Hiya! I found this piece on 'The Review Request Page'.
My First Impression
I think the idea behind this piece is a really good one. It is a life lesson, really. The way one acts in life will reflect in the afterlife. Poor Mark was given a test when the Will was read, a test he didn't pay attention to. As far as plot goes you definitely have the necessary elements: beginning, middle and end, as well as motivation and consequence. For the most part the character development is good, but I do have a suggestion regarding Jason. It states in the beginning that he is Dean's best friend, and yet he was the one to suggest being underhanded. I'm thinking that with how 'helpful' Dean was, he would notice such a tendency in his friend. I find it hard to believe they were best friends. However, sometimes opposites do attract, so feel free to take it or leave it.
All in all, I believe this piece has potential to be an intense read.
My Suggestions
I have a few overall suggestions to begin with. First, I suggest you read this piece aloud to yourself. I believe that there are sentences in here that are overly long and wordy, that could be trimmed down a bit for a smoother flow. If it doesn't flow naturally off the tongue, then trim it down. Secondly, using more than one or two adverbs in a sentence can be distracting for a reader. I believe you could cut back on these as well. Lastly, be careful of how many times you use the words 'had' and 'that'. I have recently learned that these words are not always necessary. To check if it is needed, omit the word and see if it still makes sense. If not, then it is needed. That said, following are a few specific examples, as well as some punctuation and grammatical errors I noticed as I read.
He also noticed that if he looked hard enough he could see himself in the wall, his reflection looking back at him with a confused expression on its face.
I think you could eliminate 'on its face' from the end of this sentence. It is not needed because the word 'expression' indicates the face anyway so it tends to come off as repetitious.
He quickened his pace trying to keep count of how much time he had spent here, but it was impossible to keep track.
This sentence sounds as though he was walking faster in order to keep track of time, but I don't see how that could work. Perhaps you should rephrase if that is not your intention.
Just a quick note: the second paragraph is missing end punctuation.
...but after Dean had passed away they had been forced to be in contact with each other quite a lot since Jason being Dean’s closest friend.
You could eliminate the first 'had' before 'passed away', as well, 'quite a lot since Jason being Dean's closest friend' doesn't really make sense. My suggestion:
...but after Dean passed away they had been forced to be in close contact as Jason was Dean's closest friend.
As he begun to pour his scrambled eggs out the measuring jug onto a sparklingly clean he wrapped up his conversation.
This sentence doesn't make sense to me. I think you should reread and revise.
While he was considering that if the inheritance is sizeable enough he would move out of this house,...
I would rephrase this sentence because it switches tense, and doesn't flow very well. For example,
While he considered a possible move - dependent on the size of the inheritance - ~~And then the rest of the sentence. Just a suggestion.
...and a female news reports voice was heard...
I would say 'a female reporter's voice'.
The entrepreneur and activist had touched many lives and hearts with his generosity and his family have decided to make it an open invitation for anyone who wants to pay their respects.’
The first 'had' is not needed. It should read, 'The entrepreneur and activist touched many lives...' Also, the word 'have' after 'his family' should be 'has'.
They said that if he was denied this he was likely to get very upset and verHe didn’t know how he would react, and eventually the Mugger broke eye contact and fumbled with something under his jacket
There are some typo errors in this sentence.
Overall
On the whole, I think the concept of this story is wonderful and with a little work, would be an amazing story, as well as a positive life lesson for some people. It really made me think, that's for sure. Please feel free to let me know after you edit, and I would be happy to re-read and re-rate accordingly.
Happy Writing!
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