Dreaming

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That night, I watched myself die.

I was drowning, the water around me frozen. I didn’t even try to swim, I just let myself slowly slip toward the bottom of what I was assuming was the ocean. I could feel the cold water spilling into my lungs, my eyes closing. I feel limp as I land on a dark rock at the bottom. After time, I begin to see myself deteriorate, flesh decomposing, fish nibbling at my finger tips, until I’m nothing. Nothing but an empty, forgotten skeleton of a girl at the bottom of the endless sea. No one comes looking for me, no realizes I’m gone.

I wake up soaked in sweat, panting, and sobbing. I half expect to see Tyler come through my door to see what’s wrong, but he doesn’t. No one comes for this time. This time I’m alone, like I was at the bottom of the ocean. For the first time in my life, I really am alone. Tyler and Leon are gone, and for all I know, they’re never coming back. Even my parents are gone from the house, at work, distracting themselves from the truth of our lives.
I wrap my arms around my knees and realize that I’m freezing, despite the fact that it’s nearly 77◦ F. in the house. My hands are shaking when they cross over the bandage on my leg. I’d forgotten it was there, for it was no longer hurting. I try to stand up and my knees nearly buckle because I’m vibrating. I remember that I spent eight hours yesterday training with Anthony. My shoulders are burning and my arms and stomach had several bruises on them. I walked out to the living room and realized that both my legs were throbbing.
I slumped on to the couch and curled up into a ball and covered myself with a thin blanket, but I honestly don’t know why. I couldn’t bring myself to do anything; turn on the TV, get dressed or eat anything. I was afraid to go to sleep. Afraid that all my nightmares would come true, Tyler would die and it would be my fault, I would die, and no one would notice.




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I LOVE a fantastic opening line - and this was one such :D.

However, I'd suggest changing the title to something a little less obvious, to keep the mystery. Overall, the image of the narrator drowning/dead is a metaphor for how they feel socially, correct? And also a kind of premonition for something that might happen to Tyler.

This piece is not finished. It may be a short story, it might be a novella or even a novel, but where it's at, it's just the beginning, a teaser-taster, just to get us on an edge on curious. I do not know who Tyler is in relation to the MC, I do not know why he would usually come and why he doesn't come this time, I do not know who Leon is or where they are, either, I do not know what the 'truth of our lives' means, why the MC got the bandage on their leg, what they were training with Anthony for, why they have bruises (a martial art, maybe?), and why Tyler might die.

I do not even know whether the narrator is a boy or a girl.

So...there are a lot of questions you've opened up by beginning in media res. This is good, since it's a good atmosphere of mystery, and it piques the curiosity. And, I'd say that you need to reveal the details bit by bit, like nuggets of information, so as not to kill the mystery in one swoop, but also so as not to confuse us with all the things going on.

There are some awkward lines, although the piece as a whole is reasonably well-written - I assume it's the first draft?

I was drowning, the water around me frozen.


This certainly dived straight into the action (pardon the pun), but I don't get how you can drown in frozen water = ice - I mean, you can't exactly sink down in ice, can you? If you mean to say that the water was freezing cold, say it.

of what I was assuming was the ocean.


These are small faults, by the way, but just in case you're interested in improving the flow, I'd nix the 'I was assuming was the ocean' part. It's a dream - who cares if it's the ocean, a lake or a pond? They're DYING - a little detail like that's not going to bother them!

until I’m nothing. Nothing but an empty, forgotten skeleton of a girl at the bottom of the endless sea. No one comes looking for me, no realizes I’m gone.


I liked the image of the fishies nibbling at the MC's dead body etc, but this bit was clunky.'Nothing but a....' sounded like you were trying to get too philosophical too fast. Change the lines so they read less dramatically ('No one comes looking for me...etc') - at the moment, they look like they're trying too hard.

I wake up soaked in sweat, panting, and sobbing.


Surely you could say the same thing in fewer words - sweat, soaking, panting, sobbing - that's too many images at once. Either concentrate on one, or merge them into a couple of words that encompasses all ideas.

This time I’m alone, like I was at the bottom of the ocean. For the first time in my life, I really am alone.


The first line seemed to have to slam the simile in my face. I think you could have incorporated it in somewhere in the part about you dreaming, so that it wouldn't look like it was tacked on. The second line here was melodramatic, like a scribble I'd expect to read in a teenager's journal, not this sharp character that I am picturing here (judging by the clarity of voice from the very first line).

I wrap my arms around my knees and realize that I’m freezing, despite the fact that it’s nearly 77◦ F. in the house. My hands are shaking when they cross over the bandage on my leg. I’d forgotten it was there, for it was no longer hurting. I try to stand up and my knees nearly buckle because I’m vibrating. I remember that I spent eight hours yesterday training with Anthony. My shoulders are burning and my arms and stomach had several bruises on them. I walked out to the living room and realized that both my legs were throbbing.


Count how many '-ing' words you have used to describe the narrator in that paragraph. You know what to do - chop, change, rearrange so it reads less repetitively. I'm sure you've heard it many times before - show, don't tell - but it can't hurt to reiterate that, I reckon. So...don't just give plain descriptive adjectives that sound the same. :D

Oh, and one last thing. There are major tense issues in this. I'll show you where:

That night, I watched myself die.

I was drowning, the water around me frozen. I didn’t even try to swim, I just let myself slowly slip toward the bottom of what I was assuming was the ocean. I could feel the cold water spilling into my lungs, my eyes closing.


This is in past tnese. Fine.

I feel limp as I land on a dark rock at the bottom. After time, I begin to see myself deteriorate, flesh decomposing, fish nibbling at my finger tips, until I’m nothing. Nothing but an empty, forgotten skeleton of a girl at the bottom of the endless sea. No one comes looking for me, no realizes I’m gone.


This is in present tense. Not fine.

And the third and second paras are in present tense (okay, since the MC has just woken up), but the last para jumps back to past tense. You need to fix this, otherwise it ruins the flow and looks like a messy mistake on the part of the writer.

Anyway, a good read, and I'd be interested in seeing what you do with this. Have fun editing and carrying on with the story!

If you have any questions, or write more, or change this (or anything else!), PM me, and I'd be happy to help again.




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EmmaDarius wrote:That night, I watched myself die.
Absolutely love this opening sentence. However something seems a bit off-key, the way it's structured. Maybe you could change it to: "I watched myself die that night." It's more effective. It's something to do with the comma. Because you would read it as a "That night." *pause* "I watched myself die." Whereas you want it to be one simple sentence without a pause or break. Does that make sense?


I was drowning, the water around me frozen. I didn’t even try to swim, I just let myself slowly slip toward the bottom of what I was assuming was the ocean. I could feel the cold water spilling into my lungs, my eyes closing. I feel limp as I land on a dark rock at the bottom. After time, I begin to see myself deteriorate, flesh decomposing, fish nibbling at my finger tips, until I’m nothing. Nothing but an empty, forgotten skeleton of a girl at the bottom of the endless sea. No one comes looking for me, no one realizes I’m gone.

I wake up soaked in sweat, panting, and sobbing. I half expect to see Tyler come through my door to see what’s wrong, but he doesn’t. No one comes for me? this time. This time I’m alone, like I was at the bottom of the ocean. For the first time in my life, I really am alone. I think maybe you've repeated 'time' too much... Tyler and Leon are gone, and for all I know, they’re never coming back. Even my parents are gone from the house, at work, distracting themselves from the truth of our lives.
I wrap my arms around my knees and realize that I’m freezing, despite the fact that it’s nearly 77◦ F. Okay, to be honest, what temperature it is exactly isn't really that important in the story. Stick with something much more simple. in the house. My hands are shaking when they cross over the bandage on my leg. So this sentence doesn't really make sense. 'Cross' isn't really the best type of word to use for it. I’d forgotten it was there, for it was no longer hurting. I try to stand up and my knees nearly buckle because I’m vibrating. I remember that I spent eight hours yesterday training with Anthony. My shoulders are burning and my arms and stomach had several bruises on them. I walked out to the living room and realized that both my legs were throbbing.
I slumped on to the couch and curled up into a ball and covered myself with a thin blanket, but I honestly don’t know why. I couldn’t bring myself to do anything; turn on the TV, get dressed or eat anything. I was afraid to go to sleep. Afraid that all my nightmares would come true, Tyler would die and it would be my fault, I would die, and no one would notice.

Overall: it gave a very lonely, hopeless feeling. Good job! :D Other then that, you only have to work on your spelling, your tenses(because you change them quite a lot) and also the way you structure sentences, because some of them really do just need to be simple. Show not tell!
Most people see what is and never what can be. - Albert Einstein




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I just let myself slowly slip toward the bottom of what I was assuming was the ocean. I could feel the cold water spilling into my lungs, my eyes closing. I feel limp as I land on a dark rock at the bottom. After time, I begin to see myself deteriorate, flesh decomposing, fish nibbling at my finger tips, until I’m nothing. Nothing but an empty, forgotten skeleton of a girl at the bottom of the endless sea. No one comes looking for me, no realizes I’m gone.
Okay so you say that you assume it is an ocean, but then you say with a sort of direct meaning that she's at the bottom of a sea. Pick where she is and stick with it, even though it's a dream, she still should know where she is.

No one comes for this time.
Did you forget "me" in there?

This time I’m alone, like I was at the bottom of the ocean. For the first time in my life, I really am alone. Tyler and Leon are gone, and for all I know, they’re never coming back. Even my parents are gone from the house, at work, distracting themselves from the truth of our lives.
Okay, I want to know about these people, I assume the two boys are her brothers, but I want to know more. You don't really give us much insight to her life, you're just throwing names at us, and they don't mean anything.

I wrap my arms around my knees and realize that I’m freezing, despite the fact that it’s nearly 77◦ F. in the house. My hands are shaking when they cross over the bandage on my leg. I’d forgotten it was there, for it was no longer hurting. I try to stand up and my knees nearly buckle because I’m vibrating.
Alright so I have a few things to point out, first off instead of saying the temperature, you can just say it was warm, I don't really see much point in just saying it was almost 77 degrees, it's not like it really means anything, and it sounds a little off. Next Saying "For it no longer hurt" makes it sound like an old English novel, and since this is a modern teen story, it just doesn't work. Lastly you say she's vibrating? What is that supposed to mean? Shaking? I'm sure you can find better words to describe it.

I remember that I spent eight hours yesterday training with Anthony. My shoulders are burning and my arms and stomach had several bruises on them. I walked out to the living room and realized that both my legs were throbbing.
Again, you give us names but no insight to the person whatsoever, that makes whatever you're trying to tell us harder to understand because we know nothing about them, only their name. I don't even know what she was training for. You need to give us some idea of what's going on.

Afraid that all my nightmares would come true, Tyler would die and it would be my fault, I would die, and no one would notice.
So wait...there's no mention of him dying, only her so as a reader this is incredibly confusing.

Overall I didn't really see the point in this story... I don't get any type of feeling, or moral, and to be honest it wasn't that entertaining. I don't know any of the characters, I don't know who the MC is, what she likes, why she's having nightmares, really anything at all about her. Add more to this, details about her life, her friends, stuff like that, it will make it a lot more enjoyable.

Good luck and keep writing!

~Hope
"I'd rather be hated for being who I am, then loved for who I'm not."




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Not going to nitpick, since I've seen some people already have, but I do have one comment.

Auteur, you said you liked the opening line, but not how it was structured. True, it could be written better, but personally, I don't like your solution any better. (In fact, much, much less.) I don't mean to be cruel, but that's my opinion. I'm not sure exactly how you could structure it, but I watched myself die that night seems too teenage-diary-ish. Like when I saw her with him, my soul died. The original way seems much more... I don't know... bold? Upfront, or frank, perhaps? Like the difference between I died and I'm dead. Can you see/hear it?

This is just my opinion, and may be way off, but that's what I think. Hope I helped somehow.

:elephant: LOVE --ULTRAVIOLET
"Blah blah blah. You feel trapped in your life. Here is what I am hearing: happiness isn't worth any inconvenience."

~asofterworld.com




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ultraviolet wrote:Not going to nitpick, since I've seen some people already have, but I do have one comment.

Auteur, you said you liked the opening line, but not how it was structured. True, it could be written better, but personally, I don't like your solution any better. (In fact, much, much less.) I don't mean to be cruel, but that's my opinion.

No, that's alright :)

I'm not sure exactly how you could structure it, but I watched myself die that night seems too teenage-diary-ish.

Yes, I agree haha.

Like when I saw her with him, my soul died. The original way seems much more... I don't know... bold? Upfront, or frank, perhaps?

Mm...true. I like it how it is. I was just suggesting :P
Like the difference between I died and I'm dead. Can you see/hear it?

This is just my opinion, and may be way off, but that's what I think. Hope I helped somehow.

:elephant: LOVE --ULTRAVIOLET
Most people see what is and never what can be. - Albert Einstein



This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much all of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movement of small green pieces of paper, which was odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.
— Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy