Can You See Me? (Chapter Four)

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I'm really not too keen on this chapter... it's definitely my least favourite so far :? To be honest, it just feels a bit bland and pointless, I think. :xd: It might be something to do with the fact that there's more dialogue in it as well.
Any suggestions?

Can You See Me? Chapter One/Prologue
Can You See Me? Chapter Two ~ Part One
Can You See Me? Chapter Two ~ Part Two
Can You See Me? Chapter Three

“Shit,” I muttered, as a minuscule drop of liquid fell into my mouth.
I looked at the empty bottle carefully, hoping that it would somehow magically fill back up. To my disappointment, nothing happened.
“Hardly anything in there for fifteen ninety nine,” I slurred, pulling myself up by using the large tree trunk behind me. “Stupid thing.” I said, accompanied by a foul word.
After finally managing to stand up, I looked at the scene around me. The sun had almost set now and there didn’t seem to be anyone around.
I felt as though I was on top of the world, nothing could beat me now; and all it took was a little bit of something bitter. I smiled as I threw the empty bottle onto the soft ground below me. As I stepped forward, I stumbled slightly; which resulted in me having to grab another tree trunk for support.
“Oops!” I laughed, standing up straight again.
I continued to walk down the pavement, humming loudly as I did so.
As I neared my house, I noticed a few people walking along the road. After looking at them carefully, I realised that they had been in my parents' wake. I didn’t know who they were exactly but I’d definitely seen them in my living room. The God damn thing must be finally finishing, I smiled to myself.
As the people passed, I noticed them look at me strangely for a few seconds. Laughing loudly at their reaction, I practically began to skip along the pavement. It wasn’t long until another group of people passed. Except this time, I knew who they were.
It was a tall, young woman with honey blonde hair. She had her arms linked with a dark haired, slightly older, man. The woman, who I recognised as my cousin, noticed me almost immediately.
“Maxxie?” She narrowed her eyes at me.
“Yes Alice dear?” I grinned.
Alice was standing in front of me by now. After I spoke, both she and her boyfriend looked at me strangely. Weirdos.
“Maxxie, are you drunk?” Alice sounded astounded.
I suddenly burst out laughing. She’d said that in such a funny way! Her voice had literally gone three octaves higher. I continued laughing while she and her boyfriend simply stared.
“Yeah! You should try it some time!” I could hear myself slurring as I spoke. “You look like you’ve been sucking on a blooming lemon!”
Alice clearly didn’t find it half as funny as I did. In fact, her reaction was the complete opposite to mine.
She unlinked her arm with her boyfriend, who clearly just wanted to go home. Not taking her eyes off me for a second, she spoke again.
“Come on,” she gently grabbed my arm. “Let’s get you home.”
I mumbled something to myself as Alice led me back towards my house. We had to walk slowly though because I was practically falling all over the place.
Around five minutes later, the three of us were walking through the front door. Looking around the house, I noticed that everyone had gone. Well, everyone except for my uncle and my sister, of course.
“Lisa!” Alice called, leading me into the empty living room. “Lisa! Where are you? There’s a bit of a...” she glanced at me as I plopped myself onto the sofa. “There’s a bit of a problem!”
Waiting for my sister’s reply, Alice sat down on the wooden coffee table in front of the sofa I was sitting on. Her boyfriend soon followed.
Before either of us could say anything, I saw my uncle pop his head round the living room door. He looked at Alice and her boyfriend as he spoke.
“Alice? Jason?” he began. “I thought you’d left?”
“We had, but then we found Maxxie,” Alice nodded at me.
I had begun humming cheerfully to myself again by now. The second Damien saw me, his plain brown eyes immediately widened.
Without any hesitation, he walked towards me, eventually sitting beside me. He then loudly called for my sister like Alice had just done, making me jump.
“How much have you had to drink?” Both his tone and his face were dead serious.
I tried - and failed - not to laugh. For some reason, I found the fact that everyone seemed so serious pretty hilarious. The second I began to laugh, Damien spoke again.
“Maxxie? How much have you drunk mate?” his voice was stern and raspy.
Why was everyone taking everything so seriously? Honestly, they needed to loosen up a bit. I did, and now I was pretty darn happy.
“Cool 'ead!” I chuckled. “Just some vodka, that’s all!”
My uncle sighed, before rubbing his head and closing his eyes. It looked as though he was about to cry. What was his problem? Actually, what was everyone’s problem? Why were they all so serious?
Fair enough, it was the day of my parent's funeral, but it still seemed stupid. They were the ones who told me that funeral’s are all about celebrating life. They didn’t seem to be celebrating it very well.
“I can’t be doing with this right now,” Damien muttered under his breath.
Before I had the chance to comment, my sister suddenly came rushing into the room.
“What’s wrong?” She asked.
Her face was red and blotchy and her two deep brown eyes were bloodshot. It wasn’t very attractive at all; she’d clearly been crying.
Looking at everyone’s faces, she scanned the room. The second her eyes met mine, her facial expression turned even worse.
“I don’t know how much he’s had,” Damien stood up, looking at Lisa. “And I don’t know where he got it from. I’m not even sure if he even remembers where he got it from, to be honest with you.”
“You don’t have to speak like I’m not here you know,” I slurred. “And I got the vodka from the drinks table, for your information!”
I didn’t like the way Lisa looked at me then. Her eyes were sad and the distraught expression on her face made her look as though she’d given up, like there wasn’t any point in anything anymore.
She turned to my uncle and sighed heavily. Damien headed towards her, wrapping his arms around her kindly. He then began speaking with her. I couldn’t make out what they were saying to each other, they were talking too quietly. But I saw them glance at me a few times. I had a fairly decent idea about what, or who, they were discussing.
I stared at the room around me as Lisa and Damien spoke amongst themselves. There were empty packets of crisps left on the coffee table, obviously by the children. There was also an awful lot of empty cups, and the odd half empty cup, dotted around the room.
“Is it okay if we leave?” My cousin's boyfriend spoke, interrupting Lisa and Damien’s chat.
“Yeah, of course Jason,” Lisa forced an obviously fake smile. “Thanks for bringing Maxxie back, by the way.”
Both Alice and Jason stood up, and headed towards the door. Alice smiled kindly at me before saying goodbye and leaving the room.
Once they had gone, I turned around so that I was lying on the sofa. My head had stopped buzzing now, and had been replaced by the feeling of exhaustion. The electric feeling had turned into a soft numbness, my eyes felt heavy and my entire body felt limp. Damien and Lisa were still talking, but their voices were slowly beginning to sound more and more muffled. As every sense, every feeling slowly drifted out of my body, my eyes gently closed. Seconds later, I was fast asleep.
Last edited by Sins on Mon Apr 19, 2010 10:13 pm, edited 4 times in total.
I didn't know what to put here so I put this.




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HI Skins.
First to the nit-picks:
I looked at the empty bottle carefully, hoping that it would somehow magically fill back up.


As I stepped forward, I stumbled slightly; which resulted in me having to grab another tree trunk for support.

The highlighted part seems to be so informal that its not matching up with the casual and modern style you have given to the MC and its style of speaking. Sorry, if that makes no sense.

As I neared my house, I noticed a few people walking along the road.

Neared, to me, seems a bit awkward. Grammatically it may be right but it just doesn't let the flow continue itself.

Chapter wise, it was okay. I liked how the way you presented Maxxie in a drunk state. Loved it! And as for Annabel, since she's been coming a lot you should definitely show that how she feels on finding her brother like this.

After looking at them carefully, I realised that they had been in my parents' wake.


After I spoke, both her she and her boyfriend looked at me strangely.


She’d said in that in such a funny way!


I continued laughing while her she and her boyfriend simply stared.

Okay so first time it can be considered as a mistake but the next time if it happens then its your problem. It was a blunder!

I had began humming cheerfully to myself again by now.

So funny! Complete drunkard behaviour. :lol:

What was his problem? Actually, what was everyone’s problem? Why were they all so serious?
This should be in italics.

They didn’t seem to be it celebrating very well.


He then began speaking with to her.


“Is it okay if we leave?” My cousin's boyfriend spoke, interrupting Lisa and Damien’s chat.


Damien and Lisa were still talking, but their voices were slowly beginning to sound more echo That would look more realistic and dramatic and more muffled.
"Next time you point a finger
I might have to bend it back
Or break it, break it off
Next time you point a finger
I'll point you to the mirror"

— Paramore




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Hiya Skins!

Well, I agree with you, somewhat: this chapter has no real point, and slows down the pace of the story unnaturally. I think that you should definitely mention Maxxie being drunk, but you don't necessarily need to devote an entire chapter to the subject. :P For instance, if you said something like, "Two days and one tremendous hangover later..." it would state your point without dragging on and on. If you wanted a little more emotion in your recap than that, do so! But that's all I mean. :)

Otherwise, this was nicely written Skins! If you want to revise it and have questions, just ask! I'm happy to help you work anything out.

-Knightley
"You laugh at me because I'm different. I laugh at you because you're all the same."

Lady Gaga




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You mentioned somewhere that Maxxie was a male.
And I went "wait, what?"
I know I haven't read the previous chapters, but Maxxie seriously sounds like a girl.
It's the tone and the dialogue that is letting you down.
Here are some tips to help you:

-Change
“Damn,” I muttered, as a minuscule drop of liquid fell into my mouth.

to " “Damn,” I growled, as a small drop of liquid fell into my mouth. "

-Add " I said, accompanied by a foul word. " at the end of
“Hardly anything in there for fifteen ninety nine,” I slurred, pulling myself up by using the large tree trunk behind me. “Stupid thing.”


“You don’t have to speak like I’m not here you know,” I slurred. “And I got the vodka from the drinks table over there, for your information!”

Lose the "for your information" and add "over there"

Apart from that, I like your work! You're pretty good with your grammar, so I don't have to nitpick it. (thank goodness for me: I hate reading poorly-written stories)
-Maddy
-If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you!
-"Careful with that light at the end of the tunnel, it might be another train coming."

This awesome post bought to you by me. :)




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Update soon, 'kay? I like this novel!
hey, Jude, don't make it bad
take a sad song and make it better
remember to let it into your heart
then you can start
to make it better.

~make books, not war~

"Not vampires, fish from space."




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Hey there mate, here on request. :)

First off, this is a nice chapter. For the most part you have good spelling and grammar. However, there were something that need pointing out. The nitpicks:

The God damn thing must be finally finishing, I smiled to myself.

Most people write this swear as “goddamn”.

Weirdo’s.
shouldn’t this be weirdos? It isn’t plural.

“Come on,” She gently grabbed my arm.
When ending dialogue in a comma, the next letter after the quote is not capitalized (unless it is a noun or something.)
“Come on,” she gently grabbed my arm.


“Lisa! Where are you? There’s a bit of a...” She glanced at me as I plopped myself onto the sofa.

This one is a tough call. Something tells me this is a continuation of the statement after the quote, in which case the s in she should be lowercase. If the word she is part of a new sentence, then this is correct.

Alice? Jason?” He began.

Alice? Jason?” he began.

I had began humming

Had began is not a form past tense. If began was by itself, it would be right. But, since there is have/has/had before it the word changes into begun.

I tried, and failed, not to laugh.

Something tells me that this should have hyphens. “I tried – and failed – not to laugh” I dunno, if anything this is more of a suggestion.
“Maxxie? How much have you drunk?” His voice was stern and raspy.

His should be lowercase.
Fair enough, it was the day of my parents funeral

parent’s, it’s it is both plural and possessive
“Is it okay if we leave?” My cousins boyfriend spoke

cousin's; same as last one. Also, the M in my should be lowercase.

Pretty good writing. The main problem you have is the lettering just after the dialogue. There used to be an excellent thread somewhere in the writing gooder forum about that (which is actually where I learned about the stuff from), but it seems to have been deleted recently. If you can find something like that, I think you might want to put it to good use. There was also those two cases of using those apostrophes. When a word is either plural or possessive, naturally an apostrophe must be used. Since those cases where both, one is definitely needed. Otherwise, you did really well. :)

Story wise, excellent job. There isn’t a lot happening in this chapter (and I can’t compare it to the other chapters because unfortunately I haven’t read most of them). The idea of the narrator being drunk was a nice touch, her nonchalant attitude about her parent’s funeral definitely sheds light on Maxxie’s character.
I looked at the empty bottle carefully, hoping that it would somehow magically fill back up. To my disappointment, nothing happened.
I love this paragraph.

Cool stuff, can’t wait to see more. :)
Call me RK :)




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Ok, last review for the day and I'm off to bed!

For starters, I loved the chapter but I agree with Mr. Knightly: it isn't necessary to spend a whole chapter on this. I've read several books on writing and they all agree on one thing; every line, every paragraph, every chapter should be to advance the story. If there's no point to it, cut it. That being said, I'll review this one.

I have a question: have you ever been drunk? I have, many, many times. Unfortunately, I don't hold alcohol well and I pass out fairly quickly. THis reason I mention this is that Maxxie's reaction is off. If he's 16, never had a drink before (or maybe a few but nothing as strong as vodka) then he should be dancing in a tutu in the middle of the street after a few good pulls of the drink. Yet, he finished the whole bottle to himself, was able to stand perfectly erect without feeling the earth move, or the sun begin to spin circles around him. There should be more to what he's feeling and I'm pretty damn sure he should be nauseated or feel his heart in his throat, threatening to spill out.

It is true that once drunk, we laugh and cry and scream and sing, that part was good but I'm under the impression he should much, much more drunk. Also, a nice little irony would be to have him sing Yellow submarine...

The second Damien saw me, his plain brown eyes immediately widened
I'm just being picky here but the comment about Damien's 'plain eyes' bugs me. Both annabel and her mother had lovely chocolate brown eyes and even's Lisa's eyes are nice. Damien -who was originally the brother- has plain eyes. Why? They could be deep with concern or something. Anyway, just my opinion.

Well, that's it for today. I'd love for you to pm me when you post the next chapter, it's an intriguing read and I'd love to know where you'll be taking this.

Keep writing!!
Tanya :D




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Thanks for the reviews guys! I really appreciate them. :)

borntobeawriter ~ Thanks for reviewing what I have so far in one go :lol:
As for the whole, Damien brother-uncle thing, there's only one Damien. I scrapped the chapter with Damien as the baby brother because I didn't like it. I then changed the plot completely... so Maxxie doesn't actually have a little brother now. Just an Uncle Damien.

Also, as for the sister's name, it is Lisa! I couldn't make up my mind at the start, but now I've decided om Lisa. As for the drunk thing, I've never been drunk myself so that's why it's not very good!

Thanks again!

xoxo Skins
I didn't know what to put here so I put this.




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Lmao! “You look like you’ve been sucking on a blooming lemon!” That has to be the most brilliantly inappropriate thing you can say at a funeral. Haha, I love it!

I love this chapter in general though. I like how it's very clear what's going on around Maxxie, even though he doesn't understand it. That's often a hard thing to do, and you've pulled it off quite nicely.

One of the most annoying things about being a writer is that you can almost guarantee that the pieces you think are perfect, are actually pretty rubbish. It's the pieces you can't seem to fix that your audience tends to like the most.

Also, if you've never been drunk then just ask other people about it. Lots of people drink, so it's not that hard to research. If you're brave, ask a teacher (like a mentor or a social-ed teacher.) They're most likely to give you a straight answer without exaggerating or giving you a lecture.
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I would always rather be happy than dignified.
— Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre