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Viewing 15 posts – 1 through 15 (of 39 total)
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  • in reply to: I need a favor: tell me what you really think #3937
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    Participant

      That is where I land too.

      Ten readers are going to disagree about which joke goes too far, which story runs long, and which ending should have stopped sooner. That disagreement is useful data, but it is not a command to average the book into something nobody dislikes

      The voice is the thing I would protect first

      in reply to: I need a favor: tell me what you really think #3928
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      Participant

        Yes. I would not purge them mechanically.

        Just look at clusters. Three stories in a row using the same verbal hinge will feel more repetitive than the same phrase appearing ten times across the whole book

        in reply to: I need a favor: tell me what you really think #3919
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        Participant

          Yes. It proves you do not always need the second turn.

          Sometimes the image is enough, and the collection is stronger for having a few places where you resist the urge to squeeze one more mechanism out of it

          in reply to: My First Cousin: was Borya actually lucky? #3977
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          Participant

            I like that refusal.

            A modern workshop would probably demand a cleaner motivation and make the story worse.

            in reply to: I need a favor: tell me what you really think #3910
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            Participant

              “Warmth Level” felt very current, obviously, but I don’t think that hurts it.

              What worked for me was the tiredness underneath the tech joke. That part will survive whatever apps exist five years from now.

              I would maybe shorten one of the lists. You are very good at lists and therefore occasionally too generous with them

              in reply to: How should we guard the gate? #3869
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              Participant

                I’d volunteer occasionally, but not every week. Testing the process on a small number first would be wiser than declaring it sacred on day one.

                in reply to: My First Cousin: was Borya actually lucky? #3973
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                Participant

                  Compressed.

                  Each sentence sounds like a report filed by someone who has stopped being surprised by the contents of the report

                  in reply to: How should we guard the gate? #3867
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                  Participant

                    Yes, especially that point. A decline should not necessarily be permanent.

                    in reply to: How should we guard the gate? #3864
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                    Participant

                      That seems sensible. rotation matters. Otherwise the committee becomes a tiny monarchy with a spreadsheet. Member referrals are useful context, but requiring them would close the door to genuinely new people.

                      in reply to: My First Cousin: was Borya actually lucky? #3969
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                      Participant

                        Yes. Borya is so good at being exemplary that even the collapses start to look like additions to the résumé

                        in reply to: How should we guard the gate? #3861
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                        Participant

                          Do not turn eccentricity into a negative. That would destroy half the membership. Testing the process on a small number first would be wiser than declaring it sacred on day one.

                          in reply to: How should we guard the gate? #3858
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                          Participant

                            Could we have a trial membership instead of a hard yes/no? Rotating volunteers seems healthier than one permanent person deciding who belongs.

                            in reply to: Crazy Glue: romantic or horrifying? #3964
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                            Participant

                              That may be the cleanest description of the ending in this thread.

                              in reply to: How should we guard the gate? #3844
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                              Participant

                                Yes, I think this would help. whatever we do should have an appeal or second look. Member referrals are useful context, but requiring them would close the door to genuinely new people.

                                in reply to: Crazy Glue: romantic or horrifying? #3958
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                                Participant

                                  That confidence is what makes the ending work for me. For once he has no useful explanation and no superior position.

                                Viewing 15 posts – 1 through 15 (of 39 total)