All Comments on 'A Good Year'

Many years ago I got a fellowship with a very clever professor. His wife, herself a distinguished academic worked with us in the same department.

On his 71th birthday she gave him a pen with an internal light.

She explained that he often awakes in the middle of the night or the wee hours with a great idea and often forgets what it was in the morning.

Like this he can jot down an outline of the idea and flesh it out later.

After some days the professor told us how great his wife's idea worked out.

I loved your story. It's easily worth 5 stars. Thank you for sharing another great story... and the lesson in winemaking.

...for the detailed description of the wine-making process; it made the story far more compelling. As an oenophile I loved it.

More of a discourse on wine-making, but still, well appreciated by this wine lover.

May I suggest to *italize* your mid-story "asides" and comments to the readers...

Always a fan,

LeFrog (NOT le frogshit!!!)

A very good story spoilt by the editorialising all the way through.

agree with anon. you broke the flow with your interjections. Not a bad story though not terribly exciting. Thanks for taking the time to entertain us.

If you're going to break the story with your ruminations, then do so in italics.

The story was too long, and to involved with the winemaking process. Although, as somebody who enjoys drinking wine, I did like the "background" Still and all: to involved.

Cromagnon, I have to disagree with the commentators who(Politely! Who knew it was possible on this site?) who critiqued your story because of your interjections.

I tried using italics for a similar effect in one of my stories and got thoroughly reamed out with complaints ..... Hori da bizitza!

As the Author, this is your story. If you wish to experiment and explore different ways of telling your story. Així, més poder per a vostè!

Estou ansioso para os seus lanzamentos futuros. - fanfare -

Of movies or TV shows in which the star pauses, looks into the camera and speaks parenthetically to the audience. Works okay in light comedy. George Burns and Gracie Allen had a TV show way way back in the fifties in which George did this to wonderful effect. Alas, not so much in a short story. I did learn some wine stuff.

I agree with the previous comments about using italics for comments. But disagree with the rest of the negatives. The story was a good length. I appreciated the wine making discussions; found them very interesting. And a good ending is my favorite. The ongoing affair ending would have been very disappointing.

There are some interesting pieces of literature where the author writes about want he wants to write without doing it directly. It is like doing a more difficult dance.

The ending with him and Chantelle together is unacceptable not because it is impossible but because I do not believe that his mother would support a lie on his part!

I didn't mind the asides but, personally, I would have liked to see them somehow separated from the story. Italics, asterisks, parentheses, something.

I love tales like this that teach me something I didn't know, in this case, a small part of the process of winemaking. This is a perfect example, for all those other authors out there, why it's important to research your tale.

Great story! As a wine buff, I loved your discussions of the wine making process. It is not a bad thing to add substance to a story. To the contrary, it gives the story a sound foundation. So I completely disagree with readers who critized that fact. All too often there is a(n almost) complete lack of background in the stories posted here.

Sorry but to many asides, and those asides should have been made with a mark or something to say this is the author cluing you in. Guess not. And saying guess there should be something like a violent reaction... Seriously? Stick to your writers block, it was helping you from completing this waste of space!

Just when I was starting to wonder if there were any more writers left worth reading on this site, along comes Cromagnonman again to brighten my day, Thanks for another fine offering and I raise my glass to you - 'Cheers'.

I was getting to think of myself as the only writer in the world who has the very sort of problems you have described so perfectly. The terror of the blank white screen of the monitor, starting a story off and forgetting where it was supposed to be headed, and getting into the middle and trying to come up with a problem or conflict to keep the readers interested -- it's as if you were looking over my shoulder.

So while it's absolutely true that this is a wonderful story -- well conceived, well spun, and very well written -- I value it even more because you have shown me that I'm not alone as I wander aimlessly around the block. Writer's block, that is.

Five stars and a favorite story. Or even, as a tribute to you, make that favourite!

...use block quote Literotica says they support it and I am going to test their answer in one of my next submissions.

<blockquote></blockquote> - Used to indent 5 spaces from both ends.

With a good ending - But the device for drama used was way too minimalist and trite almost. It came as almost an off handed scene - "Oh yeah there is trouble here - she finds it bails - travels half way around the world - everyone else knows the whole truth - he is there - happy ending -"

You write better than that - but the story was really a wine story with a little sex shit thrown in LOL -

And that was a good story -

For me, coming from one of the European countries that produce great wines, I found a great story.

I think the author's comments interspersed in history, not detract merit and serve to clarify concepts and improve understanding of written history.

I was amused with the commentary of the Paris taxi driver, not knowing about the existence of brakes on the vehicle. When I was there with my mom and my little sister, I had to take a taxi to take us to our hotel, I swear that the taxi driver circulated at 80 Km in the middle of a big traffic jam in the Place de L'etoile, I think I never spent so much Scary in a taxi!

5 * for you.

I apologize for my English (yet and forever), isn't my native language.