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Young Writers Society


12+

Prologue - Wings of Ravens

by Shota


Since my original attempt at a prologue turned into a chapter for my story... this will be an actual prologue for it! Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated, thank you for your time!

___________________________________

Prologue

“What do you give,” the large man intoned. Crimson flames danced along his bronze arms and rivulets of sweat spilled down the lines of his pocked face. He stood before a massive forge that stretched high into the sky; brushing the very stars with its billowing smoke.

The small child grinned, its impish face peeling into a look of delight. “I give the joy of discovery,” he whispered, each word dripping with glee. “The wonder of a child each time he discovers something new.” As the boy spoke he reached into his chest. Small fingers pushed through skin and he pulled a wriggling piece of flesh that glowed with a soft light.

The giant smiled. Reaching down he grasped the flesh and threw it into the forge before him. A rippling hammer appeared in one hand as he pumped a nearby bellow with the other. Pounding away he fused the flesh with the thing inside the forge as the next individual stepped forward. “What do you bring Rhyfel?”

Sharp teeth flashed into a vicious grin. “I bring violence, and the joy of spilled blood running through ones fingers,” the being said. His obsidian eyes glowed with malice as he raised a small knife and sliced his arm. The blood that flowed was thick and dark, the sound of a widow’s wail echoed in each drop that fell into a cup.

The great man nodded in approval, and took the cup of blood, adding it into the forge before him. A great wolf glided forward next, its yellow eyes glowing in the dim. “I give the thrill of the hunt, of searching and finding prey,” it whispered, though each word shook the air like a howl, and the terror of being hunted lingered when the voice faded.

The processes continued. Time had no power here, and only the being who embodied its ideals had any knowledge of what it meant. The rest moved outside of its purposes, for them an hour was a year, and a decade was but a minute. Each one who came forward brought a part of who they were, an offering of their very nature. And the great Smith used each of these parts, crafting his greatest creation yet. Never before had they attempted such a thing, never before had they come together as a whole in order to create.

“It’ll be beautiful,” he murmured, pouring a tiny ocean with its ebbs and flows into the forge.

The last person to come forward was different than the rest. What she had to offer was unique, and special. For she offered life in all its complexities and wonders. She offered the spark that would awaken the very thing they all sought to create. As he reached for her offering she stopped him, and wrapped a hand into oily hair, slowly pulling him close. “Before you take my gift,” she whispered into his ear, “Let us spend but a moment to celebrate this creation.”

He didn’t refuse. Maybe he couldn’t. Maybe the power of what was being formed overwhelmed his senses and allowed him to give in. He didn’t even notice when she added something different into the forge as they kissed. A small piece of her heart.


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Mon Jul 03, 2017 9:03 am
myjaspercat wrote a review...



Hey there Shota
Myjaspercat here to leave you a review.

Now I don't think I've said this yet, so here I go... Welcome to YWS! It's always nice to see a new person round here. I'm totally looking forward to reading and reviewing your work.

Line-By-Line/Nitpicks:

Spoiler! :

“What do you give,” the large man intoned. Start a new paragraph here.Crimson flames danced along his bronze arms and rivulets of sweat spilled down the lines of his pocked face. He stood before a massive forge that stretched high into the sky; brushing the very stars with its billowing smoke.

The small child grinned, its impish face peeling into a look of delight. “I give the joy of discovery,” he whispered, each word dripping with glee. “The wonder of a child each time he discovers something new.” As the boy spoke he reached into his chest. Small fingers pushed through skin and he pulled a wriggling piece of flesh that glowed with a soft light. I would suggest you find a way to combine these last two sentences. Right now, the flow feels a bit off. As for the chunk of dialogue I sliced through: it sounds like a longer version of what you've already said, therefore making the statement repetitive. I like the second chunk better as it does go into a little more detail, but at the same time I think you should keep the first chunk as it's broad enough to keep a little 'mystery' behind it while still answering the question.

The giant smiled. Reaching down he grasped the flesh and threw it into the forge before him. A rippling hammer appeared in one hand as he pumped a nearby bellow with the other. Pounding away he fused the flesh with the thing inside the forge as the next individual stepped forward.Start new line “What do you bring Rhyfel?”

Sharp teeth flashed into a vicious grin. “I bring violence, and the joy of spilled blood running through ones fingers,” the being said. We already know who's talking so either use no dialogue tag or use his name. His obsidian eyes glowed with malice Malice isn't necessarily the right word here since eyes cant really glow with malice. as he raised a small knife and sliced his arm. The blood that flowed was thick and dark, the sound of a widow’s wail echoed in each drop that fell into a cup.Where did this cup suddenly come from?

The great man nodded in approval, and took the cup of blood, adding it into the forge before him. A great You've already used the word great to describe something. Avoid repetition wolf glided forward next, its yellow eyes glowing in the dim. New line needed“I give the thrill of the hunt, of searching and finding prey,” it whispered, though each word shook the air like a howl, and the terror of being hunted lingered when the voice faded.

The processes continued. Time had no power here, and only the being who embodied its ideals had any knowledge of what it meant. The rest moved outside of its purposes, for them an hour was a year, and a decade was but a minute. Each one who came forward brought a part of who they were, an offering of their very nature. And the great Smith used each of these parts, craftingto craft his greatest creation yet. Never before had they attempted such a thing, never before had they come together as a whole in order to create.

“It’ll be beautiful,” he murmured, pouring a tiny ocean with its ebbs and flows into the forge.

The last person to come forward was different than the rest.If I were you, I would stronger word at the beginning of this sentence to signify the difference of the last person, such as the word 'however' What she had to offer was unique, and special. For she offered life in all its complexities and wonders.replace this period with a comma She offered the spark that would awaken the very thing they all sought to create. As he reached for her offering she stopped him, and wrapped a hand into his oily hair, slowly pulling him close. New line“Before you take my gift,” she whispered into his ear, “Let us spend but a moment to celebrate this creation.”

He didn’t refuse. Maybe he couldn’t. Maybe the power of what was being formed overwhelmed his senses and allowed him to give in. He didn’t even notice when she added something different into the forge as they kissed. A small piece of her heart.


OVERALL: Ok so to start with, that was a very interesting introduction into your story. However there are a couple things I noticed that I wanted to talk about.

1.) DIAOLGUE/ DIALOGUE TAGS:

Dialogue tags --- not once did I see you end a piece of dialogue with the words "[blank] said." While this may seem insignificant, it's actually pretty detrimental to the flow and feel to your piece. One of the biggest "invisible" words in prose is the dialogue tag 'said.' It's one of those words that can come up a thousand times in a novel with out the reader truly absorbing it. This is especially useful because when it comes to dialogue, the reader should be noticing the dialogue itself and not its tag.

But here's the problem: words that aren't 'said' or 'asked' stick out and jar the reader because suddenly they have to actually read the word.

Telling us how a character is saying something in dialogue is telling, and just as unengaging as if it was telling in prose. Showing us, through words, how the character is saying something will be far more engaging. Sure the reader might not read it the way you intended, but here's the thing: that's kind of the point. A reader becomes engaged with writing when they're allowed to bring their own interpretation to it. If you hold their hand the entire way, they never get to enjoy their own adventure and your story becomes boring.

Dialogue --- This is short and simple. When ever you character starts to speak, you need to start a new line.

2.) MODIFIERS: Now, here's a big one so pay attention.

Modifiers are adjectives and adverbs that are used attributively. This means words that alter the understanding of a noun or a verb. Generally speaking, modifiers are very excessive and be used sparingly. Using to many can make your prose purple and thick, and bring the pacing of your story to a grinding halt.

Now, cutting the modifiers usually wont be enough. If you do that, you'll most likely be left with language that is stiff and mechanical. I like to refer to modifiers as a spice in a dish: the right amount gives you a nice kick, but too much and it's all you can taste.

Let's take an example from your writing:

Crimson flames danced along his bronze arms and rivulets of sweat spilled down the lines of his pocked face.


---Here we're given a description of your character, yet the sentence is mostly modifiers. Now, if you were to take away all these fatty details, you could simplify the sentence to "flames danced along his arms as sweat spilled down his face." This way, your reader still knows what's happening without the flow of the text being bogged down. Both sentences say
the same thing, but one of them contains more information then needed. Dose the color of the man's skin or the flames affect the plot in away way, are they truly important? While they may look good and you may think that they add to the story, the truth of the matter is: they make to text become to much and make it boring to read.

3.) THE MAN INFRONT OF THE FORGE:

So, as I was reading I noticed you described him four different ways. Those four ways were: the great Smith, the great man, the giant, the large man. The only thing I want to say about this is that you should pick one title for this character and stick with it.

Ok, so I think I'm done here for now. It's about 3 in the morning where I'm at and I'm really tired so if something I've said in this review confuses you in any way feel free to ask a question. I hope I did help a little though. If you have a question just for the sake of knowing something more, feel free to ask as well. Good luck and continue writing.




Shota says...


Thanks for stopping by with the review!

I totally was noticing how I kept referring to the Smith in so many ways, and yes, it was bugging me too so thanks for pointing that out, I will fix it for sure.

Oh and that cup, I wondered if it was a bit odd or not, maybe I'll need to have him pull it out or something.

I also didn't notice how no one "said" anything in this, thanks for pointing that out. As it is short, and a mere enticer I may or may not change it, but I will look at it for sure.

The adverbs and adjectives, yes there are quite a few, and they are nessecary for the most part, believe it or not. I am not trying to be overly prose or flowery, but purposeful in defining these creations of mine. The copper arms and flames, the wail of a widow in a drip of blood, the feel of being hunted from a howl (not sure how I like how this one is worded yet), all do have a purpose for defining these beings they represent. Less can be more, and for the mortals there usually is less, for my immortals, they each embody something specific, to the point where their very nature exudes it. It's a fine distinction and I will look at it a bit more to see if I can help the flow.

And I am going to have to disagree with you on the dialogue part. I understand your point but you can connect dialogue to a paragraph if the dialogue is attached to the person in the paragraph and it is not a new person speaking or a brand new thought. Sometimes paragraphs are good for the flow, so i will take another glance, but most seem fine from what I can see.

But the flow, we must always be aware of the flow. Thank you so much for your help, I appreciate it!



myjaspercat says...


Ok, well I'm not sure if you've read my line-by-line review or not, but the main parts of dialogue I felt that should be separated are distinguished in there. I also understand how you want to describe your immortals differently and all but despite what you are and are not trying to do, right now your prose is overly written. I'm not saying you should cut out every single but rather be aware of what there is and try to work around what sounds what sounds nice compared to what sounds absolutely needed.



Shota says...


I did read your line-by-line review, thank you so much for taking the time to do it. And thank you for taking the time to share your opinion, your insights are really great and I will take them all into consideration for sure!



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Mon Jul 03, 2017 8:37 am
DragonWriter22 wrote a review...



Hey there, this is DragonWriter here for a review!

I really like what you've done. The prologue is mysterious and vague at all the right parts to make me want to read more. I'm curious at what they're trying to create. It sounds like it's going to be amazing, but the slightly gruesome way parts are being added to it makes me wonder if the creation will also be terrible. I have so many questions and I can feel the anticipation that the characters must feel as each new part is added and the work gets closer to its end. This anticipation and curiosity builds up to a climax when the last person puts a bit of her heart into the forge. What does this mean? What consequences will putting a different ingredient have on the creation? What's going to happen next? Ending in suspense here is really effective as the reader is left with all those questions and the curiosity of what is to come. It's difficult not to want to read more.

The main critique I have for the piece is that having the entire work bolded was a bit distracting. I'm aware that prologues can often be in a different type than the rest of the book to create a sense that the actions are happening at a different time or aren't directly attached to the following chapters, but I don't think bold quite conveys that sentiment. Usually italics are the formatting of choice.

Anyway, you were able to write a very effective prologue filled with mystery and wonder. The story sounds like a fascinating one and I'll be sure to check out the other chapter you've posted. Keep up the good work!




Shota says...


Thanks so much for stopping by and for the review, I really appreciate it! And funny enough it just bolded itself automatically when I copy and pasted it to the site, lol. I will change if if it helps for sure though. Thanks again!





XD that's odd. I'm glad I could be of help!




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