Once at a historical reenactment-type gathering, a rather rough-looking Mountain Man character challenged me with, "You haven't quit writing, have you?" "Why...no." "Good, because if you do someone ought to hit you between the eyes with something!" It remains the best compliment to my writing. What has been the best compliment to yours?
Posted by Leigh (Member # 2901) on :
quote:Woah, wow! Your writing is so much better this version!
Possibly that one, the most recent anyway. I rewrote or am in the process of rewriting a story that I began last year. Now I started it again and decided to post it on the same site as I always go to, not here, and posted it. I was glad for the comeback.
Posted by Smaug (Member # 2807) on :
"That's O'Henryish."
Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :
"You have a great feel for character."
From a Nebula/Hugo winner who is not OSC.
Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :
"You have talent." Scrawled on a rejection slip from a currently-defunct magazine, by a writer whose work I'd actually read and liked. Of course there was more to it, like why the story was [deservedly] rejected...
Posted by TL 601 (Member # 2730) on :
Publication.
Posted by cvgurau (Member # 1345) on :
"Finish the story, Chris. I want to see how it ends."
I let my brother read the first chapters of a story I'd stopped working on, and he wouldn't stop bugging me until I started up again.
Posted by chemo_man (Member # 3150) on :
"your writing style reminds me of douglas adams"
Posted by wbriggs (Member # 2267) on :
"I didn't want to publish this, because it's not really hard-SF enough, but the chief editor says so, so here's you're contract"
"You're a pro."
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
"Man, I'm such a good writer." Posted by Thieftess (Member # 1683) on :
On my last birthday, a friend toasted me with: "May you never grow too old to be creative."
I still think it's one of the most touching and nicest things anyone's ever said to me.
~Alethea
Posted by hoptoad (Member # 2145) on :
you spell okay... ( i think it was spell)
Posted by Shendülféa (Member # 2964) on :
Not really a direct compliment, but in 8th grade I wrote a short story for my English class. My teacher thought it was so good that he read it to all of his English classes.
Afterwards, I had several people come up to me and tell me that they thought it was an excellent story and that I should expand on in it and make it into a novel. I did exactly that and several years later now, I have it finished and it is currently undergoing revision in the hopes that one day someone willl want to publish it.
Basically, the compliments I received on that story--from my teacher as well as from my classmates--are the reason that I write at all. It wasn't until then that I realized that I could write and that I actually enjoyed it. Before that, the thought of being a writer one day never even crossed my mind.
Posted by nitewriter (Member # 3214) on :
Best compliment? The best one came from a managing editor. He called me into his office and handed me a nice check for what I had written. He said, "Listen when you've written something again or you have an idea, come and see me personally. Don't bother with the assistants." That did wonders for my motivation and confidence.
Posted by CoriSCapnSkip (Member # 3228) on :
"Not really a direct compliment, but in 8th grade I wrote a short story for my English class. My teacher thought it was so good that he read it to all of his English classes.
Afterwards, I had several people come up to me and tell me that they thought it was an excellent story and that I should expand on in it and make it into a novel. I did exactly that and several years later now, I have it finished and it is currently undergoing revision in the hopes that one day someone willl want to publish it. "
Wow, you were in eighth grade just a few years ago and have a novel near ready for publication? I am humbled. I wrote a lot in junior high (a LONG time ago!) and some of my stories were read to complimentary responses, but didn't publish a novel till much later and even that was desktop publishing.
Larry Niven did say back when I was in high school that I wrote a damn good letter.
Posted by MaryRobinette (Member # 1680) on :
At boot camp, OSC said my story had "Fictional anthropology at its best."
Unfortunately, it needed a working plot.
But the best writing compliment I've heard was what he said about Dakota's story. "This is the hardest kind of story to critique, because it works," and then he continued to sing her praises.
Posted by phoenix24 (Member # 3339) on :
Well, this one was from my dad, and we all know how biased they are, but it still made my ego swell a bit lol. I asked him to read what i had of my novel (he reads a LOT of sci/fi-fantasy) and after reading it he said "you better finish this, cuz i want to know what happens!!" Posted by Jammrock (Member # 3293) on :
My brother read the first part of a novel I'm working on, and has not stopped bugging me for more since.
Posted by Keeley (Member # 2088) on :
I've received a few compliments that vie for best.
The one that makes me chuckle when I think about it is, "You seem like a real writer" (from a non-Hatrack forum). I like the way it's phrased and have always taken it as the compliment s/he intended it to be.
Posted by rcorporon (Member # 2879) on :
"This story didn't make me puke, unlike the last one."
Just joking.
Best compliment? Probably when my ma told me that she wanted to see what happened next in my fantasy novel WIP (and she hates fantasy).
Posted by Spider (Member # 3349) on :
Not really the best, but one "compliment" I will always remember is from my third grade teacher. She told us to write about something for homework, so I wrote it and turned it in the next day. When she gave it back, there was a minus 0 on the paper. She told me, "I know how third graders write and I know how older people write. A third grader did not write this."
Posted by pjp (Member # 3211) on :
I've been told by various people at different times that I write well. I decided the chance they were all blowing smoke was unlikely.
Posted by sholar (Member # 3280) on :
You know, this thread is really depressing if you never get any compliments. ;-)
Posted by Shendülféa (Member # 2964) on :
quote:Wow, you were in eighth grade just a few years ago and have a novel near ready for publication? I am humbled.
Thanks! Now I can add that to my compliments.
I've sent the first few chapters into some editors, and it's been rejected so far, but their rejections have always said something along the lines of "While we cannot publish your work, we encourage you to keep submitting it to other publishers." (Is this a compliment or just a nice way of saying, "Your writing is terrible and there is no way we would ever publish it"? I am still not sure...)
Posted by CoriSCapnSkip (Member # 3228) on :
Plus, you know something I don't. How to quote a post to which you are replying. You notice I had to just put the excerpt from yours in quotes because I couldn't figure out how to do it the proper way.
Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :
Sholar said:
quote:You know, this thread is really depressing if you never get any compliments.
You spelled everything right.
quote:How to quote a post to which you are replying
Like this ['quote] text [/'quote] except remove the ' marks.
Posted by Susannaj4 (Member # 3189) on :
My best compliment I believe was(to the best of my recollection) that I have a wonderful way of painting a picture in the mind's eye. Of course, this was followed by, we really don't need to see that much. Posted by dckafka (Member # 3258) on :
"We'll pay you 10 million dollars for the movie rights."
- Walt Disney Executive
OK, I haven't gotten this complement yet. But that's the one I'm waiting for. ;-)
Posted by Pyre Dynasty (Member # 1947) on :
"Incredibly creative, I have no clue what your talking about but incredibly creative."
Posted by Quizzical (Member # 2552) on :
Perhaps the most impressive complement I’ve ever gotten in relation to my writing was from a professional play write, who said my story was refreshing and had great rhythm. Later he asked me to lend him a copy of the story to give a friend of his who works for a children’s’ book publisher. I was on cloud nine. Still no word from either of them but I’m just happy to have gotten such praise. Quizz
Posted by autumnmuse (Member # 2136) on :
I've been fortunate enough to get several quite nice compliments over the years.
My 9th grade English teacher told me my poetry was reminiscent of Sir Walter Scott. My 11th grade English teacher held up a paper I wrote in front of the class and told everyone that I could write better than he could. (Of course, that was also a negative. I had people write in my yearbook that they hated me because of English class.)
And for some strange reason, OSC is very generous with his compliments to me.
Of course, it's really really hard to remember these things when gettting harsh (deservedly so, alas) critiques on everthing I've written lately.
Posted by djvdakota (Member # 2002) on :
ACTUALLY, the best two compliments I've ever received on my writing (with all due respect to OSC) were from my eighth grade English teacher who was not forthcoming with compliments. Just having him tell me I wrote well, in fact just having SOMEONE tell my I wrote well at that point in my mental and emotional development, changed my life.
The most touching and powerful compliment I've ever had, however, was looking over to see a very dear friend of mine *Winks at Mary* weeping while reading my story.
Posted by Corin224 (Member # 2513) on :
OSC himself gave me this one at boot camp regarding my 'one-page' submission. I don't remember the exact words, but the gist of it was:
"This opening should have been terrible. You did everything wrong. But it actually works, and the ONLY reason is because you write action scenes really well."
The rest of my stay at boot camp, I demonstrated quite definitively my numerous literary shortcomings. Not only did my story AND my submission get thoroughly ripped apart, (although there were positive comments from everybody, too.) but almost every time I made a comment, OSC would take his turn at the end, and by the time he was done, nearly point for point he'd have contradicted most of my comments. Though the comments weren't directed at me, being that wrong (for lack of a better word) was actually harder to take than having my story ripped apart.
So . . . after 3 days of "constructive criticism", (translation -> delightful, incredible, excruciating, painful torture) my spirits by that time THOROUGHLY in the toilet, I got this comment.
It pretty much made my week.
-Falken224 (posing as Corin)
(edited for spelling and incomprehensibility)
[This message has been edited by Corin224 (edited April 12, 2006).]
Posted by mikemunsil (Member # 2109) on :
some deluded person once said, after reading a poem of mine, that he would pay to hear me just free-associate
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
That's like the thing where you wish to see what would happen to the Genie for not granting your wish, right? I mean, if you're being paid, then how is it "free" association Posted by cvgurau (Member # 1345) on :
In the 9th grade, people paid attention when my story was read aloud. (Does that count?)
And in the 12th, my screenplay was one of two chosen from more than 30 to turn into a children's play. That one (and actually seeing the play) still make me smile.
Posted by Ray (Member # 2415) on :
Best compliment: when I read my story out loud to my English class and everybody laughed at the right moments. Hope they weren't laughing at me. Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
Well, when they're laughing, they're always laughing at you. But if you're laughing at yourself, they're also laughing with you.
Posted by Ray (Member # 2415) on :
Can't argue with that logic.
Posted by sholar (Member # 3280) on :
Ok- here's a favorite compliment (not best, but favorite). I let someone read a story of mine and they looked up in shock- "You wrote this? But this is actually worth reading." It's great cause it's as much a burn as a compliment.
Posted by Calligrapher (Member # 2985) on :
"You made us cry, you made us laugh," from a writers' group.
Posted by KatFeete (Member # 2161) on :
From my brother: "This is like a real book, not like something my sister wrote."
This will probably remain my favorite compliment of all time.
Posted by Kolona (Member # 1438) on :
Best compliments for me were a full hand-written note from an editor apologizing that sometimes he had to reject articles he truly liked, followed by a phone call from him repeating it when an editor he had steered me to had also liked the article but couldn't use it and sent it to the first editor thinking he could use it. <eyes going round in circles>
Posted by chemo_man (Member # 3150) on :
earlier today i had a meeting with my professor on a paper i had wrote analyzing The Bell Jar, and he said that i was surprisingly thorough, to the point where he was tempted to check to see if i copied and pasted it from somewhere. He then went on to say it was one of the best papers he has read from a freshman this year.
Posted by trousercuit (Member # 3235) on :
From my graduate advisor on my first conference paper: "It usually takes someone four or five conference papers before they write this well."
Posted by Inkwell (Member # 1944) on :
"Wow."
I gather that she was either speechless in delight, or horrified beyond words. Not that it matters...'tis still my favorite.
Alternately:
"You wrote that?"
Inkwell ------------------ "The difference between a writer and someone who says they want to write is merely the width of a postage stamp." -Anonymous
Posted by Zandor6017 (Member # 3371) on :
"You crossed your X's very well. Here's a gold star."
Posted by spcpthook (Member # 3246) on :
When a woman I let take my book home from the office called me on the phone the next day and said, "I was going to email you, but if anybody else saw it they might think it was strange if I said you kept me up all night."
Posted by Novice (Member # 3379) on :
A member of my writing group, who I admire greatly, read one of my poems and said, "I wish I had written that." My toes are still "happy in my shoes." (Are there any Dr. Suess fans in the room?)
Posted by Netstorm2k (Member # 2279) on :
"Not my style, but I'd pay to read the rest." Elmore Leonard at a writing conference in California.
Posted by x__sockeh__x (Member # 3069) on :
I'd have to say... "Advanced plot, great character building." "This took me half an hour to read. It was really great!" --both from my gr. 8 LA teacher Not a compliment, but my class was wowed by the same story I submitted to the gr. 8 LA teacher above. Those are the best ones from people not close to me, 'cause theirs don't count. I don't think.
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 3384) on :
I applied to an accelerated 6 year undergrad/med school program just out of high school. The M.D. who read my admissions essay told me at my interview, "This is one of the most mature essays I've ever read." I took that as high praise, and fortunately I've become a writer instead of a doctor. Nobody's ever told me that my surgery skills were mature Posted by Netstorm2k (Member # 2279) on :
Blinking at last comment. wait, huh?
Sorry, maybe it's the percocet, but you applied to a med school analogue, were inspired to become a writer instead, and now no one compliments your surgery skills?
If you didn't go to med school, why are you performing surgery? No wonder no one compliments your incisions; you're not supposed to be doing it, ya quack!
[This message has been edited by Netstorm2k (edited April 28, 2006).]
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 3384) on :
No one compliments my prescribing skills either, but I'd recommend you cut back on the dose of your percocet, pill-popper!
Posted by Netstorm2k (Member # 2279) on :
Wait, I got laid once because of a poem.
That was a pretty good compliment.
Oh, and the perc's are prescrip's for my wnd's (that last doesn't abbreviate well).
[This message has been edited by Netstorm2k (edited April 28, 2006).]
Posted by Survivor (Member # 213) on :
I've been complimented on my surgical skills, but nobody's ever said they were "mature".
Posted by Inkwell (Member # 1944) on :
Ehhh...I've always been better at taking stuff apart than putting it back together. Guess that means no humanitarian awards for me...
Inkwell ------------------ "The difference between a writer and someone who says they want to write is merely the width of a postage stamp." -Anonymous
Posted by Po (Member # 3336) on :
My high school English teacher told me he fully expected to find my novels on the bookstore shelves one day. I hope to prove him right. Posted by Spaceman (Member # 9240) on :
Gee, I'd aim for at least a week.
Posted by GodSpoken (Member # 3385) on :
A highly critical friend I show fragments to (my fist test of chaff): You offend God when you refuse his pen. Write.
Posted by MightyCow (Member # 3384) on :
My girlfriend says I offend God when I have too much Mexican food. But she also laughs at my stories, so I keep her around.
Posted by DomiParker (Member # 3390) on :
When I finished my first novella in 7th grade one of my close friends, who happened to be a sophmore in high school at the time, called me to ask me for a copy when he saw it in a writing magazine. That was probably the greatest compliment I've ever been payed, to have someone go out of their way to look up my number to congratulate me.
Posted by Hot Chocolate (Member # 3301) on :
Ummm.... A kid in my class tried to make me bring a story to school after reading an excerpt. I guess that's a compliment. :O
Posted by pixydust (Member # 2311) on :
I had an editor tell me at a conference that I had wonderful world building skills and my writing was very "vivid" (of course, he was sleep deprived). And he didn't sign me up for a contract, but it was nice chatting.
I also love hearing my dad laugh at all the right places in my stories. Then he talks about how great it was for like an hour. It may not get me a contract but I'll always hold that close to my heart.
I rewrote or am in the process of rewriting a story that I began last year. Now I started it again and decided to post it on the same site as I always go to, not here, and posted it. I was glad for the comeback. 
