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Old 10-14-2013, 04:04 AM   #8
Certain
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Hi, oats. I didn't think this was your best piece. Writing a letter to your past self is a pretty standard trope, and the self-resentment kind of overpowered the content. I liked the granular memories, but they seemed to be without too much purpose in terms of a driving theme. I guess that's what I would say about this verse: If you had the chance to talk to your past self, this is what you'd tell him? God, there's so many things I'd want to go back in time to tell myself, and they would be so much more constructive than holding on to the memories.

With that said, your writing obviously is good because you're a good writer. Writers at your level don't tend to slip, so the judgments on a verse tend to be based on what was different about this one compared to others. Here, you seemed to play it a bit safe with your lyricism and word choice, not really doing much aside from letting the content speak for itself. That can be the best approach when the content merits it. I'm not sure that was the case here.

The second stanza probably was where I had the biggest issue with the negativity of the content. You just seemed to be attacking yourself. I understand the frustration with actions of the past, for sure, and it was somewhat relatable. But it also made me kind of hate the narrator.

You're one of the two or three best writers on this site, which is why I'm harsh.

Also, I prefered the Them version of "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue."

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Last edited by Certain; 10-14-2013 at 04:06 AM.
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