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Being me, first and foremost. So I'm probably going to be friendly and open, at least. I like to spot little typos and sentences that sound odd. I love removing extra words to keep the story tight, but please be aware that I'm extremely difficult to please and know good and inexperienced writing at a glance.
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Fantasy (both high and dark) is my most favourite followed by Action/adventure, and lastly Young Adult. I don't really like Sci-fi but I'll read it if asked or if I'm just plain bored.
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Romance, Erotica, severe violence, horror, and I'm not big on vampires, but I might read it. That about sums it up.
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Novels! I like a good, long read to keep me busy for several days if possible. I also enjoy a good short story now and then.
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Not a real fan of poetry. I can't tell the difference between one type of poetry and another. If you're doing basic rhyme and rhythm I can find both of those, but... just no...
I will not review...
Biography, blogs... horror... zombies... LGBT... erotica... romance in general but if your book has a romantic SUB plot I can deal with it. I'm also not too keen on anything apocalyptic so please... don't ask. I will not read out-of-sequence chapters. Otherwise I would have to dislike your writing style, which isn't likely.
Public Reviews
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176
176
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with P.E.N.C.I.L.  
Rated: 13+ | (4.0)

Greetings from the Night's Watch and the "King's Landing updating ! I'm Tam, and I'm here to provide you some feedback.


*Moon* First Impressions: This story moves very quickly towards its purpose and is very exciting in its own way. At first I didn't quite understand what was going on because it wasn't entirely clear, but the misconceptions were quickly cleared up as I caught on to what they were actually doing. A submarine of some kind approaching a battleship.

It had a rocky start. Often the unfortunate crew were drowned with grotesque results, I'm guessing in the middle of the mission these new crewmen are about to embark on, though I'm not 100% sure. Some chose to go for the adventure of it, others because they believed strongly in the cause, and the main character... he wants a nest egg for himself and his Becky.

With these motivations clear, they embark at long last on their mission to sink the vessel. It's a hand cranked contraption (and believe me I know how hard that can be to operate), and they hasten towards their goal to protect that coast.

It really sounds like the craft was inconvenient. They needed to come up periodically, and it was - as I said above - hand cranked, but somehow they manage to approach, release payload, and escape. Or so it seems.

I'm not quite sure I understand, but it sounds like they suffocated without the air while they were waiting for the tide. If so, that's very tragic, but it makes for a good story.

I couldn't say I'm a history buff when it comes to the war, but this letter was quite gripping even so.


*Wolf* My Favorite Elements: The little hand cranked submarine thing. The excitement as they cranked towards their destination was definitely the best part, although I must admit that despite just being a letter detailing what happened to the submarine in question, I did get a decent glimpse at the main character's back story - if fleeting.


*Star* Suggestions: Really the only suggestions I have will be nitpicky, and I'll get started on that. My first question is how in the world they could hear the men shouting for help through a metal submarine while they were completely submerged. Of course I've never been on a submarine - inferior or up to date - but it just seems... I don't know, a bit difficult to swallow.

Turning that heavy iron crankshaft for hours while wedged shoulder to shoulder sitting on a wooden bench in that dark,

I don't think that word is necessary. To me it seemed to detract from the sentence.

Presently the watery coffin with its ghastly cargo once again was located and dredged up.

Just to note that you used this word twice in a very short span of time. Might want to look into that.


*Bird* Overall: At the end of all this I agree with Frank Collins. They deserved a decent burial after their efforts, and sad loss. I think it's cool that it's written by a ghost, and that the fact of his ghostliness is not so deeply stamped that the reader is drawn towards that alone. I didn't even think about it until near the end, whereon the story made me stop to think. I personally think it's a good thing when your reader must stop and ponder something for a moment (not from confusion, but genuine... feeling).


Keep writing!

~Tam


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177
177
Review of On Ebony Wings  
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with P.E.N.C.I.L.  
Rated: E | (3.5)

Greetings from the Night's Watch and the "King's Landing updating ! I'm Tam, and I'm here to provide you some feedback.


*Moon* First Impressions: This starts with a character introduced right away after the mention of an ebony sky and copper moon. Seems just a bit low key as an opening hook, but this turns into a nerve wracking scene where the character is stalked by something in the darkness.

Sounds like he's in a forest or brush at any rate, with a weapon, and some weird... passing out problem? The stalking monster captures the main character in his moment of helplessness - or rather his hour of helplessness - and carts him off to some kind of cave where it begins a sort of torture to him.

Jensen mentions having a vision that will become reality, but I do not recall having read about that and am kind of uncertain about it really. Somehow the character manages to throw something at the creature and escape - though quite painfully - from its clutches. There is no evidence of pursuit, and Jensen rushes towards the nearest inn for that warm bed he seems so anxious to find.

If I were him I would have been more concerned about the innkeeper in question, but this way I'm on the edge of my seat in anxiety as to what is going to happen to the character in such a forbidding sounding place.


*Wolf* My Favorite Elements: If you were going for suspenseful, you certainly managed that much. Right in the first chapter there's enough tension for two or three of its kind. I had no idea how the main character planned on escaping, but he managed it somehow. In the end he drops by an inn that I wouldn't have gotten anywhere near. I somehow doubt things will go beautifully for him from there...


*Star* Suggestions: You use a lot of repetitive words. This is your biggest problem because most of your writing isn't that bad. Try to use a larger variety of words to avoid making your reader yawn or wince every time they stumble across one they have seen before. I know, this is one of my banes as well, but it'll flow much smoother when it's been polished.

I am under the impression you're doing a lot of telling throughout, as well. This is hard to avoid. Just try to keep your sentences active and showing the story. I may or may not understand the exact science of this, but instead of saying 'I felt sad' or 'he felt sad' you could try something more like 'a sob rose in my throat from somewhere deep inside'. I hope that gives you an idea, anyway.

I feel like you skipped a chunk of story when the main character passes out (or whatever he did) and found himself flung into a very different place by this monster. I was momentarily very confused by what just happened. I'm still not quite sure. It might at least need some evidence of a skip, or detail more of his terror. Something that brings what is going on into more focus. If all else fails, you could try making him wake up slowly.

A rustling behind him gave Jensen uneasiness,

This line doesn't seem entirely necessary considering you gave a pretty good description of his unease afterwards. Maybe he should stop walking (if he is) instead.

Again a rustling noise caught his attention,

A bit too close to the last 'rustling' word. You could try 'whispering' or 'hissing', or even 'crackling' to avoid this.

It had no eyes only socked where eyes had once resided.

Aside from repeating the word eyes, that should be 'socket'.

it looked like skin had been stitched from upper lip to chin, creating a stitched appearance.

Uh. Yeah this is a bit repetitive.

He ached from head to toe, a warm bed was sounding really good right about now.

That last part feels really random. I'd like to tell the character to stay focused.


*Bird* Overall: If I could sum this up in one word, I would use 'creepy'. For want of more, I'll go with creepy and tense. That's what this is. Many words like 'eyes', 'sound', 'felt', and so on were repeated a bit too often to make the reading truly smooth. You could probably clean that up in a matter of minutes, though. I call it a less strenuous edit. I wish I had a better idea of what was going on, but I guess that would need some time to develop as the story advances.


Keep writing!

~Tam


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178
178
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with P.E.N.C.I.L.  
Rated: E | (3.0)

Greetings from the Night's Watch and the "King's Landing updating ! I'm Tam, and I'm here to provide you some feedback.


*Moon* First Impressions: This is pretty much - as you said - the same story but rewritten and with a slightly different plot. As in she doesn't run away the same way, and the prince is somewhat more active throughout the story. In fact, I should say a lot more active. Last time he was merely a name I knew nothing about. Now he's dumb, according to the princess.

She does her best to escape through horseback riding, but the prince chooses to come with her. Whether this was a clever squeeze in of him trying to keep her around, or if it was just honest want to spend some time with her is hard to discern. She is under the impression he just wants to keep her under wraps.

In the end she manages to dupe everyone even if it wasn't her exact idea of how to do it. She did ask the prince not to marry her, after all, and he didn't listen. So she didn't have much choice and she left. Can't blame her.


*Wolf* My Favorite Elements: I like how things worked out this time around. She didn't plan it to happen quite that way, but it did anyway and she escaped like she wanted. Not exactly in the manner she wanted to, but close enough. And anyway, no one would know just what happened to her this way.


*Star* Suggestions: I still have some of these suggestions, after all. First off the use of the word 'was' is overdone. Some people will tell you not to use it at all, but in my opinion it should only be used very, very sparingly. If you can't see an alternative don't stress out too much over it. If you get in the habit of thinking of some other way to phrase your sentences (without the was) they'll be stronger, and it'll come easier.

Likewise you might want to cut back on the word 'dumb' when describing the prince and his respective family. Once or twice is all right (not one after another if you can), but four or five and the reader starts to wonder if there's another way it can be said. Or it's sort of like having something beaten into your head over and over again relentlessly.

Being a prince's bride.

This ought to have a question mark.

I did not give up for I knew that it would be easy to lose them.

Uh. Who is them?

I wiggled out of his grasp and ran in the direction of the guards. I told the guards that Jaron was lost.

This is odd, because I thought they were mounted on the horses. Maybe you should give passing mention to the fact that they dismounted at some point.


*Bird* Overall: There's definitely more story this time around. You've made her prison seem more like one, and even gave the prince some character. Enough to make me sort of understand why she would rather not marry the guy. She is quite willing to throw away a life of luxury just to avoid the man, and he wouldn't let her go. I wouldn't like him either. I hate being trapped.


Keep writing!

~Tam


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179
179
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with P.E.N.C.I.L.  
Rated: E | (3.0)

Greetings from the Night's Watch and the "King's Landing updating ! I'm Tam, and I'm here to provide you some feedback.


*Moon* First Impressions: A little girl who is calling for her parents. Not unusual, until she steps outside. That's when she sees the carnage laid out before her and starts to get hysterical. She runs away from the horrible scene, although she doesn't seem to know where she's going or have any particular destination in mind.

She is met by a Japanese person (or Nihonjin (日本人) if you prefer) who asks her a few questions, and when she is answered gives the little girl a necklace of some sort with the assurance that she would take care of said girl. Mysteriously, it is supposed to 'help her' later on. The girl is uncertain what that means, evidently. So am I.


*Wolf* My Favorite Elements: Starts with a good hook in that the little girl is calling for her parents. I think your ending is best where the woman is speaking rather than the little girl's lack of knowledge in the path this thing gives her.

And, although this element isn't strictly yours, I can't help but be interested in anything to do with Japanese, since I am studying the language.


*Star* Suggestions: First of all I must point out that the content rating of this should not be E. A content rating of 'E' means that anyone should be just fine reading it, including little kids. Because of the 'multiple deaths' and the messiness of it, you ought to jack this up to 18+. Just saying.

There could be more... tangible emotion. How does it feel inside for that little girl? Heart rending? Sounds cruel, but I'd like to have more reason to feel sorry for her. I never met her parents, after all. Lets feel that chilling sense of terror in her little heart...

The woman could have been a touch more sympathetic as well. Could she have held the child when she cried instead of just briefly? Or, in the event that said child was bloody, couldn't she have at least spoken soothingly to her for a short time?

In hysterics, a kid probably won't be able to speak their name. I'd expect her to let out a wail first, and same with when she is asked about her parents' fates. Just a thought.

Another idea is to make her feet hurt (the little girl) and her legs burn from running so long as you have said she did. So she's probably going to be gasping for breath as well.

That's when Kayoko saw it;

Should be them, since there's more than one.

The young girl jumped as soon as she heard the mysterious voice.

Her act of jumping is close enough to the voice that I knew why without being told. So I think you should be able to cut this.

before pulling a red gymstone necklace from her back pocket.

I think you mean 'gemstone'.

the young girl nodded, not knowing the path that layed upon her.

For more impact you might want to try something like 'even if she didn't know what path laid upon her' or something. As it is it just sounds strange to me.


*Bird* Overall: Sounds like a start to a scary story, or one that reveals a lot of secrets at any rate. The mysterious gemstone necklace is a great way to get the reader curious about the plot and all that surrounds it, although other than this girl needing to look out for herself - possibly with this woman's help - I don't really know what the plot is. Implication isn't a bad thing though. At least you've got me curious.


Keep writing!

~Tam


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180
180
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with P.E.N.C.I.L.  
Rated: 13+ | (3.0)

Greetings from the Night's Watch and the "King's Landing updating ! I'm Tam, and I'm here to provide you some feedback.


*Moon* First Impressions: Since this is chapter two and I never read chapter one, confusion is to be expected. Of course I'm perfectly confused. I think this isn't so much as a chapter as it is a few paragraphs that, if put together with the mysterious first part, would make a chapter.

I have no idea what the plot is. None at all. The main character is fleeing from a burning village, and he's still got plenty of time to be polite to an old man he runs into. This old man likewise seems to have no problem letting him know that he's all right, and that he wants to tell his fortune. Kind of abrupt, but okay.

Likewise the main character willingly follows him into a forest to look into a pool of water so his fortune can be told. If this were me, I would have been suspicious of the old man, or at least worried about the people following me. It's entirely too offhand.


*Wolf* My Favorite Elements: Concept of a fortune telling blind man is pretty awesome. The description of the amnesiac main character from said blind man is also... interesting. Guess it makes him sound more intimidating, or at least like he's got a history worth noting.


*Star* Suggestions: This is mostly dialogue with no explanations or descriptions other than that of the old man. It lacks a certain level of flow that really ought to be in here. I'll go into more detail below.

The first sentence is not exactly loaded with impact. Tornack races down that hill and almost runs into a beggar. Does he jerk aside or something? Stumble? How does he 'almost' avoid running into this beggar anyway? I think that would be worth seeing.

You have an odd habit of putting random letters in uppercase when they shouldn't be. It makes me think of reading whilst bumping down the stairs on one's behind. Every time you say an uppercase letter imagine saying it slightly louder than the rest. Kind of rocky huh? It reads that way in my mind, too. For reference: Uppercase letters need only occur at the beginning of someone's name, a place's name, or at the beginning of a sentence (typically after a period - otherwise known as a full stop). Granted some people I notice have put things like Elves in caps. But never 'All' or 'Rest' just for the sake of it.

What would really help your story is if you stepped back, slowed down, and fleshed out what is going on. Remember, even if you can see everything you are writing about with no problem, we can't. The reader cannot be expected to peer into your head to see your imagination. We need help.

Next up is believability. I'm going to ask you this question: If you ran into a blind old man who claimed to be able to see more than others - a fortune teller - and would tell you your future, but only if you followed him... would you do it? I wouldn't. This guy needs a legitimate reason to follow this old man anywhere. If you can find that your story will be much better for it.

Also this sounded somewhat cliche to me, though I'm not exactly a big time book reader so I dunno, maybe it's just corny: but you Must beware of one Thing, an Evil Sorcerer Named Toranin,

Funky uppercase letters aside, the wording is really downplaying the moment. An evil sorcerer? Maybe something more like: But you must beware of a sorcerer named Toranin. I also just noticed how similar the characters' names are... well, it's up to you whether or not you leave it that way.


*Bird* Overall: I'll leave it at: Needs a lot of work, and some thought. I don't mean to beat you down. This is not a chapter, however. It isn't long enough. Five paragraphs isn't enough to fill one page, and it can't be a chapter. If you fleshed it out it might end up long enough, however. So before you start melding things, try to picture what you're writing and find a way to show it to the reader. Capturing the character's mood might help, too. Is he anxious? Scared? Angry? Confused? I don't know, you didn't go into great detail there and I could not really get involved.

Don't be discouraged. Everyone has to start from somewhere.


Keep writing!

~Tam


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181
181
Review of Deception  
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with P.E.N.C.I.L.  
Rated: 13+ | (4.0)

Greetings from the Night's Watch and the "King's Landing updating ! I'm Tam, and I'm here to provide you some feedback.


*Moon* First Impressions: This starts out with the main character going to her father for help. Help of a very... shall I say... unusual and deadly sort. Her husband/fiance (I'm not exactly clear on this) is never home, and Kate is just sick of it. She gets the impression he's going to walk out on her and never return.

So she asks her father to get rid of him so she can keep this fortune he inherited for herself and move on with life. Her father assures her that he'll have everything arranged, and she only has to pick up to get things going on the right track.

It's arranged that she will meet up with the assassin, and she starts to panic as she moves towards her agenda. At first it seemed kind of simple, but as the moment approaches she's just a bundle of nerves trying to convince herself what she is doing is right. There's a lot of tension (should this be called Thriller/suspense as well as Dark? Kind of does both), until the assassin fails to show up.

The said assassin continues to fail in showing up until about - from my figuring - three days later. Then when she settles down to talk to him she is horrified to discover the assassin that she has requested is there for a very different reason than she expected.


*Wolf* My Favorite Elements: How about a twist ending! I liked that. It wasn't expected. I thought she was going to have to put up with her conscience for the rest of her life, or become a hardened killer or something as she rolled about in someone's wealth. What does happen is just so different and quite chilling. I'd say she learned her lesson, but a bit too late.


*Star* Suggestions: The paragraphs are really weirdly spaced out. Makes it kind of irritating to read it. Shouldn't all the dialogue for different people be set in a different paragraph? I think it would read better if you did it that way.

Time is an exception, but all numbers below 100 ought to be written out. I don't remember where I heard/read this, but it is worth remembering.

I'd also like to know how it feels to 'get hysterical'. Maybe giving a more... showing (feeling in this case?) description would be best. The blood pounds in her temples? She starts to pant for breath? Her hands are shaking?

My question is: is she married to Alex or not? I'm thinking they are, but I'd like it to be... I don't know, clearer? Just a subtle reference would do it if you want, there's no need to go into vast detail.

Be warned once you've made the arrangements you're committed. Understand? "She nodded, "Understood".

This is weird because the dialogue here comes in two separate paragraphs that are stuck together, but should probably be in one line. The period is outside the quotation marks... just something to look into.

a man will arrive he will call you Angela.

Something about this seems odd. Maybe something like: a man will arrive and he will call you Angela.

Simples.

I couldn't help but point this out. Simples? Should it have only been 'simple'?


*Bird* Overall: Chilling, yet oddly gripping as a story. It's not so long as to beat around the bush, but gets straight to the point. You dawdled just slightly, but that only served to add up the tension. Seemed like a good reason to me. By the end an interesting twist took place, and turned Kate's plans quite against her. I wonder what they told him when he came out to his job... or if he knew the whole time what his job would be.


Keep writing!

~Tam


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182
182
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with P.E.N.C.I.L.  
Rated: E | (4.0)

I'm not a professional writer. I'm trying to give you honest feedback and impressions of what I thought as I read your work. These are one person's opinions, and you're free to ignore any of them.

*Vine2* A "P.E.N.C.I.L. Review *Vine1*

__*Pencil*


*Star* First Impressions: This is a pretty cute story overall. The 'antagonist' was introduced right from the get go, and the main character neatly took over from there. The situation in question is the leprechaun, having lost his pet newt, goes off on a short trip to find the critter.

But on his way he falls into one of the traps set by the ogre. He's quite naturally horrified when he discovers the owner of the trap is an ogre, at any rate, and is carried off to the said creature's home to be turned into leprechaun stew.

This seems like very bad news for the leprechaun in question, but the ogre isn't very well educated and therefore can't read the recipe he needs. Of course he gets frustrated, and finally flings his book aside. This is when the said leprechaun gets an idea - him being a very clever creature as opposed to the ogre - and manages to save himself from being eaten, and put the ogre to sleep with a story.

Though he has a chance for escape, he passes it up in favour of staying a bit longer with the ogre. And he finds his lost newt.


*Heart* My Favorite Elements: The leprechaun's escape plan is really not bad. I enjoyed most everything here, just that part in particular - and that he didn't read 'Jack and the Beanstalk'. Somehow I get the impression that wouldn't have been the right thing to read, either. I think your dialogue is pretty good, too.


*Moon* Suggestions: The story itself isn't bad at all, and I didn't notice anything in particular that was in bad need of attention. However, I do have a few nitpicks for your consideration, though you don't strictly need to do anything with it if you don't want to.

Quite unexpectedly, Charlie suddenly found himself at the bottom of a large pit.

There's something about this sentence I don't like.

One minute he was scrupulously searching for his pet,

I'm not sure how many children would understand this word.

Prey???

More of a personal nitpick, maybe, but I have no love for sentences that end with more than one question mark or exclamation point.


*Butterflyb* Overall: A great story. Entertaining, has a decent plot, and not even scary considering the subject of debate is eating a leprechaun in a stew. The ogre wasn't really a terrible fellow, though a bit slow, and the leprechaun - despite being able to deceive said ogre - didn't run off like he could have. Makes him seem like a better character overall instead of the sort that disappears on a whim.


Keep writing!

~Tam


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183
183
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with P.E.N.C.I.L.  
Rated: E | (3.0)

I'm not a professional writer. I'm trying to give you honest feedback and impressions of what I thought as I read your work. These are one person's opinions, and you're free to ignore any of them.

*Vine2* A "P.E.N.C.I.L. Review *Vine1*

__*Pencil*


*Star* First Impressions: Honestly a bit confused, but I'll see what kind of sense I gained from it and if I'm on the right track.

These four main characters appear to be trying to break into some sort of prison to rescue someone. Or a bunch of someones. I'm not exactly sure. They're stopped by some electric barrier of some kind. However this turns out to be a temporary problem when April chants something to bring it down. I'm not clear on what exactly happens then, but there is a lengthy explanation on what is going on - no more fossil fuels and so on - and it's rather distracting from the plot. Probably because it's not of immediate importance to it.

Either way, they get through the barrier and one of them is scanned by the machine, which welcomes him back inside. This seems to confuse him, but after the initial confusion the matter is dropped. As a reader I can assume that means it was of little consequence.

The rain was identifiable for me even without the characters figuring out what it was, although the fact that they didn't know was certainly very interesting. Not much of a big deal was made out of it after the first little while, however, because another character appears to declare that he should have warned them about something - presumably what took Sam down.

If it wasn't completely clear, at that point I still had no idea what was going on.


*Heart* My Favorite Elements: Okay, so I like the setting you have. Or, I liked the parts of it I understood. They're set under solar panels to keep off the sun and elements, I'd assume, judging by what is going on. Sounds pretty cool.


*Moon* Suggestions: Honestly I feel like there's too much flung at the reader at once, and not much of it is actually helping move the story forward. I didn't have the time to grasp what kind of characters I was looking at or anything. Perhaps slowing down and getting the important things down would help. I'm sure you understand all of this, but remember that I haven't the mental image you do, and I certainly can't be as familiar with the characters and situation.

Your story opens on a descriptive scene. This is not very thrilling for anyone who just picks up a novel and reads the first line. You have to give a good reason to keep us reading, and your first sentence didn't really inspire that in me at all. Why not, instead, start with the character in question flinging a rock at the wall? It's more exciting, and the situation is possibly better introduced that way.

It might also help if you tried not to open unusual happenstances that no one knows anything of, and are never again mentioned. It's hard to follow if you do.

For the characters, I continued to get confused between them. They weren't properly introduced, and I had no identifying feature from any of them in either appearance or dialogue. There was a lot of mention about what their eye colour was, but I don't think anyone is likely to remember that when there's so much else going on. Besides, how often do we notice the eye colour of someone we've just met? I don't think I can recall anyone's unless I was thinking hard about that at the moment.

The ending wasn't very exciting, though. He's shuffling his feet and kicking stones. I'm sure everyone has done this at some point (and if they haven't, they could probably imagine it pretty easily), so it just doesn't seem like the right place to cut off the chapter. It doesn't compel the reader onwards.

You could probably benefit from fixing a few confusing sentences in here, such as:

Worn, skin-showing jeans and frayed grey jackets, it only took one look to be certain that these runners were far from home.

This confused me quite thoroughly. I didn't even know I was looking at 'runners' in question, never mind that their description came before the mention of them.

His mother had had the ocean in her eyes, flecked with sandy hazel grains and rich with emotion.

I caught myself wondering as I read this: why are we talking about his mother?

Then, turning on his heel, he placed a hand on Sam's shoulder, beckoning him to listen openly.

I'm really not sure what that last part means.

Sweating and clothes soiled, Sam pushed through the last of the dirt, spitting as a metallic taste coursed on his tongue.

I think the main problem is that the subject is coming too far after the description. It's very confusing because I don't know what I'm reading about until halfway through the sentence. How can I imagine what I'm unsure of?

Dusting off his sweater from the leaves which were stuck to it, Noah did not lose his composure.

Here, again, I wasn't quite sure who I was looking at.

Dante's facial expression was incredulous, most definitely everyone had gone crazy; maybe it was the rain.

I think there are extra words stacked up here, but at least the person came before his description.

Dante, Sam, Tom and April sat exactly 7 yards from the perilous gate yet faced away from it,

Although I'm not sure why their distance from the gate is important, that number should be spelled out as seven because it's below 100. I also think that word 'exactly' is in the way.


*Butterflyb* Overall: I can tell you have a decent idea, but I think it's in too much of a hurry to rush out onto the page. These things do take time, and readers will need a moment to understand which character is which before you add several more. I have a bit of trouble keeping them all straight in my head - except for April. Maybe because she is the only female character. I'm still not exactly sure what is going on after reading the first two chapters.

This isn't meant to discourage. Believe me, my first novel was way worse than this and I (thankfully) have since improved. You need to remember the reader - who knows nothing of your world - and perhaps slow down on dumping information about the world on people. Currently, the most important thing is making sure your characters, the plot, and their immediate situation are clear. Spiking beginning for more excitement would help, and the end could be a tad more... monumental.


Keep writing!

~Tam


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184
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with P.E.N.C.I.L.  
Rated: E | (3.5)

I'm not a professional writer. I'm trying to give you honest feedback and impressions of what I thought as I read your work. These are one person's opinions, and you're free to ignore any of them.

*Vine2* A "P.E.N.C.I.L. Review *Vine1*

__*Pencil*


*Star* First Impressions: A bomb has struck a man's home town/city or what have you, and everything is reduced to ruin. Except him. He was fortunate enough to have been outside taking some time to himself when the bomb hit, and this was all because his wife urged him to go out for a while. I didn't even realize he was married until deeper into the story, but that isn't bad so don't sweat over it.

The reason he was out there is interesting in that it's believable. I can understand why this would have gotten him out, and why it saved his life without question. He's also not a mechanic sort of guy, so now that his car does not work he has no clue how to fix it. And he wants to go home to see if his family are all right.

I'm going to side with him: He'll need all the mental preparation possible. I get the impression he won't find anything pretty.


*Heart* My Favorite Elements: The reasonable excuse for him not to have been caught in the blast, and the way the main character never much paid attention to these war things on TV. Honestly most people don't until its right on their doorstep like this. Like: it couldn't possibly happen to us. But it can... This is pretty cool though.


*Moon* Suggestions: You started this story with a bit of a painful limp. A lot of -ly and was and had going on. I don't believe in completely evicting these things, but when you use like six of them in a row it does tend to wear on the reader's mind. It's very bad right in the beginning because we're not quite into the story yet, and the reader will likely notice mistakes there the most.

Also I think the actual event might have been a better start. This one isn't all that thrilling, but that might just be my opinion.

There is some repetition to look out for that - if removed/changed - could do your story a lot of good. And quickly. I'll just point out one or two to give you an idea of what I mean.

I'm sure it's like this all over the world. Before I left, the newspapers were shouting about the bickering back and forth between the nations of the world.

You might even be able to do without 'the world' the first time around, and that would solve the problem. Saying 'all over' pretty much does it, I think.

I never had time for that.
This was supposed to be a vacation. I never get anytime to myself, and my wife pushed it on me. I remember it clearly.


You might need to do something thinking as to how you can replace one of those two sentences. Also, on clearly, you might be better off doing something like: I remember it all too well. Worse still is that the wife in question 'pushed it on him' here, then 'all but pushed him' out the door later. One of these words should take a hike.

Instantly, I watched my office building disappear. Gone, completely.

Or maybe something like: My office building disappeared as if it were sucked off the face of the Earth. Gone without a trace.


*Butterflyb* Overall: Decent start, although I'm still not quite invested enough to be sure I'm all that anxious to keep reading. Maybe the flat-ish opening is what's doing it, so picking that up will probably help a great deal. Remember that the reader needs a reason to care about what is going on in what they're reading (and that different people will be interested in different things, so don't think you can please everyone). It might also do you a favour if you double-spaced your paragraphs kind of like I have been doing in this review. It's easier to edit that way - although you won't see that in a published book typically.

Either way, you have a decent premise here. I just don't know where it's going.


Keep writing!

~Tam


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185
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with P.E.N.C.I.L.  
Rated: E | (3.5)

I'm not a professional writer. I'm trying to give you honest feedback and impressions of what I thought as I read your work. These are one person's opinions, and you're free to ignore any of them.

*Vine2* A "P.E.N.C.I.L. Review *Vine1*

__*Pencil*


*Star* First Impressions: You say this is a real story, and I read it as such so there's no problem there. Getting the right person to go out with seems like a nightmarishly difficult chore for you and your friends alike. I've never had to think about this though, so I'll take your word for it.

Still I don't think you should deliberately point out that you were being rude to people because you were still unsure how to act. I hesitated when I read that because I wasn't sure if I wanted to see just 'how' rude you were being. Just mention in the story that you're uncomfortable around them. If you are, it should be a natural fit with the rest.

A lot of asking and rejecting going on in one short, short story. I didn't get deeply in the know about everything going on until it ended. It was like a fleeting thing. So what happened to the friend you rejected? These were questions in my mind.


*Heart* My Favorite Elements: I like how they 'failed to discourage' two guys in one go. Yeah, sometimes they can't seem to take a hint. I have four brothers and at times I need to hint big time for them to get my message. At that point it's almost better just to tell them straight out for yourself.


*Moon* Suggestions: As I've said above, I don't think you should make an excuse for your behaviour right away. If it's important, you can just add it to the story so people can figure it out by themselves. Besides, if you were really troubled by it you oughtn't have written it *Wink*. If you ask me, for the most part you weren't so bad politeness wise. If you felt happy - mean as that might have been - about something or not, it's kind of hard to help those feelings.

I also couldn't help but notice the random smiley faces. In writing that doesn't look very clean cut if you know what I mean. You shouldn't need to add an emoticon to give the sensation away with one of those. Try to explain the feeling. You said it's real so you have felt it.

I got slightly confused between the friends and guys mentioned, possibly because there's no description (fake or otherwise) on any one of them other than that you like him or you don't. This is hard to remember. Just a heads up.


*Butterflyb* Overall: Not so bad. You could probably clarify a lot of what's going on by adding description and fleshing out the mood more. I didn't think you sounded extremely rude, but then again I might be (who knows?), so don't stress over that so much. If it were me I'd probably have declined everyone without much thought about it. I hope you had a good time despite not getting the person you wanted.


Keep writing!

~Tam


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186
Review of New Novel Intro  
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with P.E.N.C.I.L.  
Rated: E | (3.5)

I'm not a professional writer. I'm trying to give you honest feedback and impressions of what I thought as I read your work. These are one person's opinions, and you're free to ignore any of them.

*Vine2* A "P.E.N.C.I.L. Review *Vine1*

__*Pencil*


*Star* First Impressions: This is about an imprisoned man who longs for freedom, but seems not to understand anything but confinement. He spends the whole intro longing and focused on this particular topic.

There is something else, though, I suppose. A person on the outside he seems to remember, but has never seen. I'm not sure, because it was so focused on one particular subject that I drowned in it and felt like skipping over just about everything to see if it picked up. Not a good first impression, and likely not the type you want.

All I know pretty much is that he is trapped and there is no way out, and has nightmares he does not remember.


*Heart* My Favorite Elements: You have a great deal of ability to describe a sensation. In this case his confinement and the desire for freedom is quite evident. I like that you managed to give him this sense of emptiness and make it a tangible thing.


*Moon* Suggestions: Although you did a good job with your emotional writing, I feel that this isn't much of a novel intro. In fact, I'm not sure where any of the hooks really are. Nothing really exciting goes on, and I have no idea why I should care about this particular character. I know he is trapped, but what does that have to do with me?

Perhaps a fleeting glimpse of his struggle - if there was one - in the very beginning would be a good idea.

I think the main problem going on here is that you are too focused on his confinement and how he feels about it. This makes it feel like you're trying to drill it into the skulls of every reader that chances your way. The writing in question is not bad, but the subject is repetitive and dull. This could have probably been half the length and still manage to convey the exact same point in a more engaging manner. Otherwise the temptation to skim is strong, and very difficult to ignore. I'm not saying to scrap the whole thing, but perhaps stepping back and looking at it again would be helpful.


*Butterflyb* Overall: I don't really feel like this is a novel opening, but I guess only you'd know that since I don't think there is any more. Without 'more' I can't really judge this as a story overall, but I feel more like this is a play on a person's feelings than anything else. I'm sure it was a good exercise on how to do it, though. You might be able to remedy it in a variety of ways. Perhaps instead of just hollow emptiness he could long for something he saw in a dream, or thought he saw. Anything to liven it up would be appreciated.


Keep writing!

~Tam


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187
Review of MISSING  
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with The Realm of Fantasy Group  
Rated: E | (3.5)

I'm not a professional writer. I'll try to give honest feedback and try to help with your writing. Remember, it is completely up to you whether you change anything or not.


*Star* First Impressions: You have a decent opening, enough to snag my attention. This mother is established right from the start as anxious, frightened, and desperate to find her son. You even gave a very good flash of back story to keep the reader in the know about what happened before this event. She left her child in someone else's care, and he just up and disappeared.

So the entire story is devoted to her search for this little boy, and how much he means to her. At last she ends up in the other store, and a voice on the loudspeaker announces that the mother of 'Josh' should come forward and collect him. Shocked and hopeful, she rushes out to get him. There's even a happy ending.


*Heart* My Favorite Elements: Yea, I think you definitely captured the mood of an anxious mother, immediately thinking the worst but hoping for the best about her missing child. This boy means everything to her, and through this I can't help but feel that way as well and rooted for her all the while.


*Moon* Suggestions: There were a few minor problems that I noticed, and these things could use some polishing up. Maybe, though, you could also mention her blinking back tears as she walks. It was kind of surprising that anyone would notice her distress so easily (or at least think it was bad enough to ask her about it. Might make more sense if she stopped them).

Kate's dialogue might have been too tense, and I'll point out where I noticed that below.

My heart was thumping so fast I felt it was coming through my chest.

Was is a really weak word, and it's kind of painful to see it right at the beginning of your story. I suggest you try something like: My heart pounded so fast that I feared it would come through my chest.

"I am so sorry Maggie I have looked everywhere, he is not here."

People tend to shortcut if they can, unless they're really unfamiliar with someone. Since the main character was willing to leave her child in her care, she probably knows her pretty well. In which case she might say 'he's not here' instead.

he must have wondered out of the store."

Wandered*

Pull yourself together I told myself, he has only been gone about 15 minutes,

Should be spelled out as 'fifteen'.


*Butterflyb* Overall: I'm glad she found her little boy in the end because I was almost fearing this would end up being a tragedy or a horror story or something. Though it wasn't, and I could relax when I got to the last paragraph. She found the kid, and I think she's going to be more careful with him from now on.

That aside, you have the mood strongly affecting the piece. That's great, it's good enough that I can feel it and it's like a tangible thing. She's scared, and although I'm not, I get that anxious sensation as well.


Keep writing!

~Tam


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188
188
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with P.E.N.C.I.L.  
Rated: E | (3.5)

I'm not a professional writer. I'm trying to give you honest feedback and impressions of what I thought as I read your work. These are one person's opinions, and you're free to ignore any of them.

*Vine2* A "P.E.N.C.I.L. Review *Vine1*

__*Pencil*


Hi there! I'm Tam and I noticed your item on the Review Please page and stopped by to give you some feedback. I hope this helps.

*Star* First Impressions: A length introduction is what greeted my eyes first, and I read through this without too much trouble. You introduce the main character as restless and incomplete. It's like she longs for something, and yet she doesn't know what it is. So she's missing a piece of herself.

There's little other indication that the story is going anywhere in particular, though I guess there is some point or you would never have written it... I can't find this purpose anywhere. So far it seems like a fairly regular story about a fairly regular girl going to school and growing up. Probably all right if you're into YA big time (I'm not, but I won't let that get to me).

On the upside you definitely established the characters, and that there are two knew kids at their school who are twins. If I'm not mistaken, it's these twins that have something to do with how the story progresses (thought it's hard to tell).


*Heart* My Favorite Elements: Your dialogue is really good. In fact, I'd say it's probably one of the strongest elements here, although the main character does have a good voice that carries through the whole chapter very well. There are also some nice descriptions going on here and there. The other characters were clear enough as well. Sometimes too clear.


*Moon* Suggestions: Now down to the more serious stuff...

The beginning introduction is very stale. It starts out decently well, but goes downhill really fast. I will tell you why so you can do something about it, since pointing it out is only half the assistance I could give. Your sentences are very repetitive. Have you ever been told to do something, then when you hesitated to react were prompted three or four times? Gets pretty irritating, huh? Well, it's like that in writing, too. Only instead of getting just annoying, it starts becoming boring.

In your case you overused 'incomplete', 'void', and 'piece'... it's heavy stuff. You might want to adjust this. Make sure your sentences are each unique enough to be distinctive.

This, for instance:

I have been adored and loved completely by my mother my entire life .

That space before the period is just a minor problem. You can cut out either 'adored' or 'loved' because their meanings are pretty close.

On a slightly different subject, you might be able to cut out a lot of that extra introduction after the cut you made. The mother isn't on stage yet, and you've said so much about her and her preferences that I rather feel like skipping through it. I'm not - at this point anyway - as concerned with the mother as I am about the main character in question. An idea is to find out what is most relevant to the story and make an obvious journey towards it. Maybe you shouldn't even start in her home where she's getting ready to leave, but rather begin on the icy road as she is driving to school. That's more exciting, and is more likely to hook your reader in the first paragraph.

Have you ever felt like you were destined for something - something that would made you more than what you are? Something that would fill the missing pieces inside you, even though you had no idea what those missing pieces were or what that destiny might be…

This opening wouldn't be bad. It has some mysterious feel to it. Yet, it's also repetitive. When I see things like this I'm uncertain whether or not I wish to continue, because there's a good chance that the whole story will have the heavy, repeating sensation to it. The redundancy could likely be cut out without harm, and it would give your opening a more streamlined feel.

Nestled amidst the long stretch of Maine coastline, on the West side of Penobscot Bay, there is a timeless collection of little New England communities, one of which being my home town.

This is your real 'opening to the actual story' line. Reading this, I asked myself if I would be interested in a story that started this way. I'm going to ask you to question it, too. Right off my answer would be "Ehh... I dunno..." and I'd probably go back to the bookshelf to see if anything else started better. If not, I may or may not come back.

Compare this to an opening on an icy road while she squints through the windshield and is grateful that she started several minutes early. The roads are murderous! I think I'd be far more likely to keep going, just to see if she'd make it.

Looking at her, you could see very clearly that she was everything I was not.

I don't think this is necessary. She describes the girl afterwards, and if it's so clear that they're the opposite you shouldn't need to drag everyone's attention to that. They'll notice on their own.

She was the bubbly cheerleader demanding to be the center of everyone's attention.

The way this is worded I can't figure out if you meant she literally IS a bubbly cheerleader, or you're just using the word as a way to describe her. If so, there's got to be a more showy way to say this. Example (if she IS a cheerleader): As a cheerleader, Kate demanded the center of everyone's attention with her gaudy, energetic behaviour. Example 2 (if she's NOT a cheerleader): She acted like a bubbly cheerleader that demanded everyone's immediate attention. Of course these are just examples - and in my opinion not great ones - but I hope they get the point across.


*Butterflyb* Overall: You can write, I'll give you that. Perhaps you're focusing too much on making your story pretty and descriptive, or bringing the backstory out, but it reads heavily. This isn't something you want. You're giving too much too fast, and in a place where your readers will get discouraged from reading. It also takes away from the mood, which I found difficult to find. Give what's important right off, and slowly introduce the other, less relevant things later on. Overall I think this has potential, but the story is just a bit stifled by the massive amount of information it's trying to give right away.

Don't be discouraged. Infodumping is a major issue that is SO easy to fall into. It's hard to find a comfortable in between, and I couldn't tell you just where that is. Everyone has a slightly different opinion on it (though believe me, no one likes to be drowned).


Keep writing!

~Tam


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189
Review of Chapter One  
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with P.E.N.C.I.L.  
Rated: E | (3.5)

I'm not a professional writer. I'm trying to give you honest feedback and impressions of what I thought as I read your work. These are one person's opinions, and you're free to ignore any of them.

*Vine2* A "P.E.N.C.I.L. Review *Vine1*

__*Pencil*


Hiya, I'm Tam and I saw your item on the Review Please page. I'm here to give you some feedback.

*Star* First Impressions: So by the name Piper I originally thought of the Pied Piper, which would have been cool - but this is all right, too. Right away you introduce the situation as it is: she's got to go to therapy for some reason or another. I got the impression of a far-too-bright room, smiling people offering stale questions, and the main character being sick and tired of it.

The back story - which I found more engaging than the rest - explains why Piper is in therapy. Her father is absent (for what exact reason I don't know) and her little brother just up and disappeared. Just there's no explanation for that either. Both Piper and her mother were deeply upset by this and are both only just beginning to recover fully. The mom stopped crying whenever the father is mentioned, and likewise Piper stopped crying over Aiden's disappearance. Though I wonder what caused it.


*Heart* My Favorite Elements: I like the disappearing little brother. How mysterious. And she was with him up to the moment he vanished. There were no explanations for it, but a lightning bolt hitting really close to their house. Maybe that has something to do with his vanishing. I'm curious about that most of all.


*Moon* Suggestions: I feel like you're trying to give too much information on your story way too fast. It bogs down a lot of what I'm reading, and the flashback is kind of mixed with the present, which gives your whole story a confused and heavy feel.

From what I have learned from my experience and other writers on this site (among other random places), you want your first chapter to introduce what is most important, and get the action down pat. I don't know why you couldn't just start with this flashback instead, then go on to the time having passed and how she is getting over it. This is, of course, my opinion, but it might help lighten up your chapter, get to the main point of it, and ease the confusion off the reader.

You might also want to try and use the word 'was' less, it would make your story feel more finished (a tip is to try and use less -ly and -ing endings as well).

There wasn’t a peep from him and usually by this time, he would be trying not to cry.

Maybe: Dead silence followed her statement and she tried to still her fluttering heart. Odd. Usually he would be sniffing and trying to hold back tears.

She showed them the book, but the police were interested.

I think you meant 'weren't' interested.

She plucked it off, rolled it to the tip of her fingers, and popped it in her mouth, red juice dying her lips.

Dyeing*. Though I'm not sure, this chapter ending isn't very... exciting. You have to make sure your readers want to keep on reading, not make them wonder why things matter.


*Butterflyb* Overall: I like the concept of her brother disappearing into thin air, the fact that no one seemed to care deeply about it. Though I wish you would have given more explanation as to what happened to her father. I know that I often do this as well, but you did a massive amount of name dumping and I was rapidly very confused. You might want to at least explain who these people are when you toss their name at me, or give a vague description. As their names come up, she could picture them. I don't think you even mentioned what Aiden looked like.


Keep writing!

~Tam


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190
Review of Poison  
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with The Realm of Fantasy Group  
Rated: ASR | (3.5)

I'm not a professional writer. I'll try to give honest feedback and try to help with your writing. Remember, it is completely up to you whether you change anything or not.

Hi there, this is Tam. I clicked to random review, and your item came up. I'm here to give you some feedback.

*Star* First Impressions: This is interesting because through going along with the first two character's perspectives, you then, at last, reach the last person and finish the scene. I'm not entirely sure what is going on, but it seems that the first character is being apprehended by someone she'd really rather not be. She knows it's coming, and it's unavoidable, but she can't run. She's stuck, and she allows (if you can even call it that) herself to be carried along with the tide.

Moving on to him, the next character, he's got power over her and he's well aware of it. He knows she can't run even if she's seen him and there's nothing more she'd like to do, and he's perfectly aware that she's swallowing his every word.

The last person observes both the power and the timidity of the exchange, and observes as they leave the room. That person doesn't quite seem to know what to make of it, except that it was unusual and deserved notice.


*Heart* My Favorite Elements: All three of these perspectives were nicely arranged. They depict the same scene and go past with roughly identical pacing. That makes it so that it isn't jarring to read, and is a pleasant experience instead. There's a lot of nerves going on with her, and self-satisfaction with him. The last person is just curious, I suppose.


*Moon* Suggestions: Mostly I have a few things to point out in her perspective because there were a few extra words that could be done without. That and, you might want to make the separations somewhat more clear - you know, like where they are - because as of now they're just paragraphs apart. This is kind of confusing if you're used to reading a story off in one page like this, only with one perspective.

I see him through the large swarm of people.

A swarm of people indicates there's a lot of them to me. No need to say 'large'.

His eyes, black, swallow me whole as he stares at me.

I'm not sure why this couldn't just say: His black eyes swallow me whole as he stares at me. But it is up to you.

I try to scream out,

Unless otherwise stated that she's screaming on the inside, this shouldn't be necessary.


*Butterflyb* Overall: I thought you did a good job on your perspectives, personally. You kept them all roughly the same length, the pacing was even, and the characters all understandably where they were. There were no glaring logic problems. I'm uncertain as to what is going on, but since you're going for a perspective test I think you did fairly well on that. The scene is there, and it's well shown from three different angles.


Keep writing!

~Tam


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191
191
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with P.E.N.C.I.L.  
Rated: 13+ | (4.0)

I'm not a professional writer. I'll try to give honest feedback and try to help with your writing. Remember, it is completely up to you whether you change anything or not.

Hi, I'm Tam and I found your item by clicking to have a random review. So I'm here to give you a review *Cool*

*Star* First Impressions: Your character, as the prompt wanted, just woke up from an awful nightmare. He gets up with a start, takes a drink of water, and relives the experience in reflection to give the reader an idea of what is going on. Of course I've got no idea of the context you have behind all this, but the character has apparently suffered such awful dreams before and hasn't had them in a while. Now they're coming back and he doesn't know why.


*Heart* My Favorite Elements: For its short length, there were quite a few nice descriptions going on here of the room, the glass of water, and even the nightmare. I have a fairly clear mental image of what everything looks like without huge lengthy paragraphs to bog it down. I'm also getting the strong feeling of frustrated terror from the character in question.


*Moon* Suggestions: The beginning might have put things into perspective, but it's really flat. I felt like it had so little to do with the actual scene that I got very confused when he actually woke up. Some people - and in most cases I do agree - think that you should never start with dialogue, though. Maybe he could just bolt upright, then say 'gah'. Throughout the latter parts of the story I discovered that he slept in an inn without the introduction there. But these are just my opinions. It's really up to you.


*Butterflyb* Overall: Interesting, but outside context I don't really find myself very enlightened on the actual going ons. That's all right since this is just to build characterization, and I think you've managed that much. The character managed to get in a bit about his life - just a taste - and focused mostly on this nightmare problem of his. Though I don't know what's going on, that's not important here. I think you've done a fairly good job on this.


Keep writing!

~Tam


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for entry "Chapter Fourteen
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with P.E.N.C.I.L.  
Rated: 13+ | (3.5)
I'm not a professional writer. I'll try to give honest feedback and try to help with your writing. Remember, it is completely up to you whether you change anything or not.

*Vine2* A "P.E.N.C.I.L. Review *Vine1*

__*Pencil*


Hi there, this is Tam and I've reached the end of your novel. Took longer than I expected because of a few derailing events, but I'm here now and will do my best to give an overview of your novel. Hopefully this will be helpful for you.

Opinions for this chapter


*Ghost* Plot: Nathalya Harms is one of the few remaining ghost agents in the Alliance. She is reassigned to go to the planet of El'Anorath to join the Juliette unit if I recall correctly. She is warned against going because it's an all out war, and no one is likely to come back from the group she was told to join. She intended to go by herself, but her friend Trinity Wells insists on going with her.

Together these two go down to the surface in a shuttle of some kind to reach their unit. However on their way they are attacked by unknowns and shot down. Nathalya and Trinity jump to safety, mostly because Nathalya took charge - as I recall Trinity just freaked out - and they land somewhat jarringly on the ground.

Though Trinity Wells twists her ankle, they are largely unharmed and rush back to the crash site. Here they are given a bloodstained letter from one of the other passengers, who then dies. The letter is supposed to be sent to Toomes, and at this point I have no idea who that is.

They're picked up by Alliance soldiers before too long and they meet DeVega, who takes them towards their unit in Juliette. It seems he's from that group as well, because once there he sticks around. Upon their arrival they are given some time to rest and freshen up, then are briefed on a mission of attack.

This battle goes badly at first, and is nearly lost until Nathalya reveals certain abilities she has as a half-blooded Calari. Again, at that point in time the reader has no clue what that is. It kind of flew over my head at times. But back to the story.

Nathalya's abilities don't go past the enemy men. A group of stalkers - werewolf-ish guys who are minus the human part of the werewolf spectrum as far as I gathered - comes to attack the unprepared base, but are stopped by the Corrinites. They want to talk and arrange a momentary cease fire if Nathalya will come with them.

She requests time to think about it, but in the end she decides to go (much to the fury of DeVega), and departs with them the next day. The agreement is a total ceasefire, but this doesn't work out quite the way it's planned since the Corrinites were planning to backbite them the whole time. It turns out they only wanted Nathalya, and one of their number has the same sort of powers as she does.

Nathalya is essentially kidnapped and dragged all the way to the Corrinite capital to meet with their leader: Tessom. It turns out that Nathalya is descended from a Calari princess who had the power to use the great titan Orion who - if used wrongly - could do a number on the planet. Tessom wants to utilize this monstrosity, and to do that he needs Nathalya to give herself up to it.

Of course she disagrees, and she is thrown into prison for a while.

In the meantime the Alliance's Juliette base is attacked. As far as is discerned, Trinity Wells and DeVega are the only ones to escape. They smell a rat, and decide to go after Nathalya in case she's in danger (who am I kidding, of course they knew she was in danger!) and walk all the way to the Corrinite city to find her. To do this they need to trick the guards and change their clothes, but in the end they manage to get inside.

That leads to a long period of waiting, whereon Nathalya gets ill (food poisoning? Something worse?) and her friends team up with a Corrinite that has doubts about the rulership (and a crush on Nathalya). Together they devise a really risky escape plan, that miraculously works.

Once they've got her, they come up with a REALLY risky way to leave the city. Once there they take different paths from their rescuers and go back to the Alliance to attempt to find and destroy Orion. The bloodstained letter comes back into play again when Nathalya meets Toomes, and through this message he discerns the location of Orion.

Nathalya is given a group of specialists - troops if you would - to find this Orion, and they are ready to depart in a few days I believe. DeVega, however, is going his separate way to try and free those remaining of the Juliette unit who are imprisoned in enforced labour in Tessom's mine - which is an attempt to locate Orion as well. They say farewell, and each depart.

Their mission doesn't even start out smoothly, but they get a good distance out before they are confronted by stalkers. These are probably the first stalkers the reader gets close to in the entire story, since the first group were kind of hard to figure out. There are enough of them there, and they will put trespassers to death.

But Nathalya works out an agreement with them by threatening their leader with her Calari powers, and they are supposed to lead them out of the forest - as long as they never come back. The deal only works one way. But before they get that far, they are attacked by another group of stalkers.

Instead of running for their lives (which probably wouldn't have worked anyway), Nathalya's group helps the stalkers they were originally with fend off their enemies. This battle is probably one of the best ones in the book, and also forges a sort of understanding between them. They've got friends among the stalkers.

It's arranged that one of the said creatures will lead them to Orion's resting place, since they have a fairly good idea where it is. So the group heads off in that direction with their new guide.

They're led down a narrow path and through rain, bad traveling conditions, and so on, before they reach a river. Though they try to cross, Toomes and Falston I think fell into the water and were swept downstream before anyone could save them. From there they decide to travel across in the drone.

This works - kind of - and they're free to continue onwards, but in the middle of the night they are approached by two people: the missing members of their party. Once everyone is ready, they all move on.

In the meantime there is a brief flash to the side that shows Tessom's failed digging attempts, Nathalya's upset father, and DeVega's near tragic end. That - I might add - is a beautiful moment.

At last they reach the Calari ruins where the titan is supposed to be kept, and they're met by a... shade thing. A remnant of some kind. This thing explains the history of the entire story in a very concise manner, and even gives Nathalya Tessom's real reason for wanting Orion. Orion isn't the destroyer of worlds, it protects them.

Before she can decide just what to do they are attacked by Tessom's group. Trinity Wells - ever Nathalya's devoted friend - voluntarily tries to lead them off, but her attempts are unsuccessful. The rest of Nathalya's company are brought to their knees and executed one after another before her very eyes. Except Shepard, who retaliates and buys Nathalya enough time to jump next to Orion.

She manages to activate the massive titan, and joins with it to protect everyone on El'Anorath. Tessom tries to override her ability and control the titan, but she's too angry and hurt and everything to be swayed. She destroys the ruins, but still manages to locate her friend Trinity Wells - still alive thanks to her little endeavour - and carries her to safety where DeVega is.

Then Nathalya leaves, forever a part of that massive titan. I guess you couldn't say she was unhappy that way, though it's hard to tell since she doesn't get another perspective from there.

Lastly DeVega and Trinity are married, and have a daughter named after Nathalya. They know the truth, but Errol (the Corrinite who helped them save Nathalya Harms) doesn't, and wishes he could see her again. Still, a beautiful ending.


*Paw* Characters: A brief overview of the main characters. I might forget less important people so bear with me.

Nathalya Harms: She's the main character of the novel with a long backstory despite her age. She's part Calari and has abilities beyond those a normal person would have. She's got titian hair as I recall and wears black, thin rimmed glasses because of a mistake on Trinity Wells' part years ago. She's caring, pretty, and generally acts like she's not afraid of anything. Lets not forget stalwart determination. She is the titan Orion in the end.

Trinity Wells: Nathalya's best friend, and partly - I believe - the reason why they both ended up in the military. At first she comes across as very feminine and lacking in the department of bravery, but as the story progresses she becomes a regular heroine and bold besides. I'm not sure when this change took place, but she's really different at first than she is later. She's got black hair, and has some great moments in the story.

Kale DeVega: Military army type at first. He's got rules, standards, and the whole nine yards. At first I thought he was an extra, but as he showed up more and more his character fleshed out. Unlike the others I have no idea where he's from originally or what his motivation is. He disagrees with Nathalya once at least, but seems to come to terms with it because he's willing to listen to her later on. He's got brown hair, and has one striking moment of weakness through the story. It makes him seem more human.

Mr. Harms: Er... I actually forgot his name, but he's Nathalya's father. Seems to be the type that likes to joke around. He loves Nathalya like no other and must have been struck pretty hard by her disappearance. He appears very few times in the story and I don't rightly recall what he looked like (or if he was even described) as his parts were minimal.

Errol Errukson: Corrinite soldier who forfeited the military after he discovered what was being done behind his back, and just how much he didn't know about. It may or may not have had something to do with Nathalya, who he had a crush on. He helped turn their leadership towards the better, but he never found out what happened to Nathalya.

Nathalya's Group: They went with her to find Orion and lost their lives in the process. They had the stern leader type, the crazy about weapons one, the scientist, and even an extra man that I can't quite recall leaning in any particular direction. Except maybe profanity in language.

Juliette Unit: They weren't around for long, but I got the impression of a bunch of rookies being led by an uncertain man and a veteran. Most of them were killed, and those that were not were captured. There isn't any real detail pertaining to whether or not those that worked in the mines escaped, or if they were executed once the Calari realized there was nothing down there.

Stalkers: These guys show up twice, really. The first time they're as a distraction, and a point of the enemy's powers. They seem to be wolfmen of some sort with an Indian type of lifestyle. Their tribes are a bit split up as a result of all the warring, but I'm going to assume they patched most of that up after Orion gets free. They don't seem as bad as they're painted out to be in the beginning, and Nathalya even befriends a few. Brusko was their guide.

Tessom: He's the antagonist, although I don't get a whole lot of feelings from him other than strong resentment, and he wants the titan Orion to take revenge on those who 'left him behind?' I think? He only poses a real threat while Nathalya is in his clutches, and when he shoots a lot of his captives. Otherwise I can't say I was all that frightened of him, which might need some work... I don't even rightly recall what he looks like.

Extras: There were a lot of characters, too many for me to list in this fashion. Highlighted were the Lieutenant that was a Calari (and killed by Nathalya), the nurse who took care of the main character when she was ill, Errol's uncle, and the man on the ship Nathalya was on at first.


*Phone* Dialogue: Mostly good, but there was some tension in places there really shouldn't have been. Sometimes it didn't match the situation as well as it could have, and this isn't to denote your writing. Dialogue, action, and description are all written differently. Of course real people don't use perfect grammar while they're talking, and they even tend to shortcut as much as they can to get their point across without sounding like a preschooler. That doesn't mean you have to make them say stupid things, mind you, just get them to relax those tense muscles when they're used to one another.


*Compass* Grammar: I have really bad grammar, and I couldn't tell you if yours was terrible. It read off okay in my mind, but I'm pretty sure it could use some work in a few places. My limited knowledge allows me to know this much. I have heard that reading aloud can help solve this issue, and although I really wouldn't be caught dead doing so with four brothers and two parents near me, you might be able to work something like that out for yourself. It's worth a try.


*Music1* Favourite Elements: You managed to add a very fantasy backdrop to your sci-fi novel without throwing anything off kilter with it. I enjoyed the mysterious elements surrounding Nathalya, the history of El'Anorath, and even discovering the reason for the war going on there. There were some interesting plot twists going on as well, and I was surprised by several of Wells' interventions. My first impression of her denounced her as mildly incompetent with weapons, but I was proven wrong and it didn't feel like something that came right out of left field.

You gave Nathalya a few interesting quirks of her own (she likes some alcoholic beverages), and her friendship with Trinity is believable and solid. They seem to lean on one another.

I also liked the way she goes with Orion in the end. I could picture that in my mind, and it's pretty fantastic.


*Beach* Setting: A few of the settings that jumped out at me in your novel will be written out here. We'll see what I remember.

Space Port Constable: Really, this is where the whole story begins. It makes me think of a large vessel that is held in place above this mysterious El'Anorath place. I pictured it to be kind of grey toned inside kind of like Deep Space Nine, though between you and me I never was as fond of Deep Space Nine (not because of the station itself). Clean cut, tidy, and pale grey. That's my impression of it.

Forest Crash Site: I think green, leafy, and foreign would cover most of this in one go. I kind of pictured something more like a jungle, but maybe a bit drier, so not really like what we've got around here in Canada. Leafier. Fuller. Maybe with a path here and there. The shuttle's site I got the impression of the destroyed craft and pieces of scrap metal flung everywhere. Disturbing.

Juliette Base: Brown. Packed dirt with sparse grass. Overlooks some kind of precipice. Lots of high-tech mobile buildings that are also toned to be brown. Forest in the distance. That's what I imagined, though I never thought about it much since you didn't really elaborate.

Corrinite City: Layered, so it's like a large tier on the bottom, a smaller tier above that, and so on. Makes me picture a Colosseum from Rome, but bigger on the scale that people can LIVE on each of these tiers. Oh, and the people dress colourfully, like butterflies (if you pardon that term). So it would look pretty fantastic overall.

Orion's Ruins: Grey wastelands with the skeletons of destroyed buildings scattered about. Lots of rubble, crumbled bricks, and dust floating around on the breeze. Time of day gave me the impression of twilight, but I'm sure that's inaccurate... the underground levels were cobwebby, ancient, and dusty besides. Like a high-tech cave with a massive... thing... inside.


*Burstp* Suggestions: My first thought is: what did Orion look like? Just now I realized I have no real idea what it's appearance is, other than the fact that it must be humanoid because you mentioned it had hands. You might want to go into that.

Putting that aside the middle chapters are your best parts. The Corrinite city had the best grounding going, and the most action takes place. Yet, it also doesn't seem madly rushed as the beginning did at times. I'm no expert, but I'm under the impression that this is a sign of the pacing being offbeat. What you should probably do is slow down a notch earlier on (and a great load later on) so you can get in the details that are important. I don't mean filling it with hugely flowery descriptions, but just those details that are necessary would be helpful here and there.

Near the end I didn't feel as satisfied as I could have. Tessom doesn't give me that madly intimidating sensation - and that might be a result of Nathalya not seeming to care about her friends. Where is the emotion that she ought to be feeling? Why were these last few scenes so rushed through? Tessom cannot kill Nathalya right out - it takes away from his impact as the antagonist. You might be able to make Nathalya uncertain of this, at least.

Also I can't help but notice there was a battle suit thing in the Juliette base before they were conquered. What happened to this thing, anyway? When it first showed up I had thought - and perhaps even hoped - that it would take some important role in the story. Yet as far as I recall it was only used once, and I didn't even get to see it. That makes it feel like it's an addition that didn't need to be there, or was forgotten about.

You often tell us something happened, then fail to give a visual on it. Instead of telling us the characters have done something, take a moment to think about how that would look and try to describe it instead. Give it a bit of movement, and you've got something that - y'know - is active. That'll make your story pop off the page more, and allow the readers to get more involved with Nathalya.

I'm not sure what the exact point of Nathalya's father's scene near the end was. The withdrawal order is important, yes, but that could have been heard from someone else who held more importance in the story like DeVega. As it was, I felt almost as if I'd been jerked from the story at present and flung into something that didn't matter nearly so much. Failing this, Tessom could know about it, and his scene could be expanded instead. Make me fear this guy.


*Star* Overall: Cool story with lots of action and hidden truths, and revelations. So on. I wish there had been more in a few places, since it felt like they were just the bare bones, but overall it has the makings of a good novel. My dad always told me the story is the most important thing, not the floral descriptions. Get what matters in there, and make it matter to the reader as well. So far you've got a good start. I won't lie to you and say it'll only be a short while before you can publish it, novels are a lot of work and it'll take time to get that far from this stage, but it is better than my first (four?) rough drafts ever were.

Liked it, needs work, but it's well on its way overall. Your main characters are pretty strong. I like the Calari thing going on and the stalkers - though I wish I'd known what they were earlier.

If you have any further questions about anything I might have missed - which is unfortunately quite possible - don't hesitate to ask. Trust me, I don't bite.


Keep writing!

~Tam


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193
193
for entry "Chapter Thirteen
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with P.E.N.C.I.L.  
Rated: 13+ | (3.5)

I'm not a professional writer. I'm trying to give you honest feedback and impressions of what I thought as I read your work. These are one person's opinions, and you're free to ignore any of them.

*Vine2* A "P.E.N.C.I.L. Review *Vine1*

__*Pencil*


*Star* First Impressions: This starts on a slow note as if to defy the fact that this is the second to last chapter, but as it goes it seems to gain momentum. Nathalya is greeted by a shade of some sort who has no face, and no apparent 'form' per se. It just seems to be a floating shadow thing in a rough manlike shape. That's what I'm getting from it, anyway. It takes Nathalya to the titan Orion and tells her what she can and cannot do about it.

But in the middle of this important explanation they're interrupted by Tessom's unwanted arrival, and his interruption of the conversation. Nathalya has to make her choice at that moment. Activate the titan and take it away, or just kill Tessom or a mix of both?

It's not entirely clear what she decides or when she decides it, but next thing the reader - being me - knows there's a fray going on. Wells tries to draw attention away from Nathalya, but she doesn't seem to succeed. There's no immediate indication as to what happened to her, but she disappears down the corridor. Everyone else is held at gunpoint.

Throughout this Nathalya is told to yield to Tessom, but she refuses and one by one her companions are shot. None of them waver, although Shepard poses a threat as soon as she's given the chance to do so. I wonder what happened to their stalker companion. Maybe he ran off before the danger grew too great.

Anyway, Nathalya takes Shepard's distraction and jumps towards the titan, insisting it takes her. At last it does and activates, and all the ruins are brought to... um... ruins. With the titan, Nathalya locates Wells and carries her free of the rubble and gives her back to DeVega... only I thought he was dead?

I'm not sure what happens in the next chapter, or why there is one for that matter, but I'm curious enough to want to find out.


*Heart* My Favorite Elements: I like the shade thing best, really. He explains a lot without wasting loads of time doing it. I also think it's neat what happens to Nathalya, although tragic about what happens to her companions. They were willing. Usually in this kind of situation something would happen to save them, too. I think it's neat that you didn't do that. Broke the mold a bit and still made it believable that Wells could have escaped their fate just because of her self-sacrificial behaviour.

"You are clever," said the shade. "If I had a face, I would be smiling right now. Instead, just take my word for it."

I like this *Thumbsup*


*Moon* Suggestions: As I said earlier this chapter rapidly picks up momentum. Perhaps TOO much momentum. There was so much skipping near the end that I was thoroughly confused by the time I hit the bottom. First off, I'd have liked to see most of what happened in between. Tessom and his group filing in and capturing everyone... more detail on the titan's digging and what it sees while it digs might be nice too... and perhaps an explanation as to why DeVega isn't dead. How did he escape that fate when it seemed so obvious what would happen to him? There is no mention of it, and I feel there ought to be at some point.

Minor side note: I don't think Wells would be a hundred percent aware of her surroundings right off the bat like that, so maybe she shouldn't be the one mentioning the glasses. Maybe he could ask her that, and she could just blink in confusion. I mean, she's been hit on the head. Glasses are probably the last thing on her mind.

I think the mood could have been played up a bit, since it seemed so passive in many places. In this chapter a lot of emotional, sad, and even scary things happen. I feel that in those skips you gave, you forfeited not only clarity, but a lot of the feelings thrown in. Nathalya came through only as she got into the titan.

There came a sudden commotion a little ways beyond the light of the campfire that burned low in the circle of sleepers.

Try not to use 'a little' if at all possible, except in dialogue.

There came a call, almost it sounded like a distant warning.

Repetitive sentence opening to look out for.

On the edge of the firelight, they could see the silhouettes of two figures, one much taller than the other.

Or maybe: Two figures cut silhouettes on the edge of the firelight, one much taller than the other. Because we know who's looking, there's no real need to say it.

Nathalya felt a change come over her as they approached the stones,

What kind of change?

Though the wall had fallen, the stairs stood mostly intact, though pebbles and loose stones fell precariously to the ground as she climbed gingerly to the top.

Quite a lot of -ly endings here, and I was under the impression that precarious meant it was balanced dangerously on the edge of something. If they're falling they've already passed the precarious stage.

When they ran out of light, Nathalya pulled one of the old torches lining the descent and lit a brightly burning flame before passing it to Sergeant Ralphael.

This sentence has a skip in it that's a bit jarring to read.

"This..," came a voice that did not belong to the group. They looked around for the speaker, but no one was seen.

"Was once a place considered holy to the Calari," it continued.


Feels a bit disjointed.

said the shade, apparently guessing her thoughts.

If it's so apparent, you shouldn't need to say it was.

You led them right too it.

To*

The titan stood at length. It held a hand up in farewell. DeVega set Wells carefully down and stood to his full height,

Maybe the second one could be 'straightened' or something. Anything like that could replace 'stood'.


*Butterflyb* Overall: This isn't the sort of ending I was expecting, although it doesn't sound like a bad one. I'm thinking you explain more next chapter, or is that more like an epilogue? Anyway, Nathalya isn't going back to her father. She can't. She's 'one' with the titan. But at least she found a reason to do it, instead of just being forced into the task. Although I guess there was that, too (I mean, at that point what else could she do?).

I think this chapter has a great deal of potential, but it might end up being two chapters instead of one. Because there's a lot that needs to be resolved, and I feel like you were trying to do that in too short a span of time. Having a novel longer than 50,000 words isn't a disastrous nightmare (although it will take longer to edit, likely...). Allow yourself time to relax a bit, then decide whether or not these things SHOULD be resolved. In the meantime... I'll get on to the last chapter soon.


Keep writing!

~Tam


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If you have time please stop by my portfolio. Reviews are appreciated.


*Gold* My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!.
194
194
for entry "Chapter Twelve
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with P.E.N.C.I.L.  
Rated: 13+ | (3.5)

I'm not a professional writer. I'm trying to give you honest feedback and impressions of what I thought as I read your work. These are one person's opinions, and you're free to ignore any of them.

*Vine2* A "P.E.N.C.I.L. Review *Vine1*

__*Pencil*


Hey there, sorry this took so long but I've been frightfully busy of late and couldn't get back until now. I'm going to finish reviewing your novel as the time allows so stick with me here.

*Star* First Impressions: The mission on El'Anorath is failing for the Alliance and after a brief scene featuring the enemy leader, they have orders issued for a complete evacuation. Or it would be complete if Nathalya were in that evacuation, but she isn't. Her father is greatly upset by this and needs to leave so he can collect his thoughts again. However he can't stop thinking about his missing daughter and his deceased wife. This chain of thought gives some more back story, but not enough to be overburdening.

There was also mention that the Colonel's son was down on the surface, too. I wonder which one of them he is or if I missed that bit of information somewhere?

Then the story goes on to DeVega, who was sent to free the people and - tragically - failed in his mission. This is interesting despite the sad end to it, the way it's written is like a dreamy state that makes sense, yet also does not. I mean. Trees don't talk, but it's got a nice feeling behind it. I know what brought him to the place he's viewed at now, and he was brave - or foolish - to the very end of his strength. I don't know how efficient his counterattack was, though. He felt and reacted more than saw and noticed if you know what I mean.

Still, I kind of liked him and I was sad when he died, and Wells - there is no doubt in my mind that it was her - is imprinted in his mind. Though there is something ominous about his imagination telling him they'll fail. Anyway, I like how the dialogue ends on that note. It has a certain amount of power.


*Heart* My Favorite Elements: I think, despite the tragic feeling behind it (or maybe as a result of that tragic feeling, though I'm no fan of tragedies), that I like the ending best. The dialogue is good, and the dreamy quality behind it make sense as he's dying. Probably delirious, but in a coherent way that allows me to understand exactly what he's going through and what is on his mind. The pause was nicely timed, too.


*Moon* Suggestions: This chapter tends to hop around quite a lot, and stables out only right at the end where DeVega takes over and meets his death. There's a moment of stability when Nathalya's father cuts in as well, but it's too brief to really latch onto.

The dialogue really wants to take over in some places, so you might want to watch out for that. DeVega's is all right, but everything else might want some more... body language, perhaps.

Xera and the other remaining major outposts were under full evacuation orders.

I don't know why, but I feel this could have been phrased differently - I mean the paragraph about these evacuation orders. I don't see how this is compelling the plot forward when the dialogue below accomplishes the same thing. But that's just my opinion.

"What's more, Jonathan, the Corrinite Commander...he's a Calari."

At first I thought he was saying the Corrinite Commander was called Jonathan and was confused because I was pretty sure that couldn't be his name.

There had been several flashes of light as they made a charge from one cover to the next, and his ears ringing from the aftermath.

Rang? Otherwise it almost sounds like you went from way past to right in the moment.


*Butterflyb* Overall: This is a fairly short chapter, but it gets straight to its point without beating around the bush much. I feel sorry for what happened to DeVega, but I suppose a part of me expected it the whole time. His mission was too dangerous under the circumstances, and the way it had to be carried out seemed a bit reckless as far as I can remember. It's a good thing Wells went with Nathalya, although maybe I can't say that for sure at this moment. After all, they're going for the titan and something tells me the Corrinites aren't as clueless as they appear to be. Overall an interesting chapter with a beautiful, sad mood about it. Sad mingled with desperation and anger.


Keep writing!

~Tam


** Image ID #2035366 Unavailable **

Officially approved Writing.Com Preferred Author logo.


If you have time please stop by my portfolio. Reviews are appreciated.


*Gold* My review has been submitted for consideration in "Good Deeds Get CASH!.
195
195
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with P.E.N.C.I.L.  
Rated: E | (3.5)

I'm not a professional writer. I'm trying to give you honest feedback and impressions of what I thought as I read your work. These are one person's opinions, and you're free to ignore any of them.

*Vine2* A "P.E.N.C.I.L. Review *Vine1*

__*Pencil*


*Star* First Impressions: This is a requested review, and I'll do my best for you here...

This is a story about trapped women in some kind of camp. One of them has been killed, and her sister is desperate for revenge - or death. Whichever comes first. Everything she used to do, she now allows to slide and she hardly ever sleeps anymore.

So she declares that she will take revenge, and she knows where to find a poison to use on Linus - their jailer of sorts. The main character tries to discourage her, but when she is unsuccessful, attempts to give Catia her best possible chance to succeed. Even if she knows there's no way the other girl will ever manage it.

It's really very tragic and pathetic because the reader, through what the main character behaves like, knows we have seen the last of this specific character. And there's some sort of rebellion going on. Understandably, because their living conditions sound brutal.


*Heart* My Favorite Elements: I like the accent you gave Catia, and the dialogue is really the best part of this piece. I like how you added back story, and although this is stated as such, I feel like everything of great relevance to this 'back story' has already passed by. These are the trembling after effects of it.


*Moon* Suggestions: Although there is a great deal of emotion in this piece because of the mysterious Crystal's death, I find it's somewhat choppy in places and I have trouble connecting these emotions to the main character herself. There are a few places where I could feel what she felt, but every so often it was completely disconnected.

I think the paragraphs need some more room to breathe instead of being packed like they are. If the subject changes, you should be able to change paragraphs without a second thought. It's kind of intimidating to find yourself faced by something so massive to read.

A screaming woke me

This -ing ending aside, there's a missing period on the end. It could also be 'the scream woke me.' If you preferred.

Catia is screaming “she’s dead” over and over again holding her head and rocking back and forth.

You could remove this entirely or replace it with 'the words', because we heard what she said earlier. There is no need to repeat it.

No one is moving to help her to hold her.

Maybe: No one moves to help or hold her.

Sometimes when I look around at the 33 girls in this little apartment built for 3 I wonder if we are all broken.

All numbers below 100 should be spelled out in their word form. I'm also wondering if this shouldn't start another paragraph of its own.

We all know how her sister crystal died.

Caps lock missing on the 'c'.

Crystal’s eyes had skittered across the room. When she met her sister’s eyes and her knees buckled, she had curled in to a ball on the ground.

One of these can be 'gaze' instead to avoid redundancy.

In the morning crystal was gone and it wasn’t until the next day that we found out, that crystal had tried to escape.

The first one should have a caps C, and the second one could be replaced with 'she', since she has already been stated as the subject and no one else has been introduced to take that place.

Down in the cages are the Twins.

There's nothing strictly wrong with this, I just wanted to point it out as an ideal spot to break up that gigantic paragraph. It would make it easier to read.

I run my fingers threw her hair and whisper that she needs to get some sleep.

Through*

Catia has stopped rocking now and her breath is steady. I let go of her and sit beside her. I look at her and her gaze is steady.

Redundant statement to look out for here too.

her gaze is still stead as she stares back at me.

I think you meant 'steady' but because of the earlier overuse of the word, you might want to replace it with 'firm' or 'steadfast'.

She hasn’t made eye contact with anyone since Crystals death.

Missing possessive. It should be Crystal's.


*Butterflyb* Overall: You asked if this would make a good prologue for your novel. I have not been able to read the novel in question if you have written it, but I can still volunteer an opinion on this as an opening to a book.

A prologue or first chapter should have a hook. You seem to have nailed the hook with that initial scream from Catia. At once the reader would think: Who is dead? Why is she dead? What happened? And that should keep them reading further down, at least.

The reason of it is also made clear not long after, and the main character is introduced as well. This is good, and keeps things going. She goes to comfort the other girl, and then the back story of it all is revealed. There is also revelation further down of a rebellion.

Following that is the question: What are they going to do about it? Well. Catia wants revenge for her sister's tragic death, and decides to go running off to grab a certain poison so she can kill Linus, the fellow responsible for Crystal's demise. This is a doomed mission, and the main character does not take part in it. She merely offers some advice and feels sad.

Only problem is, I don't feel the piece closes with enough impact to really start a story. It feels as if the story is already closing. Maybe the main character should reflect on how they 'wanted to get out of there' or 'had to get out of there', or maybe even wondering when the rebellion would be strong enough to get them out of there.

It's all very nice and well to give the helper characters motive, but remember the main character must have the drive to do something about her situation as well. She is the one we're reading about, not Catia - no matter how interesting her death might have been.

These are my opinions, remember. You could still use it as a prologue if you wanted to even without adjustments. It has enough of the characteristics of one and it isn't too long.


Keep writing!

~Tam


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196
196
Review of Unraveled  
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with The Realm of Fantasy Group  
Rated: E | (4.0)

I'm not a professional writer. I'll try to give honest feedback and try to help with your writing. Remember, it is completely up to you whether you change anything or not.

Hi, this is Tam. I randomly got your item when I clicked to review something, so I hope to be helpful.

*Star* First Impressions: I don't usually review flash fiction because I'm not quite sure where to begin, but my first impression was that of a kind of... creepy situation. Someone is uncertain what is going on, and the other person has the answer - and she's shocked that he has not yet realized what happened to him.

He's dead. Of course this then raises questions like: What happened? Why is he dead? But your mood is set, and I think that's what you wanted. It's chilling.


*Heart* My Favorite Elements: The end is best. It's very final, and definite. Like, you can't doubt what she's saying even if it's so sudden. The way she's behaved up until then, brief as it may be, tends to indicate that she wouldn't make it up.


*Moon* Suggestions: There's weird spacing in here. There's little distinction for each paragraph and it makes it difficult to read. Setting them up in more orderly fashion might be an idea.

Their names are so similar I almost mixed them up for one another. It's because they start and end the same way.

Parker said her eyebrows furrowed as she escaped a frustrated sigh through her lips.

The wording of this gets me as odd, although you probably did it on purpose... still, if there's a better way to say it that might be prudent.


*Butterflyb* Overall: I'm not going to be harsh because I couldn't do this better than you have, and it doesn't sound bad to me. I'd say the approach sounded right, almost like it's a snippet from a longer piece cut in just the right places for it to be comprehensive. Well, that's just my two cents.


Keep writing!

~Tam


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197
197
for entry "Chapter Eleven
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with P.E.N.C.I.L.  
Rated: 13+ | (3.5)

I'm not a professional writer. I'm trying to give you honest feedback and impressions of what I thought as I read your work. These are one person's opinions, and you're free to ignore any of them.

*Vine2* A "P.E.N.C.I.L. Review *Vine1*

__*Pencil*


*Star* First Impressions: Some last moment scenes with the stalkers are displayed, and give voice to the angst among their separate chiefs. They're supposed to have a sole ruler, but something went wrong and they don't. It seems a lot has been upset on their lands.

He also reveals that the stalkers shown earlier in the novel were exiles, and that he's not so fond of the vastness of the sea. Nathalya advises him never to go out into space. I don't think he will anyhow, but it was a nice touch to the end of their conversation. Later he gives them some directions to find the titan, which he knows about from his studies. Suddenly stalkers don't look so dumb as they did earlier.

It rains on them on their way, and they're forced to take a break for a time. But when they finally reach the river they're supposed to cross, it's swollen and the bridge that should have been in place is long gone. The strike team pick on Toomes, and two of them - quite by mistake - fall into the river.

The rest are forced to cross on Shepard's drone, but on the last trip it breaks down and barely makes it, crushing its landing struts. On the bright side, Nathalya is unharmed. On the downside the drone will have to take some time off, and Shepard will splint the broken struts. I get the impression she cares more about that drone than the two who fell into the river earlier.


*Heart* My Favorite Elements: The drone flight is interesting. I didn't think of it at first because the little thing had been so vaguely mentioned throughout the entirety of the story. They still have a stalker with them, and I like the concept behind their warring people. It's an unrest. Hopefully they'll get over it before it causes them too much more trouble. And it looks like Nathalya is finally getting closer to the titan, but I wonder if it's only the titan they're close to.


*Moon* Suggestions: There's a lot of skipping in this chapter, too. Nothing of incredibly exciting happens here, but it still feels like what it is. Skipping. I don't mind that you are, obviously the book would be somewhat boring if you described every detailed thing that happened to them, but I would suggest smoothing it over so it doesn't seem to bump down a few stairs every time you do it.

I would think the group would show at least some more anxiety about losing two of their companions to the river. It felt like they were over the matter in a trice and everyone forgot about it before ten minutes were past. This is kind of unnerving, so you should probably look into it. I know they're not all 'best friends in the whole wide world' but I'd at least like to see the others make some obvious attempt at saving them.

The stalker Chief stood at the edge of the clearing and blowing smoke from a long tobacco pipe.

Blew? Puffed?

He made a quick yet gentle motion and Nathalya felt the tension in her neck release instantly.

No need for that -ly ending.

He led them immediately south for a time until they indeed came across an over-grown path wide enough that two humans may walk abreast or one stalker.

This sentence feels cluttered to me. Removing that one word would help, but I'm not sure what to do about the rest.

The sun was already high and unusually hot.

Or: The sun soared high above them already and glared down with unusual heat.

It was very easy to follow sometimes, and other times the party had to spread out to pick it up again if they lost it.

I'm not fond of this either, so a suggestion could be: Sometimes the path stayed clear of debris and made walking easy, while other times the party had to spread out to pick it up again when they lost it.

The drone was landed and water given to all except Brusko, who, when offered, held up his own water skin in polite refusal.

The last part of this sentence is okay, but the first part confused me at first.

The company sat scattered around the hill, talking or resting their eyes.

Either 'sat' or 'scattered' should probably be removed.

They packed up after an hour of rest and Sergeant Ralphael released the drone skyward, which was becoming cluttered with dark gray clouds.

This and the paragraph after it feel a bit too hasty. I'd like to see a bit more of their struggle to get to safety, and how they settle in. It seems like a bit of a letdown otherwise.

They decided to stay in that little cave for the night and most of the next morning as the rain did not lessen.

Maybe flipping this sentence about would work: Next morning the rain did not lessen, so the group decided to stay in their little cave for the night.

Nathalya replied, and once the drone was landed, they all began to unpack it.

I don't think 'it' is necessary. I already know about the subject.


*Butterflyb* Overall: Despite what is said earlier I don't think this is a bad chapter. It's moving things forward like you want, and it's giving insight on their trip without going overboard at it. It definitely needs some attention here and there, but the idea is sound. I even have a vague idea of what the surrounding landscape looks like and that's a good thing. You didn't put me to sleep with it.

Since their stalker friend is very quiet, I assume he either doesn't speak their language very well or not at all. Or else he just prefers to keep his mouth shut, I don't know.

It's hard to say just what the mood of this is. Not calm, but not really overexcited either. It's like a passive in between. Maybe some more anxiety - like when they see the river - would be in order. Might help with the overall feel of the chapter, although it isn't a bad thing that everyone is calm... you want them to seem like real people with real problems.


Keep writing!

~Tam


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198
198
Review of Walter Engrid  
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with The Realm of Fantasy Group  
Rated: 13+ | (3.5)

I'm not a professional writer. I'll try to give honest feedback and try to help with your writing. Remember, it is completely up to you whether you change anything or not.

Hi, I'm Tam and I randomly got your item and have decided to review it. I hope this is helpful.

*Star* First Impressions: This is a character study, and I'm not quite sure of the character in question. He's got issues and quirks just as any character ought to, and comes across as a lazy someone that doesn't take risks. I'm on the fence about liking/disliking him, so I'd say it's a neutral feeling. I don't know what to make of him in all honesty.


*Heart* My Favorite Elements: For characterization I've got a very good idea of what this guy does with his life. In short: not much. So you got his habits across, and his age. Some of this seems like a stab at dry humour, but that could be just my impression of it.


*Moon* Suggestions: I think the informal tone is great, but I didn't understand a few minor things about this character that might be helpful in an analysis of him. For instance: I know he has a job, but just what kind of job is it? It seems to involve computers, but the references are so vague I'm not even entirely sure.

Secondly I might point out - not to sound like I know everything (and I don't) - that numbers below 100 should be written out. Seven. Eight. So on. Time doesn't count. Ugh, that was a terrible pun. Otherwise I think this is pretty much okay. Just be careful about redundancy. No need to pound anything in your reader's head.


*Butterflyb* Overall: Not a bad character examination. I think this person is lazy, highly opinionated, and has a hard time throwing useless little things out. He's also got a serious dislike towards Styrofoam cups and brings his own mug rather than use them. I'm not sure what role he plays in a story - if he plays any role at all - but he seems to have some depth to him.


Keep writing!

~Tam


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199
199
for entry "Chapter Ten
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with P.E.N.C.I.L.  
Rated: 13+ | (3.5)

I'm not a professional writer. I'm trying to give you honest feedback and impressions of what I thought as I read your work. These are one person's opinions, and you're free to ignore any of them.

*Vine2* A "P.E.N.C.I.L. Review *Vine1*

__*Pencil*


*Star* First Impressions: Lots of stuff going on in this chapter, starting with Nathalya and her companions' parting. They are graced with a unique little robocopter thing that carries their packs and such for them. This thing is uniquely designed to escape the eyes of the Corrinites so it isn't a problem.

The scientist, of course, is late. I'm not surprised. If it weren't for the seriousness of the situation I'd think he was comedy relief - or at least stress relief.

They say farewell to DeVega and depart. However, DeVega seems reluctant to say goodbye to Wells. I guess he's got something for her now that they've been through so much. If she noticed she gave no indication of it.

On their way towards Orion, Nathalya and company are apprehended by stalkers who have seen the smoke from their doused fire. These stalkers are going to kill everyone, but Nathalya stops the leader from doing so and proposes an idea for both of them: escort them out of the forest and they'll never come back into it.

Somehow they agree to this plan, and the group prepare to depart once more. But before they can escape they're attacked by Corrinites. Now Nathalya and her companions are on the same side as the stalkers, and together they defend themselves against the Corrinites.

In this battle Nathalya runs into her old nemesis: The Lieutenant Harrison. This time the fight is more in her favour, I suppose, and she manages - with all her tricks - to defeat him and kill him after the fact.

At the end of the battle they are more at ease with their stalker companions, who consider them friends for their assistance.


*Heart* My Favorite Elements: I think, unlike the last chapter, my favourite part is right in the beginning because the story flows smoother then, and doesn't feel like it's skipping unnecessarily. That and there's some amusement with that late scientist. I somehow expected that to happen, and I wasn't disappointed by it.

The alliance with the stalkers is great. I didn't feel like they were aptly described earlier, so I'm glad you got around to that in this chapter.


*Moon* Suggestions: The battle needs the most work in this chapter. Nothing else is quite so lacking in description here (just spot editing here and there would help). I think you were in a bit too much of a hurry, and found myself wishing it would slow down and go into at least some more detail on the matter. I know how the excitement of a moment can get you carried away, but now that you're editing you should have a moment to add things to it.

In your defense, I usually have to go back and add to my battle scenes. It comes so much easier after the heat of the moment is past, so you should have no trouble.

Though it felt to Nathalya that she had maybe been idle for too long.

I think you can just omit that and it'll read smoother.

Nathalya greeted the strike team and, with a labored grunt, lowered the pack off her shoulders and onto the damp concrete.

Might be better as: Nathalya greeted the strike team and lowered her pack to the concrete with a labored grunt.

Then, breaking through the lower level of clouds and descending slowly, there appeared a small rotary drone. It stopped just inches off of the ground and hovered there, almost silently.

Something about the first part of this sentence... 'there appeared' doesn't really do it for me. Still... and that last part 'almost silently' gets me as off as well. I've heard that your narrator shouldn't need to be uncertain. You might want to make sure yours is definite as well.

"I'm impressed!" said Nathalya.

Maybe "Impressive!" would have sufficed, but that's your call. And, I couldn't help but notice everyone's dialogue tag went this way around for a brief span of time 'said Nathalya', 'said Shepard'. Might not be anything worth troubling over, but just something to note.

"You're off to a bit of a late start," he said.

"One of our team ran a little late," confessed Nathalya.


One of those could go to avoid that slight tinge of redundancy.

"Nothing," he replied as he let her go with a look of some internal conflict. "Be Safe out there."

I'd like to know what that look looks like (oh, you should have seen my grimace when I wrote THAT sweetheart *Wink*), and 'safe' shouldn't have a capslocked letter there.

Nathalya felt a sense of guilt as they parted, feeling as though she was solely responsible for the current state of the El'Anorath campaign.

Maybe: A pang of guilt stabbed through Nathalya's chest as they parted. It felt as if she were solely responsible for the current state of the El'Anorath campaign.

Nathalya felt an uneasy familiarity as they broke the tree line.

I'm not exactly sure what that feels like, unless it's deja-vu.

Hot tea and a thick meat and vegetable soup was given to each of the travelers.

Think that can be done without.

His wolf-like features were highlighted in the beam of sun he stepped into, his gray and black fur almost shining.

I like this, but I think it can be improved. Something like: His wolf-like features were highlighted in the beam of sun he stepped into and his gray and black fur seemed to shine.

"You may kill me, but you're entire team will be destroyed."

Your*

then to the second who was clearly an experienced warrior. His face was older and scars covered his muscular, silver-furred body.

I'm sure there's a better way to say it, because you gave a nice description of him following. That gives the impression he's a more experienced warrior.

He looked around, clearly sensing something that Nathalya and her team could not.

He could start growling. His eyes could narrow. If he's got wolf ears, these could twitch. That would be better than just telling me about it.

The stalkers would loose a volley of arrows along with Sergeant Haliday's and Sergeant Ralphael's automatic rifles. H.M.O. Falson would then launch several grenades into the Corrinite offensive. Finally, the spear beasts, alongside Nathalya and Wells with their pistols, would clean up at close range.

I feel like the tense is off beat here, since you were using past tense all the while. This just feels odd...

She twirled and blinked with her pistols - the second she had acquired from an earlier kill.

I think - after reading this at least twice - that you finished this sentence before you reached its point.

Nathalya was on him instantly. Her rapier passing easily between his ribs.

Removing 'instantly' would help with impact. The other suggestion is to change 'passing' to 'passed'.

I think this is seriously nit-picky, but don't feel bad. I'd find problems with published novels if I were given half the chance.


*Butterflyb* Overall: There's a lot of good going for the chapter, and a lot of work needed yet. I'm still not sure if the stalkers have wolf ears too, but I'm thinking from their general description they must. It would help to remember simple gestures to give your characters more of a showing feel, rather than just saying 'she looked confused' you can do something like 'she arched an eyebrow'.

Anyway, I think if you get the battle scene polished (particularly Nathalya's fight with the lieutenant) this chapter will be awesome.


Keep writing!

~Tam


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200
200
for entry "Chapter Nine
Review by Antonia Ryder
In affiliation with P.E.N.C.I.L.  
Rated: 13+ | (3.5)

I'm not a professional writer. I'm trying to give you honest feedback and impressions of what I thought as I read your work. These are one person's opinions, and you're free to ignore any of them.

*Vine2* A "P.E.N.C.I.L. Review *Vine1*

__*Pencil*


*Star* First Impressions: Nathalya, Wells, and DeVega are finally back at the base. Nathalya relishes her freedom because - since her imprisonment - she's learned just how valuable it is. And when they do get to the base she's going to be in her actual role. A Ghost Agent again, only this time her mission is to find Orion and destroy it.

I think the letter was a nice touch, and gave some resonance as well. It explained what Nathalya struggled to discover as time passed, and even gave them a clue as to how to get ahead of both the Alliance and the Corrinites. This way Orion won't be used for evil, and instead will be 'put to rest'. Though I doubt their plan will go quite as... y'know... planned.

DeVega is likewise not coming with them - if they're going for Orion first (which I guess they'd have to), and Wells is staying with Nathalya. Wells has gained a lot of confidence, but Nathalya is kind of uncertain in comparison. She's not sure how she's going to manage what she has in mind, but everyone seems confident that she can do it.


*Heart* My Favorite Elements: I think you've done a nice job on the character growth here. Wells really has gained that confidence Nathalya has noticed in her, and Nathalya is learning something about caution. Though she's going to have to balance it out as she goes along. Also I find it amusing that no one seems too keen on bringing along a scientist. Heehee.

That aside, I'm really looking forward to reading about this Orion titan thing. I envision something pretty fantastic, so I'm curious.


*Moon* Suggestions: I felt like the start of this chapter was very choppy, being as that it bounced between Nathalya and Wells quite unexpectedly. In fact, for most of the chapter's opening it feels as though you were in a great hurry - again - to get somewhere, and didn't have time to slow down and make sure everything followed the same general 'flow' the rest of the story had so far.

In retrospect, every area that had dialogue came off nicely enough. It was just the approach that tripped up a bit. I know things are starting to move faster - again - but that's no reason to ditch all the flow. Though I must admit I've been subject to this problem before.

Nathalya stood and aroused the other two.

Pretty sure that 'a' can be done without. It sounds odd.

"Orion? Who is Orion?"

There's a big, unnecessary space here.

Walking out into the busy lanes of Xera, the sun still overhead but beginning its descent, they shielded their eyes against it.

There's something very wrong with this sentence. It feels like it had a point, but somehow failed to get to it and got sidetracked instead.

She would find him eventually on the fifth floor, his eyes pressed against a microscope.

I don't know, maybe she 'found him' is a better way to say it. When it's written as 'she WOULD find him' it sounds almost like a tense change. Something... is different.

He wasn't old, but not young, either. Nathalya figured he was probably as old or slightly younger than her father.

This is... it feels like it's going around in circles. The best thing to say might be 'middle aged'.

The paper was stained with rust colored splotches, but was easy enough to read.

Or maybe: Rust colored splotches stained the paper here and there, but didn't obscure the writing. Something like that.

after the stalker's drove us out of the area and claimed those lands for their own

This ' is not needed. There's no need for possessive.

Pack lightly and don't tell anyone where you are going."

She was speaking pretty informally before this, so the 'you are' might do better as 'you're', just to keep that feeling going.

"We're going to find it before the Corrinites or the Allinace and destroy it.

Alliance*

"But If I might suggest something, it may ease your decision;

The 'I' shouldn't be capslocked.

The following days dragged on and Nathalya was getting restless.

Just 'grew' restless or 'became' so might work better.


*Butterflyb* Overall: Starts out really choppy and rushed, but it evens out better nearer to the end. I'm guessing you were enthusiastic about getting to the point of the chapter, and kind of hopped through the earlier part. I don't mind the skipping much by itself, but it's very distracting when it is done with such haste. On the whole, though, I think this chapter is still decent. Needs more polishing, but it has a lot of important plot development in it so it isn't lacking in intrigue.


Keep writing!

~Tam


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