That too...that was you, right?

I don't think so. I mean, I could have come up with the name Lance Steelcock somewhere, but I have no recollection of it and don't want to take credit for anyone else's phallus.

Allyson, there's a quote by you in the BRQG about how you refer to all romance novel heroes as Lance Steelcock.

Hi, my name is Helen. I am fairly new to Buffistas and I find myself nervously de-lurking to ask a (vaguely) writing related question (I apologise if my doing so is in any way an imposition)

A close friend of mine recently asked me to read a piece of her writing (written for a second year philosophy class). She had already handed it in and was nervous about it so my assumpion is that she gave it to me seeking some sort of ego pat.

My problem is this: the essay/ story is, to put it bluntly, quite bad. It's awkwardly written and I really dont think it will be well recieved by the prof. (it is creative and incredibly amusing but I doubt these attributes will do much to redeem it in an academic setting).

If anyone has any suggestions as to how I can be a good friend and reassure her without also being a bad friend and shortchanging her (in the sense of giving a useless and/ or dishonest opinion) I will be forever grateful (and, again, please just ignore this if I am imposing).

(I will be off-line for the next couple of hours -- commuting home from work -- so I wont be able to read/ respond to any advice until later tonight)

Helen, I'd start off by praising what you like--the creativity, the funny--and praising it highly. Then I'd pick one or two areas for improvement, preferably ones that are concrete and easy to explain, and say something along the lines of, "If you want to make your writing stronger for future works..." and give specific ideas of how to fix the problems.

Helena Handbasket

Oh, yay! Love the name. (We used to joke, "I been looking all over hell 'n' creation!" "And I bet Helen smacked you, didn't she?")

What to do about a bad essay? It being completed, suggesting edits is out the window. It's still possible to say, "I wonder if your prof will take it in the way you intend it," and other long-view advice, though.

Also, you've already said something nice about it:

it is creative and incredibly amusing

Tell her that, first.

There's always, "My, what an essay!"

Allyson, there's a quote by you in the BRQG about how you refer to all romance novel heroes as Lance Steelcock.

Huh.

Anyone who can come up with Lance Steelcock deserves cookies.

Helena, I edit a fair bit and I've ended up with a few of those moments (mercifully few). They're never fun. I'm nodding along with Nutty and Susan, but if this was me, I'd probably add something along the lines of "truthfully, I'm not sure the way you've executed the premise is going to get you the result you're hoping for".

Thanks so much for all of the advice. I'm feeling more like I can talk to my friend (whom I have been carefully avoiding) again and, more importantly, like I can actually help her to improve her writing without offending or causing needless angst.

"I been looking all over hell 'n' creation!" "And I bet Helen smacked you, didn't she?"

heh I've never heard that one but I'm always in favour of Helen puns (there are so many -- I once met a Helen who insisted on being called "Helen Wheels").