Young Writers Society

this is a story that's set in future times, so it's a sci-fi, but it's also fantasy, so i just put it in A/A.

anyways, it's called The Magic of Chocolate, and here's chapter one. comments and edits wanted.

Okay, I edited it, so here's the new, edited, longer version of Chap. 1.

One <^> Chocolate Bar

“Dark or milk?” the receptionist at ‘The Center of Chocolate’ asked the young man.

“Milk,” the dark-haired man replied, “always milk.” The room was dark, and he shifted uncomfortably. Anything could be hiding in the shadows. He doubted that anyone would be hiding from outside The Center of Chocolate, with its high—yet invisible—security, but he had learned never to trust anyone, especially with his line of work. He was always alert and ready.

He glanced around as the older lady reached down to grab a piece of the chocolate. The only light in the room was one on the wall behind the desk, and the small bluish light from the computer. He smelled nothing in the room but chocolate, a heavy, sweet perfume. He looked back at the lady.

The lady held something in her hand, and the man could barely see its outline. “Do you have money?” asked the lady.

“Here.” The man reached into his pocket and pulled out a stack of bills. It seemed like a lot to pay for a candy bar, especially one as small as this. And—as if that wasn’t enough—if you could have seen the number on the bills, you would have been surprised at the seeming idiocy of buying a small piece of chocolate for that. It wouldn’t matter how rare it was. But the man needed the bar. It wasn’t an addiction… it would probably save his life.

The lady took the money and handed him the chocolate. He ripped open the wrapper and ate the chocolate in a single bite. After pouring the chocolate crumbs into his mouth, he carelessly threw the wrapper onto the ground.

After he left, the receptionist sighed, stood up and walked over to pick up the wrapper. Whoever’s replacing me should be here by now, she thought.


thanks for comments!! i'll have the second and third chapters up in a few minutes.

Interesting story. There isn't really enough here for me to give a true critique, but it definitely looked good. I am curious to see why this man needs the chocolat.

My only comment is that at the beginning the man seemed sort of jumpy, concerned. Why? Sure, there could be anyone anywhere, but what does that matter? How is it relevant? Don't let the readers answer the question themselves!

Also, why is the reception room so dark, and is it normal to be worried about dangerous people lurking in said reception room? Is there no security??? If they're handling very valuable chocolat, I can't imagine there not being some kind of equally costly security measures being in place.

he isn't worried about people coming in from outside...but also from people at the reception area. the darkness was kind of just for fun...

and there's definitely security, but they don't have just some security guards standing around. this is way more hi-tech. thanks for the comment

Woz! What up, dawg?

Done, seriously. Alrighty, I'm gonna rip, and I'm gonna tear, and I'm gonna smile the entire time.

“Dark or milk?” the receptionist at ‘The Center of Chocolate’ asked the young, dark-haired man.

Milk, of course.

I'm thinking you can tie in his appearance much more easily. Don't attack the reader right in the first sentence with his appearance. If you adjust your story, you can make room to slur in his hair color and eyes and whatnot.

Anything could be hiding in the shadows. [comma will work best] But he was alert, [delete comma] and ready.

The lady held something in [s]her [/s] him [?] hand, and the man could barely make out its outline. “Money?” asked the lady.

Especially right next to each other, this repetition can get a bit irritating.

And—as if that wasn’t enough—if you could have seen the number on the bills, you would have been surprised at the seeming idiocy of buying a small piece of chocolate for that—no matter how rare it was.

Run-on. ^^ If you could have seen the huge numbers on the bills, you would also be wondering about the apparent idiocy of buying such a small piece of chocolate, no matter how rare it was.

It wasn’t an addiction…probably it would save his life.

This is a bit awkward. I can't get the meaning out, even.

He ripped open the wrapper and ate the chocolate in a single bite. He poured the little bits of leftover chocolate from the wrapper into his mouth, and carelessly dropped the wrapper on the ground.

I have just recently discovered how irritating it is to start the same sentence with the same word like here. He ripped open the wrapper and shoved the chocolate in his mouth. After pouring the chocolate crumbs into his mouth, he carelessly threw the wrapper onto the ground.

After he left, the receptionist sighed, stood up, and walked over to pick up the wrapper.

Overall, I laughed. Lol, milk chocolate ftw!

I don't really a plot yet. All I know is this guy is rich and wastes his money on chocolate, lol (which, I agree, is idiotic ). I know his personality, though, kinda. He's addicted to chocolate...like me? Well, I'm not that addicted.

I'd like to know what he looks like but, as I said above, smooth it into the story. Don't just plop it on a tag. If I could think, I'd give some examples, lol. I need some soda before I got the next few chapters...

Keep writing!

Jabber, the One and Only!

that's what i meant by "It wasn't an addiction", read on and you'll see why he bought the chocolate

lol, I like short, to the point stories. I can;t really talk about grammar, it seems fine to me. I wonder why he wants the chocolate... let's go find out!

*goes to chapter two*

Sounds like me and chocolate...
You used "the man" a lot. Try to use another way of referring to the same character. You spent a lot of time making fun of the dude buying the chocolate. LEAVE HIM ALONE! He can pay 10,000 bucks for the friggin' brown piece of sugar if he wants to!!
As long as he's buyin it from me
HMMM. "Save his life?" Wow. Why? How?
Guess I better read on.
Damn you. I'm outside and it's cold!! I don't wanna read on!
But I have to. GR.

Hellooooooooooo, Woz!

Well, everybody's basically caught all the obvious stuff, so this is just a pikthru.

1. "Receptionist". If she's selling something, "clerk" would be the more viable term. I think you need to elaborate more on the room, so the entire scene will be clearer. For example, is there a light on the receptionist/clerk's desk? Can he see her? Is she pretty? Is there a splotch of chocolate next to her mouth? (Heh, I would steal chocolate if it was above fifty bucks... >.>)

2. There's not much here for a first chapter.... 500-some words? I think this would work better as part of a first chapter, (a scene) there's not much here for me to comment on.

Hokay...er, it's a good idea to put your comments on the story at the bottom, because then more of the story is visible on the front page.

Oh, yeah...You switch VPCs. First we get the deal from the 3rdP, who is hooked up to Unknown Man, who, for now, will be Bob. But then, at the end, the VP is changed and we are a bit confused.

So, to work on:

-Clarity

I can't emphasize how important clarity is when you're starting a story like this. I can understand that you want to start off with notes of mystery, but with a chapter this short, it just doesn't work. This seems more like a prologue than a chapter. I don't know a thing about this MC -- aside from his devotion to chocolate -- and that doesn't give me a reason to continue reading. The first chapter should be a hook, what draws the reader in and keeps him (or her) reading.

-Length
This should go hand-in-hand with clarity, though not always. Take a little time to stop and smell the roses. Sights, smells, the whole package. All these can indicate different things -- the place could be a chocolate factory. He would be able to smell it. Get it?

This is more a scene than a chapter, and you could incorporate a lot more into it.

Right, I'm blabbering. Off to [s]bother[/s] critique your other chapters.


~Sumi

Hello there...

This was intriguing. Chocolate? Need? *scurries off to find chocolate*

*back* No seriously, this was actually almost comical in its own way. He is so desperate.

Anyway, everyone else got to critique the heck out of this thing, so I won't repeat what they said. I do agree a bit with Sumi above me about the length, that perhaps you should slow down just a bit, maybe mention what the man is wearing, that he would have so much money, maybe what the cashier thinks about this eccentric behavior, where this is all taking place... You don't need to add much more, just a little bit to add to the atmosphere.

Anyway, fantastic job. Jabber-Hut seems to have caught all grammar errors that could possibly be dragged out of it, so I will simply end with the encouraging message that I really liked this and can't wait to read the rest of what you have on here already. I mean, how many sci-fi/fantasy/action-adventure stories begin with the buying and eating of chocolate... chocolate that could save someone's life?



~GryphonFledgling

I didn't notice any errors in grammar or spelling,
although if there were any in there, I probably wouldn't have noticed them anyways
it has a small amount of writing though I really liked it.
in a way it had a little sence of humor (or so I thought, although my idea's of humor are very different from others) and if you continue to write this story in the future I believe that you should put even more detail (because I know you can!) into it and even more writing, because it might just make for a good book! although some extremely good writers like to write in very small chapters (but sometimes that depends on the book they are writing)
I enjoyed reading this and pardon me for my writing style,
I'm not very good at spacing out my writing, I mainly like to write in paragraphs.

pretty good! I give it an 8/10

Wow, I'm really excited to read the following chapters. It sounds like it should be a very interesting story. Have you written anything else besides this story? I would be interested in reading them if you have. Let me know!

Remarks and add-ins are in braces. I didn't read others' reviews so I might be repeating someone.


“Dark or milk?” the receptionist at {“}The Center of Chocolate{”} asked the young, dark-haired man.

“Milk,” the man replied, “always milk.”

The room was dark, and he shifted uncomfortably. Anything could be hiding in the shadows. But he was alert and ready.

The lady held something in her hand, and the man could barely make out its outline.

“Money{.}” {stat}ed the lady.

“Here{,}” {t}he man reached into his pocket and pulled out a stack of bills.

It seemed like a lot to pay for a candy bar, especially one as small as this. And—as if that wasn’t enough—if you could have seen the number on the bills, you would have been surprised at the seeming idiocy of buying a small piece of chocolate for that—no matter how rare it was. {The last sentence needs to be condensed. Although it's technically not a run-on, it sure feels like one.} But the man needed the bar. It wasn’t an addiction. . . it {probably} would save his life. {I don't understand why you said “probably.” Does this require the reader to look into further chapters?}

The lady took the money and handed him the chocolate. He ripped open the wrapper and ate the chocolate in a single bite. He poured the little bits of leftover chocolate from the wrapper into his mouth and carelessly dropped the wrapper on the ground.

After he left, the receptionist sighed, stood up and walked over to pick up the wrapper. Whoever’s replacing me should be here by now, she thought.


I like it. I'm going to read more.

Going with Whisper again on this (with others to) for fixes.

Perhaps we should get an idea rather then telling the reader:

"And—as if that wasn’t enough—if you could have seen the number on the bills, you would have been surprised at the seeming idiocy of buying a small piece of chocolate for that—no matter how rare it was."

That just seems to be a slap in the face, you say its a lot and yet tease us like some gossiper. It really wasn't needed and could have been shortened by the receptionist either counting it or mentioning the price. After all, who DOESN'T count the money or pays a random sum for anything?

Hey, Wozzel! What's up? I've heard you talking about this someplace else, and you always give me crits, so now I'm here to return the favor!

Well, you've intrigued me! I loved it from the very start. At first, I thought that it was going to be dumb because of the title, but even this tiny little chapter, you've got me hooked.

Can't complain about anything really, except this little part:

Anything could be hiding in the shadows. He doubted that anyone would be hiding from outside The Center of Chocolate, with its high—yet invisible—security, but he had learned never to trust anyone, especially with his line of work. He was always alert and ready.

You said that this was just for fun. Uh, nope! Take it out if it's not necessary. It's always hard to understand what is going on if your MC is always so jumpy. So, unless it is necessary, take it out.

Great job! Go milk chocolate!

BBB

I think it's interesting and I'm gonna have to read the other chapters now;). Just reading it makes me think of chocolate so now my mouth is watering and I'm hungry at 6:44 on a Saturday (I always but around 7:30 and today my dogs woke me up). I love chocolate to death! 0(o.o)0 (I love the monkey I use at the end of my replies:). It's a super hottt monkey!).