ken Liu bloke is one I think.
What attracted me to it in the first place though (before I found out about the LA trip - mind you absconding up to Laurel Canyon might be fun) was that it's free to enter and you can go up to 17k words. They don't like anything above PG-13 though, as I found out to my chagrin only after about the 4th entry or so. Then I started thinking hmm, let's try some 'young adult' stuff. So I got me some SHMs for them ones, before switching to the Katies. One of the YA ones, however, ended up winning another competition (that was the quite recent one), so boo shucks to them. I will have to do an update about all that sometime.
So you don't need a jab after all, eh? Hmm. I'll have to think up another excuse.
I think your voice goes exceptionally well with this sentence, actually. Especially the variations to the text. It's got a cool kind of, I don't know, post-punk vibe to it. I was definitely thinking late seventies/early eighties anyhow.
All you need is a kind of discordant solo guitar (with slight distortion) underneath. Or screechy violin (or guitar played like a violin). Which reminds me of when myself and a friend of mine did that very thing a while back (in our twenties - so this would've been late 90s), in which he read out dangerous poetry (Sylvia Plath mainly, If I recall) and I did screechy Bauhaus-esque guitar stuff in the background. I think I have some tapes of it somewhere.
Not too kind. I like your vocals. And I think you could do a downplayed ironic British version of beat stuff.
Your voice, to me, speaks of sensitivity and intelligence, and expresses the air of someone who has experienced some rather deep emotional stuff, like having a heart broken and mended several times. And there is a distinct hint of childlike innocence lurking in there, wondering why the world isn't as beautiful as that child was told it should've been. You are also very well-spoken (and I know you're well educated and well-mannered), so I am going to guess you had the misfortune to be sent to an English private school perhaps. Somewhere in the southern part of our green and pleasant land.
Now you'll tell me I'm totally wrong! Give me a score out of ten if you like.
All that from only a minute's worth of edited audio – quite the clever-clogs. I might end up as a character from a comments section graveyard (désolé à M. Simon).
Ah - your French is good too - all those accents in the right place! I am totally lazy about that kind of thing - living in France with a qwerty keyboard and all that. They have these azerty things and it’s too much, man, it’s too much.
Lol. Ironically it provoked me into thinking my little character description there would be a nice piece of writing for introducing a character. I think I'd replace the word 'childlike' with 'boyish' though.
Please rest assured, however, that I meant all of that as a sincere and genuine compliment.
Great job! I've come to appreciate long, well-constructed sentences. The book Building Great Sentences by Brooks Landon has, for me, been an awesome guide for improving that skill.
BTW, I'm a psychiatrist trained in ECT and I appreciate anyone who makes an effort to de-stigmatize it and other treatments for people suffering mentally. As you say, every treatment has risks, but catatonic depression is no way to live•
Thank you, Layne. I gave up my medical career three decades ago but, as you know, some patients you never forget. I will take a look at Landon's book.
I know just what you mean, btw, about entering a writing competition you don't want to win. The one that springs to mind for me is the Writers of the Future thing. I don't know if you're aware of that one, but all the winners (3 from each quarter) have to go to Los Angeles for a week of writing workshops and then there's a glamorous awards ceremony. I got a little excited during the pandemic because I could use that as an excuse not to go. It's not really the thought of being surrounded by scientologists - which I would've been totally curious and intrigued about (and doubtless got some good writing material for), it's the having to get personally outfitted and then get up on the stage in front of everyone and make a trite speech and get filmed and photographed doing it and knowing me I'd have to get roaring drunk and demand the finest wines available to humanity (here, and now - oh, and cake - I'm British). Would've been good for promotional purposes though and potential hobnobbing with bigwigs in the SF industry (possibly even some movie producers hey). And naturally the prize money would've come in handy. But I don't want to go to America. I wouldn't be able to trust what's in the food or the water supply for start. I am happy here in my comfort zone. Today though I think to enter America you have to have been covid-jabbed, which I haven't, so I do still have an excuse.
Anyway, fortunately I didn't win, just ended up with a whole bunch of Silver Honourable Mentions and the certificates to prove it. That's how much they think Unofficial Katy is worth, clearly. The winning ones seem a little formulaic and commercial anyway, so sod them.
Hmm, quite a few long sentences in there. Not as long as your one, though. Long sentences are good, in moderation, naturally.
I subscribe to that award's newsletter. L Ron's crew pays but doesn't play. Several big name authors got their start with the award. You don't need a covidian jab to pass US Border control. Just lots of patience, a strong bladder and no joking about. So get crackin', U-Katy.
Have you ever entered anything? How did you do, if so?
What do you mean by pays but doesn't play? Honest question.
Yeah, I'm aware of a few of the names that got their start there. That Ken Liu bloke is one I think.
What attracted me to it in the first place though (before I found out about the LA trip - mind you absconding up to Laurel Canyon might be fun) was that it's free to enter and you can go up to 17k words. They don't like anything above PG-13 though, as I found out to my chagrin only after about the 4th entry or so. Then I started thinking hmm, let's try some 'young adult' stuff. So I got me some SHMs for them ones, before switching to the Katies. One of the YA ones, however, ended up winning another competition (that was the quite recent one), so boo shucks to them. I will have to do an update about all that sometime.
So you don't need a jab after all, eh? Hmm. I'll have to think up another excuse.
I think your voice goes exceptionally well with this sentence, actually. Especially the variations to the text. It's got a cool kind of, I don't know, post-punk vibe to it. I was definitely thinking late seventies/early eighties anyhow.
All you need is a kind of discordant solo guitar (with slight distortion) underneath. Or screechy violin (or guitar played like a violin). Which reminds me of when myself and a friend of mine did that very thing a while back (in our twenties - so this would've been late 90s), in which he read out dangerous poetry (Sylvia Plath mainly, If I recall) and I did screechy Bauhaus-esque guitar stuff in the background. I think I have some tapes of it somewhere.
Some might say it should remain in the attic.
Too kind. Next stop: improv beat poet. Obv. Not.
Attics are interesting places. Only I go into mine.
Not too kind. I like your vocals. And I think you could do a downplayed ironic British version of beat stuff.
Your voice, to me, speaks of sensitivity and intelligence, and expresses the air of someone who has experienced some rather deep emotional stuff, like having a heart broken and mended several times. And there is a distinct hint of childlike innocence lurking in there, wondering why the world isn't as beautiful as that child was told it should've been. You are also very well-spoken (and I know you're well educated and well-mannered), so I am going to guess you had the misfortune to be sent to an English private school perhaps. Somewhere in the southern part of our green and pleasant land.
Now you'll tell me I'm totally wrong! Give me a score out of ten if you like.
All that from only a minute's worth of edited audio – quite the clever-clogs. I might end up as a character from a comments section graveyard (désolé à M. Simon).
Ah - your French is good too - all those accents in the right place! I am totally lazy about that kind of thing - living in France with a qwerty keyboard and all that. They have these azerty things and it’s too much, man, it’s too much.
Lol. Ironically it provoked me into thinking my little character description there would be a nice piece of writing for introducing a character. I think I'd replace the word 'childlike' with 'boyish' though.
Please rest assured, however, that I meant all of that as a sincere and genuine compliment.