+7 votes
309 views
in Fiction by (40.2k points)
I woke up with a chill in my spine Where am I? I thought to myself i couldn't see anything. Luckily i had a torch on me so i turned it on and to my surprise there was a doll a rather creepy one , it's eyes where black, it had a huge , freaky smile So of course i was going to shout for help and i did.... Nobody came. All i  knew was That doll was getting closer.....closer......closer  and I'd be dead! But-  no...  all it is is a doll right? Dolls aren't alive!...... Are they?

I noticed i was in the backrooms of my favourite shopping centre C'mon! Backrooms are where all the horror movies take place! But then all i heard was a girl  laughing she sounded about 4. Years old so i guessed someone was pranking me i turned my light back on and there she was  the doll.. HOLDING A KNIFE



2 Answers

+1 vote
by (165k points)

It's not bad, I like it! Constructive criticism though (don't read on if you get too sensitive)

 

1. So you jumped straight into the action. This is fine, a lot of authors do this to hook a reader. The difference is that you don't give the reader a "How did they get in this situation?", which most authors find a way to put in something like "I bet you're wondering how I got here, well, it all started when...". However, you also show an amnesia/sleep start, which is the "I woke up in a place I don't know, where am I?" this is still fine, but for it just being sleeping, you would have to show some of the memories before they were asleep. Were they kidnapped? Walked somewhere and someone hit them on the head? (show some type of head pain for that though) Or did they simply decide to take a nap? 

2. Just to distinguish between narration ("Susy walked over to the counter and grabbed an apple") and the thoughts ("Hm, I'm hungry, I think I want an apple"), try italicizing the thoughts (it's the "I" button on the giant menu of character things, it just slants your lines). So for example, "I woke up with a chill in my spine Where am I? I thought to myself i couldn't see anything". 

3. Add some periods and other minor grammatical corrections. For example, the sentence would be "I woke up with a chill in my spine. Where am I? I thought to myself, I couldn't see anything." Adding periods at the end of sentences can help your reader a lot by not confusing them as much. When it's two sentences that are connected, try a comma. For example, with all of the grammatical corrections, "But then all i heard was a girl  laughing she sounded about 4. Years old so i guessed someone was pranking me" would turn into "But then, all I heard was a girl laughing, she sounded about 4 years old, so i guessed someone was pranking me." Do you see how the second is a little easier to read? 

4. Elipsises. You used a lot of "..."s (don't use more than three dots though, you can use 4 if it's the end of a sentence where someone trails off, but I recommend just using three dots, more dots looks odd). This is fine, but it looks better if you have a bunch of words separated by "..." if you start a new line for each. Like this (I applied other things I said too)-

"All I knew was that the doll was getting closer...

Closer...

Closer... 

And I'd be dead! But no...  it's just a doll, right? Dolls aren't alive!

...

Are they?"

This way, it's building suspense in the story, drawing it out a little longer. This is pretty common for horror books because you want to draw out the exciting part a little bit.

5. Another use of italics. The main use for italics is so that you can emphasize words. All caps are pretty common when communicating with friends, but it's extremely rare in books. So "I turned my light back on and there she was, the doll... holding a knife!" 

6. Details, please. You say what is currently going on, but there is some detail severely lacking. Where did he/she get a torch? How did he/she get in the backroom? How is he/she feeling? How big is the room? How far away is the doll? Wouldn't they be trying to get out of the backroom? What is the main character doing? How is the doll getting closer, walking, flying, a hoverboard? What else does the doll look like? Does it have hair, if so, what color and length? What does the doll have on, what color and articles of clothing? Why did the main character turn the light off to have to turn it back on again? Is the narrator locked in the backroom, or is it a fear paralysis thing? These are some details that definitely could improve your story if you add them. My school taught that when I make stories to always make sure the reader knows where your feet are (what you are doing, where are you?), what you are thinking/feeling, and what you see. You need to make sure they know this throughout your whole writing, or else your reader gets confused or bored. It's an easy fix. When you're writing, just keep asking yourself questions about the sentences you write. Ask from the readers' point of view. Why are they doing this? What effect does this have? What does this look like? Stuff like that can majorly help you. 

That's all I have. Only suggestions, you don't have to take them. If you do, they should help make your writing a lot easier for others to read and enjoy. You have good material so far, I'd like to read more!

by
Even though I m not her that will really help me.
+1 vote
by (101k points)
Scary...
by (165k points)
I love how my answer is so long and yours ie so short lol.
by (101k points)
I am a man of few words :)
by (165k points)
And I am definitely not lol.
by (40.2k points)
Haha lol!



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