z

Young Writers Society


Journals of Winter



User avatar
602 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 1609
Reviews: 602
Sun Dec 02, 2007 1:58 am
Wolf says...



Ok, some of you here may have commented on my original 'A Winter Midnight'.
Anyways, I found writing that piece really fun, and so I decided to start journals.
Basically, I just go outside [usually at night] and jot down what I see, hear, smell, feel and touch.
I have included the first entry (the original 'A Winter Midnight'). I know it's purplish, and I haven't edited it yet, so please critique that bit too!
Oh, and I will be adding these over the period of 7 days. I have only the first two here, so if you like them, check back to see more!

Entry one: A Winter Midnight. (Unedited)
The air was brisk and refreshing; the cold, clean, smoky perfume of a Winter midnight. The trees swayed gently with the frosty breeze and the moon shed a crystaline glow from it's lofty perch in the rose-coloured twilight.
I stood alone, a still figure amid the sea of short, well-trodden grass. And although the stars were lost in the faded, wispy clouds, every detail of the park was clear and bright, edged in silver.
I inhaled deeply, relishing the intense cold as it filled my lungs and throat. My hair floated on the wind, drifting around my face as I walked under the cover of the trees. In the shadows, I felt safe. The darkling shade swallowed me whole and steeped me in the deep mystery of the night; I felt alive like never before. Never had the grass felt so soft beneath my bare, frozen feet, never the moon so bright, cradled between the barren branches of a tree.
I felt the urge to run, and, with a last look at the darkness behind me, I sprinted across the field as if on winged feet. The sky deepened on one side to a purply-grey; the somber velvet that hid the stars in it's murky depths.
Too soon, the white boards of the hockey rink appeared before me. I slowed to a stop, a smile spreading across my face. It was so good to be alive.

Entry two: A Nocturnal Wonderland.
It's been so long since I've been outside this late. Yet everything is as I remember it from my last visit; beautiful, dark, inspiring.
The bench is hard and uncomfortable, but I don't want to sit up. I feel like I'm drunk on life, on the sharp, clear air.
Trees form a skeletal against the perfect rose-coloured sky.
They sway gently with the swollen wind, and I hear the occasional clack of wood on wood as they bump together.

There are no clouds, and the stars are lost in a sweet fog. My breath is an icy cloud of smoke, hazy grey before it is whisked into nothingness. I feel like I would stay here forever if only I could.
Maude flits like a shadow in front of me, and occasionally I catch the flash of amber from her eyes, the quiet drum of her tawny paws against the hard-packed earth. As I get up, my own footsteps are muffled in the dirty patchwork of grass, snow and mud. I stretch my arms towards the sky, and shiver as a cold draft whispers across my neck.

I break into a light jog, hair swishing, feet hitting the earth in a rhythmic pattern. Streetlights glow like fireflies, pooling a sickly light onto the crisp grass. I come to a stop under one of them and rest my cheek against the scaldingly cold metal.
Deep breaths pierce my throat like the daggers of Winter, a frosty bite that for me is both pain and pleasure.

The two halves of the sky; harvest rose and dark cobalt, meeting and smudging together like the pastels of the night. Each side is beautiful.

Once again I feel the urge to run. I am restless, full of a burning energy. My run is more aggressive now, more powerful. Maude keeps pace with me, a dark streak across the grass.
The chain-link fence gleams dully, a massive wall of spikes and barbs. I dare not pass it.
There is a puddle in the baseball diamond, but the chill of Winter has turned it into a sheet of frosted moonlight.
The sullen glow of a streetlight is caught, frozen in time, within the depths of the ice.

The distant drone of cars is lost to my ears, mesmerized as I am by this nocturnal Wonderland.
Last edited by Wolf on Mon Feb 25, 2008 12:54 am, edited 2 times in total.
everything i loved
became everything i lost.


Would you like a review?
http://www.youngwriterssociety.com/topic73903.html
  





User avatar
721 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 7241
Reviews: 721
Sun Dec 02, 2007 3:10 am
Azila says...



These are very good, my dear! The imagery is beautiful... if a tad purple--but I'd be being hypocritical if I called your work purple prose. :D

You include all four senses (except maybe taste...) very fluidly and beautifully... without saying "I saw this. I felt this. I smelled this... &c." So very good job on that! Your paragraphs are still a bit funny, like this:

Ayra wrote:Once again I feel the urge to run. I am restless, full of a burning energy. My run is more aggressive now, more powerful. Maude keeps pace with me, a dark streak across the grass.
The chain-link fence gleams dully, a massive wall of spikes and barbs. I dare not pass it.
There is a puddle in the baseball diamond, but the chill of Winter has turned it into a sheet of frosted moonlight.
The sullen glow of a streetlight is caught, frozen in time, within the depths of the ice.

See how almost every sentence (except the first three) are in their own lines, just like that other piece of yours that I reviewed... the one about Ayra.

Here are a few nitpicks:

Ayra wrote:The air was brisk and refreshing; the cold, clean [s]but [/s]smoky perfume of a Winter midnight.

Nix the but and add a comma instead.

Ayra wrote:My hair floated on the wind, whipping around my face, as I walked under the cover of the trees.

To float and to whip are two very different actions. I understand you're trying not to reuse words (and doing very well, too!) but this place needs to be fixed. Maybe say 'drifting' rather than 'whipping'? ...Oh, and also the comma after 'face' needs to go.

Ayra wrote:In the shadows, I felt safe.

Why WOULDN'T you feel safe? I think you need to give a reason for you to feel endangered or whatever.

Ayra wrote:The darkling shade swallowed me whole and steeped me in the deep mystery of the night

I don;t think 'darkling' is a word... I'm not sure what you're thinking of, but whatever it is it's not what you wrote :P.

Ayra wrote:Each side is beautiful.

This is a bit telly rather than showy... go into more detail!

And that's it... I hope this helps!

PM me when you post more entries, okay?? We seem to have a similar style, so I'm veryy interested in reading your writing.

See you around! Please PM me if I was unclear about anything!

~Azila~
  





User avatar
758 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 5890
Reviews: 758
Sun Dec 02, 2007 3:58 am
Cade says...



I agree with Azila--good job on NOT going, "I smell this. I see this," etc. The whole thing flows very well. You could work a little more on using different structure from sentence-to-sentence, but otherwise you're very talented at making the whole narrative flow well.

It is very...purple...though. I'm not really sure it goes anywhere, and would probably be better confined to a diary or within a larger piece, where it might have direction or meaning.

Work more on your use of adjectives. You need fewer than half of the ones currently residing in this piece. I mean, look at this sentence:
Skeletal trees form a pattern like dark flame against the perfect rose-coloured sky.
See, every noun in this sentence except "pattern" has an adjective sitting next to it. Completely unnecessary, makes the sentence chunky and boring to read.

Keep working on it!
-Colleen
"My pet, I've been to the devil, and he's a very dull fellow. I won't go there again, even for you..."
  





User avatar
516 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 890
Reviews: 516
Mon Dec 03, 2007 10:09 am
chocoholic says...



Wow! I loved these. Your imagery was really nice, and the story just made me feel very serene.

The only thing I can comment upon badly is I had no idea who Maude was. Is she your cat? And also your spacing was a little off. Apart from that I really enjoyed the two pieces.
*Don't expect to see me around much in the next couple of weeks. School has started again, and it'll be a couple of weeks before I've settled in. If you've asked me for a critique, you will get it, but not for a little while. Sorry*
  





User avatar
602 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 1609
Reviews: 602
Mon Dec 03, 2007 9:16 pm
Wolf says...



Thanks everyone!
I'm going to tone down the purpleness a bit...and by the way, Maude is my dog. :D
everything i loved
became everything i lost.


Would you like a review?
http://www.youngwriterssociety.com/topic73903.html
  





User avatar
522 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 7715
Reviews: 522
Tue Feb 05, 2008 5:14 pm
View Likes
canislupis says...



Nice! Like has already been said, this does flow very nicely. I only found two typos:

There are no clouds, and the stars are lost in a sweet fog. My breath is an icy cloud of smoke, hazy grey before it is wished into nothingness. I feel like I would stay here forever if only I could.
Maude flits like a shadow in front of me, and occasionally I catch the flash of amber from her eyes, the quiet drum of her tawny paws against the hard-packed earth. As I get up, my own footsteps are muffled in the dirty patchwork of grass, snow and mud. I stretch my arms towards the sky, and shiver as a cold draft whisper across my neck.


I think "wished" should be "whisked" and "whisper" should be "whispers".... I think. Maybe you could also change the 'and' before "shiver" to something like "then'?


So..... Anyway, this is a very refreshing piece. you obviously had a very clear image you wanted to portray when writing. Bye the way, what kind of dog is Maude?
  





User avatar
565 Reviews



Gender: Male
Points: 1395
Reviews: 565
Tue Feb 05, 2008 7:01 pm
View Likes
Stori says...



I think everyone else covered the basics. So, I'll just say you've inspired me to write in my own journal.
"The one thing you can't trade for your heart's desire is your heart."
Miles Vorkosigan

"You can be an author if you learn to paint pictures with words."
Brian Jacques
  





User avatar
602 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 1609
Reviews: 602
Tue Feb 05, 2008 8:27 pm
Wolf says...



Thanks you guys! =)
Wow, I'd kind of forgotten about this piece. But now that you have brought it back to my attention, it shall be worked on!

canis >> Thanks! I'l fix those things. And Maude is a mutt: german shepard/border-collie/black lab mix. :P

Kyte >> Awesome! Inspiring people is fun.

Cheers,
Camille
everything i loved
became everything i lost.


Would you like a review?
http://www.youngwriterssociety.com/topic73903.html
  





User avatar
522 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 7715
Reviews: 522
Wed Feb 06, 2008 4:54 pm
canislupis says...



canis >> Thanks! I'l fix those things. And Maude is a mutt: german shepard/border-collie/black lab mix.


Awwww. :) She sounds really cute. I have a mutt too!
  





User avatar
602 Reviews



Gender: Female
Points: 1609
Reviews: 602
Thu Feb 07, 2008 1:13 am
View Likes
Wolf says...



Here she is! (This is really off-topic, but oh well.)
What kind of mutt is your dog?
Attachments
100_1514.JPG
Maude! =)
100_1514.JPG (1.04 MiB) Viewed 396 times
everything i loved
became everything i lost.


Would you like a review?
http://www.youngwriterssociety.com/topic73903.html
  








*CLUCKING INTENSIFIES*
— Snoink