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My Experience in the House *Updated x2*



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Sun Nov 08, 2009 4:49 am
xLogan says...



MY EXPERIENCE IN THE HOUSE.

I drove down the never-ending road, and saw that I was running on empty. A big, red sign passed that read, "NEXT GAS STATION - 100 MILES." Angry, my fists slammed into the steering wheel like a hammer hitting a nail into a new block of wood; I obviously had taken a wrong turn. The concrete road soon turned into dirt. After several minutes my dirt-covered car began sputtering and almost immediately began to slow down. Before long, there were thick, creepy trees surrounding me. "Weird.." Thinking to myself.

There was a distant light on top of a close-by hill. I opened my car door as I covered my eyes to prevent dirt getting into them. The sun was setting, and the moon was already high up in the sky. It was chilly; reaching into my backpocket, I pulled out my cell-phone and my matches. I put the matches back into my pocket. My cellphone was almost dead and had no service. "Oh my god! What are the chances of this?!" I yelled angrily. Walking up the hill, I saw the house -- it was in horrible shape, it was similar to a medieval castle in a way. My body began to shake - I knew I had to enter the house, unless I wanted to die out here in the wilderness.

Walking up the big lawn, when I reached the front porch, I solemnly noticed that all the aged windows were boarded up. I began to have second thoughts about entering this house - all the signs pointed out that it was long ago abandoned and who knew what awaited me in there. Before long, my fists thrashed against the decaying door, in hopes that maybe someone was still living there.

Waiting for someone to answer, I heard the sound of an old gas-guzzler approaching. I ran towards the dirt road. Just a few feet away, the gas-guzzler sped on by without noticing me.

"Wait, help me!" I shrieked after the truck, seconds after I heard the wail of a far-off, deadly animal. My conscious was screaming at me - telling me not to go in the house, to stay far away, though I did not listen. I had no choice now, I had to enter the house. Walking back up the big lawn, once I reached the front porch again, I creaked open the door and shouted atrociously, "Hello, is anyone home?!"

After waiting a few seconds there was no answer, I caught sight of a candle light off into the house; walking into the house, the door behind me slammed closed, a quick gasp escaped from my mouth. I was holding my breath now, frightened. I searched along the ancient walls for a light switch. I finally discovered a light switch, flipping it up the room suddenly made the transition into a blinding, luminous, blazing sun.

The room suddenly felt like it was one thousand degrees Fahrenheit. I yelled in aching grief, falling to the ground.

When I had awoke the room appeared ordinary. The light-bulb was flickering on and off; some wallpaper was easing off the crumbling walls, and the carpet was stained with big, circular, red stains. The room was depressing, dark, and a bit eerie. There was something wrong with it. I visualized myself in Washington, in a nice, warm house, eating some hot soup and socializing with my dear friends. I wonder if they had noticed my absence - or even if they cared.

My deep thoughts were instantly interrupted with a high-pitched screech, my instincts kicked in and before I knew it I was running up the deteriorating staircase. Once I reached the top, a blood-drenched man was holding a butcher knife, just waiting for my arrival.

I screamed suddenly, and within a seconds notice he dove for me - I barely dodged him. He tumbled down the staircase like a log rolling down a big, steep hill until he regained his balance. I ran like hell through the narrowing hallway and reached a room, there was a woman with fiery red hair lying there and blood splattered everywhere. I did not realize that she was dead until I saw the piercing wounds, apparently from a knife. Her eyes were wide open and looking at the ceiling, just frozen solid.

I cringed, holding back the tears. I had to make a quick decision - I could hide in the closet or look for another spot; I just had to get out of sight and fast. Hurdling into the cramped closet, I tried to get comfortable but that was virtually impossible. How could I get comfortable when I knew there was a murderer looking for me, possibly knowing where I was?

Now was the time to get out of the house. I should have listened to my conscious, if I would have I would not be looking Death right in the face. I felt something tugging at my jacket. I peered behind me, in disbelief I saw a young child on the floor. He had been sliced up, and there was a huge red stain underneath his body. I departed the closet immediately, I was horrified.. I sneaked pass the woman's body and found myself in the hallway again running right into a little boy, similar to the one in the closet.

Screaming, I saw the man right behind the little boy with a chainsaw. He started it and I witness the boy's horrific death. My mind was going insane. When I opened my eyes the boy and the man had disappeared mysteriously. I ran down the crooked staircase, almost falling all the way down the stairs. I thought I was crazy, I didn't see how any of this could be real.

When I reached the bottom of the stairs there was a giant, growing, dark hole in the floor with bodies in it. The walls had collapsed in and bodies were flooding in. A hand from the hole grabbed my ankle with a tight grip, pulling me in. I shrieked and panicked. I pulled out the matches in my backpocket... fire. I threw it into the hole and there was a huge explosion. The house began to fall apart and I ran through the big lawn. Looking back, the house looked ordinary once again but still had that freakish glow. I walked down that dirt road, one last time... And I can still hear the diminishing screams of the tortured souls in the house to this day.

*Updated x2* A great thanks to all the reviewers to help me improve me story!
Last edited by xLogan on Tue Nov 10, 2009 11:10 pm, edited 3 times in total.
"People are afraid to die, but are also afraid to live."

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Sun Nov 08, 2009 5:37 am
xLogan says...



Oh, and this is the rough draft; still needs some tweaking and stuff. So, suggestions would be nice.
"People are afraid to die, but are also afraid to live."

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Sun Nov 08, 2009 3:31 pm
peanut19 says...



Okay hi Logan, I'm Sarah. Welcome to YWS! :) I only scanned this passage but I noticed in the first few paragraphs that you wrote that I did this and I did that. You told us what you were doing not showing us.

I saw that I was running on empty. I sighed as I noticed the sign that read, "NEXT GAS STATION - 200 MILES." I was bewildered


Like right here. You could change in so that you aren't just telling us what your narrator was doing: I saw that I was running on empty. A sigh escaped from my mouth as I read the signs around me, "NEXT GAS STATION-200 MILES." I pounded my fists against the steering wheel, no ideas on what to do came to mind.

Or something like that. This is what you should do when you go back over it and try to edit it. I know that this is just a rough draft but going back and changing things like this will make it more interesting to read.

Good luck,
~peanut~
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~And The Light Fades


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Sun Nov 08, 2009 4:19 pm
Evi says...



Hey Logan! ^^ Thanks for using my thread.

:arrow: The very first issue that jumped out to me is rhythm. A lot of people think that rhythm is only applied in poetry, but that's definitely not true: stories, especially short stories, need just as much of a steady flow as poems.

The parts of rhythm are pace and sentence structure/variation, I think. You seem to be writing the majority of this story with a choppy pace (short sentences) and all starting with 'I'. This is a common problem with first person narrative, so no worries. But let me explain.

I quickly drove down the never-ending road. I saw that I was running on empty. I sighed as I noticed the sign that read, "NEXT GAS STATION - 200 MILES." I was bewildered; I must have taken a wrong turn. The concrete road soon turned into dirt. After several minutes my dirt-covered car began sputtering and almost immediately began to slow down. I glimpsed around and became aware that I was in the middle of the woods, surrounded by creepy, thick trees.


See how most of these sentences start with 'I'? It becomes somewhat of a broken record. "I do this...I do that...I see this...I am feeling this..." It's an easy trap to fall for.

Oh! And before I forget, bless you for using the semi-colon correctly. xD

The other problem I mentioned, pace, is that most of your sentences are short. And even when they're not short, they come across as choppy. Try elongating your sentences, combining them. To give a more connected feel I'd suggest avoiding semicolons and using commas, actually. You can afford to ass more description, more information, and more words, so don't worry about getting too purple-prose about it. ;)

:arrow: Nest is the story itself, I think. And, I hate to say this, but it's kind of cliched, you know? Car breaking down, haunted/evil house, door mysteriously shutting behind you. And then, blood-stained mass murderer. O_o I'm not sure what to tell you on this front, because changing the cliche would basically be changing the whole story, but if you can add a couple of more original elements it would help distinguish this story from all the other ones like it.

One thing I noticed was that, at the important parts, when he finds the woman's knife-riddled dead body, or when the mass-murderer man comes along, the tone of the writing doesn't change. No alarm goes off to say, "OMG THERE'S A BLOODY GUY WITH A CHAINSAW I'M FREAKING OUT." You tell us what's happening, but nothing in the narrator's tone of voice or descriptions really shows us how utterly terrifying this is supposed to be. Try picking apart these big paragraphs into a couple smaller, intense ones, like so:

I thought that maybe, just maybe, the closet would be safe-- but apparently he had already gotten there. Lying bloodily on the bed was a woman with fiery red hair, her eyes open and glassy, staring at something I couldn't see. I felt something inside of me snap.

It wasn't until I saw all the puncture wounds that I realized she was dead.


Add these emotions, and don't just tell us blandly what's going on. How would you react?

:arrow: Last sentence has to go.
And that was my experience in the house.


^^ It's just totally unnecessary, and sticks out at the end. And this terror and then..."Yep, that was what happened to me." See how jarring?

:arrow: So, overall, it does need some tweaking and revising, like you said. ^^ But your writing is off to a good start. PM me for anything else!

~Evi
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Mon Nov 09, 2009 7:50 am
*writewatiwant* says...



Hi Logan! Kat's here, as requested. Hope I'll help!

I. Details, details!
I quickly drove down the never-ending road. I saw that I was running on empty.

Okay, I personally think is a good start, the first line caught me and all. But just two minor things: I think neither of them make sense at some point. To explain further: on the first one you say your MC drove quickly (<--- key word) down and endless road. If it never ends, and I do know it's a good characterization here, I think the quickly ruins the sentence completely. In the second one, maybe it's just me, but I'm not sure what 'running on empty' means. Empty deposit? No gasoline? If it is, then add another word to define it, or it'll just be confusing.

A big, red sign passed that read, "NEXT GAS STATION - 200 MILES."

This, in my opinion, is very unrealistic, because, at least in my country, there aren't any signs two hundred miles away from the actual gas station xD

I opened up my car door as I covered my eyes to prevent dirt getting into them.

Very nice description at the second half of the sentence, but there's a small thing bothering me in the first part. To me, when you say open up, it implies you open something up, like a trunk or something, so I think you should just cut the 'up' out.

A few seconds later and there was no answer,

Something like 'I waited for a few seconds but there was no answer' or something of the sort out flow better, because the first part of the sentence seems and sounds incomplete, as if the expression implied to have something else attached to it.

I barely dodged me.

'I barely dodged myself' or just barely dodged ^.^

I don't see how any of this could be real.

Tense alert! 'Don't' is supposed to be 'didn't'.

& I can still hear the diminishing screams of the tortured souls in the house to this day.

Replace & with 'and'.

II. Emotion
It was my biggest problem in this, I guess. You described what the MC did very well, what she looked at and more. But I didn't feel it, I couldn't understand it.

Example:
I departed the closet immediately

Just the addition of a word like 'horrified' or something at the end would help a lot! Just try and put a little more in to it? Like when the man murdered the other child with the chainsaw, how awful it was.

Again, here:
I suddenly screamed.

The suddenly sounds wrong. Did she thought it was all dream and only realized then? Because it sounds like it. If it was me, I'd be screaming my cuts out and crying the whole time xD

III. Characters
I want to know more! Who is this family that was murdered by what we can assume to be the father? Why were the killed? And mostly, about your MC, that I don't even know if it is female or male. I think that if you expand this a bit more, put more background or something into it, it could turn up as a great story.

IV. Overall
I liked it, it was an enjoyable read. Not sure the best thing to read at half past ten p.m, but whatever xD

PM me if you have any questions!
- Kat <3
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Mon Nov 09, 2009 10:41 pm
xLogan says...



Thank you all for reviewing. I updated it for a second time; Kat it isn't necessary for you to re-review, as I only changed minor things. But the first to reviewers could re-review if they want - it would be appreciated.

Once the story is totally finished I might re-post it as the final draft.

Logan. :)
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Tue Nov 10, 2009 4:01 am
Evi says...



Hey Logan! This will be shorter.

First of all, this is a heck of a lot better. You, my friend, are pretty good at revisions and taking advice to heart. xD

However, I still have issues with rhythm--but really only in the very beginning. Connect come of that first paragraph's sentences, and that's good. You seem to have forgotten the semi-colon rule, however (which greatly saddens me xD) and might want to check out this: http://www.youngwriterssociety.com/topic43660.html very quickly to crush up on them. Then reread over this and make the corrections.

And, another thing I noticed was:

He started it and I witness the boy's horrific death.


I hate to point this out, lol, but you seriously can't just bring that up without describing any of it. *grimace* I'd suggest going another route, though-- not the bloody, screaming in agony description. Go for similes, metaphors, flowy figurative language about the death. Does the light slowly seep from his eyes like melting snow? Is the room to small for the escaping soul? Think of the situation in a new, interesting way, and describe it avoiding too much mention of gory details.

Overall, much improved, with still some slight things that could be made ever better. ^^ I'd suggest you keep reading just other short stories and novels to really get a feel for that rhythm bit, though. It'll help a lot.

Best of luck!

~Evi
"Let's eat, Grandma!" as opposed to "Let's eat Grandma!": punctuation saves lives.
  





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Tue Nov 10, 2009 10:06 pm
xLogan says...



Right.. the semi-colon thing! I'll try to replace those with commas and such. I like your idea on taking a different approach to it, I'll definitely do that. Thanks for the suggestions and re-reviewing, it helped! I'm PM you when I update it again. :)
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Wed Nov 11, 2009 1:50 pm
MissMiaFacinelli says...



Hi! I'm Mia, and here is the other review!

OK, I don't really like horror movies/TV shows/books, and this was no different. I'm not saying it's bad, I just didn't like the genre.

Here are a few nit-picks I picked up on, I don't have time to fix all the things I noticed.

xLogan wrote: "Weird.." Thinking to myself.


This should be "I thought to myself"


I solemnly noticed that all the aged windows were boarded up.


Solemnly? Why not try "suddenly" or "spookily"? Solemnly doesn't fit.


I creaked open the door and shouted atrociously, "Hello, is anyone home?!"


Atrociously? That means "badly", so it doesn't really fit here. "Shouted badly"? Why not try "shouted waveringly"?


I caught sight of a candle light off into the house


This is a little confusing. "A candle light off into a house"? Doesn't make sense.


I yelled in aching grief, falling to the ground.


Aching grief? Grief means "mourning" "I yelled in aching mourning"? Once more, it doesn't make sense. Try "I yelled in agony"


All in all, it moved a little too fast for me, but overall it was good.

Keep writing!

Mia x
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Thu Dec 03, 2009 1:14 am
PatriciaTina says...



Hey again, I'm here, finally! Again, I'm so sorry that this took so long, but I hope that this review will be helpful.

Description

This was the biggest problem in your story, the lack of description. I know that it's been said before, and that's for good reason. We need you to show us what he's seeing and feeling, not just tell us what's happening. We like to read into the character and the situation.

I can tell that you've tried to put some in, in so parts, but a lot of it is ruined by awkward wording. For example, take a look at this sentence.

Before long, my fists thrashed against the decaying door, in hopes that maybe someone was still living there.


Good, you have 'decaying door' in there, which shows us that the door is old and rotting, but the rest of the sentence is just filled with awkwardness and stuff like that. You need to make sure that you try to fix up any awkward wording so it doesn't ruin the description you have.

Paragraphs and Formatting

Another big thing I noticed was that you have a lot of huge block paragraphs that can easily be broken up into seperate ones. Make sure that whenever the topic, time or speaker changes you make a new paragraph.

And also, I noticed that you used double punctuation sometimes. This is a big no-no, and you never ever use both a question mark and an exclamation point. This:

What are the chances of this?


Works just as good as this:

What are the chances of this?!


Remember that you have description after to help us know that they're exasperated or exclaiming a question, you don't have to put double puncutation especially if you have 'he yelled' right after.

Pace

I found that this was incredibly rushed, as Mia pointed out. Maybe try expanding on things more, and especially adding more description.

Overall

Overall, I think that this was a good story, though it could definitely use what I pointed out above. Maybe add a bit more character development also, but that's about it.

Anyways, good job, and as I said in my other review, good luck in your future endeavors! I hope to read more of your writing soon!

I better go though, see you around!

~ Trish :smt006
~ Patricia Tina :smt006

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Spoiler! :
I lost the game.

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