Response to Shelby Rice's "A Flicker in the Night"

“A Flicker in the Night” is a simple short story about the narrators mother and how she would put her daughter to bed. Some of the things I enjoyed about the story are the simply descriptions and easy plowing word usage. The descriptions of the vanilla and lavender perfume reminds me of an older women and the tenderness and love of a mother. The TV in this story plays the role of sort of a peace maker, as when the narrator listens to the TV, it helps her ease her mind or help her sleep. I think you can work more of the family influence in and explain why the story is all about her being put to sleep. Also, I want to know why the you turned the TV on at the end and why it helps her sleep. You did a great job at using descriptions to explain how the mother reacts to the daughter, such as the description of of laying her hand on the daughters face. I think if you can include more back story on why the mother means so much to the daughter, you would give more validity to the descriptions and this would also explain why the mother is the main focus.

Response to Alyson Smith's "Swiss Cheese"

"Swiss Cheese"is about Bret, a  medical intern, who has been assigned a case a suicide patient that, despite being saved in surgery, wants to die. He is extremely mentally insane and Bret is upset that he can relate with her, as her parents were murdered. I really enjoyed the tone of the story. I honestly felt kind of creeped between Mr. Goodman’s eerie conversations and the way in which Bret responded; it kept my attention until the end. I also enjoyed the dialogue throughout the entire story. Although it was at times cynical,  but it was believable and I appreciated how the dialogue told me many ideas and you did not have to use narration as much. All the blood and gore also played a great roll, it helped increase the tension and create a more intense atmosphere. I do think you need to delve into more aspects of both Mr. Goodman and Brets family. I think if you can intertwine those two somehow, you can create a more empathetic and interesting plot line that may even open up more ideas to include, such as why the family was murdered and maybe even have Mr.Goodman related somehow. I think if you can go deeper into the life of Bret, such as more of her mental life and the voices that she hears, I think you create a more intense story, although right now you have a piece that is eerie and suspenseful, something I enjoy and appreciate from other pieces.