Comments by Stephen Herman Most recent public comments by Stephen Herman https://nowcomment.com/users/11283 I agree with what everyone's saying here. Winter was an attack on her (physically and mentally) and use of personification worked well. It gave the season an overbearing, unstoppable force upon her; a battle she could not win. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25279?scroll_to=330739 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25279?scroll_to=330739 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:51 -0500 "Flattened" - one single word says it all. That everything was just pushed out of her and although still there, nothing remained inside. It speaks volumes and so much is said in very few letters. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25279?scroll_to=330735 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25279?scroll_to=330735 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:50 -0500 I agree with Deena. I feel it is an effective device to fuse both her real world and her work into one. The only danger I assume may occur is the poetry will lose some of its' true meaning, but in here, they coincide. It's woven in correctly. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25279?scroll_to=330732 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25279?scroll_to=330732 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:50 -0500 It gives a sense of premonition. Although it would end gravely, Plath was on the path she was supposed to be in. This where was where she was supposed to be; good or bad. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25279?scroll_to=330728 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25279?scroll_to=330728 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:50 -0500 Background is needed to give a sense of character - helps us to understand their actions more. But it needs to be quick and only what is needed to be known in order not to bore the reader. Too much exposition can throw a narrative off track. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25279?scroll_to=330725 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25279?scroll_to=330725 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:49 -0500 It is an extremely visual introduction - a real movie feel to it. It puts the reader right into Aurelia's prospective. We also meet her right in the middle of dramatic action - more effective way than just simply saying the mother was there. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25279?scroll_to=330721 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25279?scroll_to=330721 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:49 -0500 It gives off the sense that time shrunk because she read so much. She had no time to live her real life. It also feels like what she read was better than her real life and made it smaller to her. Reading was a much bigger world she wanted to be in. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25280?scroll_to=326402 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25280?scroll_to=326402 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:45 -0500 I agree with Stephanie. Its tying in her moving to the desert while emphasizing how hazy and cloudy her childhood had been to her. Great use of visual imagery. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25280?scroll_to=326401 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25280?scroll_to=326401 Thu, 19 Mar 2015 17:50:48 -0400 It makes it more dramatic; making the reader focus on the what's being said. Plus it feels harsh. Just how the paragraph says what it needs to & aburtly ends, I imagine that's how her mother delivered the news to her & how she must have felt. It hits hard https://nowcomment.com/documents/25280?scroll_to=326381 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25280?scroll_to=326381 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:45 -0500 It brings attention to the proceeding paragraph about her boredom at an early age and her loneliness. It comes off with an accusatory connotation, placing blame on her absent parents who are causing herher to feel such a way at such an early age. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25280?scroll_to=326371 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25280?scroll_to=326371 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:45 -0500 This phrase suggests that the writerwriter/s are making am assumption of what they think she is trying to say. It suggests what is about to he told to the reader is the interpretion of the writer. It doesn't seem false, but can seem corrupted. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25280?scroll_to=326365 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25280?scroll_to=326365 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:45 -0500 Already you get the sense that we are dealing with a veryvery attentive & curious personality which prepares the reader for an interesting read. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25280?scroll_to=326364 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25280?scroll_to=326364 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:44 -0500 I made "Novelized" up, sorry. Just a term meaning something in novel form. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25283?scroll_to=324312 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25283?scroll_to=324312 Tue, 17 Mar 2015 00:20:23 -0400 On the other hand, it can be a disadvantage because being so personal may turn some readers away. If you're telling your story in real time accounts, it can easily become boring or mundane. It's hard to spice up things when they are straight to the point https://nowcomment.com/documents/25283?scroll_to=323377 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25283?scroll_to=323377 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:41 -0500 It's more engaging. More personal. It connects with readers because it reads like their own thoughts and makes the story more real. It seems like a glimpse into the writers head and not just show of their writing talents. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25283?scroll_to=323376 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25283?scroll_to=323376 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:41 -0500 It implies all cultures have their own way of individuals getting ahead. NYC seems more cut throat; physical. While the Brits way seems more sophisticated. You move up by some sort of status whereas Ny is whoever gets there 1st or cuts you off in line https://nowcomment.com/documents/25283?scroll_to=323375 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25283?scroll_to=323375 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:39 -0500 You learn they are a new yorker and is surprised by the civilized manner of people in London. Also with phrases like "holding up traffic" & "wrath of drivers" you get the sense that they do not like the hustle and bustle of NYC & rather the ways of Brits https://nowcomment.com/documents/25283?scroll_to=323374 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25283?scroll_to=323374 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:39 -0500 And upon a second reading I noticed what Yasmin said about some sentences being short and abrupt. Unedited or un-novelized. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25283?scroll_to=323373 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25283?scroll_to=323373 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:38 -0500 1. It's spoken via a 1st person POV. 2. It recounts the writer's activities with timestamps and dates. 3. It recounts random memories from the past and 4. We get the real emotion of the writer that almost read like confessions. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25283?scroll_to=323372 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25283?scroll_to=323372 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:38 -0500 These are feelings of emptiness or anger; Men need an outlet for frustration outside of the walls of society so that they don't lose it mentally. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30622?scroll_to=321720 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30622?scroll_to=321720 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:37 -0500 This first paragraph sets up for Ishmeal about to discover something; possibly himself. It seems he is missing something or needs something and in just a few sentences we feel like he is going to venture into something life changing. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30622?scroll_to=321719 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30622?scroll_to=321719 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:36 -0500 Ishmeal needs to go to the sea to keep is sanity and to distract him from the fact that he will die one day. It seem the sea is his way to deal with frustration and keep him civil. Already we see him using it a substitution for fulfillment. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30622?scroll_to=321718 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30622?scroll_to=321718 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:35 -0500 Julie seems like a great source because she is truthful and an already interesting voice because she begins breaking Micheal down physically and painting an "uglier" picture of him. It's a new refreshing POV and makes you want to her side of the tale. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30636?scroll_to=317416 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30636?scroll_to=317416 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:29 -0500 It's the tension of the writer wanting to move forward but having to slow down to Micheal's pace. Also him looking for more info in the drawers may show how Micheal's not giving him enough."Backing out of Jill's Study" is great literally metaphorically. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30636?scroll_to=317415 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30636?scroll_to=317415 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:29 -0500 The biography may become repetitive and have no real direction if the conversations are going the same way. Like any narrative the story must move forward and discussions such as these may stagnate the process. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30636?scroll_to=317414 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30636?scroll_to=317414 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:29 -0500 Feels like the writer is compromised by his subjects because he seems attached to them since he's already had a good experience with them. I don't know if this is good because he seems close enough to get the real story and close enough to form bias. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30636?scroll_to=317413 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30636?scroll_to=317413 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:29 -0500 It immediately opens a door to intrigue and gives a sense that the interviewer or interviewee (depending on who's saying it) doesn't quite believe what they heard or that there is more to the story; a subtle way to ask more questions through a statement. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30636?scroll_to=317412 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30636?scroll_to=317412 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:28 -0500 It feels like we are being set up for the whole three sides of a story" ploy; Yours, mine, and the truth. It's a good tactic to pull the reader in because it creates a bit of mystery. It's also genuine because all perspectives can combine into one truth. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30636?scroll_to=317411 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30636?scroll_to=317411 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:28 -0500 The biographer controls where the story goes. He/she can choose to focus on the littlest thing and magnify it beyond proportions or give bits and pieces of it. What we read is really at the writer's discretion and we'll know what "they" want us to know. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30636?scroll_to=317410 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30636?scroll_to=317410 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:28 -0500 I may be over analyzing this but paragraph had a tone of biblical references with Adam & Eve. It reminded me of how they were once natural & sin (unnatural) made them aware of their nakedness & shame, except in these humans are the dress that covers https://nowcomment.com/documents/30619?scroll_to=315714 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30619?scroll_to=315714 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:24 -0500 The title definitely suggest the returning of someone who has been here before. My first inclination was that I was about to read some sort of prodigal son tale but I was misled. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30619?scroll_to=315708 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30619?scroll_to=315708 Thu, 12 Feb 2015 19:32:22 -0500 I was also surprised at how many of these rules could directly be applied to screen writing. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30612?scroll_to=314034 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30612?scroll_to=314034 Take rule %, about not obsessing over correct grammar. Real people, just like believable characters never speak perfect and pronounce everything correctly. It always comes off as fake if you break this rule. And in Rule 18, about not letting research over shadow the story, is basically the same as exposition in a script. The less explanation you have the better and the quicker you can get into the story itself. Another one, which is a biggie in the script world is # 17, Cut out the boring parts. This is even more true when screen writing since you have only 90 to 100 pages. You have to cut off the fat and get to backbone of your tale. The action needs high and the pacing needs to be perfected. The boring stuff only slows the story down. Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:19 -0500 The only one I didn't agree with is 10. Three months to write a first draft would be ideal in a perfect world, but it's just not that realistic in my opinion. Maybe for a seasoned writer (pun intended), but definitely not a beginner. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30612?scroll_to=314032 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30612?scroll_to=314032 Most of these rules are great, and there's no real ranking for them because they all can be applied to writing at any given time whenever it's needed. No one is more important than the other because any of them can be significant when the opportunity to follow them arises. Although I must say the most important rule is #1 by far. You should write for your first & audience 2nd. Thu, 05 Feb 2015 22:45:18 -0500 That's actually an excellent point Arif. If everyone writes for themselves first, the it would be no end to the types of stories that could be created. https://nowcomment.com/documents/30612?scroll_to=314016 https://nowcomment.com/documents/30612?scroll_to=314016 Thu, 05 Feb 2015 22:13:46 -0500 It seems she wanted him not to simply succumb to his illness and break his spirit. She saw this as a chance for him to push past it and be stronger, I imagine a president who excelled at his duties with a ill fated disease would stir up hope in anyone. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25273?scroll_to=292892 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25273?scroll_to=292892 Fri, 31 Oct 2014 11:21:27 -0400 The paragraph sets up what's to come. By the end of it, I was instantly hooked to want to keep reading, especially when the idea of possible romantic affairs (especially) between women came up. I'm not usually one for that, but this somehow felt truthful. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25273?scroll_to=292890 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25273?scroll_to=292890 Fri, 31 Oct 2014 11:07:26 -0400 Also, Excalibur's sword could only be pulled out of the "Rock" by king Arthur. This can mean the author feels no one can play bass like McCartney. They figured out what Rosebud was after his death. Maybe he's saying we won't truly get him until he is gone https://nowcomment.com/documents/25272?scroll_to=290486 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25272?scroll_to=290486 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:05 -0500 These references have to do with something that one would hold dear to them from childhood to their death bed (the sled Rose Bud) and something that they hold proud and allowed them to fight back in their own way (Excalibur's sword)his bass being both https://nowcomment.com/documents/25272?scroll_to=290482 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25272?scroll_to=290482 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:05 -0500 It makes the information given seem more genuine. It's not skewed in a way as to make the subject be seen in a certain kind of light. It is saw and truthful, untouched my bias hands. The subject has no say in what is said. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25272?scroll_to=290477 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25272?scroll_to=290477 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:05 -0500 New info is good when it revolves around the subject and enlightens us on some interesting event or fact we may have not known. When the writer adds dashes of things we don't need it seems as though its just a filler and he's reaching to find anything. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25272?scroll_to=290474 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25272?scroll_to=290474 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:05 -0500 A good reaction from McCartney makes you feel like he is in favor the way he was represented A bad reaction may mean there is some truth that he didn't want publicized. Any reaction makes him seem involved. No reaction seems like he isn't even aware. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25272?scroll_to=290468 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25272?scroll_to=290468 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:05 -0500 Establishing the origin of the information is paramount especially when dealing with biographies. People want to know that what they are reading is real and to be able to trust in the writer. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25272?scroll_to=290454 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25272?scroll_to=290454 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:46:05 -0500 It shows two things. One, that like some already commented on, her life was like a stage, a play. And two, it's easy to forget what she was given all the other controversy that surrounded her. We forget what it she set out to be or really was. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25204?scroll_to=284723 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25204?scroll_to=284723 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:45:58 -0500 It made me feel a bit conflicted. It seemed as though she was a freedom fighter for all, but her biggest battle was defending herself or rather her opinion. Further reading of this article strengthened my assumptions. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25204?scroll_to=284721 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25204?scroll_to=284721 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:45:58 -0500 to go any deeper would take something away from the story. It would leave less room for interpretation, trumping fable with fact, but that seems to be the point of a biography. Still, less wonder doesn't mean more intrigue. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25200?scroll_to=280578 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25200?scroll_to=280578 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:45:59 -0500 It seems to be an old fashioned, stylized way of writing that concentrates more on technique than on the traditional form of straight forwardness; making what you write more pretty on paper than strong in statement and structure. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25200?scroll_to=280577 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25200?scroll_to=280577 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:45:53 -0500 A second biographer may attain access to Martha and some new material that Bengly could not acquire. This could give us a fresh prospective on matters especially when it came to Updike's decisions when it involved his children. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25200?scroll_to=280573 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25200?scroll_to=280573 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:45:53 -0500 It seems once Bengly was restricted further info from Updike's second wife,Martha, Bengly was forced to rely on Updike's children who clearly disliked Martha, causing the bio to steer more in a bias direction or rather feed more into frivolous matters. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25200?scroll_to=280569 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25200?scroll_to=280569 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:45:53 -0500 Very important. This gives us more insight into the bio's creation and shows how it may be lacking in some areas of truth due to the hardships of the author securing all the details. Still, its obstacles led way to different angle of truth. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25200?scroll_to=280567 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25200?scroll_to=280567 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:45:53 -0500 Agreed. The sensation of reading a bio is similar to that of experiencing a work of art one way when first viewing it then a different way altogether when you learn of the history of the work and what the artist was going through during its creation. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25200?scroll_to=280565 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25200?scroll_to=280565 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:45:53 -0500 I agree and well worded. Even the mention that Inge was "steeped" in the works and history and an "eyewitness" to lectures gives the Inge more validity. But at the same time it makes Inge seem a bit bias due his personal attachment with Faulkner. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25186?scroll_to=266704 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25186?scroll_to=266704 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:45:40 -0500 I feel it was mentioned as a disclaimer to prepare readers to go into his work with a patient mind and understand that his unconventional style is something to be cherished rather than look at as a chore to read. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25186?scroll_to=266695 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25186?scroll_to=266695 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:45:40 -0500 Greek tragedy is all about kings who "built themselves kingdoms, started dynasties and somehow destroyed it all". The sentence sums it all up while comparing his stories to two classic genres mixed together to possibly create something new for readers. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25186?scroll_to=266675 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25186?scroll_to=266675 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:45:40 -0500 Outside of this review it seems to be a prestigious group any writer would want to be discussed by but within this text, "literati" and "acquired taste" give the readers a sense of this work being a distinguished and important read. Another tool to entice https://nowcomment.com/documents/25186?scroll_to=266632 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25186?scroll_to=266632 Thu, 04 Sep 2014 14:53:10 -0400 I disagree because in mentioning Faulkner's detractors, it gives the reviewer a chance to compliment Faulkner's unorthodox style, further proving his point on what a great writer Faulkner was. Opposition gave way to opportunity. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25186?scroll_to=266625 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25186?scroll_to=266625 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:45:41 -0500 It makes the book feel like a quick thoughtful read. The paragraph itself is an example of this because it sums up a lot in a compact set of words, inferring to readers that this is what the book ultimately feels like after the reading. Short and sweet. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25186?scroll_to=266586 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25186?scroll_to=266586 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:45:41 -0500 Natural when a question is asked, we want the answer, especially when it incorporates the phrase "what does it mean?" It already implies that the matter that will be discussed has some deeper meaning or veers more to being thought provoking. https://nowcomment.com/documents/25186?scroll_to=266583 https://nowcomment.com/documents/25186?scroll_to=266583 Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:45:41 -0500