Hi everybody ! Just hoping by the forum because I knew it was time to reveal the authors. So, I guess it’s time to reply, eh ?
For those who wonder, this concert actually took place in Leningrad in August 1942. Can’t remember the exact date, but you could probably find that easily if needed. The starving musicians (a few of them had to be carried by their friends because they were too weak to walk) played Chostakovitch’s symphony nicknamed « Leningrad » (the 7th IIRC) which was brought to the city by plane through German lines and AA defences. The starvation had been terrible, leading inhabitants to eat any lifeforms, including rats and trees (that is their leaves, bark and roots…).
Hajji Giray I said:
The food allusions were quite high-falooting
Yeah, I love food. And I can imagine how I would crave for it in such circumstances.
Hajji Giray I said:
Our author #1 is a true romantic and an impressionistic author (I liked how we were only 'debriefed' on the situation at the end), though he may have been a dirty old man who wanted to write about pretty females. Congrats, sir (or madam!), and thanks for contributing!
So, what’s your conclusion about these guesses ? Romantic ? Dirty old man ? Madam ? The last one wouldn’t be a question in French, because of all the adjective according to the gender, but I like how English language allows to leave doubts about the gender of a writer (unless using third person, of course).
Nil-the-Frogg said:
I suppose I would have personally tried to spread them more through the piece
Perhaps, but OTOH, it’s placed in the mood set by the concert.
Storey said:
which for me was lyrical in nature. Relying on powerful images to build to a simple task of eating a meal was well done. My favorite of the four. A suggestion might be for the author not to identify what war was involved. That way the reader could place it wherever they felt it belonged.
Glad you liked. It’s a style I’ve used for a long time, but I have some difficulties writing like that in English. This text has been written in French actually and you got a translation, which is not my usual procedure. For instance, my AAR is directly thought and written in English (the next update will be an exception, for technical reasons). Your suggestion is interesting, but since this particular historical concert originally gave me the idea for this story, I did not want to discard it (you can see that as gratitude
).
fj44: Well, I think I’ve already answered to your comments, mostly…
The Yogi said:
I get the impression the writer is not used to writing in such a poetic fashion and maybe he tensed his bow a little too far this time.
Well, you’re right in that I’m not used to writing at all actually. « No, it’s probably not Chicago » is my first sizeable text, even though I was considered pretty good at French back to school. Not that much in English though, but more about that later… Oh, and I can imagine your grandfather’s horror !
Hajji Giray I said:
I was planning, when guessing the authors, to explicitly say this author had to be a native English-speaker! Your mastery of the literary end of the language especially is astounding, perhaps quite more than you think. I was going to guess coz1, Director, Lord Durham, or perhaps Secret Master - who is now active on the forums once more.
Now, that is VERY high praise, sir. I’ve done my best anyway. It’s always frustrating when I know I’m capable to write rather well and still stumble (and fall over) basic grammatical tricks or vocabulary… I suppose that’s normal for someone who learnt the basics in school and the language only ten years later on Internet… Oh, and I can’t write everyday street English either : no slang or colloquial expressions, which I sometimes miss, particularly for dialogs.
Rensslaer said:
Nil-the-Frogg has gone to astounding lengths to improve not just 1) his knowledge of English, but also 2) his understanding of English, which is probably far more important to the craft of writing.
Yep, this AAR has helped me a lot and is still helping me a lot (well, would be if I were writing it ATM). I’ve realized this thanks to Guess the Authors. The first submission I sent to coz1 months ago came back to me with many corrections, while he never mentioned anything about the last one (but he may have done them without notice). Forums are a great way to learn, you just need to meet the right people there.
Now, to put an end to what's getting longer than the submission it's all about: many thanks to all of you taking time to comment and congrats to my fellow authors who have submited these great pieces!