First chapter of book :)

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Are you tired having a story about vampires or do think there is still a market out there for them?

  • I love vampire stories. Never get bored of them. 14%
  • They are okay, i quite like them. 14%
  • I don't mind either way. 14%
  • I would prefer not to have any more vampire stories. 14%
  • Hate them! Would definitely not read it if it was about them. 43%

Total votes: 7

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Hey guys, this is the first chapter of my first novel. It wod be great if you could give me some tips and advice for how to improve and just tell me what you think! Thank you :) x


1. The Beginning


“Master,” A tall man with spiky dark blue hair and feverishly pale skin bowed low before extending out his left arm to what looked like an empty stage.
A long lightly tanned hand reached out and lightly touched the blue haired man’s wrist. As soon as contact was made a clear yet gentle light shone brightly from Marty’s arm, the small star mark which was written into his skin glowing. Marty shut his eyes, his lips pressed tightly together. The light did not burn or hurt him; the general greeting was nothing but a pulse, beating in his skin. The man removed his hand and the light died, swallowed up into the air.
“Marty.” A low, husky voice echoed in the room. They were in a church, but just from seeing the scratched paintings and dusty Bibles it was obvious the old tenants were long gone.
Darkness penetrated the building; the only light was coming from the moon which filtered through the coloured glass windows. The light red rays fell onto the stone cold floor in patterns and swirls but no one cared for the beauty or the wonder of their kingdom. It was merely far away from life yet near enough to catch the scent.
“Any news?” The man in the golden chair looked down at Marty. Shadows danced across the floor but none could quite reach the stage. Marty couldn’t see his master’s face but he knew what it looked like. The beauty, the glint, the curled smile. And with it a seductive voice which made all who heard it want to hear it again. But all he could see now, in the little light of which the moon spared, was a man. A man with silver eyes.
“No, sir, but we did find something that might interest you.” Marty smiled; the small emotion lighting up his darkly striking face. He turned round and motioned to the two men who stood behind him in the aisle.
Nodding, they walked down the church, their footsteps silent despite their size. Pushing open the big oak doors - the creaking an unwelcome noise in the midst of the silence – they disappeared. Seconds later they emerged again but this time there was a third person.
Crushed in the centre was a young woman, her flame red hair a mess, her eyes contorted with pain and yet her face still held a mixture of pride and anger. And she was so, so beautiful.
The men dragged her across the bumpy stone floor, a small smile playing on their lips whenever they pulled her over a sharp stone and heard her gasp. She was chained; metal cuffs bounded her wrists and strapped together her ankles. All she wore was a dress which had taken as many beatings as her. Reaching Marty they stopped and threw her mercilessly to the ground.
Grabbing her chin and squashing her cheeks so hard blood appeared Marty pulled her face up so his master could see.
“We found her a couple of miles from here, walking on her own. She can’t use her power, we made sure of that. All energy has been drained out of her, her body has little left. She won’t state her name or coven but she didn’t have to.” Marty spun the woman round and harshly tugged down the top of her dress. There on her right shoulder blade was a tattoo of a flame, drawn in dark black ink, the same as Marty’s star.
“Fire,” the man on the chair breathed. He stood up and walked down the stairs until he met with the others. “Good work Marty.”
The man knelt by the woman. He tilted her face up gently. Her big blue eyes did not meet his, her jaw set in a stiff line. The man chuckled, “My, my, fiery just like your coven. And this mane…”His fingers stroked her hair.
Disgusted, the young woman jerked her head back and spat in his face, “Don’t you dare touch me!”
Marty went to hit her but the man put out his hand. Wiping his face he said, “Now that wasn’t very nice. Don’t you know who I am?”
“A monster!” The woman whispered, her voice dripping with hatred. “You are no witch! You shame your coven!”
The man laughed.
The woman glared at him, her split lip bleeding. “Pretty hell hole you got here.” She muttered sarcastically, looking around her. “So, the devil chooses a holy place for his killings. Nice.”
To her surprise, the man smiled, “Ahhhh, but you don’t know, do you?” He moved closer, not waiting for an answer. “Now, I’m going to ask you a simple question and you can either choose the easy or the hard way.” The man’s silver eyes shone, “Tell me, what is a pretty witch like you doing out on your own in the middle of no where?”
The woman swore.
“Ok, you want the hard way.” Gripping her face between his hands, he pulled her so close her nose bumped his. Her eyes grew wide, fear circling in their depths. Her mouth opened but no sound escaped. That was when it started. Ice started to creep up her neck from the man’s fingers. His fingertips brushed against her jaw leaving the skin he touched turn to a light bluish colour. Frost covered her eyelashes. Cold air burned her nose.
“Why are you here?” The man’s voice was like poison, his abnormally handsome face in a twist of rage.
The woman started coughing yet she did not try to speak her answer. Her hands were numb at her sides, the small star tattoo – just like Marty’s – on her left wrist was shining blindly.
“Tell me!” The man screamed.
The blood falling from the woman’s lip froze - a small deep red icicle. Using up her last strength she whispered, “Bite me.”
Snow fell from the ceiling, a biting wind thrashing against everything it met. Marty crouched low, his arms protecting his body just as the two other men did.
The man snarled, his lips brushing the woman’s frozen ones. “You really don’t know who I am, do you?” His voice leaked with acid. “I am the one they all fear. I am the one they can’t kill. No one can touch me, no one can cause me pain. I do the killing and there isn’t any witch out there that can stop me.” The woman’s eyes froze into wide circles of understanding.
The man noticed and laughed against her lips. His voice still managed to be seductive as he gave a hoarse whisper, “I am the one who is going to kill you.”
Pressing him to her, the woman choked. Ice thawed up against her throat, freezing her airway. She knew what he was doing.
The man’s warm lips only made her own colder, the pressure freezing up her organs, killing her body. Breaking off, he smiled at her cold, dying body and knew the pain which she must be feeling and took happiness from that.
Kissing her one last time, he moved his lips to her ear, “Remember me.”
He dropped the beautiful dying woman onto the cold ground, her body shrinking into its self, trying to fight away the demons inside her.
She would remember him. Wherever she was going his face would always haunt her, teasing her, hurting her. She would never forget that man.
The man with the silver eyes.
Last edited by Sophia_x on Sat Sep 05, 2009 2:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life you have a thousand reasons to smile.
For instance, you still have chocolate :P
x




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Hi Sophia! Welcome to YWS! I'm Wolf and I'll be your reveiwer.

Ok, so what I first noticed when I started reading is that you went a little over board on the descriptions of your characters. A line or too will be suffice. And you don't need to remind us all of the time that the man had silver eyes was handsome or that Marty has a star tattoo on his arm.

Ok, with that set aside, I'll move onto the good stuff. You have some really beautiful descriptions in here that make you feel like you're really there in the church.

I'm assumming that each 'witch' has a certain elemental power or something that is marked by tattoos on the shoulder and hand. The silver-eyed man controls ice, the red-haired woman controls fire, and possibly Marty controls something but you haven't told us yet. Did I get it right?

Anyway, good job and I look forward to reading more of your work.
PM me if you need a reveiw or help or a friend! :D
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Thanks Wolf! Ill take what you have said aboard and try to make it better! Thank you :)
When life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life you have a thousand reasons to smile.
For instance, you still have chocolate :P
x




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Sounds like a good start! I would just say, like the other replies, maybe a little overboard on character developement, but you've got a real heart for fantasy. And when in doubt, use metaphors!
It's a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no telling where you might be swept off to. -Bilbo Baggins




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Hey there, Sophia. Welcome to YWS, A.K.A. the mad house. ^^ I can see you've got a great story going on here so I shall review it!

:smt023 Nitpicks:

“Master,” A tall man with spiky dark blue hair and feverishly pale skin bowed low before extending out his left arm to what looked like an empty stage.


As a hook it doesn't really deliver that shock factor. I believe all the description you've added in this starting sentence has slowed it down. Don't spoil us with too much info at once! ^^ Add the descriptions in later, and subtly. However, I'm glad the setting has been established already, and we have that sense of foreboding from 'master'.
You're missing a few commas. ...man with spiky dark blue hair.... should be: ...man with spiky, dark blue hair... As you are not describing the dark blue as spiky, but the hair. Get me?

A long lightly tanned hand reached out and lightly touched the blue haired man’s wrist. As soon as contact was made a clear yet gentle light shone brightly from Marty’s arm, the small star mark which was written into his skin glowing.

Oh, hello. Marty? I suppose he is the one who said 'master'. It appears you've just dropped his name in there. Maybe take the reader aside and whisper: who goes by the name of Marty. Or something like that. ^^' terrible example, I know. Or maybe you could have told us his name in the first sentence: Marty, a tall man with spiky dark blue hair and feverishly pale skin, bowed low... But I recommend taking some of the descriptions out.
: A long, lightly tanned hand reached out and lightly touched the blue haired man’s wrist. As soon as contact was made a clear yet gentle light shone brightly from Marty’s arm, and the small star mark which was written into his skin glowed.
Yes, do omit some of the descriptions. It's in danger of sounding like a list, which I know it is not, Sophia!

The man removed his hand and the light died, swallowed up into the air.

I am unsure about the end part to this sentence. Perhaps: swallowed up by the darkness may sound better.

but just from seeing the scratched paintings and dusty Bibles it was obvious the old tenants were long gone.

I like this line. ^^
Yet "scratched paintings"? How were they scratched, I'm assuming no one's been in there for a long time, so stuff wouldn't be moved around and wouldn't get scratched. Perhaps the paintings had faded?

Darkness penetrated the building; the only light was coming from the moon which filtered through the coloured glass windows.

I love these descriptions; really, I do. Yet, I am unsure about the first part. It sounds off. You've got more darkness than light, so perhaps it's the light penetrating the darkness. Just a thought.

And she was so, so beautiful.

This stands out. Before it you have this lovely flow of sort of formal language, and then suddenly the tone changes with this. "So, so" sounds something like an over-excited teenager might say. "Ever so" could be a replacement, it differentiates from the paragraph, but not in a bad manner. It is still short, and therefore dramatic.

Grabbing her chin and squashing her cheeks so hard blood appeared, Marty pulled her face up so his master could see.

Just missing a comma.

“My, my, fiery just like your coven. And this mane…”His fingers stroked her hair.

Typo. ^^ You're missing a space between "mane" and "His".

“You are no witch! You shame your coven!”

Thank God! I thought this was going to be ANOTHER vampire story. :wink:

“Pretty hell hole you got here.” She muttered sarcastically, looking around her. “So, the devil chooses a holy place for his killings. Nice.”

I have a little problem with her dialogue. One minute she sounds impervious and well-spoken, the next she's sarcastic and street-wise. Which is she?

...in the middle of no where?”

Nowhere. It's one word.

The woman swore.

At him or just under her breath? My, she's certainly woken up. From the attitude she has now, I would've expected her to insult the guards when they so obviously wanted to hurt her by dragging her across sharp stones.

...fear circling in their depths.

Nice.

...a small deep red icicle.

Missing a comma.
: a small, deep red icicle.

The man snarled, his lips brushing the woman’s frozen ones. “You really don’t know who I am, do you?” His voice leaked with acid. “I am the one they all fear. I am the one they can’t kill. No one can touch me; no one can cause me pain. I do the killing and there isn’t any witch out there that can stop me.” The woman’s eyes froze into wide circles of understanding.
The man noticed and laughed against her lips. His voice still managed to be seductive as he gave a hoarse whisper, “I am the one who is going to kill you.”

I just wanted to point this out as something I particularly loved. Bloody brilliant. You deserve a round of applause, a pat on the back, and a multitude of cookies. ^^ Amazing.

Pressing him to her, the woman choked.

This confuses me. What? Perhaps you could rephrase it. The two parts of the sentence don't seem to be relevant to each other. The first part sounds like the man is going to do something to her, the other could be a separate sentence.

He dropped the beautiful, dying woman onto the cold ground, her body shrinking into its self,

Comma missed.
Perhaps you could replace the word dying with something else as, correct me if I'm wrong, you've used it quite recently. (A few paragraphs ago).
Itself is one word.

She would remember him. Wherever she was going his face would always haunt her, teasing her, hurting her. She would never forget that man.
The man with the silver eyes.
[/quote]
A brilliant end to the chapter, I must say. ^^ Such a creepy, disturbing tone you've got. I would love to read more.


:smt023 Plot:
Wow.
:smt003 This has lots of potential. I have no idea where this can go, yet at the same time I do ... if you get what I mean. Absolutely brilliant. You should be proud. I may be going over the top with the praise, but this is one of the best first chapters I've read. And thank you for not doing it about vampires! Witches are most certainly refreshing and incredibly interesting. I got a faint feel of Charmed, despite hardly watching the program, but this promises to be bigger and better.

:smt023 Hook:
This lets the whole piece down. :( The starting sentence just wasn't edgy enough for something like this. It is wonderful, this chapter, but I don't get a sense of that until you were describing the church. That's far too late. The first sentence has to be the eye-catcher, because people judge the story from even the first word. It's a cruel business, but it's true. Try this article by RoseyUnicorn. It's brilliant and should explain it better than I can.
: http://yws.nathancaldwell.com/viewtopic.php?p=1233&highlight=#1233

:smt023 Description:
The description got better and better as the story went on. From annoying - the lists - to wow! My suggestion would to go over the beginning again and think about what could be changed for the better. Like removing unnecessary descriptions. It's nice to have an idea of what the characters look like, but don't shove it in our faces from the moment we start reading.

:smt023 Overall:
Amazing. I am officially addicted to this story. ^^ Please, please PM me when you post more. It should be an interesting read. :D I think I've explained all I can - not too many alterations are needed for this particular piece, I don't think. Just continue writing it - XD - or I'll be very annoyed.

Good day to you. *tips imaginary hat* Keep on writing,

~EmmaJane~
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