This review is being made on behalf of "Showering Acts of Joy Group"
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Dear 'Living with Bad Allergies',
As part of your shower, I've come and ogled your port, and for some reason or another I decided to read this particular piece. First please accept my thanks for giving me the opportunity to read it. And, please do not take any offence at my criticism, I propose it all in the spirit of self improvement and literary fellowship!
Overall Impressions:
I was very drawn into this alternative take on old horror stereotypes. A very competent piece of work which, though needs a bit of oomph, certainly provided me with entertainment.
What I liked:
1. I see you have a vivid imagination. Though I'm not a fan of horror fiction fare, the uniqueness of the plot itself, exposing a benign contingent of 'monsters', and what seemed like the tip of an iceberg of a deeper world, was enough to spark my own imagination.
2. The elderly lady werewolf was an especially good example of this - certainly an original character. And, partly due to that, she stuck in my mind after. Her good natured-ness came over as genuine and in stark contrast to our expectations of her kind.
3. I liked the idea of a zombie medic too...somewhat paradoxical!
4. You have a blockbuster writing pace which evolved piece by piece with every heart beat. Good for this genre, and good for the YA audience it is normally associated with.
5. You have also got an economic 'action' writing style, which works well in..well, action scenes.
6. This would be perfect if developed into an involved, large scale piece - a novel, into a series, into a Hollywood adaptation, into a T Shirt etc
What I didn't like:
1. The title. It needs to change. For a plethora of reasons. It is very vague. Not very enticing. It is corny, entirely lacking irony. It gives nothing more to the story that isn't obvious. Gives next to no indication as to what will happen in the piece/Does not speak to the heart of your story (well, not in my opinion, I can see it's 'relevance' as to the girl but that doesn't come across as the beating heart of the piece at all.)
A title should be, beyond clearly the antithesis of the above, something that can be read at the beginning and gives one impression, then read again at the end, giving a whole new resonance/profundity. And it should stick! So that I could come away thinking 'yeah I'm gonna remember to tell my friends about so and so' - a good title would be an easy sell for sure. Calling it 'Laveil Gray' but be enough - an interesting/odd name.
2. I would have liked to see a bit of comedy in this, a hint of irony, a tiny bit of spice, something to make me feel conflicted. Its funny but also tragic type of thing. As it is, it feels a bit monotone.
3. Though I appreciated how Laveil was described indirectly by the girl's open speech observation, it came across as forced. And besides that instance, I didn't see very much in the way of description throughout the piece - it was quite difficult to visualise where/how things were happening.
4. The writing itself i'd say is 'competent' but there ought to be more. Lines that stick out, interesting observations, unique metaphors - your near bullet point style leaves little room for what I'd deem necessary writing accoutrements.
5. The characters themselves, with the exception of Laveil, were a little one dimensional. Again, characterisation is something that can be built up with description, slight writing embellishments etc.
6. And tying in with the last 'things i liked' point, is that fact that there isn't an actual ending here. Was this intended as a chapter one of something larger (like i'd like to happen)? If not, then it would be worth thinking of a neat way of gaining some closure - things are too open ended. We have two evil characters who've received no comeuppance, an elderly werewolf who's promised to teach the little girl about the ways of a world we know little of ourselves, and of course, the final transformation!
Edit/Language/Logic Suggestions:
1. A rusty, green eighties model crown Victoria sped out of the fog. - Too many adjectives here - four!
2. "Let's go to the Blue Note." - Just as a finicky thing, but you've mentioned an awful lot of colours in the first few paragraphs - might be worth toning that down a bit, only because it tired me out.
3. He shook his finger at her. - omit 'at her'.
4. The creature yanked the door off of its hinges and got the girl out. As the werewolf ran with her, the car exploded. The beast ran through the thick woods to a manhole covered by a huge, gray boulder. - You've described the subject using three different nouns which is painfully confusing - The werewolf, the creature, the beast. I can understand who you're talking about, and I feel you might have done it to avoid saying 'the werewolf' a gazillion times, but there are imaginative ways of introducing the subject without repeating words AND keeping consistency.
5. However, this place is important to help those who need it. - Doesn't sound like something someone would say to themselves. Wouldn't this be all too obvious after how many years of life and presumably tough living as a werewolf? Also think of how many times you say 'however' to yourself - it is a slightly professorial word...self condescension??
6. The girl sat up and glanced wide-eyed all around. "Where's my mommy?" the girl cried. - This is one example of where you can avoid subject repetition - just say 'She cried' - its obviously the little girl saying it with context to the speech content itself.
7. She cried in her sleep off and on during the night, while her body tossed and turned in bed. - Unless I'm sorely mistaken, I wouldn't believe for a second this impressionable little girl would be able to sleep without the use of some heavy duty sedative. She is 7! Her mum died! She was in a car crash! She's in a stranger's house! For this to work it might be worth having Laveil give her some magic calming potion or something.
8. Laveil continued to run through the woods until she reached the town square, which only took minutes to reach. - omit the last 'to reach'.
9. Laveil crept into the quaint restaurant. What makes the restaurant 'quaint'? Show, don't tell.
10. As luck would have it, Marianna sat at a blue booth in the back of the diner. - Omit 'As luck would have it'.
11. She observed how the lights of the diner made Marianna's piercing blue eyes, light-blond hair, and pale complexion show even more. Piercing blue eyes are a stereotype, so is pale complexion really. And how did the lights of the diner make her features 'show' even more? Paradoxically, this is telling us, now showing us!
12. The ladies stood. Marianna, who was five-foot-ten, towered over Laveil, who was only five foot. Try to avoid numbers when describing people, unless it is integral to the story.
13. "My mommy said I have leukemia. I've been having chemo." Would a 7 year old understand/know they are having 'chemo'? Perhaps.
14. They left the room and ambled over to Jessie. 'Ambled' sticks out too much here, seems unnecessary. Just say 'walked'.
With some work I can see this transform into something very special indeed - please remember us at WDC if you become the next Stephanie Meyer.
Regards,
Robert Tailor
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