Ethel Said:

Please comment upon my short story.?

We Answered:

I like all of it alot. It has very good and constant tone throughout.

However, the last sentence doesn't really seem to fit the rest of the tone. Maybe something more like: I held the rose close to my heart, its faint, but sweet smell, wafting up my nose. The very scene of when this was given flickered like an old movie in my head; my mother, young, sweet and smiling, my father, bashful but brave, chasing after her. Looking at the vibrant colors of the flower, I finally understood why this was in a box of treasures.

or something like that, perhaps. I admire your take on the prompt. Most people would automatically start riding some childish tale about children searching for buried treasure on their backyard. I liked how you gave th child emotions, because people often forget that children can be deep as well.

Congratulations on a great piece of work, and good luck with any future writing peices!

Larry Said:

do you think this is fair?

We Answered:

No dear..I don't think its fair at all...instead I think its really very stupid and bad!!
Couldn't you write about something else??And whoa!!..I must say you have terrific imagination!!

Sorry,if I was rude!!

Kristina Said:

Does reading improve your writing skills?

We Answered:

I don't know the grade you are in , but the problem i see here is to get a tutor who is capable of teaching you the fundamentals of writing. It would seem that your school system is not including writing in its curriculum, a vital requirement for writing essays in your academic success. I also see that many others are having the same problem. A good writing program starts in kindergarten and develops through the years, so by the time you reach high school you are capable of identifying the types of writing when you read . Yes, reading does improve writing skills and vice versa.
A writer usually has one of four purposes for writing: 1.to explain (an expository),2. to tell a story,( a narrative)3.to persuade or convince the reader to change his mind for example writing a commercial or 4. to entertain, as in comedy (telling jokes}
A good way to identify an expository piece of writing is someone trying to explain something to you. all nonfiction writing could be classified as expository.The narrative is basically story telling. all fictional writing can be classified as narratives. You could also have an historical narrative that includes part fact part fiction. for example a story about Abraham Lincoln. he was an historical figure but the story about him used to describe why he was called 'honest Abe' might be made up, or fictional.
When given an expository prompt you must be able to explain giving facts, incidences, reasons,examples and statistics.
An example of an expository prompt would be 'Recently Sarah Palin ran for president of the USA.Do you think she would make a good president? Explain why you agree or disagree.
Of course this same subject could also be written as a persuasive prompt. For example, Sarah Palin would make a good president, Convince the reader that you agree or disagree. Here you would convince the reader using a strong argument for which side you chose.
Now a narrative prompt would be asking you to tell a story for example.Recently you visited Washington DC. Tell the reader about your experience. In this writing you would be expected to engage the reader in your experience so much so that he would want to visit Washington DC, if he has not done so already. Similes, metaphors and hyperboles would be rated highly here.
Good writing is a craft and you must have the skills which can be learned through proper teaching and guidance. It just doesn't happen by chance.
Good luck!

Lance Said:

Good, stimulating questions?

We Answered:

I'm not understanding what your criteria really is.

---OK OK gotcha.

Really I think that you have to pick the categories that stimulate you and just keeping bouncing back and forth until a good question pops up. I prefer psychology, philosophy, toddlers, PC's and Books and Authors. Because I know that I can give good answers to many questions asked there.
Sometimes I even go to the local area sections to answer questions about my hometown... and then when I have to look something for someone I feel a little more enlightened about where I came from.

As far as giving you links to questions that are stimulating... I'm sorry there are so many... usually just by reading the question I really don't feel stimulated until I actually start answering it. So I wouldn't be much help there.

:) Peace.