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Young Writers Society


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Prologue: Of Love and Friendship

by maryanne


Back when I was in elementary, I used to get teased a lot because of my hair which was too long and frizzy. It took up almost all of my face and you couldn't even see my eyes. It was horrible really. I didn't have any friends back then, although there were some who tried to stick by me because my mother was a model and my dad was a photographer. Still, I didn't have anyone who liked me for who I was.

In middle school, I started getting into fashion and cosmetics. My mother was ecstatic and she brought me to the salon she usually goes to. She got my hair treated every week and did my hair whenever she could. She also started buying me fancy clothes.

In my second year of middle school, I started gaining some friends and became quite friendly albeit a bit shy sometimes. I pulled through though, which is good. I made two best friends, their names were Carey Vonharten and Veronique Loue. At the end of our second year in middle school, we promised to go to the same high school and still be best friends. However, fate wasn't too nice to me. I had to move to London for two years because of my mother's modelling job and my dad's photography career. It sucks really. Just when I started making friends and started feeling comfortable, I had to move.

After a tearful goodbye party hosted by Carey and Veronique, it was finally time for me to go. Ahh, how I would miss this place. I wonder if things would be different in England.

"Come on Tully, we have to go!" My mother called from the cab, motioning me to hurry up. Taking one last look at the place I call home, I smiled and ran to the cab, "Yeah, coming!"

At that moment when the cab drove off to the airport, I never really knew that moving to England would change my life so much.


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Sun Aug 01, 2021 6:25 am
KateHardy wrote a review...



Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening/Night(whichever one it is in your part of the world),

Hi! I'm here to leave a quick review!!

Anyway let's get right to it,

Back when I was in elementary, I used to get teased a lot because of my hair which was too long and frizzy. It took up almost all of my face and you couldn't even see my eyes. It was horrible really. I didn't have any friends back then, although there were some who tried to stick by me because my mother was a model and my dad was a photographer. Still, I didn't have anyone who liked me for who I was.

In middle school, I started getting into fashion and cosmetics. My mother was ecstatic and she brought me to the salon she usually goes to. She got my hair treated every week and did my hair whenever she could. She also started buying me fancy clothes.


Alright, that is a tiny bit confusing there to be starting off with, one on hand, it looks like this is someone that's looked down upon for their looks which is definitely not a very nice situation at all, but then also it looks like some people are also sucking up to this person because of the parents...which is another interesting thing...it looks almost like a couple of cliches rolled into one there..and then the path that the mother puts this person on...is a very interesting choice here. I do wonder where this is headed.

In my second year of middle school, I started gaining some friends and became quite friendly albeit a bit shy sometimes. I pulled through though, which is good. I made two best friends, their names were Carey Vonharten and Veronique Loue. At the end of our second year in middle school, we promised to go to the same high school and still be best friends. However, fate wasn't too nice to me. I had to move to London for two years because of my mother's modelling job and my dad's photography career. It sucks really. Just when I started making friends and started feeling comfortable, I had to move.


Okay, so that then went off in a completely different direction and I've no idea how it connects to the earlier paragraph. That was a bit of a confusing transition cause it looks like this girl simply gains some confidence and therefore starts to make a couple of friends through that...but then there is also the whole salon and fancy clothes which doesn't seem to contribute, but it seems like that should've done something...and its all a touch confusing there. On the other hand, this moving away makes things interesting there.

After a tearful goodbye party hosted by Carey and Veronique, it was finally time for me to go. Ahh, how I would miss this place. I wonder if things would be different in England.

"Come on Tully, we have to go!" My mother called from the cab, motioning me to hurry up. Taking one last look at the place I call home, I smiled and ran to the cab, "Yeah, coming!"

At that moment when the cab drove off to the airport, I never really knew that moving to England would change my life so much.


So...the way that time seems to work there is just a tiny bit confusing cause I can't really tell what that is trying to focus on there, on one hand, we have this party, which seems like a sad event just kind of glossed over in a couple of lines....then there's a scene that feels like it all of a sudden becomes present tense with the scene slowing all the way down to a single line spoken by this person's mother and then all of a sudden its all big picture once more and we close on a rather dramatic final line...all in all, a bit of a confusing pace being set here...I feel like this one needs a tiny bit of a rewrite...but still...as a prologue I'd say its relatively effective and it does seem something I would read here. :D

Aaaaand that's it for this one.

As always remember to take what you think was helpful and forget the rest.

Stay Safe
Harry




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Sun Sep 29, 2013 12:20 pm
OliveDreams wrote a review...



Hi there!
Here to review your Team Rouge on this fine review day! Zooming in to provide a wonderful sandwich.

I really like the idea you have here. It has tons of potential and you could take it in so many different directions. I just hope it isn't going to be a little cliche.

Now, a prologue. I am obsessed with them. I think they are a fantastic element to a story if they are used effectively. A prologue is used to add in information that you are not able to put across naturally in the main chunks of your story. Do you really need all this stuff?

Think about what you really want to say and how you are going to hook that reader in. I would suggest looking at a gazillion more prologues here on this very site to get a good idea of what to do and what not to do.

Good luck and keep writing!

Olive <3




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Wed Sep 11, 2013 12:30 am
Messenger wrote a review...



This is an interesting prologue that quickly gets the reader into the story, and feeling for the main character (MC). It seems like just when she gets settled a little more into life, verything goes wrong. I can't wait to read chapters 1 and 2. Previous reviewers covered the small errors I saw, so goo luck.
Keep it up!




maryanne says...


thanks :)



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Mon Sep 09, 2013 12:17 pm
NinaRowan wrote a review...



I like it! but you could possibly change am to was.
"Still, I didn't have anyone who liked me for who I am." -> "Still, I didn't have anyone who liked me for who I was."
And you could change just to has.
"Just when I just made friends and started feeling comfortable." -> "Just when I had made friends and started feeling comfortable."

It just makes more sense but other than that it is really good :)




maryanne says...


thanks ninaaa :)



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Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:11 am
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Liaya wrote a review...



I like it! I enjoy the idea of your ugly duckling character who manages to pull through--to "bloom"--and find her place in the world, only to be uprooted and sent to England! I want to know more about her and how she handles things in good ole London. I only really have two suggestions; first, combine your first two sentences into one. "Back when I was in elementary, I used to get teased a lot because of my hair, which was too long and frizzy." The other suggestion I have is adding a fishhook at the end. "Ahh, how I would miss this place." is okay, but not quite what you need. Rather put in something hinting about the future. Anyway, I enjoyed it and I do hope you post more for me to read! :)




maryanne says...


sure :) Thanks xo



maryanne says...


I added a little bit to the ending, I hope it's alright ;P



Liaya says...


Okay, now add something like "I had no idea what going to England would truly mean" or something along those lines. That would be your hook, your foreshadow; it tells the audience that there's something coming that will make the story worth reading. I do really like the addition, though. It adds to your protagonist's character.



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Thu Sep 05, 2013 1:52 am
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dragonfphoenix wrote a review...



Well, this actually wasn't half bad. It wasn't until the middle paragraph that I had a major reading 'bump in the road.' "I made two new friends..." is the sentence. That's a comma splice, and it just jarred me. Snow \/ goes into a lot more detail about the other things, so I'll just leave it to her to fill you in on the rest. Enjoy the site!
Hope this helps!




maryanne says...


thank you :)



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Wed Sep 04, 2013 7:29 pm
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InfiniteSnowfall wrote a review...



Hi Maryanne!

First of all, welcome to YWS! If you have any questions about the site, you can head on over to The Buddy System! There, people are waiting to help out new member like you. Also, you can ask me any questions if you'd like.

Okay, now! Let's talk about your prologue. After reading the short summary, I was instantly interested. Nice job on that - catching my attention with only a few sentences. As for the prologue, I liked the way you organized your writing. It started out talking about the protagonist in elementary school, then onto middle school, and to the present - her moving to London for high school. it was like a brief game of 'catch-up'.

I do have a few questions and nitpicks I'd like to point out though. Here they are...

I didn't have any friends back then too, although there were some who tried to stick by me because my mother was a model.

~ I think the 'too' should be replaced with a different word. It sounds a little out of place. Maybe using the word 'either' or something. I think it would probably be best to just shift some words around. Mess around with it and see what you feel sounds best. :)

Still, I didn't have anyone who wanted to be my friend just because of me.

~ Again, I think this sentence can be tweaked slightly. The 'me' at the end sounds kind of vague. Here's one way it can be worded:
Still, I didn't have anyone who liked me for who I am.
You can use that sentence if you'd like. Or come up with something yourself. Whatever works for you.

She got my hair treated every week and did my hair whenever she can.

~ The tenses were switched here. The writing went from past tense to present tense, then back to past tense. This not only is confusing, it just doesn't sound right. 'Whenever she can'... You wouldn't say that aloud to someone if you were speaking about her in past tense, right?

The correct way of saying it is 'whenever she could'. That one's an easy fix. And you killed two birds with one stone!

After a tearful good bye party hosted by Carey and Veronique, it was finally time for me to go.

~ 'Goodbye' is one word, so the space between the two can be taken out.

The last thing I want to mention is more of a question rather than a critique. In the first paragraph, the protagonist states that she was teased because of her unpleasing appearance. Since her mom is a model, wouldn't she dress her daughter up all nice and make her look like a cute little girl in elementary school? I just assume that's what a model for a mother would do.
But then in the second paragraph, her mom was ecstatic to see her gain interest in fashion and beauty. So maybe the protagonist didn't want let her mom fix her up? Sorry if I'm thinking too much into this. I'm just really observant and curious. XD

Altogether, I liked reading this piece! I'm excited to see how the story pans out. I'd love it if you left a chat on my wall when you post more. If you don't want to, that's fine also. See you around and happy writing!

Yours till the Chocolate Chips,
Snow




maryanne says...


Thanks InfiniteSnowfall :) Yeah I was thinking that too. Haha thanks for reviewing my work! <3 xo





Anytime!



maryanne says...


I added a little more to the ending and took your tips into consideration, haha. :D




You can't blame the writer for what the characters say.
— Truman Capote