Author Topic: Aug. 31 - Heroes of the Necrowar Ch. 3&4  (Read 1558 times)

westwriter

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Aug. 31 - Heroes of the Necrowar Ch. 3&4
« on: August 31, 2009, 07:47:37 PM »
Woohoo!  Let the tearing of new orifices begin!
« Last Edit: September 01, 2009, 01:16:29 PM by westwriter »
"I limit my writing to those few moments each day when my insanity goes on a smoking break."      greg

Recovering_Cynic

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Re: Aug. 31 - Heroes of the Necrowar Ch. 3&4
« Reply #1 on: September 01, 2009, 03:21:23 PM »
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When they had to cross the river, Will looked down at his feet.
  Show them coming to a river!

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The giant of a man greeted Melor as he approached
The guy didn't even give a start? No reaction to the camo?

What? Nobody asks about the new kid?  He's not even acknowledged?

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Myer flipped through the first book and smiled.  "Well, young man, you certainly pushed his plans back a while.  He desperately needs this book, but I don't think even he is aware of it yet."  He started flipping through the second book and stopped.  He flipped a few more pages with greater urgency.  He looked at Melor and back at Dezkin.
  For people who live off in the back wood, these people seem to know a lot about Haldor's books and whatnot.  Very well informed for living apart from the world.  Why did they have to ask any questions in the first place?

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They all chew it and turn into super soldiers.
  Okay, this just sounds hokey.  You might describe the powers they gain rather than say "super soldiers".  It would be better to say "they grow powerful."

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No.  Listen to me."  He pulled Dezkin over.  "This boy is the reason these people are here.  He is the most important person in the world right now.  I need you and Abby to get him somewhere safe."
Abby heard the conversation and jumped in.  "No Way!  I'm not gonna sit around and babysit this scamp and his friend while other people are protecting the town!"
  Okay, I don't remember Abby getting to tag along.  You need to say somewhere that she followed Will.

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Suddenly the door exploded inward, showering the people inside with splinters of wood. 
  Nice cliff hanger!

Okay, these chapters were a big improvement.  Your story is now picking up quite well and getting very interesting.  However, it shouldn't take until chapter four for that to happen.  You're going to need a better hook at the beginning of the story.  Perhaps a scene from the rise of the dark lord?  The death of the king?  Something.

Also, you have the soldiers tell a long and rambling story.  This is refered to as a "staff meeting" or a way of info dumping without just telling the reader about the history of the world.  While it is better than straight info dumping, it still isn't good practice and the dialogue is not believable.  You'll need to either shorten the dialogue to something more believable, or write those events out and have a cut scene to them, or find some other way to convey the information without having a long speach.  Don't get me wrong--it's good info and interesting--but it takes the reader out of the story.

Overall impression of the chapters: Well done!  I enjoyed them.
this is the way the world ends,
not with a bang, but a whimper
~T.S. Eliot

westwriter

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Re: Aug. 31 - Heroes of the Necrowar Ch. 3&4
« Reply #2 on: September 02, 2009, 04:31:23 AM »
Great points.  The only one I can defend is about Abby.  She is the one who runs in with the news of the invasion.  I will address the other points in revision.  thanks!
"I limit my writing to those few moments each day when my insanity goes on a smoking break."      greg

RavenstarRHJF

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Re: Aug. 31 - Heroes of the Necrowar Ch. 3&4
« Reply #3 on: September 02, 2009, 09:50:25 PM »
Ok, you've got chapter three ending with someone stating that they'd like to know anyone "Haldor" would be frightened of.  Then you begin chapter four by launching into a history of who Haldor is/was and what happened to make him fearsome without anyone there ever asking for the information.  It's a good way to give us the info, just make sure that there's some lead in to it.  A bit of dialogue, perhaps:

"Who's Haldor and why is he bad?"

or

"Yes, even we have heard of Haldor, how could you idiots let him rise to power?"

Obviously not phrased that blatantly, but you get the idea. ;)

I like your lead in to Alchemy and the curious abilities these villagers have.  But I'm curious as to why Will's dad would know enough about Necromancy (and Haldor, not to mention the situation in a far away land whose boundary is difficult if not impossible to cross) to know that without that particular book Haldor would be "set back in his plans." 

Also, we don't know how or why Dezkin was with Haldor to begin with.  He just says, "I woke up in his chamber." and that's it.  No further explanation, no history of who he was/is/will be, no mention of family or anything.  Does Haldor make a practice of randomly kidnapping young children?  With no consequences?

Overall, the plot is heating up nicely and you're on the right track, especially for a first? draft.  Please don't feel you need to revise immediately- I don't know about you, but that tends to make my creative gears sticky, and your story is barely begun. ;)
A crown does not a King make, nor the lack of one a commoner.

westwriter

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Re: Aug. 31 - Heroes of the Necrowar Ch. 3&4
« Reply #4 on: September 03, 2009, 05:09:10 AM »
Thanks for the great comments.
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Also, we don't know how or why Dezkin was with Haldor to begin with.  He just says, "I woke up in his chamber." and that's it.  No further explanation, no history of who he was/is/will be, no mention of family or anything.  Does Haldor make a practice of randomly kidnapping young children?  With no consequences?

The relationship between Haldor and Will is a major plot point.  That line will be revealed throughout the story.
"I limit my writing to those few moments each day when my insanity goes on a smoking break."      greg

Silk

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Re: Aug. 31 - Heroes of the Necrowar Ch. 3&4
« Reply #5 on: September 04, 2009, 06:55:02 PM »
So you know, in blocks of dialogue that extend over more than one paragraph, closing quotes are omitted from the end of the first paragraph, but opening quotes are still used in the next paragraph. I have no idea if that sentence made any sense, so like so:

"He aws escorted back to his room whle someone sent for the physikk.

"They were further surprised..."

Also, I have no idea what these guys were hoping to accomplish by wading into settlements armed and attacking the villagers. If they're trying to find somebody that seems fairly counterproductive to me. I know the villagers have been cracking jokes about how they're not very bright, but, uhh, it doesn't seem very bright.

I'm simultaneously interested in and a little leery of your  magic system right now; it's starting to seem like your characters can pop an all-purpose pill and do whatever they need to do. It's not a dealbreaker, at least not so far, but I'm worried that it might make things too easy. (And I agree with RC that the term 'super soldiers' sounds a little goofy.)

My one other worry is that things are happening a little too quickly; you have Ramaak's men and Haldor's men attacking within minutes of each other. If nothing else, if Haldor's men were so close behind Ramaak and Co. certainly should have known about it.

Your chapters are a nice, easy read overall though. Keep it up.

westwriter

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Re: Aug. 31 - Heroes of the Necrowar Ch. 3&4
« Reply #6 on: September 04, 2009, 10:44:09 PM »
Thanks for the observations.  The magic system does seem powerful, but we will find out in the coming chapters that it definitely has its limitations.
Ramaak hasn't been attacking anybody (except the soldiers who surrounded him first).  I will revise that to make it more clear.
"I limit my writing to those few moments each day when my insanity goes on a smoking break."      greg

Flo_the_G

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Re: Aug. 31 - Heroes of the Necrowar Ch. 3&4
« Reply #7 on: September 05, 2009, 09:21:14 PM »
Adding to what's already been said:

You have two shifts of POV in these chapters that seem out of place (and aren't really necessary, imo). The first one occurs after Abby is first introduced and Will shouts at her, after which a paragraph or so is narrated from Melor's perspective.

The second one is when Dezkin drinks the potion that lets him speak intelligibly, when he briefly is the POV character.

Speaking of that potion, and considering that the apparent lack of limitations of your magic system has already been mentioned, I think you could avert that impression by making the potion not quite as powerful. By making its only effect be that one can understand foreign languages, for instance. Then everyone would have to drink it, and it wouldn't seem so much like "oh, look, a universal translator. How convenient." ;)

I also thought the discrepancy in the townspeople's knowledge strange. On the one hand, they apparently don't know the insanely powerful necromancer who could defeat any army and rain destruction upon his foes, but on the other, they do know enough about his plans to see that they won't come to fruition without the book that nobody can read. That they have to be told about Haldor also makes him seem like not much of a threat, which in turn makes the situation lose much of its immediacy and tension.

And then there's the fact that at first Dezkin is very important to the necromancer's plans, later it's the books that are important, but then it's Dezkin again, and Will has to hide him...

The eternal menace that is show vs tell has already been mentioned I think. The only instance of that which I consciously picked up was "it took a big show of force from the constables".

I stumbled over the word "physikk", mainly because it made me wonder why he isn't simply called a physician.

And the last point on my list is the apparently completely unobserved influx of large bodies of armed men into a relatively small area - that is to say, how do they get around without someone seeing them? I strongly suspect there's an explanation for that in your magic-rich world, so don't forget to put that into one of the next chapters. ;)

The entire story about Haldor and the accompanying infodump positively begs for a prologue, in which you could also demonstrate just how powerful he actually is, for instance.

Apart from those things there's absolutely nothing at fault. Your writing makes for an enjoyable read, the story is interesting, and your setting is just strange enough to uphold a certain level of curiosity. Well done indeed.

westwriter

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Re: Aug. 31 - Heroes of the Necrowar Ch. 3&4
« Reply #8 on: September 06, 2009, 04:32:40 AM »
Wow.  Thanks for all the comments so far.  I'm saving them all in a separate file for revisions, plus they are helping shape all the new stuff .  I appreciate everybody's continued help.
"I limit my writing to those few moments each day when my insanity goes on a smoking break."      greg