It’s crazy how the things you never expect to be much end up meaning the world to you.
For me, it was that painting. Out of all the things in that ancient wonderland that she created, the painting was the one that reminded me of her most of all. I can see it more often now, like a dream- seemingly real but so far away. She throws her head back and laughs, and i am so happy. Sometimes,Clarke and i go to the Dead End and cover our spot with flowers. We like to pretend that Lily is ten feet under, lying on her back, with her hands and feet intertwined with the earth. We sit above her grave and we don’t speak, but we understand each other. I don’t go to Sunday mass anymore. When i think about Sunday mass, i see all of those people for what they truly are, and it scares me. On Saturday nights, if i am driving around town, i’ll stop and enter the church. Usually empty, save an old man that is always on his knees, i sit and close my eyes. I think about Lily, and Clarke, and how things didn't go the way any of us planned but ended up alright anyway. I think about the future, and i think of leaving. I know that’s what she wanted me to do. It’s the same old song sung one too many times: small towns kill big dreams, and dreams are all i have left. At the end, i pray. I lift my head up to a cross and say have a good weekend to the old man on his knees. And then i leave the church, hop into my car and head home.
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Hi, there, itsmahoro! It's racket, here to review for you.
Okay, so I really like this, the not knowing the story behind the story, but still hearing about it. It's like the evaluation of a scenario that no listening knows the context to. So yeah, I really like this.
What has struck me most, grammar wise, was how none of your 'I's were capitalized, so you may need to fix that. This is also a little choppy with the commas, which keeps the story from flowing quite as well as it could.
"For me, it was that painting. Out of all the things in that ancient wonderland she created, the painting was the one that reminded me of her most of all."
Okay, so the beginning was a bit confusing. You can't tell until the third or fourth sentence from what angle the main narrator is speaking from. I at first thought the 'she's were referring to the narrator, and not Lily. But then there are a few 'I's and 'me's that confused me for a bit. Well, at least I assume that 'she' is Lily, but now that I think about it, it's not clear. Who is 'she'? And the painting; you mention it at the beginning, then go on to talk about Clarke, then church, but you never mention it again. It seems to be of at least some significance, its being the one thing that reminded her of 'she' most of all. And the ancient wonderland. What is this? Now, I know we're not supposed to know much of the previous story, but the waters are a little too murky over here. The beginning just, in general, mentions a few too many things without context; it takes a second to comprehend them, and then it still does not make much sense. There's no context later here about 'she', the wonderland, the painting, what the Dead End is, what happened to 'she'. Who was 'she'?
What does Sunday mass have to do with the rest of the story? It seems of some significance, but we may need a bit more context here. What did mass have to do with Lily, Clarke, 'she', the wonderland, the adventure that went weird? Also, it appears Lily ended up dead in the end of the adventure; how come Clarke and the narrator do not mourn? It appears they are satisfied with what came out of the adventure. Mention a bit more of Lily and what she meant to the narrator and Clarke.
"Usually empty, save an old man that is always on his knees, i sit and close my eyes." I think the old man is a little unnecessary here, as he does nothing much but be there. At least make this sentence two, as it runs on a bit long, and then the old man may be good for scenery. Does she only (assuming the narrator is a she, sorry) go to the church on Saturdays?
So, over all, this needs a bit of work, but is still very good. I like the not-knowing atmosphere we get from the first few sentences. We just may need a bit more context in order to fully understand the situation the narrator is in. Is she satisfied? Is she angry? Is she sad? Also, your I's need capitalizing.
Other than that, I really like this and it is very good! There are a couple spots where the wording and commas make things unnecessarily choppy and a bit confusing, but beyond looking at what is said above, this is great! Thank you for writing! Welcome to YWS, and keep up the good work! I look forward to reading more of your things in the future!
~racket
Hey, Stil here!
So, this has the potential to be really good, the content is good and the idea is good. But there's a line between trying to be mysterious and leave the readers to try and figure out what you mean, because there could be a variety of different meanings, and being confusing and you've crossed it ever so slightly.
"We like to pretend that Lily is ten feet under"
Is Lily actually dead? Is she buried somewhere else, but this was THEIR spot and wished she was buried there? Or did she do something terrible and they wished she was dead? This just get's more confusing when you mention that they 'sit above her grave', how can you if she'd not actually there?
Other than that small portion it's really good, the rest leaves you wondering. What is the narrators relationship with Clarke? With Lily? What did they originally plan to do? What happened anyway?
So, just make it a little clearer. Space it out a little bit. Make sure to capitalize you're 'I's'!!
Goodluck!
Clo.
Thanks for the feedback. It was actually refreshing, and one of the reasons I posted it: to get honest reviews from people who actually care about writing in general. I'm not sure if I'll continue or grow on the story, but I'll definitely take what you said into consideration. Thanks again!
I have to agree with ClackFlip. I too, had to read it twice because it was going so quickly paced that it was hard to even understand what was going on. You jumped into the story like it was a rollercoaster. I think you are trying to aim at serene and peaceful, but the pace just disturbs that.
And perhaps try to space it out a little, too--not just a big blob of text where you may skip over a line because it is so tightly packed together. Just a suggestion for a title: start it with a capitalized letter. Example: But Ended Up Alright. And we don't even know who is narrating the story. What is her name? What does she look like? What does Clarke look like? etc.
Wut? 0-o
I didn't understand that on a first read, I had to go over it again.
A probable reason for this is your narrative is jerky. It feels like a kid on a sugar high trying to write Pride and Prejudice. You see, you wrote a story about how this guy is sad that someone he liked died. Okay, fair enough, those can be good stories, but the problem with yours was the fact that you left out a character. You told me all about the things going on in your story, but if you know enough about narrative, you know that's not enough. That is just the skeleton of a good story. I have to care about what's going on, not just know about it. Give me a character who I can care about! Not just a narrator explaining!
Does this make sense? I hope it does.
(>.>) Sir nitpick would also like to remind you that I's are a capitalized when they refer to the narrator.