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Yehudis13
February 21st, 2012, 04:15 PM
Tell me if I'm any good. This is sort of the first chapter, more of a prologue to a Harry Potter fanfiction I'm writing that takes place during the sixth book. It is about dracos life during that time. Here it is. Please tell me if it is any good.


Chapter one


A boy sits between his mother and father. *His normally pale face, is paler than ever. *His blonde hair tousled and uncombed. *His father sits and looks straight ahead, not a care for his son. *There are other people present, sitting at the long mahogany table. *The young boy's mother is shaking with fear and dread, and she keeps squeezing his thigh. *Her hand is sweaty, and the lad grasps onto it. *At the head of the table is the boss. *He is a sad excuse for a human being. *He has eyes of a snake, and his fingernails are like claws on a lion. He is feared by many. *His name is Voldemort. *He calls to the boy in his sickening voice, "Draco, young boy, come here."

His mother pushes him. *"Go my child," she says, the pain clearly visible on her face.

The child gets up, fear in his eyes. *He walks over to Voldemort and awaits his fait. * The villain strokes Draco's left wrist. *The boy tastes danger on the tip of his tongue as Voldemort touches him with his dirty fingernails. *Just the thought makes him shudder. *"What's the matter," Voldemort asks, danger dripping in his voice. *"Are you afraid of joining the winning side?"

Draco stutters, trying to answer, but his throat make a web, catching all his words in its sticky pattern. *He shakes his head ever so slightly. *Voldemort strokes Draco's face, cradling his pale head in his filthy claws. *Draco shivers, his teeth chattering so loudly, he is sure the whole room can hear him.

The Dark Lord mutters words words that only Draco can hear, and even so, it is like a distant echo that has bounced back many times. *Draco closes his eyes, waiting for the pain. *It doesn't come. *The lad opens his eyes, and a tattoo of a snake lunging itself at Draco is revealing itself on his left arm. *He know he is a part of the dark side now. *He has a pit deep inside of his stomach trying to drag him out of the mess, telling him he is doing the wrong thing, but Draco ignores it.

Voldemort claps for Draco, and all the Death Eaters join in. *Draco can sense the awkwardness that everyone is feeling along with him. *He feels all eyes on him for the umpteenth time that day after the applauding ceases. *Draco's arms are erect as he walks back to the table and sits by the empty spot. *He know that when he returns to Hogwarts he will be a different man. *He knows that he will be a new person. *The murmuring resumes after the child sits, but not long after, Voldemort raises his hand, demanding silence.

"Before anyone leaves," Voldemort begins, "Draco, I have a request that must be fulfilled."

The room tenses as Voldemort says these words. *Draco knows they are all thinking of what Voldemort wants with a newcomer. *He can't answer the question himself though, because he hasn't the slightest idea, so he just sits there looking puzzled with all the rest.

"Draco, you are the only Death Eater currently attending Hogwarts," Voldemort begins, "I need you to do what has been the unthinkable until this point. *I need you to killAlbus Bryan Wulfric Percival Dumbledore."

The room already so silent that you can hear a pin drop, becomes so silent, that the room is thick. *Thick with anticipation. *Thick with puzzled expressions, and thick with with sweat building up on the back of everyone's neck

Draco looks more confident now that he knows he has Voldemort's fate in his hands. *He nods his head surely, taking the quest with grace. *Draco sits back down once more, and he clasps his own sweaty hand into his mother's. *He is important now, and that is what he has been waiting for his whole life.

---

I guess I found my amswer

hey, just to let you know - if you don't get a reply soon, it's not the end of the world! it takes time for people to reply to most threads. try not to double post like that. :P -embers

Mortal Coil
February 21st, 2012, 10:29 PM
You're a good writer, just not many people come to this forum. Cheer up!
Try to lay of the *s, it makes things a little confusing. Other than that, it's very descriptive and... I'm not verbally gifted, so I'll just say "nice."
Ok, thesaurus.com suggested admirable.
Your writing is admirable, keep it up and don't get discouraged! :)

Yehudis13
February 21st, 2012, 10:31 PM
You're a good writer, just not many people come to this forum. Cheer up!
Try to lay of the *s, it makes things a little confusing. Other than that, it's very descriptive and... I'm not verbally gifted, so I'll just say "nice."
Ok, thesaurus.com suggested admirable.
Your writing is admirable, keep it up and don't get discouraged! :)

I copied and pasted, from the documents app on my iPad, and as I have mentioned in other threads, I really hate my iPad, but it is what I have now, so I have to make do. I have no clue how the f$&k they got there.

Syvelocin
February 21st, 2012, 11:16 PM
I'd work on some style issues. Most of it is just punctuation and I'll assume the rest are typos. But also, try to pay attention to the words you use to begin your sentences in each paragraph. If you find you're using the same word too much, try to use a different one or change the sentence structure so you can use a whole different word at the beginning. What I'm talking about is like the first paragraph, you have nine sentences with her, he, or his at the beginning. That would be something I'd watch for, as the sentences start to sound a bit repetitive. Many of these you can also merge to vary the sentence structures throughout your paragraph. This is a learned skill that will take a bit of dedication but it comes naturally after you've programmed it into your writing style. Simple sentences can be very affective but should be used sparingly. Mix it up a little! Those minor run-on sentences we've been told to avoid all our lives aren't as glaring as simple sentences are.

Don't be afraid to address Draco by his name. It's nice to refer to him as a description but it does get a bit confusing after a while of describing him through addressing him. But it's nice that you know how to do this, many people like to just start listing descriptions, telling us these things, instead of showing us what they look like and what is going on. You've already got that one though.

That's really all I see. Behind that you do have a voice and it's very evident, clearing up those few things will let it shine through a bit better. You've got an eye for potential metaphors, I quite like the web one. I've never even thought of it like that but it's quite a good metaphor. I'll try to forget it and not use it, unless you don't mind that is. :P

Yehudis13
February 21st, 2012, 11:19 PM
I'd work on some style issues. Most of it is just punctuation and I'll assume the rest are typos. But also, try to pay attention to the words you use to begin your sentences in each paragraph. If you find you're using the same word too much, try to use a different one or change the sentence structure so you can use a whole different word at the beginning. What I'm talking about is like the first paragraph, you have nine sentences with her, he, or his at the beginning. That would be something I'd watch for, as the sentences start to sound a bit repetitive. Many of these you can also merge to vary the sentence structures throughout your paragraph. This is a learned skill that will take a bit of dedication but it comes naturally after you've programmed it into your writing style. Simple sentences can be very affective but should be used sparingly. Mix it up a little! Those minor run-on sentences we've been told to avoid all our lives aren't as glaring as simple sentences are.

Don't be afraid to address Draco by his name. It's nice to refer to him as a description but it does get a bit confusing after a while of describing him through addressing him.

That's really all I see. Behind that you do have a voice and it's very evident, clearing up those few things will let it shine through a bit better. You've got an eye for potential metaphors, I quite like the web one.

Thanks for the help, I always enjoy constructive critism to help me with my writing. I will try to put these tips into future chapters. :)

project_icarus
February 22nd, 2012, 04:50 AM
Not bad at all, as previously said, try not to repeat the same word over and over. I'd also try and make it clearer who Draco is, introduce him, maybe?

Yehudis13
February 22nd, 2012, 10:04 AM
Not bad at all, as previously said, try not to repeat the same word over and over. I'd also try and make it clearer who Draco is, introduce him, maybe?

As I said in the introduction, this is a Harry Potter fanfiction. If you are as devoted as I am, from context you would be able to figure out who he is

embers
February 22nd, 2012, 04:51 PM
Ah I promised myself last night to reply to this thread, but Rith's covered pretty much everything I wanted to say - regarding senence variation and description and Draco. Those should be your focus points on improving.

Yehudis13
February 22nd, 2012, 05:29 PM
Ah I promised myself last night to reply to this thread, but Rith's covered pretty much everything I wanted to say - regarding senence variation and description and Draco. Those should be your focus points on improving.

Thanks for helping me out here. I really appreciate the feedback, and I always try to improve from my reviewers.

project_icarus
February 26th, 2012, 09:06 AM
As I said in the introduction, this is a Harry Potter fanfiction. If you are as devoted as I am, from context you would be able to figure out who he is

I did understand, I'm just saying, it would be a good idea. Or atleast, not a bad idea.

Yehudis13
February 26th, 2012, 03:10 PM
I did understand, I'm just saying, it would be a good idea. Or atleast, not a bad idea.

Thanksgiving for the suggestions. :). I'm always open to constructive critism, and suggestions. Thanks. :).

TeddyBearRock
February 26th, 2012, 03:18 PM
thzts great, but you wont be able to publish it with copyright and every thing

Yehudis13
February 26th, 2012, 03:23 PM
thzts great, but you wont be able to publish it with copyright and every thing

I never wanted it published, just to put online, and even if it was good enough, I can't because the characters are all JK Rowlings ideas, and so it would be invAsian of property