Great story. A clever and imaginative use of the prompt. Glad you chose a happier ending than that prompt suggested, it really was kind of mandatory given who you were dealing with.
This is a fun story, and presumably because of the word count limitations, it develops very quickly. It would definitely stand expanding once the contest is over/judged.
When Angie's sneeze alerts Gustavo to their presence under the table, he then drags out only Dan. It's unclear how Angie escapes discovery, and is then able to go and round up help.
Ruby seems a female name to me, but that could just be me.
Does the Queen only have male advisors? She refers to the person responsible for releasing the dragonlings as 'He'.
If the story is developed, I am guessing there would need to be some mention of time differences (which is standard for fairy realms).
Intriguing that despite stepping onto the map in her bedroom, Angie somehow still has it on her person to get back. I would imagine being more concerned about how we would get back than lions and tigers - which actually sound rather silly for woods - bears and wolves don't though.
Hope this is helpful. I did enjoy reading this, and would be happy to read more.
Here's what I think, but please feel free to ignore all or any of it, as it's just that - an opinion.
I couldn't discern what Harold's motive for collecting souls was. All he seemed to do was store them in easily breakable containers. If he could be invisible - why didn't he just sneak past Dan and take his Ma's soul whilst Dan was out?
Harold's redemption seems a little too fast, and therefore doesn't seem realistic (in a magical setting I'm talking about realistic!!?).
Niggly, but I think "wearing a cape and 'carrying or swinging' a walking stick", would sound better.
The story definitely fits the mood of the picture prompt, and the characters of Dan and Harold bounce off each other nicely. I would suggest not having them too dissimilar in age - or at any rate size, otherwise Dan's threat to 'wring your neck' would ring a bit hollow.
Hope this doesn't come across as too negative, it isn't my intention to be so.
Your lovely bright springtime sonnet is as uplifting and invigorating as the season you are evoking. The rhyme structure is perfectly adhered to, and though I'm not sure I could say why, my favourite line is 'And spinach sewn down neatly in straight lines.' Perhaps it is because your poem is alive with the activity of planting and this line exemplifies this.
The second line is perhaps the weakest (in my opinion, and as we know everyone has one of those - so please feel free to ignore), I would suggest either 'The trees lift their bare branches...' or perhaps even 'The trees exult, raising their budding branches to...' thus suggesting the excitement of springs return.
However your poem is beautiful just as it is, and certainly meets the prompt that inspired it.
Your poem seems to divide into two, perhaps three parts. In the first part you use wintery imagery to suggest that though outwardly you seem dark and frozen, beneath the ice there is a lot of activity. Perhaps (since the poem does seem to be personal), this is you when someone first gets to know you - reserved, a bit stiff, maybe even a little frosty. But you helpfully remind us that there is more to you than it may at first appear.
Then you describe the stream defrosted and unbound, bursting with energy and creativity. So much creativity - and new ideas that it is perhaps a little scary. You finish by warning that there may not be a safe limit, once knowing you one is along for the ride. Which is just as it should be.
I really enjoyed reading this. Especially I like the way your descriptions conjure up the stream (in both it's states), and almost playfully tell us that you are worth getting to know - even though it may take a while for you to show your full creative personality.
Very intriguing. Gives me the feeling that if I properly understood what is going on her the world would bea stranger place. I do like the fragment of a conversation piece, and this is a compelling example.
Nicely told. I really enjoyed the intelligence expressed in your story, especially the twist which allowed a happy ending. Other strong points for me were that Mary was prepared to fight for her man, and that she saw that Shawn was not passing her the 'incriminating' photos disinterestedly, he had ulterior motives.
You expressed that being asexual is not a bar to a loving relationship, delicately. It certainly didn't make Mary any less sympathetic as a protagonist.
There were no errors that jumped out at me to distract. No hesitation in giving this five stars.
This is an intriguing story. I thought it unlikely that Mary would be the one to die, so in that respect it was not surprising. Not sure about her thinking she had caught Damien's virus though, she was clearly acting in self defence, it was not a premeditated killing. If she does feel infected, then I think you need to try and explain why that is, does she feel excited, and or powerful?
The biggest weakness in the story is your descriptions of the two protagonists. It is clear that you have built up a clear picture of each of them in your minds eye, but they read as an information dump. If I had a suggestion it would be to break the detail up, and spread it through the story. Further, I'd suggest making it be used as part of the protagonists thoughts... 'He reminds me of the Persil man she thought, it's that straight jaw, the way his mouth is closed like a line'... Damien glanced at her, taking in her bright blue long sleeve fishing shirt' - You get the idea I'm sure.
Quibbles aside, I started reading this a few days back, and bookmarked it because I didn't then have time to finish. I have now finished it, because your plot is very intriguing, and of course I wanted to know what happened in the end. I did wonder if she was going to do something amazing with one of the plants, maybe paralyse Damien (I don't know if any plants do that - it was just an idle speculation). ALl in all, I am giving this five stars because it is well written, and I can image wanting to re read it.
An interesting and well thought out piece, that seeks to present both positive and negative sides of the cancel culture phenomenon in a clear, understandable manner. I like the intelligent use of sub headings, spacing and bullet points to break up the large number of points you are making, thus making them accessible rather than off-putting. I was not aware of the history of the term, and it was helpful that you had included this, to help understanding of how the idea had developed. This is an excellent piece of writing.
You have a good eye for little details that help flesh out a story and make it seem real, without feeling 'padded.' The word count shows that you're serious about your writing, as I've read quite a few pieces on WDC that tell a story in a lot less, and consequently read as though they are doing the bare minimum. Didn't have any errors leap out at me, but I know you are attentive to proper grammar and spelling, so that came as no surprise.
The story is interesting, (I mean that as a high compliment), and because of that I had no trouble reading to the end. The characters develop nicely, and I liked that Jason wasn't as he at first seemed. All in all, a great read. Thank you.
What makes WDC so special are the people who take part in making it that way. Your essay highlights this beautifully. It does of course miss that YOU are a part of the community that helps make it special, and your reviews and comments are much appreciated. I'm fairly sure I am correct in thinking that many others besides me hope that you continue to be an active member for many years to come.
The first thing that i notice about this piece is that it is presented as a large block of text, and sadly for me, most of the text is quite small. To make a longer piece like this attractive to read, you need to use space. Simply putting a space between paragraphs dramatically improves your chances of being read. I would also suggest separating out headings more. I notice that you have used bold to add emp0hasis, and that is good, but space around the headings, and also perhaps using a slightly larger font than the main text would further help. Last thing to say on the presentation is that a larger font in general is probably a good idea. I usually use at least size 4.0 There is no downside to this, and it helps those of us who's eyesight isn't all it could be.
Your article covers a lot of ground, and is well written. I haven't seen any glaring spelling errors or similar, which shows that you've made the effort to check this sort of thing (you'd be surprised how many don't).
One thing that you might consider is adding something personal. Someone reading this without knowing anything about you may wonder, "why should I take advice from this person?". A few words about why you wrote the article, and how you have come to your various suggestions and conclusions about love, you can answer their question and incline them to read the whole article.
The one piece of advice that you give that I personally feel is on shaky ground is where you advice not to discuss your relationship with others. I like that you qualify this with a warning about physical abuse, but this is not the only way a partner can be abusive. My concern is that you may give someone the impression that they shouldn't listen to anyone unless it's about a physical abuse. I do see the point that you are trying to make there, but it needs very careful wording.
Overall you show that you are a thoughtful and caring individual writing about something that matters to you. You use nice clear phrasing and for the most part communicate your ideas very well. An excellent piece of writing, well done.
Maybe I could get the name of the scientific cousin and her professor? Seriously though, I enjoyed this a lot, nice dash of humour to help it along, and a great pace. I very much appreciated the sizing of the font and the spacing, little things that make a story so much more appealing to read that are often forgotten.
My favourite paragraph is the one that begins, 'The agents, lining at my door. The publishers, lining at my agent's door.', ah well, we can all dream can't we.
This is nicely rhymed and I like the touches of humour despite Felix being a furry killing machine. Sharing is just a cat's way of showing love as I'm sure you're already aware. This little poem beautifully captures the essence of kitties and their relationship to those who care for them.
This is an interesting little piece, and I like the concept of a witch sleep-casting. These characters deserve to be given a long piece, so that they could develop.
One small typo, Only if you cone with me ..." should be "Only if you come with me ..." I think.
I think an astrolabe needs slightly more than a glance to be used by the way, but it's a cool alternative to a clock, and so adds to the 'witchy' feel, so it works (apart from pedantic remarks from certain reviewers ).
Hope to see more of Leah and Bridget in the future.
There are of course also C.O.B,s of the female persuasion (Crazy Old Bags), whose stereotypical depiction involves a lot of cats. Suspiciously many of these sound like Terry Jones of Monty Python fam.
What a great concept, I love how you've handled this prompt, and can see why it's a winner. Intriguing that in this story it is Life who is if not the bad guy, then at the very least hardly providing a full picture of what is involved with his offer. I could imagine this as a lead into a longer story, maybe Brad would meet some of the other victims, is everything Life told them true? I think that is what makes this so good, it leaves me as a reader wanting more.
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