YES!!!! Oh, good grief, I've been reading here all day and not able to post. I was about to have an anxiety attack or something. Not being able to get my AW fix...just wrong. Totally wrong. And very frustrating, especially given the things going on here today.
I have a number of things to say.
First, Ed, get your hamdog-eating self back here! It won't be the same without you. That post really didn’t sound like you – perhaps a POD person? After all, I saw all your green blobs were gone, you only had one black one, and then I wasn't able to post. I think there’s been something hinky going on. But you had better not be serious about leaving. I’m going to hope it was a delayed reaction to eating a hamdog and a Fried Twinkie, washed down with a Butterfinger Blizzard.
Second, this whole thing with the "don't hurt the poor PA authors' feelings" has gotten out of hand. Now, no one here wants to intentionally hurt a PA author's feelings. But folks, we need the humor that happens here. The Land of Poz, and the spline and stipid, and darfing...well, that's all HUMOR. Humor is subjective. If you don't find it funny, okay, don't laugh. But some of us do enjoy the humor that crops up on this thread. Sometimes if we don't laugh, we'll cry.
I'm starting to feel this is like how some teachers today are now using purple ink to correct students' papers because RED is just so...in-your-face. And red might make the students feel badly about their mistakes.
UGH! :Smack: I used to teach elementary school, and I would still be using RED if I were teaching now. There is nothing wrong with feeling badly about a mistake - that's nature's way of helping us to learn, and helping to make sure we don't repeat the mistake.
This is a tough business. You need a thick hide to survive it. I'm with Tri (I think it was Tri) when he said that hearing the truth, no matter how much it hurts, is one of the kindest things we can do for newbies or aspiring writers. Mollycoddling folks will not equip them to make it in this business. (I'm not saying we should be mean, either. But hey, toughen up a bit. Writing and life are not always a bed of rose petals. <G>)
Tri, you are a classy guy!
I am delighted that you accepted my correction in the light in which it was offered. I wanted you (and anyone else reading) to know the correct "answer" but I didn't want to make you embarassed. (Oh, and as someone pointed out, you still get a prize - a year's supply of Rice-A-Roni. Thanks again for playing! <G>)
Hey, we ALL make mistakes.
But there's a difference between making occasional mistakes, or typos, and some of the stuff that "passes" for coherent writing on other boards or even in some <gasp> books. When I read a drive-by promo that's in crummy English, and the poster wants me to go and read their excerpt and buy their book - well, no. Sorry. Not going to do it. Because if they can't construct a well-written "ad" for their stuff, I'm willing to bet the actual product isn't much better.
NY Passionate Lady, you are also very classy! I hope you stick around. You manage to disagree without being disagreeable, and that's the way it should be done! Good for you!
Aaahhhh, I'm feeling so much better now that I've been able to post here. Phew. Thanks for letting me get all that off my chest. Or out of my fingers. Something like that.
Susan G.