Hey Chris! Welcome back! Looking forward to seeing you pop up around the Cove again.

One of the greatest assets for any person giving a critique is understanding how to properly be constructive. I feel a lot of the time a person might simply connect to a written piece on a surface level - which is fine - but they don't dissect the work enough to truly know what is going on. In a way it is like reading to a blind person, they cannot envision what you're telling them unless you open their eyes with specifics. Excellent constructive feedback isn't just about saying "I could feel how you felt in that moment," it is also about pinpointing why that emotion was felt. It also isn't about showering a writer with niceties either, because while a kind comment can be uplifting, it doesn't elevate the writing itself. Now I'm not stating this to be a downer or vapid, I'm only talking to the point of constructive criticism - which is to aim to write better and evolve the work as a whole into something worth its merit. So like you've said @nicki it is important to be more constructive than destructive. However, the two concepts aren't entirely mutually exclusive. I think the big difference is how a person addresses the revision aspect. We want to deliver encouraging input, but we also want to point out when a particular piece of the written work isn't great. I mean, would you want someone to tell you the truth, or lie to your face? What purpose would lying serve other than to hinder the possibility of improvement? The best way to address critiques, in my opinion, is to simply state the facts with reinforced evidence taken directly from the work itself. This way we aren't imposing our ego onto the other writer's work, and we are also pointing out the flaws without question. I usually make suggestions via questioning. So like if someone were to format their poem a particular way, I'll impose the question of why they elected to format it as such. Or, if someone wrote something that didn't make logical sense, I'd ask them via a suggestion. For example, say someone wrote the sentence: Peter drove his car off the side of the road. Well, this doesn't give us much to go off from does it? So I would ask them why did Peter drive his car off the side of the road, and what purpose does this event have for either character development or plot. I find that challenging a person to think about what they've written is the best way to avoid ego battles and get the other writer to accept alternative interpretations on their own time. We can walk a horse to the water, but not force it to drink from the stream. It is all up to the writer to decide what to do with the intelligence they've been given.

I think all writers can connect with your 'diaristic' style to some degree @nicki because we all write from somewhere personal at one point or other.

Thought this song would be a good follow up to @nicki The Italian version is in the video above, but here are the lyrics translated into English: [Intro] Tell me your truths, Coraline, Coraline Tell me your truths, Coraline, Coraline Tell me your truths, Coraline, Coraline Tell me your truths, Coraline, Coraline [Verse 1] Coraline, as beautiful as the sun Warrior with a zealous heart Hair like red roses Those precious copper strings, my love, bring them to me If you hear bells singing You'll see Coraline crying Taking in other people's pain And then carry it within her [Bridge] Coraline, Coraline, tell me your truths Coraline, Coraline, tell me your truths Coraline, Coraline, tell me your truths Coraline, Coraline [Verse 2] But she knows the truth Not everyone can carry on With their heart split in two halves It's cold already She's just a kid, but she feels something weighing on her And sooner or later she'll break And people will say "she's worth nothing She can't even walk out of a miserable door" But one day, someday, she'll make it And I told Coraline she's allowed to grow up Collect her things and leave But she feels a monster is keeping her in a cage Covers her path with landmines And I told Coraline she's allowed to grow up Collect her things and leave But Coraline doesn't want to eat, no Yes, Coraline would rather disappear [Chorus] And Coraline cries Coraline has anxiety Coraline is longing for the sea, but is afraid of the water And maybe the sea is inside her Every word is an axe A stab in the back Like a raft sailing a swollen river And maybe the river is inside her, her [Verse 3] I'll be the fire and the cold A winter shelter I'll be what you breathe I'll understand what you hold inside And I'll be the water you drink The meaning of good I'll even be a soldier Or a light in the evening I ask for nothing in return Just a smile Every little tear of yours is an ocean on my face And I ask for nothing in return Just a little time I'll be a battle banner, a shield Or your silver sword, and [Chorus] And Coraline cries Coraline has anxiety Coraline is longing for the sea, but is afraid of the water And maybe the sea is inside her Every word is an axe A stab in the back Like a raft sailing a swollen river And maybe the river is inside her, her [Outro] And tell me your truths, Coraline, Coraline Tell me your truths, Coraline, Coraline Tell me your truths, Coraline, Coraline Tell me your truths, Coraline, Coraline Coraline, as beautiful as the sun She lost the fruit of her womb She never knew love She has a father who's nothing like a father They told her there's a castle in town With such strong walls That if you move in Nothing will ever hurt you again Nothing will ever hurt you again

@nicki A truly grand lament! Reminded me of Maneskin's newest single The Lonliest. Similar in essence that is. The band is rather good in their own right across the board. P.S. I almost thought the line "But it came through their teeth with great ease" read as but it came through their teeth with grease.

The introduction is definitely musically inclined toward being artistically expressive. I'm getting notes of The Who in here as well around ~1:26. And I'm also hearing some notes that would be great for a Phil Collins song too. Meat Loaf was quite a performer that certainly led the orchestral rock genre by storm.

That's funny that you mention your first time was romantic because that is exactly when I wrote my first poem - at least intentionally. It was for my high school sweetheart (very complicated story) but I wrote it and called her one night to read it over the phone. This was before we even started dating though. I was such a dweeb back then and super shy, but I ended up asking her out after reading the poem. Probably one of the longest phone calls I've ever had - roughly 4 hours straight. This was back during the dial-up days of the internet, so we didn't have much to distract us save for MySpace lol. I can't recollect the poem entirely, but it was certainly the first. I didn't write poetry again until my breakup - funny how that happens, so Swifty. 🤣 I wrote up my first self-published book nerdishly titled Pair A Dice & Dream Lands based off from my love for fantasy, Shakespearean romance, and what not. I created it knowing absolutely nothing about publishing, ran it through only my closest of friends at the time, and published under my self-imposed publishing company name The BALL Independent Publishing. This was back in like 2012 and apparently you can still find it on Amazon. 🤣 I thought that it would have been removed by now because I put it up when Amazon was still using the CreateSpace service, long before KDP. I also published it under my real name and not my publishing name I use now. I wouldn't recommend purchasing it though because I've recently edited and used most, if not all, the poems from it to publish a new chapbook in the future. But that is basically my humble beginnings.

Keep The Wolves Away By Uncle Lucius [Verse 1] Took my first breath, where the muddy Brazos Spills into the Gulf of Mexico Where the skyline’s colored by chemical plants T’put bread on the table of the working man Where the working man does his best to provide Safety and shelter for kids and a wife Given little of his soul every day Making over time to keep the wolves away [Verse 2] Well I was barely thirteen when the company man Tried to dig my dad his grave It happened on a French owned tanker ship Spillin' poison in the Galveston Bay Where the liquid fire filled his lungs and his eyes Silenced any mortal cries Cold and the grip of death stinging pain He fought like hell to keep the wolves away [Verse 3] For the next few years dad was sick as a dog But he made a recovery just to spite the odds The settlement came and we moved out of town Where the sky isn’t heavy with refinery clouds Yeah he’s still alive he’s doing good he’s in his fifties But the moneys running out, 'n he’s pinching for pennies So goin’ for broke with every song I’ve made 'Cause now it’s my turn to keep the wolves away

This is enlightening stuff, Shen! The fact that you've mentioned "art is art" no matter what form or medium it takes speaks greatly to the aptitude you have for the genre. I do think that writers (of all kinds) have an inclination to pigeon-hole themselves from time to time. I'm sure there are many reasons for this to be, but I think the predominant source may be mainstream media. Magazines, news, television shows, etc., have always been a benchmark source of what is "cool" and what isn't. It truly speaks to the naivety of individuals as a whole. Not pointing out anyone specific, but in general. Just like I'm sure there are individuals that can read through the clout and obnoxious entertainment ploys to obtain a profitable audience. That being said, I don't believe writers intentionally pigeon-hole themselves, not to say there isn't some who do, or that you are saying that either, but again, a generalized assumption wouldn't be too far off I think. What I mean by this is that writers are influenced by many different things - mostly their environment - and I think lifestyle choices a little bit too. It is that bit of egotism in the form of jealousy that often takes over - because everyone, some way or another, wants what they don't have. It is that dynamic of impulsivity vs. self-control that makes or breaks in this situation. Whether it be an impulse to buy that Fitbit watch because everyone is wearing it, and it will somehow miraculously make you appear like a fit person. Or in a writer's shoes, propping yourself up as some pseudointellectual because you're trying to compensate for your lack of skill - often taking the form of imposter syndrome. No matter the situation, people create their own self-fulfilling prophecies. Some just have better results than others. Also I think people write about what they know. So if all they know is naivety, then that is what they will likely write about. I mean look at how vast of an audience there is for self-help in poetry nowadays. That is because there are so many writers who have experienced grief in one shape or other, and because that is what they feel strongly about, that is what they write about. However, this brings us back to the impulsivity control. Do they need to write about self-help, self-care, grief, and every negative thing in between? No. Not really. They could literally write about anything else, but they choose not to. Why? Because this theme is what mainstream media is promoting. It is what is in. So the sheep flock to it, while us black sheep do everything we can to avoid the herd.

Exactly! I mean don't get me wrong, I get a big ole smile on my face when I receive platitudes from other people, but I always wonder why a person enjoyed reading one of my poems. That is the kind of response that makes a huge difference for us writers because then we know what is working and what isn't. Which makes it even more easier to choose which material, that suits our writing style, to write about more often. Initially I had this thought come up in my coursework at university. I'm in a Masters level program, and sometimes the critiques I've received during the weeks we have peer evaluations were like reading Instagram responses - all compliments and no constructivity. It left me scratching my head and as time progressed into later weeks I began to get quite annoyed. One of two questions buzzed around in my head: 1. Are my peers being authentic and there is truly nothing worth critiquing? 2. Or, do they lack the ability to give constructive criticism? Answering yes to either one of these questions would completely leave me dumbfounded. Cause nobody's work is perfect. Which made me lose faith in my peers as experts in the field. I mean I'd expect the lack of skill in undergraduate work (because that is where a person first develops these kinds of attributes), but at a Masters level it's deeply disconcerting. I mean these folks are going to be the future generation of poets, the pioneers. C'mon man. Anyways, I think @Shen made a good point that this kind of thing is entirely situational. However, I must admit, when feedback is asked for - just like in my class work - you'd expect something well... more, to put it nicely. This also reminds me of a quote, and I can't remember from who at the moment, but it goes something like: "Never trust writers to review another writers work." The reasoning being that writers tend to be egotistic and challenging for the sole purpose of competition. Writers don't make very good readers to say the least. At least not in the context of giving critical reviews and what not. I mean the perfect example of this is all the YouTube poetry collection review videos. Almost all of them are negative - sometimes for good reason - and they are just as sensational as mainstream media these days. However, I think the caveat here is whether or not the other writer you entrust your work to is faithful enough to the craft and understands your style of writing; like a close writer friend. In which case, I think the quote I mentioned isn't nearly as important.

A Tale of the Sea was quite a bloody tale indeed! What interests me further is how similar this man is to the balladry of old, but yet he blends his storytelling with a mixed bag of romantic and realist thought. Quite an intriguing find @Marc Brimble

Exactly like Marc said. There is a lot of robots being employed on social media these days. I'm quite fond of the idea that I've been growing detached from 1s and 0s for a while. But yes Shen, I've had that happen too many times to count. It gets frustrating. I don't ever delete them though, just block certain phrases so they don't appear anymore. This way I still have the reactions in my analytics.

I think everyone has come across those Insta ones before at one point. If not, then they should consider themselves lucky. 😅 I mean when you see "DM [insert profile name here] to be sponsored/listed/etc" it is a tad bit obvious that the comment is spam. Luckily with Insta there is a setting where you can block comments like that from showing up in the comment feed (effectively making it so those comments don't exist) by typing key words in the "Blocked Words" setting. I don't think that is possible on YouTube, but who needs that setting when you can just straight up give them the banhammer.

Yeah I see what you mean, given that everyone handles that type of comment differently. I personally brush past them because I prefer more engagement, but I'll occasionally tap the heart button on those comments just to show that I read it. I at least acknowledge the comment - that much I think is deserved.

I couldn't agree any more strongly with what you've said, Marc. Sometimes it is better to leave things left unsaid than to force a comment that doesn't feel or sound right. Also, I know that everyone else has mentioned something about the commenting in the form of feedback/critique, and yes I agree that if it is asked for than the author should expect a mixed bag of responses. However, I do still believe that candor and respect are vital in these moments as well.

I'm definitely okay with conversational comments. In fact, those are the ones I enjoy the most, provided the commenter doesn't use leading introduction to begin an argument. I've had that happen before too. I just don't enjoy being part of or around drama because my mood is very sensitive to negative energy. But like you, I enjoy when someone can start up an interesting introduction that isn't shouting spam. That is always a welcoming comment to receive on YouTube, or just in general. On the flip side, I've tried engaging with someone before when they leave a bland comment (I love this! or This is cool!) by asking them what exactly about the content they loved or thought was cool. Most of the time they don't respond back at all (ghosting), or they just respond back with "idk, I just thought it was cool." It is really annoying. I relied heavily on well-engaged conversational comments on IG when I first started out because I would check out their profile and possibly even give them a follow, but now that IG is swarming with overpopulation problems, gatekeepers, and the algorithms that control viewership is botched, I haven't really put a second glance into going back as of late. Plus nobody seems to want to engage anymore, they just want views, followers, etc. Hence the comments being lame. It is a complex issue for sure. Also I can definitely see why being overly friendly could come off as disingenuous because the first thought that would run through my mind is: Is this person an excited fan, or do they want something (meaning it is just a lead to ask for something). Also I'd be okay promoting someone's work, but only if they were a person who engaged with my content frequently. But simply leaving a comment out of the blue asking to be promoted, nah, I'll pass.

Apparently this was an actual riddle and I was being too literal. 😅

On a technical level, this sentence is grammatically correct, but the "and" following the comma isn't technically necessary because the comma implies the separation of items without the need for a conjunction. It is quite a conundrum. 😅

Then of course there is the misinformation that circulates because someone began a chain of passing along the wrong idea/s. I've fallen victim to this sort of thing before where I've written a passage that explains my thoughts at face value, and the commenter responds with a connotation that doesn't even align with what I said. For example: Me: I like chocolate ice cream better than vanilla because it has more flavor to me. Other Person: So you don't like vanilla ice cream? What kind of monster are you?! As you can see, I never said I didn't like vanilla ice cream. I just said that I liked chocolate ice cream more. So this is what I mean. People misinterpret and mislead by assumption or because they cannot read into the context of what is being said. Even though I made the statement very clear. It feels like I have to talk to them as if they were a child, which would makes sense if they were a child of an appropriate age for this kind of behavior and intelligence, but this was a grown ass adult.

Also, let's be honest, how many times have you come across a hate comment or a bland one (I like this! *heart emoji*) and literally brushed it aside without a care? I think the fast-paced environment that is social media and the online world has created a vortex of insensitivity and carelessness that certainly doesn't provide any kind of return on investment or value. It is really sad to be honest. That isn't to say that everyone does this, but it seems to be quite a predominant phenomenon.