Hatrack River Writers Workshop   
my profile login | search | faq | forum home

  next oldest topic   next newest topic
» Hatrack River Writers Workshop » Forums » Fragments and Feedback for Short Works » The Heart of God

   
Author Topic: The Heart of God
swampdog
New Member
Member # 8176

 - posted      Profile for swampdog   Email swampdog         Edit/Delete Post 
Her mouth was like dust.
They came to a moonfruit tree, squat and haunting. “You must be thirsty, my Lady.” Tharsen said, waiting for Leah Keros to catch up. Little Charid hovered by his side. Tharsen reached up and picked a ripe, red, crescent shaped fruit from a lower branch. Slipping a little folding knife from his tunic pocket, he sliced through the waxy skin and handed her a goodly portion.
“Ds’seth, Mas l’Ahlehn,” she said. Thank you, in the name of God. The sticky juices trickled down her fingers. She put a piece to her mouth, and sucked its sweetness between her teeth and onto her tongue. She nibbled away all but the skin and the bitter seeds.

Posts: 2 | Registered: Aug 2008  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
Merlion-Emrys
Member
Member # 7912

 - posted      Profile for Merlion-Emrys   Email Merlion-Emrys         Edit/Delete Post 
Yolteotl?

How long is the whole thing?


Posts: 2626 | Registered: Apr 2008  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
TheOnceandFutureMe
unregistered


 - posted            Edit/Delete Post 
Let's talk concision.

quote:
Her mouth was like dust. (Awesome first line)
They came to a moonfruit tree, squat and haunting. “You must be thirsty, my Lady.” Tharsen said, waiting for Leah Keros to catch up. Little Charid hovered by his side. Tharsen reached up and(Cut "reached up and." The reaching is assumed if he picks one.) picked a ripe, red, crescent shaped fruit from a lower branch.(unless you tell me he's freakishly tall, I'll assume it's a lower branch) Slipping a little (If it's in his pocket, I'll assume it's little.)folding knife from his tunic pocket, he sliced through the waxy skin and handed her a goodly portion.
“Ds’seth, Mas l’Ahlehn,” she said. Thank you, in the name of God. The sticky juices trickled down her fingers. She put a piece to her mouth,(Cut this whole phrase. If she's sucking its sweetness, I'll assume she put it to her mouth.) and sucked its sweetness between her teeth and onto her tongue.(I could argue that "between her teeth and onto her tongue" is implicit in the sucking, but I like how you phrased this.) She nibbled away all but the skin and the bitter seeds.


You're repeating yourself. Also, I don't need to know every movement of your character's hands.

This isn't working for me as a first 13. Where am I? Who are these people? Is there a problem here? I'll usually argue against the need for a strong hook, but here I'm not seeing anything. Get to the story quicker.


IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
C L Lynn
Member
Member # 8007

 - posted      Profile for C L Lynn   Email C L Lynn         Edit/Delete Post 
Obviously you're going to get to the point of the story pretty soon. That Leah's mouth is "like dust" implies she and her party have been traveling a long while. But it would be nice to have a tantalizing clue as to why they are traveling, while she's sucking on that lovely fruit. A clue, not necessarily a lengthy explanation, would be enough to keep me reading a little longer.

[This message has been edited by C L Lynn (edited August 29, 2008).]


Posts: 226 | Registered: May 2008  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
philocinemas
Member
Member # 8108

 - posted      Profile for philocinemas   Email philocinemas         Edit/Delete Post 
Swampdog,
I liked your first line, but it feels like you have picked the wrong starting point. You introduce a new tree and three characters in the first paragraph, but I have no idea who they are. Then you introduce a language in the second paragraph, which, in itself, can be a very sticky area in which to trod among sci-fi fans.
Try to find a way to introduce your primary protagonist(s) so that we know who and where he/she is without making it an info-dump. Also, be consistent in your punctuation of dialogue.
I hope this helps.

Posts: 2003 | Registered: Jul 2008  |  IP: Logged | Report this post to a Moderator
   

   Close Topic   Feature Topic   Move Topic   Delete Topic next oldest topic   next newest topic
 - Printer-friendly view of this topic
Hop To:


Contact Us | Hatrack River Home Page

Copyright © 2008 Hatrack River Enterprises Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.


Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classic™ 6.7.2