 E. Ann Radcliff 2009-05-11 . chapter 2 Only one review per chapter my bad. I'm not going to bother structuring this review, and instead am just going to go chronologically. If I'm too fussy about each detail, sorry, I'm a poet by trade, where each syllable is especially vital, so if I'm being too touchy, just let me know. As always these are just suggestions.
I'm not too fond of "affixed" as opposed to just "fixed", to me the former seems more archaic. Also the portion of the sentence "whipping the tapestries affixed to the windows" implies a certain hurried-ness due to the word "whipped", and the consecutive "battered" that follows. Adding extra syllables seems to subtract from the rhythm a little, and slows down the pace of the paragraph.
"utside, trees moaned and groaned, horses snorted and stamped, frightened by the storm." -- Although I do admire your use of parallelism, it feels a little cheesy.
"castle, where", unnecessary comma since the following is not an appositive.
"mysterious substances were bubbling around her", the use of "were bubbling" implies that something else of higher importance is also occurring, but since the bubbling cauldrons are the topic of this sentence it would be "substances bubbled around".
"giving off a hazy mist-like steam that filled the ethereal room. Jars of slimy objects stood on every surface surrounded by pieces of bark, pots of ointments and bowls of gloopy liquids." - excellent detail
"From the ceiling hung bunches and bunches of dried herbs, their fragrances reeking through the room" hmm passive voice, so maybe rephrase that, otherwise it can come across as being too weak. Also "ing" verbs usually imply that the action is still happening; furthermore, the verbs in this sentence, though they have different subjects, are related ("their" indicates that the fragrances belong to the herbs), therefore the verbs must agree. while "hung" implies that the action has passed, "reeking" implies that the action is still occurring; while it is entirely possible that the the herbs are still reeking, they are no longer reeking from the ceiling. "Fragrances" implies a good smell, so I don't know if you intended for that contradiction to occur.
"In this dream, the hostility and anger that had been kindled against this place and its occupants was forgotten." I greatly appreciate the clarity of this sentence.
"In a movement that felt almost like she was floating, she crossed light-footedly", not too hot about this wording, and I don't believe "footedly" is a word :)
"The same mountains still lingered beneath their patchy blanket of mist, crowned with snow and adorned with rich, green fir trees. The same vast ocean of grass stretched out to meet them. She cast her eyes downwards, distracted by a seemingly distant echo. Far below her, marching through the archway and into the outer courtyard were soldiers, more than she had ever seen before in her young life, at least two hundred of them. She knew who these soldiers were." - PERFECT
"As she peered out...the courtyard." - almost perfect, but not sure about the repetition of the word "great", as the great hall is obviously going to be set aside for any and all great feasts.
"untroubled by the sudden shift in location" "adorned" "vaguely" "clench" "brooding" "clasped" "some unknown fountain" "midnight blue" -- fantastic words and phrases.
"midnight blue ones" personally I think you can get away without writing "ones", and it would still be fine, but to me the "ones" seems a little haphazard.
"butterflies reawakening and performing their familiar dance" -- you did an great job keeping this idea while mostly omitting the cheesy feeling inherent with it.
"But suddenly Marke let go of her hand and backed off, still smiling, but a different smile, love was no longer shining from his eyes, he was smiling in farewell, it was a parting smile between friends. Morgan looked past him to see where he was going. Tugging on his arm and smiling suggestively at him was a young girl Morgan had never seen before." -- I love it
"She was an incredibly beautiful angel, with golden hair that was so much like Elaine’s had been, and soft features that matched her slim yet womanly body." "incredibly beautiful angel" is too cheesy for my taste. You also don't need a comma between "angel" and "with", but I would write: "golden hair, so much like Elaine's had been, and..."
"In despair, she found herself following" indistinct pronoun that could be confusing.
"Tears now welling in her eyes...let one another go…" it has its moments, but ultimately comes across as a little to over-the-top.
"Morgan awoke in a tangle of sheets, drenched in sweat, panting and gasping for breath, remnants of the fire still swirling inside her" and I'm also a fan of the word "tumbling" in the next sentence.
"despite every action towards her spoke of another intention" ? confusing.
"camelot...he did not sense" no need for the paragraph break, it interrupts a little too much.
"at court...as he prattled" again no need for the para-break, but I adore the words "prattled" "borne" "mundane" and "fueled"(which is misspelled).
"‘The daughter of King Anguish of Ireland,’ Accolon told her. ‘Isolde, is her name.’" it is obvious due to the para-break that accalon is telling her this, so you don't need to add it. The fewer words (while still communicating the same meaning) the more sophisticated and CLEAN the writing feels. Clean writing is good :)
"she said incredulously." in dialogue, you should trust yourself more: adding "she/he saids" and throwing on adverbs all the time can come across as being sloppy, and insecure. Trust that your punctuation and the characters' statements will convey the right emotions, and also trust that the reader will reach the right conclusion. Just apply this to other dialogue as you feel necessary -- adverbs are okay, but in moderation.
"Morgan was surprised to...care more for another." -- the voice changed so suddenly, and the childishness is a little overblown.
"However, her plan would of course cause" "however" is sort of an unneeded accessory.
Again it's great, but watch your dialogue. When in doubt, "He said/she said" is your best bet, but just because a character speaks, doesn't mean you need to tell us that.
Fabulous job, you've got such a good voice. |
 E. Ann Radcliff 2009-05-10 . chapter 1Your imagery is fabulous, especially in the first paragraph: "wrapped in sheets as white as the bitter snow that smothered the freezing ground in the depths of winter" and later with "It was covered in grass now, and the spring daisies littered the it". I also really like your choice of words, as they're not irritatingly exotic and unfamiliar, but they fit perfectly in context: "numb arm", "created", "pattering of small feet", "yearned to share his peaceful slumber", "merely exist", "staring up at the boughs", "a state that many crave", "vanity desperate", "cascaded", and the repetitions of the words "fragile" and "praying" at the beginning, because they really set the mood effectively.
In your second paragraph and after, the changing tenses started to become a little confusing. In the sentence "was chanting from his book as he bent over the tiny body, praying for him, wishing that his soul finds peace", the only problem is the word "finds" since everything else is past tense.
Also on the subject of tenses, although you can get away with writing the word "now" in most past tense stories, it can sound a little awkward, like in "it was covered in grass now", simply because it is a direct reference to the grave of the present, not of the past.
You also spelled "praying" wrong and instead wrote "preying everyday for continuance". I also am personally opposed to having more than enough articles in any given piece, but that's just me.
Oh and "even as the leaves of summer wilt and fall in a mass of red blood to the floor, where they lie staring up at the boughs they have been cast from, left to die upon the cold, wet ground" has to be the most beautiful sentence I have ever red; You are worthy of Robert Frost. |