If you read, even just a chapter, please leave a review. I usually try to return the favor. Thank you to all reviewers.
I'm an eighteen-year-old girl from New York (not the city, although I wish that was the case).
I am also: a writer, a sketch artist, a shopaholic, a musician, an avid reader of all things literary, a tea drinker, a future Peace Corps member, an elephant lover, and an admitted Harry Potter dork.
And every once in a while, Emma Thompson's voice will begin to narrate in my head. Then I write small blurbs about Oliver Smith, an odd little British boy.
Some Suggestions, Tools, Theorems, and/or Postulates for Readers and Writers, which I Believe In and Try to Follow, and which I Decided to Share Here:
1. All stories cannot be read with the same mindset. For example, take Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. Both of these are highly renowned works of literature and are studied in many classrooms. One cannot read Achebe and go straight on to Conrad, expecting to understand the latter at the same depth as Achebe was understood. Achebe's clear and simple prose reflects the clear and simple thinking of the Ibo people; Conrad's dark and complicated style reflects the dangerous, twisting jungle rivers. They are both good; they are extremely different. Authors have different styles. One has to take a different approach to every style one comes across.
2. A story does not have to be mere dialogue and action. It's the small details that enrich the story; the imagery, the anecdotes, the background information, the characters' thoughts. Details that have little to do with the plot as a whole are not always unnecessary. They can ignite the reader's imagination; they can help to flesh out the story's world. If a story has no detail, no thoughts, it can progress at too fast of a pace. If it's all action-action-action, the reader may not feel as much for the characters; all the reader knows of them is what they do, not what they think or how they're affected.
3. Critique is not criticism. It contains both positives and negatives. Before critiqueing, one should read the story thoroughly - the story shouldn't be simply skimmed; it should be read carefully to ensure that negatives are negatives, positives are positives, to catch minor grammatical errors, etc. In order to give a good, helpful critique, one should have the best understanding of the piece one can. It doesn't help the writer to have a would-be critiquer read a story and, believing critique to be criticism, point out irreverant things in order to maximize the negatives.
4. Editing is amazing. One should re-read writing as many times as it takes to make it as close to perfect as possible. Some errors may seem minor, but if they aren't fixed they can really take away from the legitimacy of the story. Fixing small things like typos, grammatical mistakes (your vs you're; its vs it's) can make the piece seem that much more professional. Reading out loud helps immensely. Edit.
So I really need feedback on Foolery - I know it's long, whatever, just read a chapter or two and leave a review. Thanks!
AND
Chapter One of Foolery has been revised in a way that hopefully maintains the flow and writing style of the story while clarifying the characters and explaining a little more background information. Take a look, por favor.
Note: I love what I write. So please do not take anything - or any elements from anything - without my permission or consent (which I am probably not very likely to give.) Thanks.
FictionPress.com - let the words flow
