Title: Why Not. Chapter 1: Just A Regular Day

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Everyone so far has had a lot of good comments. Follow their advice. No point in having punctuation and formatting errors drag down your work, after all. So pick up a copy of your favorite book and observe how everything's punctuated, formatted, etc., and do the same. Also study how the author of this favorite book handles dialogue, italicized thoughts, and indirect thoughts. Make like a mirror and reflect.

And now onto what you wanted me to look at.

Plot. This is only a first chapter, so I can't say much for plot right now. I'll read the second and give you a better answer. What I can tell you is that you're going to have to distance yourself from every other story out there with first person female narratives of teenagers. You mentioned something about fantasy, which is perhaps a good start, but if you're even remotely thinking about some sort of plotline that takes a group of bitchy girls and, thoughout the course of the book, teaches them to like and respect one another... This may be my inner chick flick/chick lit hater talking (and I should tell you right now that I bolt from the majority of books like this) but, be careful. The basic premise you have is fine, but make sure it's going in a positive direction. But more on that later.

For now, dialogue and characters. You've got guts for tackling what I'm sure most would consider something difficult, writing in a close narrative of someone of the opposite sex. But I think you're stressing yourself out too much about it, trying too hard, and the result isn't four believably female characters.

You may not know how the female mind works, and in the real world you may be completely helpless--but you're the author, and these four are your characters. You don't need to know how women think; you need to know how Samantha thinks, how Amy thinks. Forcing typical female attributes into their speech doesn't help at all. Because, while of course some girls are complete and absolute bitches, some are absolute sweethearts who never had a vindictive thought in their lives. If these four are bitchy, shallow, petty humans--then write them as bitchy, shallow, petty humans. But write them as humans. Unique entities first. "Amy's a girl, so therefore she must think like X" is only going to steer you down the wrong path.

You do have to consider how being female has factored into these girls' lives, though. The sociocultural pressures on girls and women are different than those on guys. You hear about it all the time in the media, usually with girls and their weight and the new Western obsession with being rail thin, but all you really have to do is watch the commercials on the television. Those'll tell you what society thinks of as 'man' and as 'woman.' Observe, reflect on how that affects your character, but don't make the mistake of generalizing.

And so... that's what I've got to say. All my opinion, of course, take it or leave it at your own discretion.

Rach




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Hey there. Just some quick comments.

Samantha: I actually wanted to know what her parents were arguing about and what she thought of it and how she's affected. I can accept her ranting like that, but you need to justify it, or else she'll come off as whiny and bland to read. And also, I don't see how your analogies like Agatha Christie and Blind Guardian all tie in with the character, considering her entry reads like one of those recounts you have to do back in primary school. It seemed like you just dumped it there in a vague attempt at characterization.

Amy: Auk, she's hardly even a character. At least with Samantha, you gave the reader something to help understand her character, but this bit reads more like a pointless argument between two girls. It's fluff.

And actually, I'm gonna stop there. I don't really see the point of this piece. Yea, things happen in this piece, but there's like no focus to it at all.

Generally, using a "character view point" format for a piece of writing involves showing the multiple sides and opinions of a particular issue or topic. But here, I fail to see the use of it. They are just doing...teenage stuff. There's like hardly any cause and effect.

Consider tightening the piece more when you edit this.

Andy.

P.S: Why is this in fantasy? Seems like it belongs somewhere else.
"To the edge of the universe and back. Endure and survive."




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Squall wrote:
P.S: Why is this in fantasy? Seems like it belongs somewhere else.

Only thing I want to reply to
please note the title of chapter 1. regular day
did harry potter start off as fantasy in the first few chapters? not every fantasy story has to start out as fantasy. i already tried, in one story, to tell everyone everything in the first chapter. everyone told me i infodumped. so im trying not to infodump in this. savy?



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