Just Doing My Job

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I had this scene floating around in my head and just had to write it down. I don't usually write stuff like this, but I like the way this came out. I think I might make it a prologue or something sometime...
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The clearing floor was covered in deep, velvety moss that echoed the majestic color of the foliage above. The spaces between the dark trees were winding passageways leading to the shadow-shrouded unknown.

In the center of the dark clearing lay a young figure, her whiteness glowing against the deep forest colors of her surroundings; the white material of her gown draped from her and flowed into a pool around her like mist. Her skin was smooth and pearly white; her slender, splayed arms moonbeams on a clear, full-mooned night. Her pallid face, painfully beautiful, shone against the gleaming fan of black hair that formed a dark halo. Her eyes were shut and rimmed with raven-feather lashes and eyebrows. Her expression was one of grievous suffering that was being slowly being leeched away, soon to be replaced by the stony placidness of death.

She would soon be gone and her secrets would forever be locked away from this world with a key that would be lost when her ragged breaths ceased. This thought must have passed through her weakening mind as it slipped farther and farther down the well from which there would be no return, for she managed an inward smile. All would be over.

She opened one eye; an eye that was a deep, passionate blue –a dangerous blue. A blue that could entrance people, pulling them downward and drowning them in its stare. She took in her surroundings; the gallant dawn sun peeking through the dark trunks, the sinewy vines clinging to branches. Nobody would find her here... or so she thought.

The eye closed and no one would ever be in danger of it again. The magic of the blue was gone, as were the warmth of the woman’s pale skin and the rise and fall of her chest.

From the behind a tree, I made a mark on my clipboard. That made the day’s score to exactly four-hundred, and it was barely even light out. As I made my way away from the clearing, I thought of that eye –the deep, beautiful blue of it. No, I mustn’t get attached to my victims; there was nobody else who could do what I did. I leaped into the air and sped off on a wind that would lead me to my next victim.
Last edited by Azila on Sun Sep 02, 2007 8:02 pm, edited 2 times in total.




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Hmm, I do think it could make a good prologue ^_^

In the center of the dark clearing lay a young figure, her whiteness glowing against the deep forest colors of her surroundings.


"her whiteness" doesn't seem to really mean anything. Is she glowing? Does she just have really light skin? :reads on: eh, maybe if you put a colon at the end of said line it would be clearer, but in general, the phrase isn't really necessary. In this same paragraph, nearly all the sentences begin with "Her [insert body part/ characteristic here]..."

The part with the clipboard at the end seemed random to me; I don't know who is speaking? If little bits and pieces were mentioned to previously, maybe a line like "she won't get away, not like the last one" or something, that would hint to another person in the scene. This seems to be the most important section of the piece, so why not make it last a little longer? Not timeline-wise; I'm not suggesting that you follow the clipboard person a while longer, just include details. In general, the more in depth something is, the more attention is called to it, the more important it is intended/interpreted to be.

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-melia




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"The clearing floor was covered in deep, velvety moss that echoed the majestic color of the foliage above. " Delete majestic (show, not tell) and put something else. Otherwise the hook would be fairly uninteresting.

"draped from her"
Add "body" after her, or else confusion would arise.

"that was being slowly being leeched away"
???Being that like saying being this sentence, being.:)

"her secrets would forever be locked away from this world with a key that would be lost"
Extra info. Just write "her secrets would be forever lost when he breath ceases".

"From the behind a tree"
The sentence is the very weird.

"clipboard"
Na. Say notebook. More anceint, more in feeling to this piece.


I agree with AmeliaOliver--give us some hints about the person speaking.

Also, make sure not to have too many things, superfluous items. I found this to be a little dull at parts because you described something over and over again. Instead, say "her skin was white like the morning sun", but don't say "her skin was white, whiter than blah, whiter than blah. It blinded me, so much so that...." etc. etc. (Of course this wasn't in yours, but I just had to say it).

Otherwise, I also think it will make a great prologue. :) But not as a stand-alone.

I am interested! Keep this story!
my world isn't only beautiful
it is so far away




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This was awesome! Great description and the ending really had me wanting more. I do however want to know what it is your narrator is killing. Could it be people, I mean the beauty was just so over the top I thought it might be something different. And yet that brought the count to 400? This interested me more.

1.The magic of the blue was gone, as were the warmth of the woman’s pale skin and the rise and fall of her chest.

**"as WAS the warmth of the..." instead as were.

2.I leaped into the air and sped off on a wind that would lead me to my next victim.

**You'd already used the word victim, maybe prey next? The words do seem a little hostile, for the title that you used at least. So I'm now thinking that the narrator has a conscience, doesn't exactly like it's job? More interesting. lol

3.From the behind a tree, I made a mark on my clipboard.

**I agree, here clipboard doesn't quiet fit here. I'm wondering what time period this is in to use a word such as that. Lol, as you can see, I really want this to continue. Great for a prolouge. Tell me when you've posted more and I shall keep up with it! :)

Keep it up!
~Rieda
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*This wonderful crit is brought to you by CCF!*




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Hi guys!

Thanks so much for the reviews people!

I'm not sure I am going to write more on it, I haven't thought of more yet, anyway :D Like I said, I just had it in my head and had to write it down. The only reason I posted it is because it turned out better than I had thought, but my expectations weren't high, and I'm not all that crazy about it. I just wanted to post it to see what crits I'd get... and because I haven't posted something in a while.

Anyway, the narrator is supposed to be Death, or one of Death's minions, or something... got any ideas how to clarify that, anyone?

Thanks!
~Azila




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I don't think you should write more. It's NOT that this wasn't good, but I just think it's pretty fine by itself. :) But everyone else knows more than me, so I don't know...

This scene was so beautifully written. I love your choice of words, especially here:

In the center of the dark clearing lay a young figure, her whiteness glowing against the deep forest colors of her surroundings; the white material of her gown draped from her and flowed into a pool around her like mist. Her skin was smooth and pearly white; her slender, splayed arms moonbeams on a clear, full-mooned night. Her pallid face, painfully beautiful, shone against the gleaming fan of black hair that formed a dark halo. Her eyes were shut and rimmed with raven-feather lashes and eyebrows. Her expression was one of grievous suffering that was being slowly being leeched away, soon to be replaced by the stony placidness of death.


The whole scene is perfect being just that, a scene. But I repeat; it's your choice if you want to write more.
:D
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I came, I saw, I conquered.

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This was okay, but like the other reviewers said, it needs a little clarification.

I didn't find any grammar mistakes other than the ones gadi already pointed out, so good job there. :)

I have to say that in total, I found this piece to be a bit melodramatic.
Don't get me wrong, I really like your style and choice of words. However, as it is it doesn't really seem to have a point. As it is, it is essentially a scene, but it could be better, especially if it unfolds more later on.

Try not to spend TOO much time describing the scene. I know that was kinda the point of the piece, but after the first few paragraphs, people get bored waiting for something to happen. I'm not saying you shouldn't describe the scene, but do it quicker, and maybe add a description of the "minion of death". That might help with clarifying who he is as well.

I am exhausted at the moment, so I won't write more. Forgive me if my wording is a bit helter skelter, hope ay least half of it is intelligible. Keep writing and post more stuff so I can review it, because I like reading your work. :lol:




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I think I would also echo one of the comments I just read on "farewell" I think this is a case where too much purpleyness is NOT a good thing. :D




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Okay... thanks guys for reviewing, but can nobody else read this piece? PLEASE? It's terrible XD.

So yeah, PLEASE don't read... I'm serious.




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Huh? Its not THAT bad...... Why say that? if you really don't like it, just delete it off the site!!!!!! Besides, isn't that kinda the point of this site? You submit pieces you need to work on so they get better???? :D :D :D :D!!!




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Loved it. Incredible description and a lovely plot. I have only one request - make this an entire book and get it published - I would love to read more. You have a talent, so make sure you use it.

The only point I have to make is that we do not know anything about the protagonist. 'I' doesn't seem to cover a lot - we don't know even if the character is male or female. It's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just that I am now impatient to find out more.




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Azila Dear --

How could I not read it? First of all, it's written by you, which guarantees that it will be nothing short of amazing. Secondly, it's Fantasy. I love Fantasy. It is the air that I need to breathe; the wind beneath my wings.

The clearing floor was covered in deep, velvety moss that echoed the majestic color of the foliage above. The spaces between the dark trees were winding passageways leading to the shadow-shrouded unknown.


OOoohhhh...this sounds very mysterious already. I love the 'shadow-shrouded' unknown. Very creative. :)

In the center of the dark clearing lay a young figure, her whiteness glowing against the deep forest colors of her surroundings; the white material of her gown draped from her and flowed into a pool around her like mist. Her skin was smooth and pearly white; her slender, splayed arms moonbeams on a clear, full-mooned night.


That first sentence seems a tad purple - you're saying that the clearing is dark, the figure is young, her whiteness is glowing, the forest colours are deep, the material is white etc. I don't know how many adjectives that is, but it seems like too many.
Also, I think you said 'white' a little too much. (You used it twice in that first sentence.)

Her pallid face, painfully beautiful, shone against the gleaming fan of black hair that formed a dark halo. Her eyes were shut and rimmed with raven-feather lashes and eyebrows. Her expression was one of grievous suffering that was being slowly being leeched away, soon to be replaced by the stony placidness of death.


Firstly, all three sentences there start with 'Her'.
Secondly, I'm not sure about the 'dark halo' part. You don't need to say so much about her hair, in my opinion.
Thirdly, the description of her eyebrows and eyelashes is pure genius. Just thought I'd let you know.


Maybe this is a little melodramatic, but I love it nonetheless. The woman you described sounds like the main character in my book, except that my character isn't killed.

Any ways. As usual, you entranced me with your descriptions. How I am jealous of your prose.

Except, the bit about the clipboard kinda threw me off. I was like, 'WHA?' It's all somber and passionate and dramatic - and then as soon as you said clipboard, I had an image in my head of a nerdy-looking guy wearing a tweed suit, checking off something on a clipboard. Unless your Death guy actually is like that, well, you know.

This would make an excellent prologue. You should totally start writing a story to go with it!

So yeah...now I've rambled on, this [lame] review must come to an end.

Keep it up!

- Camille
everything i loved
became everything i lost.


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Thanks Camille (I didn't know that was your name!)!

Your review was really helpful -- encouraging and scrutinizing at the same time. However, I think I have mentioned that I really hate this piece? Well if I haven't, I'll mention it now: I really hate this piece! :P I think I will be using some of the metaphors/similes/descriptions in future work and chucking the plot into the rubbish bin. :lol:

If you want to read my fantasy, I would much rather you read "Snow" because I need to enter it into a contest before the 1st and I'm getting a little desperate.

Thank you nonetheless, my friend, for your input.

~Azila~




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:D
Yeah, you mentioned that you hated it. :oops: But I reviewed it nonetheless because it was the only piece that I felt I could actually say something constructive for...
However, I would be glad to read 'Snow'.

Azila wrote:I think I will be using some of the metaphors/similes/descriptions in future work and chucking the plot into the rubbish bin.


Lol, I do that a lot! If I only like some descriptions I used (I'm quite obsessed with descriptions!) but I hate the actual piece, I keep them for future work.

Oh, and this is random, but what contest? A YWS contest?
Also random - I followed the link to the Mark Twain Workshop thing and it looked awesome. I've always dreamed of going to something like that. I suppose you are going? Lucky! (I live in Canada; USA only >.<)

Yeah, now that I've rambled for a long time, I should stop.

Cheers,
Camille

P.s. I'll review Snow tomorrow - now I should go offline to continue my writings. ;P
everything i loved
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Yes, I think our styles are similar... I guess our techniques are too. :wink:

Ayra wrote:Oh, and this is random, but what contest? A YWS contest?
Also random - I followed the link to the Mark Twain Workshop thing and it looked awesome. I've always dreamed of going to something like that. I suppose you are going? Lucky! (I live in Canada; USA only >.<)

No, it's not a YWS contest, it's a highly-selective national contest (only one winner for verse and one for prose annually!)... here's the link...
About the Mark Twain thing: I don't know if I got in this year or not, I haven't even sent in my piece yet. :D I got in last year, though, and it was an AWESOME experience... You should move to America just for that. XD

Oh dear... this is going quite off-topic... :(

~Azila~



Being a hero doesn't mean you're invincible. It just means that you're brave enough to stand up and do what's needed.
— Rick Riordan, The Mark of Athena