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@mrshakeysingstheblueswrites “You keep using the word “illiterate.” I do not think it means what you think it means. If readers were illiterate, they would be unable to read. ….. But, tell me, how much work is it for you to make the trek up those winding basement stairs for another Mountain Dew Zero and bag of Cheetos? Is it taxing? Or should we stand idly by while you dig out your “Word-of-the-Day” calendar to impress us all? We, the illiterate masses, await your word! Guide us! “ Let’s do two words of the day. 1. illiterate a. unable to read and write:an illiterate group. b. having or demonstrating very little or no education. c. showing lack of culture, especially in language and literature. d. displaying a marked lack of knowledge in a particular field: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/illiterate A writer must know secondary definitions. 2. winding. bending or turning; sinuous. https://www.dictionary.com/browse/winding Basement stairs are straight. They don’t wind. @VillaTheKilla, yes with Brown's acceptance posted, you can assume Brown did not accept. @koechophe is mistaken. OK, maybe you still have a 1 in 10,000 chance, but don't put hope in miracles.

@Nightwitch, touche. You're quite welcome, @Thunderroad12. It really is a test all applicants should take. @koechophe, no, no. You have it all wrong. I have it automated. I’m technically savvy. Three keystrokes make a new account. It takes less time to make a new account than for someone to block posts from the new account. It’s all very efficient. I reciprocate your sympathy, though. I actually do feel bad for any time wasted on blocking, but no solution is in my power. The powers that be, the moderator, believes in more censorship than I believe in. I feel bad even for time he has to spend.

@Thunderroad12 , if you search a bit through Draft, you’ll find veterans making the claim that Adcoms often say 80% of applicants to fully funded programs are rejected after one page of their sample. The samples aren't following conventions of literary fiction, and you don’t need a lot of words to figure that out. If you look at the writing samples @koechophe has posted here, for instance, you will notice after one page that 50% of his words are for explaining. Under the test, you take the last six fiction stories from the New Yorker. You mix that in with two stories from the applicant. You ask anyone, no matter how illiterate, to seek the two odd men out. If they pick your two stories, that means your stories don’t follow contemporary conventions from literary fiction. You are in the 80%. You don’t need to wait with baited breach for your admit decisions. You’ve basically been told by your high school guidance counselor that your B grade point average can’t get you into Harvard. So you apply to non-fully funded programs, or read more and apply next year. The test does not work for experimental fiction. Some people here don’t like the test. They say it is too discouraging. They say the status quo, where most people wait with baited breath to get rejected everywhere is preferable. But the test really works. @mrvisser would have passed it. @neche, it is no work at all. I write quickly. Editing, I do slowly, but I don't do real editing here.

The New Yorker test has lately been getting a bad rap around here. It usually happens through a straw man argument. Take what @koechophe just posted: “They were wrong about me. They were wrong about @mrvisserand @Ydrl too. Remember that if you're ever tempted to let the troll's discouraging comments get to you.” The New Yorker test doesn’t purport to predict with perfect reliability every admission decision. The test predicts only one thing: are you in the 80% of applicants that are rejected to every fully funded program after one page of your writing sample? @mrvisser was probably accepted to UC Irvine, but he never posted a writing for the New Yorker test. @ydrl got into Iowa, but she never posted a writing. @koechophe posted a writing, but his program isn’t fully funded. The New Yorker test does not address that school. The test serves an important purpose. When you apply to college, the guidance counselor can tell you that your B average rules out Harvard. The New Yorker test serves the same function for fully funded programs. If you fail the test, you can either apply to non-fully funded programs, or read more and wait till next year. Disproving the New Yorker test with false evidence profits no one.