Comments on Ken Armstrong Writing Stuff: Ted (A Short Story)

Glad to help. I had self editing drilled into me, ...

2009-10-05T23:32:23.095+01:00

Glad to help. I had self editing drilled into me, by people who had worked as news reporters, when I was in college. I don't get everything right, for sure. But I think some of it stuck with me.

Your voice is as wonderful as I had imagined, as i...

2009-10-05T07:02:02.273+01:00

Your voice is as wonderful as I
had imagined, as is your story on visibility. A sad story, I felt with a particular poignancy. I thought throughout the story of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment.

I was waiting for the part where i would laugh, bu...

2009-10-04T20:02:01.810+01:00

I was waiting for the part where i would laugh, but it did not come. Instead, I felt sad. It just means one thing, that you could effectively write in any tone - not only humorous ones - but also stories like this one.

Jim: Well repeated mate. Yeah, I just like the i...

2009-10-04T19:24:39.688+01:00

Jim: Well repeated mate. Yeah, I just like the idea of having all the fiction I'm willing to throw online all in one place. Call me... I dunno.

I like that you find it sad, I think it's sad too. Nothing wrong with a bit o'sad...

Susan: Thanks. I like your expression 'the p...

2009-10-04T11:12:16.455+01:00

Susan: Thanks. I like your expression 'the poignancy of unloved toys'. S'good, that. No toys were burned in the making of this fiction. :)

Laura: Invaluable as always. I tweaked a bit on your advice.

Elisabeth: How kind! I have a funny nasal voice actually. You can hear me read one of my own stories 'The Visibility' If you fancy it. :)

Since you're repeating yourself I think it'...

2009-10-04T11:01:58.853+01:00

Since you're repeating yourself I think it's only fair that I get to repeat my comment too:

"I loved the Vitamin C bit but other than that this was just so sad, tragic even. I only read it three times though. Does that make me a bad person?"

I only read it the once this time and I has half way through before it dawned on me that I'd read it before, once you got to the hanging bit.

I love the sharp spareness of your prose. I'...

2009-10-04T04:51:17.961+01:00

I love the sharp spareness of your prose.

I'd love to hear you read your stories. An assumption perhaps, but I can almost imagine an Irish lilt to your voice, which to my Australian ears would be heavenly.

You've got a typo where you have man instead o...

2009-10-04T04:05:26.912+01:00

You've got a typo where you have man instead of something else. Also, read it over cause it sounds like Roger was lit on fire instead of the bear. Until you read further Roger is the one who gets lighter fluid on his face and cries kerosene tears.

I liked the story, the ideas. The ending is a bit flat for me.

You captured that weird poignancy of unloved toys ...

2009-10-03T21:58:32.698+01:00

You captured that weird poignancy of unloved toys beautifully, but Andrew really makes it quite a story.

Oh gah, I'm probably going to dream about Ted now!!

And I'm just curious--did any research go into how inflatable toys burn?
:-/