tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post1527175063438904534..comments2023-10-11T14:18:03.816+01:00Comments on Works Well: The Corsair? It's unequivocalRoderick Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16828395545197001637noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-65754620066580036272011-08-09T11:51:56.523+01:002011-08-09T11:51:56.523+01:00Plutarch: Quite true. By now I am revising and the...Plutarch: Quite true. By now I am revising and the pleasure in rendering something more concise, vivid and (best of all) unexpected outweighs that of getting it on to the screen in the first place.<br /><br />Avus: I fear there was far too much boozing and this increased when I left newspapers, went down to London and started getting drunk during the day (at press conferences) on much more expensive stuff than mere beer. I could speculate that it shortened my life but that's probably presumptuous at 75. No I didn't ape Pepys. As I mention, my shorthand was badly written and from sheer self-protection needed to be transcribed within twenty-four hours.Roderick Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16828395545197001637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-83764778599574084882011-08-07T20:07:13.912+01:002011-08-07T20:07:13.912+01:00Enjoyed the work story, BB (or should we call you ...Enjoyed the work story, BB (or should we call you "Lunchtime O' Booze"? Sounds like you really came up through the mill and imbibed it all the "proper" way.<br />Did you ever keep a shorthand diary like Sam Pepys? Would it be good reading for future generations?Avushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16512540148378201058noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-73780828649706941482011-08-06T16:21:28.222+01:002011-08-06T16:21:28.222+01:00It's never too late. As a late learner myself ...It's never too late. As a late learner myself I say there is a reward with every rung of the ladder.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06972049290586377462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-31292166467861462622011-08-04T07:00:28.233+01:002011-08-04T07:00:28.233+01:00RW )zS): I wouldn't worry too much on your own...RW )zS): I wouldn't worry too much on your own behalf; your comment is a well-told mini-article in its own right. Short sentences the key. I've re-read all three pieces and they suffer dreadfully from over-compression - the need to meet 300-word limit; but to have exceeded that limit here would have been sheer hypocrisy. I accidentally omitted the sense of cameraderie; you want to write and you're surrounded by others of the same bent. Ahhh...<br /><br />The Crow: Don't worry about crooked path - there are no definitive rules. If you're doing what you should you will always be your own most useful critic. A subsidiary pleasure is in the revision: recognising errors and rectifying them. Knowing you're now superior to that initial instinct of ten minutes ago.<br /><br />RR: You can't write like me any more than I can write like you: that meaty controlled style embedded with an adapted folksiness, and the gee-shucks throwaways. And me knowing all the time that this is a persona assumed for writing, and that behind it is a sardonic RR pulling a dozen strings. Keep writing dude.Roderick Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16828395545197001637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-7275568157355011772011-08-03T13:45:53.734+01:002011-08-03T13:45:53.734+01:00Nice photo: Ira Kepford's markings from VF-17....Nice photo: Ira Kepford's markings from VF-17. Leading American ace for a while. VF-17 took the Corsair and proved the beast could take off and land from a carrier.Tom Blackburn, CO, made 'em a crack outfit under conditions which would make us moderns useless.<br /><br />Excellent post, wish I could write like that.Relucent Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12414827898661535555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-86214263041783282452011-08-03T12:09:28.590+01:002011-08-03T12:09:28.590+01:00I've greatly enjoyed these last three posts, B...I've greatly enjoyed these last three posts, BB, for the revelations about the man and the insights into the writing life.<br /><br />My path as a writer has been a crooked one and I have a great distance to go yet before I can be proud of what I do, but I like the open-endedness of the process, and will continue to work at improvement. <br /><br />For what it's worth, I like how you write.The Crowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04846997590157958766noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-91215417934967186772011-08-03T11:48:08.875+01:002011-08-03T11:48:08.875+01:00Just finished reading this one, and I realized tha...Just finished reading this one, and I realized that I didn't really know what the word "hack" means. So I looked it up in my trusty wordbook. Oh my! How does one overcome being a hack? Optimism, love of words, insight into the mechanics and style, and planning! Then in your last paragraph, I misread "facetiousness" as "fastidiousness" and went to read the post again. It may be too early in the morning here, my coffee sits beside me, but I think you're right that it's an open-ended proposition. Sort of like brewing really. Always more to learn and tinker with. It is enjoyable, and that's the important thing.Rouchswalwehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01393987883437907945noreply@blogger.com