Catching Casey

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This is my second try at writing. In the prologue, I wrote it in third person, but because this is from a different point of view I figured it wouldn't hurt to try this. Please tell me what you think.



Everyone has one fault or another. At least, that's what my mother always told me. My fault or...weakness, If you will, used to be vanity. Everyone thought I was the most beautiful girl on the face of this planet, and didn't I know it. Having money and style didn't hurt, either. But the Night, as I like to call it, literally Changed me forever.


"Case, hurry up in there! I told Mabe we'd get to the concert by eight! " Jeramiah whined, banging on my bedroom door. That boy was starting to get on my nerves. But I had to admit; it was fun to make him squeal.

" Hasn't any one ever told you Germy? Perfection cannot be rushed,". The use of his most detested nickname was the last straw. Gathering up his strength, He tried to break down the bedroom door. Just then, there was a high pitched yelp, and the banging stopped.

"What do we have here?" a vibrating bass voice inquired,"Germy trying to break down Case's door. We all know she's hot, but do you seriously think you've got a chance, breaking her door down?" Finally unlocking the door, I strode out of the room; taking in the scene.


Tobias had pinned the unlucky Jeramiah against the wall with seemingly effortless strength. Germy's light blue eyes were rolling wildly; trying to find a way to escape. But once Tobe had someone in his iron grip, there was no escape. The poor pup just wasn't strong enough.


" Oh, Tobe, let the poor thing go. It isn't fair to the rest of us lesser beings for you to show off your almighty strength. In fact, It's bragging,".


Tobe gave one last regretful glance at his victim, then sat him on the tile floor of the hallway. As soon as he was free, Germy scampered off, shouting," Find your own ride!"

"Aw crap! Now you've done it. That was my last chance for fun you just scared off," I exclaimed, sliding to a sitting position. Tobe just smirked in his all-knowing little way.

Wait, there was nothing little about Tobe. From his unnaturally tall frame to his over the top muscles, the only word that really described my red haired, hazel eyed friend was big. But then, he was a werewolf. A really...... big werewolf.

"I could always give you a ride in my truck ," Tobe suggested,"if you're ready,". Did I hear a tremor in his voice? No, I must have imagend it. My buddy Tobe was never anything but self assured.

" Are you up to it? You havn't been around mortals for a long time. They can be pretty-" I halted to a stop as Tobe gave me one of his famous glares.

"Up to it? When have I been anything but?" Wow. I'd just touched a nerve or something.

" Okay, Okay! Calm down. Geez!" I jerked off the floor, slinging Tobe's arm off my shoulder. Stomping to the door, I let my anger show. What was eating that guy? First Germy, then Me. I was getting fed up.

Before My Change, I could have glared at him for hours. But now, I was just a empty shell of not-caring.

Catching my arm, Tobe brought me to grinding stop. "I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me. Let's get going, or you're gonna miss the show." With that, We drove to the concert.


The parking-lot was already packed when we arrived. We finally found a spot at the very back, after circling three times. Slidding out of the small red ford pickup truck, I was engulfed with the dizzying aura of mortals. No matter how hard I tried, I never got used to it. I could only imagine how Tobe was taking it. Supprisingly, He showed no sighns that it affected him. Then again, he could trick a person into thinking that a couple of crushed bones didn't hurt a bit(true story).

Wiping sweaty palms onto my faded jeans, I took one last look in the side view mirror. I had, other than the obvious jeans, a Little Miss Attitude t-shirt, and black converse shoes. My thick,full, silver blond hair was swept up into a long french braid that fell to my hips. I would have been gorgeous, If there hadn't been three large noticable scars that slashed across my face like claw marks. To mortals, I was usually terrifying. With a sigh, I turned and faced Tobe.

"May I escort you to the ball, M'lady?" Tobe questioned in his melodramatic way. I just laughed and shoved him into the large building.

The inside was packed. Music echoed and multiplyed in volume. Mortals hung from every visible space, filling the room to overflowing. The band wasn't very good; some screamo goup.Giving the room a searching glance, I found Germy and his crowd in a far corner.

"Pup's over there," I stated, jerking my head towards the corner,"you wanna hang with them?" Tobe shook his head violently motioning instead to the opposite space. "Why stand in a place we're not welcome? I'm going to talk to Raoul,". I sighed and followed him.

But, as I crossed the room, some mortal bumped into me. He noticed my face;my scars. Stumbling back , the man looked over his shoulder and yelled,"Monty, lookie here! She's one of a kind!" Looking back, he added, "Underneath those whopper scars you got there's a pretty face,". Before he could say another damaging word, a huge fist slammed into the guy's face, sending him crashing to the concrete floor. Tobe stood there panting and rigid, his eyes a picture of rage.

I just couldn't take it anymore. Twisting my body around, I slammed through two unlucky mortals standing in the door way.

Almost instantly I Changed, running to my woods. My woods were my special place, my shelter of protection. No one but Tobe knew where it was. This was where I had been Changed.

Soon after I had reached my place and unChanged, Tobe appeared. THere was a look on his face I couldn't interpret.

" I took care of that loser for you," he spat.

" Is he still alive?" I questiond, fearful of the answer. Even in my state of anguish, I remembered the pack laws.

" I only knocked him out. But I wanted to kill him," Tobe grabbed my hand and added, " What he said wasn't true. Your scars add to you beauty, as any self respecting man would know,".

"Thanks. You don't have to pretend," . Before He could reply I added "Look, I just need some time by myself. I'll be back later,". Then I turned my back to him so he wouldn't see the tears threatning to break loose. After he left, I sobbed all of my tears out. The guys coments shouldn't have affected me like that, I knew, But it had struck a nerve.

Before the Change, before I had been maimed, I had been drop dead gorgeous. Now, no matter how many people told me my scars enhanced, my beauty, I knew they lied.

My own mother had screamed at my face. I went to talk to my family, tell them what I was,though the pack master had tried to diswade me.

" It'll do you no good. They'll just throw you out,".

Well, he'd been right. My scars, My new person had scared them so much that they'd moved all the way to the opposite coast. I hadn't seen my family in five years.

Pus, now my mother would think I was lying. I haven't aged in My five years as a werewolf. The man who bit me had ruined my life.

So I sobbed for my old life; reminded to me by my banner:my scars.

When I finally, got back , everyone was asleep, including Tobe, who'd lain on the floor across from my room.


Good old Tobe, the only one who understood me.
Last edited by yelhsa211 on Sat Jun 07, 2008 6:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Hello! Welcome to YWS, seeing as I haven't welcomed you in your first post; and if I did, well double-welcome! :D

Grammar and First Impressions

I'm going to hopefully skip the line-by-line. I usually end up doing it anyway, but I just try to point out the grammar rules that were appeared to be misunderstood. :D

My fault or......weakness, If you will, used to be vanity.


This would be... unnecessary capitalization, first. :wink:

Second, the ellipses went on for an eternity. I think the unwritten rule is three [3] dots. (...) This way, it doesn't look like a typo (..) nor is it annoying (......), the latter which was present in your writing. :D

Snoink's Dashes, Semicolons, and Ellipses from the Knowledge Base is simple and clear about the use of -- well -- dashes, semicolons, and ellipses. ^_^

But the Night, as I like to call it, literally Changed me [s]for ever[/s] forever.


Again, the unnecessary capitalization. I know in German, all nouns are capitalized. In English, though, only proper nouns are capitalized. :D

But I had to admit, It was fun to make him squeal.


Hmm... I never found this issue with capitalization. This is exciting! ^^ However, this is about the comma. I would make that a dash (Or a colon, I suppose?) because commas don't split sentences without one of the FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So), and the second half of this is treated as aside information? I dunno, it's hard to explain, but a comma doesn't much work here. ^^

" Hasn't [s]any one[/s] anyone ever told you, Germy? Perfection cannot be rushed,".


This would be a dialogue issue. In fact, this would take an eternity to explain, so I'll just direct you to our lovely Knowledge Base. Our dear mod, Snoinkus, has written a very simple and clear article entitled Dialogue Grammar, which explains how to display dialogue.

The use of his most detested [s]nick name[/s] nickname was the last straw.


There are compound words out there that are usable. :D

Suddenly, there was a high pitched yelp, and the banging stopped.


Suddenly is an overused word of suspense. If there is any way (and I'm sure there is) to rewrite this and rid yourself of that word, please do. Save suddenly for when you really need it. ^_^

"What do we have here? Germy trying to break down Case's door. We all know she's hot, but do you seriously think you've got a chance, breaking her door down?" I could recognize that vibrating bass voice anywhere.


This is another tag issue. Because you're introducing a new character, try to put the tag earlier in the sentence. [Maybe after the question?] That way the reader will know straight away it's a new character. You could even warn the reader before the quote of the arrival of the new character.

Finally unlocking the door, I strode out of the room, taking in the scene.


That phrase is just yucky. It's clunky. You could probably take that out and it would be a ton better.

Germy's light blue eyes were rolling wildly, trying to find a way to escape.

I don't know how to explain this comma, honestly. It just goes there. Mythic Writing might make some sense in her article Commas located in the Knowledge Base as well. ^^

In fact, It's bragging,".


Another dialogue issue as I've pointed about as well as capitalization issues. I figured it out, though: You're capitalizing every phrase, and that's unneeded. Capitalize can get confusing when it comes to colons or parentheses, but not commas. ^_^

From his [s]unnaturaly[/s] unnaturally tall frame, [no comma] to his over the top muscles, the only word that really described my red-haired, hazel-eyed friend was big.


The comma must be taken out because it is not a connective or a FANBOYS. ^_^

Note the hyphens I've added in red-haired and hazel-eyed. The two words equal one adjective, so they must be joined as one. :D

They can be pretty-"


At the end, you have a dash. What you really want is a dash, which is two hyphens put together. (--) :D

The [s]parking-lot[/s] parking lot was already packed when we arrived.


[s]Supprisingly[/s] Surprisingly, He showed no [s]sighns[/s] [b]signs that it affected him.


Music echoed and [s]multiplyed[/s] multiplied in volume.


Dear, let's use the fancy Dictionary to correct our spelling if Word doesn't catch them for you (though it should). Of course, if you don't use Word or any program like it, you wouldn't have an excuse. You'd have to use a dictionary if you're unsure of spelling, and if I've caught countless typos rather than spelling errors, that would be lack of responsibility in editing your story. :)

Alright, I'll have to stop looking out for the Grammar if I plan to avoid the line-by-line critique. Please go through and edit your grammar/spelling/format by applying my advice as well as the Knowledge Base or what you know. It's slightly difficult to read, and poor grammar can lead to suspicion: Does the author really care about their work?

Paragraphing

There are two main guidelines one can follow when it comes to paragraphing.

1.) New idea, new paragraph
2.) New speaker/subject, new paragraph

Here's an example from the text:

" Oh, Tobe, let the poor thing go. It isn't fair to the rest of us lesser beings for you to show off your almighty strength. In fact, It's bragging,".

[New idea, new paragraph]

Tobe gave one last regretful glance at his victim, then sat him on the tile floor of the hallway. As soon as he was free, Germy scampered off, shouting," Find your own ride!"


The speaker was not Tobe; therefore, we started a new paragraph. The idea of the second paragraph describes Tobe letting go of Germy.

Keep in mind that it's okay to have one-line paragraphs as long as there is a reason behind it. [New idea/New speaker]. ^_^

Introductory Paragraph

Everyone has one fault or another. At least, that's what my mother always told me. My fault or......weakness, If you will, used to be vanity. Everyone thought Casey Fields was the most beautiful girl on the face of this planet, and I knew it. Having money and style didn't hurt, either. But the Night, as I like to call it, literally Changed me for ever.



Throughout the story, the MC is Casey. Hopefully I'm correct on that. :lol: The intro paragraph, though, doesn't seem to be in Casey's PoV, so I'm a little confused on that. If you're going to switch PoVs, do point that out. If the intro paragraph was in Casey's PoV, why'd she say her own name? :?

You may have mentioned this in that bolded paragraph before the story, but I couldn't make any sense out of it. :lol: I got so confuzzled with all the defineds in it. :shock:

Plot

Now for the deep stuff, and this part usually doesn't get as long as my grammar section alone. :lol: That's how much of a grammar nerd I am.

Ay-ney-way, I don't much see a plot, so this part is already shortened. :lol:

However! I will warn you about Cliche Drive. Don't go down there. Werewolves have been used, have been tried numerous times, and it gets old very quickly. I'm not saying what you have here is useless; I'm saying that if you don't back up your werewolves with a good plot, good characters, and your own spin to the story, it will walk down Cliche Drive where damsels in distress, Prince Charmings, vampires, and countless of other overused ideas live. Be very careful. :)

Characters

They're werewolves, so -- again -- be careful. We already know the basic idea of werewolves, and a lot of people try to change a little something here or there to make them their own characters; however, a lot of times those little changes the writers will make to their werewolves are identical to another writer's. Keep it unique and memorable.

I don't know if you're read Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, but -- though I dislike the series -- she does a good job in making her vampires and werewolves unique to the real legends they came from. Though this bothers some people -- because they really did originate from horrifying legends -- it is good to make the unique and memorable.

Your werewolves are cookie-cutters right not. It's just a start, though. Hopefully you'll grow on the characters' personalities, and the readers will attach to them. It would be wonderful if we attached to them sooner, though -- maybe before the left for that place they went to? You seem to go on about Casey's scars, and that's the only thing I know about her. She used to be beautiful, and now she has scars that make her ugly. You did well with Tobe, though improvement never hurt anyone. Germy sounds like an annoying little brother? *hopes she's right*

Overall

I so far see no point to this piece. Hopefully there is one, but all I know is that Casey's ugly and Tobe cares for her. If that was the point, then I guess you did well! :)

The flow was broken because of the spelling/grammar/format/stuff that I mentioned earlier. Do go back and edit, and this will already improve greatly. In my opinion, grammar and description is what makes the story. They carry everything else with them as long as you get those two down.

Well, I hope I helped, and I do hope you'll continue to work on this. :D If you have any questions/comments/complaints/requests/anything else, PM me. I'd be more than happy to help! :D

Keep writing!

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