PROLOGUE
AMANDA:
10:25 PM
25th June
“Please tell me you're joking,” I pleaded. Olivia’s eyes were full of insanity and hatred. She wasn't going to spare me. What in the world had gotten into her?
“Why would I joke about such a serious matter? Trust me,” Olivia replied. She spun the barrel of her Korth revolver, sending a rising lurch of fear into my gut.
But I still couldn't believe that she was going to do that. Kill me.
She won’t kill me, I consoled myself. My heart was beating frantically. But it didn't need to worry; all it's future pains were going to be stopped by Olivia.
“Why are you doing this to me?” I asked. Her heart shaped face didn’t look dangerous even now but I knew she was.
“You have ruined my life." She spat at me. "Why life is so easy for you? You got everything you wanted while I was left to become your maid. I resent my life,” This accusation hurt me like a splinter from a bomb blast. It did hurt at first, but I knew that she was not in her senses. I had never thought that my best friend envied me. I had never done any bad to her so why was she trying to kill me? Just for some silly reason?
"Maid? You aren't my maid, but my manager and also my best friend," I cleared up the blame on me.
"How does it matter? Only the name is different but I am a maid. You treat me like one," she couldn't stop her rows of accusations.
Her fingers weren't quivering and no smile lit up her face. This could mean only one thing; she was determined to kill me. She had never stretched a joke or prank of hers for this long before. She was dead serious about this.
The lobby where I was sitting now, with my hands tied to the chair, was next to my bedroom . The walls were not brightly colored. Next to me was a table with an antique phone, one which I brought in Egypt while shooting for my film. I felt helpless; I couldn't use the phone when it was so close to me.
“I don't understand. How have I ruined your life?” I barked in rage, not even wanting to hear the answers, just stalling for time. I tried to free myself from the rope she had tied around my hands, which I was sure must have left a red mark on my wrists, but in vain.
“You stole my peace. Every night I go to bed wondering about how much God intends to give you. An expensive wardrobe, holidays at exotic places and five star treatment, all of this just drives me crazy. I am jealous of you. Did you hear me? I am jealous! I envy you!” she dropped the revolver and closed her ears with her hands screaming like a maniac which indeed she had become. It was unbelievable that a person on a mission would drop the gun so easily. Maybe, she was insane. I made a mental note of taking her to a psychiatrist if I survived this confrontation.
I looked down to see the Korth revolver close to me. While she is screaming and howling I should pick it up, I thought to myself.
I took a deep breath before taking the revolver. Olivia was still standing there unaware of my plan. I bent down slowly and tried to bring the revolver closer to me by dragging it with my feet when pain abruptly struck me. Olivia had stomped her sandal on my foot. I screeched in pain, praying that my neighbors would somehow hear me. But who is at home around 10 at Beverly Hills? Most of them are busy partying in a club or in five star hotels and no one is going to come home before next day, I thought. I looked up to see Olivia for the first time greeting me with a smile but a demented one.
“I should have made myself clear before,” she whispered.
I raised my one eyebrow. I couldn't understand her. It seemed like she was a new Olivia, the one I had never come across with, the one who was going to destroy me forever.
“I should have tied your mouth too. You shout a lot. Just like some B-grade actress. That’s what you are. You are not an A-grade one. People think you are, however you can't fool me. I taught you acting. I got you work here. Remember?” she shouted at top of her lungs.
I couldn't believe she just had just said that.
“What do you want? Money? Fame?” I asked her politely. I had once read that you shouldn’t challenge or engage yourself in a fight with any mentally insane criminal or a gonna be.
“No. I just want your end,” she laughed hysterically . I could see my death near me,
“Please don’t do this.”
"Okay then I want the role of Casey from Midnight Theft. The role which eventually was mine but went to you. The one which made you what you are,” she transported me to those pleasant memories. I began thinking how accidentally the role had come to me.
"What are you saying? That's impossible," I said.
"Are you sure?"
"How can I reverse back time? It's next to impossible
I heard a crackle and saw Olivia pointing the gun at my head. She pressed the trigger.... The pain in my heart was unbearable before but was nothing in front of the mental pain she had given me. I felt something stuck in my throat which was making breathing even more tough for me. My vision started blackening and I could just see a faint smile lit up my killer's face. I was there on the chair, tied up, fighting for a life. The next thing I knew I was dead.I floated above her, above my body leaving behind my paradise,the one I had created with my sheer hardwork and talent. I was leaving everything behind me. No one was going to be the witness of all this except for the non-living things which stood in my house's alleyway.
Then I remembered one old Indian proverb, “We come in the world empty-handied and go back without anything. Then why does man crave for fame and power?" I could now agree with the speaker of this proverb. I had spent my whole life earning all this power and success but it took a second for Olivia to separate me from it.
Though I was dead, a new Olivia had born, the one with a deadly mission- To destroy everything which reminded the world of me. This was just going to be the beginning of her crime life, full of guilt and insanity. ![]()
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Hi, shubhi! Wow, that’s a lot of reviews you’ve got here already—I can’t promise that I’ll be able to say anything that you haven’t heard before, here, but I’ll try my best to be helpful anyway ^^;;.
Wow, this was a pretty intense start to a story, and I’m definitely curious to read the next chapter, from Olivia’s perspective, to find out more about her and her motivations. This chapter, from Amanda’s perspective, gave us her perspective on the events, but considering that she didn’t even notice she was treating Olivia as a maid, her version is definitely not the whole story. I’m super excited to her about the developments from Olivia’s perspective, and I’m also super curious as to where this story is going to go next—I really like the premise in your synopsis, as to how one murder just leads to another and another—the whole dominoes-like scenario sounds like a great premise for a thriller, and I haven’t seen many stories like this told from the perspective of the “villain” (or the killer, at least). It should be interesting to see how Olivia’s actions lead her deeper into this world of death and killing.
Amanda’s narration was pretty good in this chapter as well—I felt like I could connect to her feelings of fear and her confusion—they both felt very real. I think her mention of being baffled at the fact that Olivia would want to kill her, and her determination at the beginning that this must be some sort of joke, helped to make her much more sympathetic, as well. They showed that she honestly can’t believe that Olivia wants to hurt her, which reinforces the idea that she didn’t cause Olivia suffering intentionally, and never even knew that she was hurting. I think this makes her character a lot more believable, and makes me root for her, if even a little. I only knew her for a couple paragraphs, but I was still thinking it would be bad news if Olivia were to kill her—both because I felt Amanda’s fear and I knew how much it would mess up Olivia’s life. That’s a great feeling to evoke in the reader when they’re starting out, that feeling of dread and suspense, and it’s one of the main reasons I love this chapter.
Just a couple of quick things I’d look at if I were you:
This line confused the heck out of me. XD Maybe I’m just a little slow. Sorry, what do you mean by “a gonna be”?
I’m not sure if I like this as an ending paragraph—It seems to give away a lot of what’s going to happen in the next few chapters, which I think kind of kills the suspense; plus it gives away a lot of information that I’m not sure Amanda could possibly have known. If I was writing this, I think I might end it just with “Though I was dead, a new Olivia was born.” It doesn’t give things away, but it’s still ominous and contains some foreshadowing. It’s really up to you, though.
Otherwise, I thought this was a pretty strong opening to a very promising new novel, and I’d be glad to read the next chapter!
That's a lot of reviews you have already... But, as requested;
As a prologue, I'd say this isn't really suitable, to be honest. A prologue needs to give your reader a taste of the rest of the novel, without providing too much depth. Here you have a girl who is seriously mentally disturbed, and a person who seems to be famous and have a big lifestyle, put together in a scene that would require an entire story to explain.
It's an average situation that people can quite easily imagine if they wanted to, so you've got to add an extra flare. Also, the main character is about to die, but put bluntly, your reader doesn't know them yet, and therefore has little reason to care. You need to draw your reader in a lot more before throwing a scene like this at them.
Hello there, Shubhi!
You need to delete that comma.Here as requested. I might give a small nitpick 'cause I've seen a lot of reviews which pretty covered up all those mistakes.[/quote]
An ellipsis and a period? Four periods in total. What is it really?
Anyway, those are just slight mistakes.
The prologue had a good start though when I went down in the middle there are some sentences that are quite confusing and needs to be improved that are already corrected by most of the critiques. The plot itself was really good and climatic which is good because it's kind of thrilling and very descriptive which convince the reader to read the first chapter of the novel.
Characters: I will go first to Olivia, okay?
Amanda. It seems that she's a celebrity. Of course, who wouldn't be jealous of her having all those fame and money? Everyone thinks she's lucky, no wonder Olivia would surely be jealous of her esp. when she is the manager and is always attached to Amanda.
Settings: You didn't really illustrate the place and you could've tell us the smell, the things around them... if the windows are open or close, something like that but it's a prologue, so it's okay.
Overall: Aside from those things...I really liked this especially the "killing" part! hehe.
Peace out!
_Yuri_
alright, please don't take this personally, but it seems that many times when someone tries to point out helpful improvements to you, you have an excuse. I know this sounds really... witchy but instead of explaining it in your posted replies to readers's comments, wouldn't it be easier to simply explain it better in the prologue? I know you say you will explain it all later, but there is a difference between a mysterious-thought-provoking prologue and a confusing-thought-provoking prologue.
Try this:
Don't put so much detail into why Olivia is killing the narrator. It gets repetitive. Focus more on emotions and feelings like Amanda's fear and how hateful Olivia looks.
Also, you have a nice idea with the way one murder turns into a lot of murders, but the motive for killing Amanda is weak. If you want people to take the murder a little more... seriously I guess, you are going to need to make a more convincing motive or you will need to establish just how crazy this Olivia girl is.
And I will resonate [spelling?] with other authors: the dialogue was worded confusingly. I had trouble following what you were talking about. Try going through this again and just reading the dialogue out loud to yourself. Most people, in conversation, don't use phrases like "I resent my life." I say this because it seemed like you were trying to write in everyday speech which can be good, but then you would try to add in bigger words and, don't take this personally, you often used the big words awkwardly. It made me think that you weren't just being yourself when you wrote, like you were trying to impress teachers with your high vocabulary. I think that if you embraced the everyday language thing you have going on, things would go smoother and the quality of your work would be generally better. Again, please don't be offendeded.
Just as an example of how to word things more smoothly, this could go as so:
"How can I reverse the time? That's almost impossible." I heard a crackle and watched Olivia point the gun to my head. She pressed ("pulled" would also work here) the trigger...
The pain in my heart was excrutiating ("unbearble" just sounded funky) but was nothing in comparison to the umbearable guilt (what do you mean by "mental pain"? Mental pain is like a headache after doing math. Perhaps psychological pain? but that would imply some sort of Post-Traumatic Stress which would mean she'd actually have to survive the trauma... which leaves guilt) she had given me.
Also, throughout the entire story, you are constantly switching tenses between Past and Past Progressive. (yes, there is a difference.)
This is Past Progressive. Stuff like "was running" and "gone fishing"
Both of these are Past. Stuff like "ran" and "fished."
while it may not seem like much of a big deal, they are still two tenses. Using both breaks up the story and the flow. It should be easy to convert them into one tense though because they're so similar which is good for you!
So, now I feel like a terrible person for ripping your story apart like that. Please don't be offended or anything. It's just one person's honest opinion. You have an excellent plot idea; you are just having some issues with communicating it.
Please don't be discouraged!
Keep writing!
Toodles!!!
Here is my review for

A Criminal's Heart-Prologue
"But I still couldn't believe that she was going to do that. Kill me. "
#FF0000 ">This would sound better as
"I couldn't believe that she was going to do this. That she was going to kill me."
#FF0000 ">Also, when she is thinking, it should be in italics. It's much easier to read, especially aloud, when thoughts and narrative are clearly seperated.
"My heart was beating frantically. But it didn't need to worry. All it's future pains were going to be stopped by Olivia."
#FF0000 ">I would write this as
"My heart was beating frantically, but it didn't need to worry: all it's pains would soon be stopped by Olivia."
Still, it's a clever piece of humor
"Her heart shaped face didn't look dangerous even now but I knew she was."
#FF0000 ">I would write this as
"Even now, she didn't look dangerous; but I knew she was."
Describe her later on. You switched from talking about Olivia's face to Olivia herself, which is not correct.
TYPO:"You have ruined my life. Why life is so easy for you?..."
#FF0000 ">Should be "Why IS life so easy for you, etc..."
#FF0000 ">Also, instead of putting, 'she spat at me' at the end of her speech, #FF0000 ">put it like this
"You have ruined my life," she spat at me. "Why is life so easy for you?..."
"Maid? You aren't my maid but my manager," I cleared up the blame on me.
#FF0000 ">This sounds awkward. It should be
"Maid? You aren't my maid, but my manager," I said, trying to clear myself of blame.
"How does it matter? Only the name is different but I am a maid. You treat me like one," she couldn't stop her rows of accusations.
#FF0000 ">In a sentence when someone is talking, you should always put 'she said' or 'said Olivia', like this
"...You treat me like one," said Olivia.
She couldn't stop her rows of accusations.
'This could mean only one thing; she was determined of killing me.'
#FF0000 ">Should be
'she was determined to kill me.'
'But who is at home around 10 at Beverly Hills.'
#FF0000 ">Should be
'But at ten o'clock in Beverly Hills, who is home?'
“I should have made myself clear before,” she silently whispered.
#FF0000 ">Silently means without any noise, so our narrator could not have heard her. It should just be
'she whispered' or 'she said quietly'
“I should have tied your mouth too. You shout a lot. Just like some B-grade actress. That’s what you are. You are not an A-grade one. People think you are, however you can't fool me. I taught you acting. I got you work here. Remember?,” she shouted at top of her lungs.'
#FF0000 ">Unless you put that she is shouting earlier in this sentence, we are going to read it as though she is still talking quietly. Put it as
"I should have tied your mouth, too. You shout a lot."
She began to raise her voice.
"Just like some B-grade actress. That's just what you are. You're not an A-grade one, even though people think you are!" her raised tones became a shout. "I got you work here! Remember!"
"Okay then I want the role of Casey from Midnight Theft. The role which eventually was mine but went to you. The one which made you what you are,” she transported me to those pleasant memories.
#FF0000 ">I would say
"Okay, then," she said. "I want the role of Casey from Midnight Theft. The role which had been mine, but eventually went to you. The one which made you what you are."
Her words transported me back to those pleasant times.
'I began thinking how accidentally the role had come to me.'
#FF0000 ">I would write it like this
'I began thinking how the role had, as it seemed, come to me by accident.'
'I floated above her, above my body leaving behind my paradise,the one I had created with my sheer hardwork and talent.'
#FF0000 ">Should be
'I floated above Olivia and my own body, leaving behind the paradise I had created for myself by sheer hard work and talent.'
'I could now agree with the creator of proverb.'
#FF0000 ">This should be'I could now agree with whoever had said this.'
OR
'I could now agree with the speaker of this proverb.'
'I had spent my whole life earning all this power and success but it took a second for Olivia to separate me from it.'
#FF0000 ">That's a very insightful sentence.
#0000BF ">Over all, I would have to say that this isn't the most original story I've read, but it's pretty well written. I'll probably be back to review the next chapter some time later. Have a good day =D
Hello Shubi!

I enjoyed this prologue, it made me want to read the rest of the book which is really great
There were a couple of things that I noticed. To make this easier for you to spot, I will highlight your work in bold and I will write my comments next to it in red.
Ok so I pointed some of the things out above. Most of the time it was just little blips with the way things sounded. You do need to do some work on how natural you piece is, there were a lot of places were I stopped when I was reading it and where I had to read it again.
There were a couple of points where you changed your tenses, you just need to watch that and make sure you read back through to check. There were also a couple of places where you forgot your grammer but that can be easily sorted with a quick read through. I agree with what people have said above, this was pretty cliche in places which was a shame. Try using some really interesting descriptions to help prevent this.
Pace
This was almost perfect, you didn't rush us into the story too much but you didn't spend hours describing what everything was like. I would however have like a little bit more description of her death, you could make it extremely powerful with some relevant metaphors or similes.
Characters
I think you introduced us to the characters quite well, telling us what we needed to know for the purposes of the prologue. I loved your description of Olivias personality but I would have liked a little more physical description of Olivia as I take it she is going to be the main character from now on.
Overall, well done! This was an interesting prologue and it made me want to read on to find out what Olivia is going to do next and to find out more about why she killed Amanda in the first place.
Well Done,
Keep Writing,
~Lydia
I was going to review this, and went "Wait, no". There's already been too many reviews, and I agree with what everyone's said anyway. I think I might move on to the next chapter. 0_o
Hi there, Shubi-chan!
I can call you Shubi-chan, can't I? (puppy eyes)
Winter here, at your service.
First off...
This could really use some spacing. I got dizzy just by looking at the length and the closeness of the lines, so, if you will, the 'Enter' key looks like a very welcoming prospect for you to press on, now.
So, onto the rest of the piece. Comments in blue, nitpicks in red, what I liked in green.
All in all, this could use some serious work. As I said, you've been very cliche all throughout the piece, and it lacks realism. The dialogues are still too stiff. Try watching more movies. It will help.
I may have sounded harsh, but it's all out of the desire to help you improve.
There's my verdict.
~Winter
Hello,
. This is a very inteseting piece, and I liked it alot, but I also think that because it looks like one giant block of words that it's harder to read. I don't if that made much sense, if it didn't PM me. Also you do alot of telling rather than showing; if you need help with this you can PM me.
Here as requested
Onto the review:
How? What did they look like physically?
The last part of this dialogue just doesn't seem realistic, maybe try "Trust me I'm serious as I could be" or something like that.
These sentences could all be combined. put a coma anfter more and a lower case b for but, then a comma after to do that and a lower case k for kill.
I think you're missing your qoutation marks here
These sentences can be combined a comma after frantically and a lower case b for but. Also, never start a sentence with and or but because these are conjunctions and they combine sentences they don't start them.
Even now doesn't seem to fit into this sentence, and there needs to a comma after dangerous.
It should be Why is life so easy for you. there needs to be a comma after wanted. There needs to be a period after life not a comma, and the she before spat needs to be capitalized. Why does she resent her life... do you mean she resents doing what she did in the past, her past... it leaves it too open and has an unclear meaning: I resent my life... Maybe try to change it.
This is what I mean by telling instead of showing. Show us how she felt instead of just saying she was hurt. Did her heart sink into her chest? Did her brain go numb? Did she clenth her fist? Also this is redundant you already told us that this statement had hurt her. Plus there needs to be a comma after first.
this sentence is a little awkward how about re-wording it like such: I had never hurt her, or I never intended to, so why is she trying to kill me?
If you leave it the way it is there needs to be a comma after bad to her,.
This is a fragment, and it doesn't really fit here; it doesn't make much sense.
A comma after maid and a period instead of a comma after manager.
How does it matter? Is a little awkward how about re-wording to something like That doesn't matter; only the name is different... There needs to be a comma after different and a period after one instead of a comma. She after the last qoutation mark should be capitalized.
If you are saying she said replied inquired or anything of the sort there ahould be a comma before the last quotation mark, but when you put something like she couldn't stop her rows of accusations, it makes it into two different sentences so there needs to be a period before the last quotation mark.
A comma after quivering. this is because when using a conunction there needs to a be a comma before it to combine the two independent sentences.
A comma not a semi-colon is needed here because this could only mean one thing is not a full sentence.
Once again telling instead of showing. How was she being serious? Were her teeth clenched? Did her eyes never blink? was her face tight? was she being quiet/ loud?
What is your inciting incident? What made her go off like this? Obviously she has been jealous for a very long time, but what made her crack? Also capitalize the she after the last qoutation mark.
i suggest italizing was just to make an effect on the sentence, but that's just personal opinion.
The sentence before this and this could be combined just add a coma after the but and make it a lower case b.
A comma after hotels is needed
This sentence is a little awkward. How bout try re-wording it like, "It seemed liek she was a new Olivia, one that I had never came across, one that was determined to destroy me forever."
No comma after the question mark, and she shouted, the she needs to be capitalized.
A comma after okay. And instead of eventually it should be intentionally and a comma after mine. a period instead of a comma after are and capitalize the she after the last qoutation marks.
I think you can describ this better than you did. You took the easy way out. try describing the pain or lack there of. A blackout in your head maybe. A sting at the spot of where the bullet entered, or the flash of the bullet coming at you.
the creator of this proverb.
a new Olivia had been born
From here on started Olivia's life of crime.
Overall view: I feel as though the dialogue is choppy and awkward. A writers best technique is observation. I advise you to observe some real like conversation, small talk, or other wise, and make mental notes on how they flow and words they use. Actually things they say. Observation is amazing, and I think it'll help you a whole bunch
I know everyone else was nitpicky so if i repeated anything I'm sorry. I really enjoyed this, keep up the good work, and if you ever need a review please feel free to PM me
Have a good day,
Tiffany
Thanks Biflle1 and Skins. Thanks a lot.
Heya
I'm just going to point out the one's that stand out for me.
Thanks for being my first reveiw request! For that, I virtually hug you. *Gives virtual hug* And thanks for my reviews as well, by the way!
To be honest, I think everyone else has covered pretty much every nit-pick, so I'm not really going to bother repeating them. It will only bore the both of us!
Overall, I really did like this! You seem to have a problem with spacing, after and before a full stop! I think they're just typo's though, to be honest. Anyway, I can't say much, I have a comma problem.
I love the idea you've got here, it could definitely progress into an effective, exciting story! I can't wait to read the net few parts!
All you need to do is read over your work and pick up what us reviewers have said. Once you've done that, this piece would be seriously excellent!
Keep writing,
xoxo Skins
I really like this, Shubhi, very creative and thrilling. Just look at the greenish blue and the bold.
Kudos
Biffle
Thanks a lot. No it's not going to be entirely a 3rd pesron narration. But somewhere I am going to introduce it. Thanks for the review.
Here on request.

This seems familiar. I've actually read this before.
Something seems off about the sentence structure here. The first sentence could be combined with the one before. As for the other two, perhaps "I sill couldn't believe that she was going to do kill me." could work. I understand the intention behind the seperation, but you might want to play around with it a little.
One other thing, the fact that the revolver is made by Korth isn't really necessary, unless that brand name is a Chekov's gun (literally!) of sorts. Unless the fact that the revolver is a Korth brand is important to the story, I would leave that out.
Typo. Also are these supposed to be ellipsis? If so there are three periods, and a space.
In my opinion "This was more proof that she was determined to kill me." would work better. The wording is a bit weird.
Spacing at first comma and the period. There are quite a few like this, you might want to go through and find them.
Don't switch tenses! "It was unbelievable" is better. It isn't good to switch tenses mid-sentence.
Sorry to be nitpicky, the "I though to myself" part shouldn't be in italics.
This is a question, no? Also, is it 10am or 10pm? Please be a little more specific.
Huh? Where is the rest of the sentence? Needs a period.
"eventually was mine". Wouldn't "supposed to be mine" work better?
There are a few things to consider.
You know, I actually read this a while back, and I might have commented on it. I really liked this story, and I still do. The floating away from the body thing was and excellent approach. Do you plan to do this from 3rd person narrative? Because it seems that way. I will just say that if you do, you have a lot of freedom with this one, since the narrator is a spirit.
Can't wait to read the next chapter, and fortunately, I don't!
Yo,
as such this intro seems to be quite in order. All the elements are there, the nuances though need fine tuning.
“Please tell me you're joking,” I pleaded. Olivia’s eyes were full of insanity and hatred. She wasn't going to spare me. What in the world had gotten into her? - unless the protagonist is a cool Victorian opium fiend who has stared into the face of death countless times while exploring Africa and Asia, it sounds utterly improbable, that someone would think in the situation you describe 'what in the world had gotten into her?'. They would think (as an example) 'oh my god, she's not joking', or 'I don't want to die' or something, anything which is more intense.
“You have ruined my life. You stole everything from me....fame, money, lfe..everything,” she spat at me - when someone spits out an angry sentence, it has to be short. Or a short number of short sentences. Once it becomes long and winding, it's no longer spitting out. Perhaps if you move 'she spat at me' to right after 'ruined my life', everything will click together. Now, there are people out there, who have read an ageing and bored Stephen King and believe him when he says that everything should be just 'he said, she said'. Bollocks, you can use anything you want, but you just have to be precise about it.
This accusation hurt me like a splinter from a bomb blast - this metaphor is still half-backed, you have to bake it fully. In the sense that you are being detailed in the second half - 'like a splinter from a bomb blast', but vague in the first half, just a measly 'hurt'. I think, that if you're going for a metaphor of this sort, you have to balance both halves of the sentence. Like 'this accusation shocked me like a bomb blast', or 'this accusation made my heart hurt like it got hit by bomb shrapnel' or something. If you don't balance this sentence, readers will get the general idea, but the sentence itself will not be a pleasure to read.
This was another proof that she was determined of killing me - I think here the sentence can end with 'determined'.
“I don't understand. How have I ruined your life?” I barked in rage, - here we have two issues. One is the previous, like with 'spat at me' - that the phrase uttered does not correspond quite to the mood being described. 'I don't understand. How have I ruined your life?' is not something someone 'barks in rage'. 'Listen here, you piece of crap!' is something someone barks in rage, or 'put down that gun and get the hell out!' or 'are you out of your mind?'
Right, so the described sentence is not a 'bark', it's rather a hapless inquiry. Thus two choices remain: either change the sentence being said to suit the description of it, or change the description of it. Maybe it's not an angry bark. Maybe it's a confused stutter. Or a pleading voice. But! If you do decide to leave it an 'angry bark', then you have to add at least a sentence or two beforehand, to describe how the main protagonist's confusion and fear slowly transforms into anger. Otherwise we have a baffled and afraid person, and then suddenly, out of nowhere, angry barking commences.
“You stole my peace. Every night I go to bed wondering about how much God intends to give you. Expensive wardrobe, holidays at exotic places and five star treatment, all of this just drives me crazy. I am jealous of you. Did you hear me? I am jealous! I envy you!” she dropped the revolver - here, you have to add two things to cure this bit from being too heavy to read. One - mention who is talking right after 'stole my peace'. Two - mention again that she has finished talking, before she drops her revolver.
“I should have made myself clear before,” she silently whispered.
I raised my one eyebrow. I couldn't understand her. - here again, the main protagonist starts behaving like James Bond. She tries to figure out what's going on, reaches for the gun, while her former friend shrieks like a maniac, her friend suddenly stomps down, probably breaking her toes, and she raises an eyebrow? Hehe:) And, the way it is worded, it sounds like she raised her one and only eyebrow.
The role which eventually was mine but went to you. - eventually sounds a bit off, it breaks the rhythm. Perhaps she should say directly 'which should have been mine'.
Thanks L5na2.
I really liked Olivia, she was a really strong character... creepy but strong and interesting. Someone should have told her that it isn't good to bottle things up inside, because it might explode all at once. Anyway I really liked how you made her seem kind of vulnerable at one point and drew her back into the crazy psycho killer.
Thanks Writer's Domain for doing this.
Actually. this is an imaginary story so I am telling this from Amanda's point of view. There was a movie in which this happened. I have written this story long before it released though.
Hey there! Tis WD here, as requested. ^^ Sorry it has taken me so long. This is coming along--you definitely have some interesting ideas going on here and this has some powerful potential. You already have a lot of great comments here--I'm just going to point out a few things that I think you can do pack more power into your prose. Right now a lot of it is falling flat, and I think you can change this with focusing less on telling and more on specifics images.
I'll explain through a few examples.
All right, your beginning. The part where it is most essential to hook the reader. This beginning falls flat. Why? Because this image is vague! He eyes are full of insanity? What does that look like? Full of hatred? Eyes can be full of tears; they can glow. They can do lots of things, but how can they be full of a certain emotion? The vagueness of this image detracts from the power it could have! I would suggest really thinking about what this looks like. Does her face twist with hatred? Do her eyes look crazed? What other elements of her face and posture suggest hatred and insanity? We need a specific image here. Insanity and hatred are strong enough emotions that they can't just be thrown around in a telling manner.
She twists it menacingly? What does that look like? 'Menacingly' is a very strong adverb, but we have no body language to back it up! Also, she doesn't sound insane or hateful in this dialogue--it doesn't seem frantic. It doesn't fit your earlier description of her.
There's a lot of opportunity to develop the relationship between these two prior to the moment here. Right now, I have no idea how she knows this girl is dangerous or how she doesn't look dangerous. Specifics! A few, specific details speak ten times more powerful than a whole paragraph of vague description! Details are important!
Right now this realization is dry. There's no body language to back it up. How does she feel when she realizes this? I'm not getting much of a feel for your main character here, which makes it difficult for me to sympathize with her! I want a window into her--I need to connect with her to care about her. What does she feel during this? Does she try to squirm away? Help me visualize this!
How do you blink in rage? Another moment where the body language isn't sufficient support for a word such as 'rage'.
This is more like it! Notice how your body language works here! It supports the powerful words; it doesn't just lean on them. This creates a specific, powerful image. Nice job here! More moments like this, please!
I think this demonstrates the problem I had with this beginning. You're using powerful words and emotions, but the body language isn't backing it up! We need more details. You don't need to delve into a whole lot of description for this; we just need specific, concise details that paint the image for us and drag us into your characters! I think working on this will make this beginning a whole lot more powerful! You want to hook the reader straight away if you're going to have a prologue--so make it one of your strongest sections! Really go through the prose and try to visualize and recreate with all your senses what is going on. Pack in the relevant details and this will improve greatly!
I also wonder where your narrator is coming from here. Olivia is the one who just killed your narrator, yes? But if she's dead, how is she telling the story? I'm sure there's a reason behind it, but I'm just curious, and it's something you want to keep in mind as you continue writing this. Narrators are more than just first person tools; it's important to take into account their personality, position and attitude as you write.
You have a pretty good start here! I think working on those details will improve this piece a lot and put you down the road of making this beginning have a more significant impact. Nice start here! Keep writing! Feel free to PM me if you have any questions!
I have edited it but I am still not satisfied fully. Will do something more. Then I will PM everyone who helped me with this. Anymore comments?
Thanks! Isha.
Well, nothing to correct that hasn't already been corrected! I loved it! Gave me shivers, goosebumps, which is just what I look for in a story.
Well done!!
Thank you Lava.
Hey Shubhi.
Well, everyone's done the the nit picks, I'll just give you a few points.
1.Your style has improved from this and your Mel/Jemima piece.
2.As Meep said, you'll need to focus a little on description of the surrounding and the atmosphere.
3.It's a good prologue, makes me want to read more.
4. I did not like the way you bolded and huge-ed the last lines. It makes a reader skip past lines and read only that.
5.As people have mentioned earlier, your dialogue is stiff. It takes time to get dialogues right, so I would suggest making them non native English speakers.
Anyway, I'm off to read the next xhapter.
~Lava
Thank you Annie. I also wanted to describe and dramatize it more. I will surely do that. Thanks for reviewing.
This is really good. From the very beginning you capture the audience's attention, by starting at the climax.
Just a little thing. At the end when the main character gets killed, you need to make it more dramatic. Instead of #BF0000 ">The next thing I knew was that I was dead.I think you need to make the character scared or angry, as she has just died and she can see her body and killer.
You then need to start a new paragraph for, #BF0000 ">I floated above her, above my body leaving behind my paradise.he paradise I had created with my sheer hard work and talent. I was leaving everything behind me.To symbolise that the character is dead and that you are starting a new bit in the story .
But otherwise i enjoyed it a lot.
Please PM me when you have got other chapters.
Hey Shubhi!


Wow, this piece has already been throroughly nit-picked, so I shall just give me general comments.
1) Description:
Like peanut has said, prologues can be descriptive. I'm guessing that you were referring to plot description, but its also good if you can find a good balance of imagery description. The prologue was largely based on the thoughts and conversation between the characters, but you can also give us a better visual picture of their actions and the surroundings (you don't have to give too much details if you want location to be secret, of course). This is an important technique to really let your readers experience the story
2) The ending:
Umm, okay, that took me by surprise, haha. I wouldn't advise you too make the ending thought so gigantic, because it seems overly emphasised and too in-your-face. I'd suggest italics
3) Amanda:
For someone who's being held at gunpoint, her tone towards insane Olivia is rather risky, no? Would you be raising your voice in anger at or adopting a demanding tone if someone, regardless whether they know you, is holding you at gunpoint?
4) Olivia:
Just one thing, I know she's insane,
But isn't it rather silly of a person to just drop the gun like that?
5) Overall
Not bad at all! You had a good hook to make readers want to read on
Your challenge would be to effectively convey to us Olivia's state of mind.
She might not be clinically insane, but you've set yourself the task of creating a mentally unsound character. Good luck!
~Meep(:
Hi there Shubhi!

This should not be part of the paragraph since it was Olivia who was speaking previously. Just start a new tag for this oneI'm here for a review, as requested. I hope it will be helpful
The use of the word 'power' doesn't sit right with me here. I would prefer maybe using either 'determination' or 'will', something like that. Because, the power? I mean, Amanda's tied to a chair and can't defend herself. That's preying on the 'innocent', not using power. To me, anyway.
Ok, there are two things wrong with this quote.
First, how could Amanda know Olivia envied her? She couldn't. Olivia only said she had ruined her life. How? Maybe because Amanda stole her bf, stole a pair of shoes, had a better face/body. Anything but envy would first come to mind UNLESS Amanda had noticed the envious looks Olivia sent her way or something, you know?
Second, you said, 'just for some silly reason she was going to give'. DO you know what that sounds like to me? It sounds like the author is speaking through Amanda. How could she know the reason was silly? If to Amanda, whatever reason is silly because let's face it,there could be no good justification for killing her, then you have to say it. But when I read it all I thought was 'well, the author is using a cliché by making Olivia seem nuts and telling us in advance that the reason was silly. ANd it was. BUt you told us in advance that it would be, you know? (if any of this is unclear, please let me know and I will explain it differently)
This paragraph had me picturing Amanda's hands tied behind her back. Why? Because if they were in front, she would have known whether the ropes left burn marks or not. But then, in the next few paragraphs, she reaches forward to get the gun. So which one is it? Can she see the marks, or are they tied behind her back?
I may be grasping at straws here, but because we don't know much about Olivia, I have to point it out. You know how they say that evil people don't think they are evil? Well, somehow, I just can't picture Olivia knowing she was jealous. What might be a good way of showing us her jealousy is screaming to Amanda, "how could someone like you deserve all that? You are nothing, NOthing! I taught you everything you know, you selfish, ungrateful bitch!' Anyway . . Do you get what I'm saying?
Don't italicise 'i thought to myself'. Only the thought itself.
first part needs to be italicized.
You see, this paragraph you could have included where I mentioned up there, about showing us her jealousy. The good thing with that is that you can give us a clue about Amanda. I mean, we know nothing about her and like it was mentioned before, we should know more before she is written in the first person. But if Olivia calls her selfish and ungrateful and so on, we don't know if Amanda truly is all that or if it's only Olivia demented opinion. BUT during the flashbacks, we'll be able to see how Amanda was, whether she was good or selfish and so on. Gah! Am I making sense?
How could she get the role if it was already filled? THis doesn't make sense to me.
Ok, how? I mean, you start the sentence, which could be interesting although it doesn't belong in a prologue, then cut it off and she gets killed. Hmm...
Ok, how in the world can she know Olivia's motives? I mean, she's in the first person and the first person only knows her or his own thoughts. Is it because she is dead and she suddenly understands everything? Can she feel/sense Olivia's reasons?
Ok, I hope you didn't find me too harsh. I nag, it is true but I truly think this story has potential. The readers here have love/hate relationships with prologues and I'm surprised no one has mentioned that yet. If not, count yourself lucky, it seems to fit with your story.
Keep one thing in mind; you said you'll do flashbacks. Make sure it is well integrated within the story or it'll just be annoying. We will start to wonder if you have perhaps started the story too late.
I'm glad to see Olivia has went all the way. When we will read the next chapters we will know exactly what she is capable of. I am truly curious to find out what your plans are for her? Is she truly crazy? Was she pushed to the brink? Was Amanda simply a victim or someone who deserved death and much more? Hmm...Intriguing
GOing to read the next chapter now...Tanya
Wow! That was truly amazing! You have a true passion for writing and you can see it in your work. I was hooked by the end of the second paragraph! I'm really glad you PM me so I could read this. I hope you continue writing and posting more of this awesome story!
Korth is the company manufacturing this revolver. it is not a person's name.
Wow, eh… sorry to be a buzz-kill, but it’s important to use description in both chapters AND prologues. So yes, I probably will point out some places where you need to add flesh, because prologues are extremely important; they’re part of the book aren’t they?
Wow, that first sentence is funky. Rework it to read smoother, like this;
“Why would I joke about such a serious matter? I’m being serious. Trust me,”
Better?
The debris from bombs aren't called splinters, it's called shrapnel. Plus, I doubt you'd just have a splinter. In fact, that'd be amazing and very light damage. You're using this as a metaphor for pain, so a splinter is next to nothing in the world of possible pain. Using a bomb as a metaphor is okay, but say "shrapnel" rather than "splinter".
(I'm not meaning to jump down your throat over one little word; I'm just pointing it out XD)
I find this sentence confusing and unnecessary.
You're rambling now; avoid that. This whole paragraph has next to no use at all. Another reason for deletion; it's repetitive. We don't need to keep hearing about how serious she is. I think we understand that now.
Hand= hands. Two hands and all
This is confusingly stated. Try something along this line;
"Every night I go to bed thinking about how much more God gives to you."
You mentioned earlier that Korth was a person, so don't call it a "Korth revolver" because it sounds like a weird brand name. Maybe say "Korth's revolver" or just say nothing about Korth at all.
From here on I'll just correct mistakes in red.
This sounds more like a short story than a prologue... are you sure it's a prologue? o_O
Strangely, I didn't find anywhere you needed more description. The subtle lack of details actually fit the scene quite well.
But yes, it does seem much like a short story. I can't wait to read the chapter to come
PM me if you have any questions or comments,
~Peanut
otherwise, nice, I enjoyed tht very much
Thanks Ben and Elinor. i will go through the mistakes.
Hi shubhi! This was just, well okay. It's a nice start, but you're making a lot of amateur mistakes, and people have most already commented on those. I did, however, notice one little thing, and that had to do with your dialogue tags. See below.
You avoid the word 'said' like the plague. Said is an okay word to use, and more specific dialogue tags should only be used for emphasis. Somethings the dialogue speaks for itself, like at the beginning. We know Amanda is commanding Olivia-you don't really need to tell us that. Only use dialogue tags when really necessary. However, in your piece they are mostly unnecessary, and I've highlighted various tags for two separate reasons, divided by color.
RED
Your red tags consist of actions that cannot be used to communicate a message. For instance, let's take a look at your first one, 'she blamed me'. 'Blame' is an interesting action, because it is performed by saying various words. This an instance where the dialogue will speak for itself. For instance, if there are two small children who get caught sticking their hand in the cookie jar, one might blurt out,
"Oh, Aubrey dared me!"
In that case, it's pretty obvious that the child is blaming Aubrey, so let the dialogue speak for its self.
Your second tag, "she hysterically laughed," is rather self-explanatory. You can't really talk while you're laughing, can you. Rather then what you have now, try something along the lines of, "She was laughing hysterically. As I watched, rolling my eyes, she finally calmed down and said, 'No. I just want your end'", or something like that that makes a bit more sense.
GREEN
Not so much of a ramble here, but I will say that the tags highlighted in green are extremely redundant. For instance, we all know water is clear. In a story, you won't need to say, "I picked up the clear water".
Let's take your two ones, 'I shouted at the top of my voice,' and, 'I barked in rage'. Shouting is pretty much loud talking, isn't it? People are going to use the top of their voice when they shout. And someone will usually be angry when they "bark", and 'rage' is a synonym for "angry". So, these two dialogue tags could easily be changed to, "I barked", and "I shouted".
-
Nothing much else. I liked the idea, and can't wait to see where it goes.
-Elinor
Hey there Shubhi!
Most people have pointed out the nitpicks, so I won't bother you with any dull repetition, what I will say though, concerns your dialogue. At the start I loved it and at the end I loved it, there's a true stencil of character created by it. However, during the middle and nearer the start there were parts where it just felt too much like a bland plot motor. By this I mean the questions in the dialogue were so wooden, that it just sounded oddly like a request to the reader to bend their minds to the change of happenings. Beside this, I have to say I adore the narrative voice and the showing of the imagery and atmosphere, it's all very well written. I think you might need to look over some of the longer and shorter sentences and rethink about punctuating because there seems to be an odd vibe of mistakes throughout. I also love your character Olivia (don't know if I'm meant to) but I just thought her personality was so interesting. A little scratchy on Amanda though, which is odd since this is written in first person so we should kind of prectically be inside her head, but I'm not really getting that effect. I feel a lot like I'm third party povving, if you know what I mean. Seeing it from a camera view, if it were a film, you know?
Anyway, keep up the good writing and PM me when you have more,
Ben
Thanks LittlePetRock!
'Ello shubhi!
I really, really liked this story! Please don't stop writing this! No nit-picks to point-out, which is good.
I shall review this in #0000FF ">Beautiful Blue!
Hi FlyingInEbony.Thanks for reviewing. Actually I have just started this with a prologue. I will tell how they befriended and what led to all this but in a flashback/memories Olivia has. Thanks once again..
Hey, Shubhi!
I liked your story, it's new! I just wanted to point out that your prologue is a little rushed because your story starts out with a climax - a supporting climax, but still a climax. You drastically start out with killing a character. If I were in your place, I would perhaps begin the story with the events that lead up to the relationship that Olivia and Amanda had once shared, and how it went wrong one time or the other. As of now, I can't really relate to Olivia because I don't know who she was or how she used to act. Maybe she "deserved" this bullet. Or are you writing in medias res? Because I thought that your forthcoming chapters would be about the next victims of Olivia. Anyways, just that. I liked how the events in your piece were positioned realistically (according to the seven stages of grief, or any other repressing emotion) - first, shock and denial, second, guilt, bargaining, and then the final step (on the behalf of Amanda). Good job! Keep working, I'd love to read your future posts! 
I think I made myself pretty clear in the beginning that this is just a prologue so I am not elaborating on the feelings. I think I told that Olivia is insane and I will tell in the forthcoming chapters what all lead to this. Thanks for reading.
I think this story is a little confusing. I feel like most of your dialogue is extremely inverted.
Ex:
This makes it sound like English is not Olivia's first language. Maybe instead try "Why would I joke about such a serious matter? I mean every word I say."
As well, Olivia seems to have a pretty lame motivation for killing the main character. If this was later in your story then we might have time to get to know Olivia, and we might better understand why she is so jealous. As it is, it just seems ridiculous that Olivia is killing this girl for no reason.
Based on the title of the story, I'm going to assume that Olivia is the main character. In that case, I'm not really sure how you're going to write the rest of the story, because the character doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
Also, I think that most of your dialogue tags sound very unnatural.
Ex:
The reader will assume that Olivia is blaming the main character from what Olivia says, you don't need to say it. I would leave it as "Maybe because you ruined my life."
Ex:
The dialogue in this case is awkward as well as the tag. I would cut out "would you kill me then" and change it to "I don't understand; how have I ruined your life?". Also, barking is something that I would associate with a sports coach. Try instead "I had to stall for time".
So the whole sentence might read: "I don't understand; how have I ruined your life?" I had to stall for time.
I like the idea that you have to tell a story about a criminal, but I think that you might want to work on making sure that the audience understands Olivia better.
Thank you lakegirls for your kind suggestions. I have edited it and you may like to take a look at it again.
Hey there! So I haven't done a critique in ages, probably close on to 6 months, but here I am, ready to pick it up again! I'm going to copy & paste your story and an grammatical errors, comments or concerns will be in bold. Sound good? Okay, let's get started!
Wow. Now this story was truly one that gave me shivers. I love the ending, completely unexpected, I didn't think Olivia was going to go through with it, I was praying she didn't! I really hope you continue on with this story, and when you do post more I would love a pm letting me know!
Yours truly,
N