Steffon had to cover his eyes from the sun’s glare as he stepped outside the clay hovel. It had once been neatly rectangular, but time and the elements had worn it down to half a ball of earth sticking out of the ground like some stubborn animal. He looked to his right to see whether Fahlan was still where he’d left him and noted with satisfaction that he had not moved at all. Steffon chuckled to himself. Dead men did not, indeed, move.

v.2.0

Steffon covered his eyes from the sun’s glare as he stepped outside the clay hovel. The hovel had once been rectangular, but the the wind had worn it down and the desert had built around it, turning it into half a ball of earth sticking out of the ground like the arched back of a bear. He looked to his right to see whether Fahlan was still where he’d left him and noted that he had not moved at all. Steffon chuckled to himself. Dead men did not, indeed, move.
It had taken a single club blow to the head to kill Fahlan. The lowly piece of maggot bait had stolen his woman, and it’d been only right that Steffon take his life and his possessions. He had left Fahlan’s corpse where it had fallen without so much as an ounce of ceremony.

Here are my initial impressions on a quick read (you’re well short of 13 by the way):

quote:

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Steffron had to cover…

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How about “covered”? Minor tightening and gets us straight into the moment.

quote:

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It had once been neatly rectangular, but time and the elements had worn it down to half a ball of earth sticking out of the ground like some stubborn animal

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First one is probably just me, but for a moment I thought you were talking about the sun. Perhaps “The hovel had once…”?

I’m not sure the “neatly” adds that much to the description…I still get the same image without it.

I think the simile needs more precision; what kind of animal? A half-buried hedgehog looks different to a half-buried dog, so if you’re going to draw us out of the narrative to make a comparison, I think it needs to be a sharp and specific one.

I’m not sure how a clay building can degenerate all the way from a rectangle to a hemisphere either? I can visualize the sharp corners of a rectangle being worn away, but you’re implying that the entire building has changed structure.

Perhaps I’m not getting a good picture of what kind of building it is?

quote:

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and noted with satisfaction that he had not moved at all. Steffon chuckled to himself.

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For me, Steffon chuckling shows his satisfaction.

quote:

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Dead men did not, indeed, move.

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This works as a hook for me, but only on the expectation that you’re giving us a world where whether dead men move is quite uncertain. Otherwise it’s a bit of a silly statement for Steffon to think.

It doesn’t really paint Steffon as sympathetic either way, but there’s a nice hook of curiosity to find out how this all came about.

Regards,

Nick

[This message has been edited by Nick T (edited July 08, 2009).]