There is a guy in my writing class who is correcting everyone and being a snob about it as though he's surrounded by idiots; his actual words. Can anyone please find something, anything, wrong with these so we can put him in his place. Though, he is good, so there prob isn't anything wrong, just hoping. but here they are: 1. maconalum: since we are giving advice, you need a comma after "broaden", you probably didn't mean "dictation", delete the "a" before "more", insert a period after "stories", "proofread" is one word, and "writer's" should have an apostrophe. 2. Not condoning sucker punching anyone with a brick, but why would an adult, after hearing that a teen-aged boy had made a comment about him, walk out in the yard to confront him?
Those seem to be corrections on someone's writing not writing of his own. So, he may be good at writing, however posting corrections isn't usually a good way to figure out how well someone writes. Else more, just because he thinks he's a great writer (which very few are) doesn't mean you aren't a great writer. If he has good points and corrections, take them to heart- just not how he says them.
Are you seriously trying to pick apart someone's critique to make a jab at them? That is probably the most childish thing I have ever heard. If you are reviewing something of his that is actual writing, then critique him. But don't try to criticize the critiquer's critique. Every class has a know it all. Take his advice with a grain of salt. If it applies to your work and is something you can improve upon, be grateful for the critique. If it is done with malicious intent, a person bent on giving harsh criticism without giving any way to improve upon the piece, then they aren't very good communicators and you probably should ignore their criticism. Honestly, the first part I have no idea what it references, so I can't tell if it is harsh or not, but most of those things sound like common mistakes made in writing. The second part, is a valid question to me. If a piece has an adult coming out to confront a teenager, and someone smashes someone with a brick...well... it might be something in the context of the story that just doesn't work for the characters or the readers.
Use him. He obviously knows his stuff, at least in terms of mechanics. There's no reason to make it personal, even if he does insult you. Let the insults slide off of you, and pay attention to the critique itself. As irritating as he might be, feeding his ego could help you a lot. And I have to agree with bluebell. . . to give a critique with 'revenge' in mind is to lose sight of what the whole process is about. You are more guilty of being an ass than he is, I'm afraid. At least his comments appear to be helpful. When we stoop to our tormentor's level, we tend to sink even lower.
here's one for you... if this is in the us, and not the uk, or commonwealth, the idiot doesn't know how to use commas, 'cause they always go inside the " " and never outside... nothing really wrong with the next part, though 'walk out in the yard' would read better and make better sense as, 'walk out into the yard'... that said, trying to get back at him for his arrogance and unfeeling critique style won't do you any good, as noted above... love and consoling hugs, maia
The second sentence should start with I'm, at least I think so. If it had started with I'm not . . . I wouldn't have had to read the first part twice.
I agree with the poster that said it's childish to try to pick apart his work for revenge. When you say, "his actual words," do you mean that he said that he's surrounded by idiots? If this is the case, you might want to suggest to him that ad hominem is a logical fallacy. Ad hominem is personal attack, including name calling, as in the word "idiot." A logical fallacy is an invalid argument used against a person in lieu of real arguments. Then again, if you're the crass type, you could just tell him to go blank himself. Charlie
I knew a girl like this. We were in a writing group together, and she always shredded my manuscripts. The best thing you can do is shrug it off. Even if your class snob does know it all, so what? You know that you're talented, even if you do make mistakes. In any case, if you ever want to be published someday, you're going to hear both legit crits and garbage. Learn what you can and let the rest roll off your back. Your writing depends on you being able to disregard petty jabs.
