RankMost active authors
1
Jan Phillips (35)
2
louis kasatkin (93)
3
Eddie Larkin (95)
4
computer101 (31)
5
brian dunn (186)
6
Truthwielder (58)
7
RedeemedAshes (21)
8
evakaye (272)
9
The Unforgiving Minute (18)
10
Adrian (18)
11
angeliki largatzis (11)
12
troy universe (17)
13
Wombat (47)
14
CaseyPowers (20)
15
Doggerel Banksy (6)
16
notebook (157)
17
bobthebuilder (6)
18
Rai Pager (21)
19
jimbob (31)
20
bowenlizzie (4)
21
wolfeyesofgoldenrays (199)
22
will2power (38)
23
churchmouse (435)
24
Aurora (10)
25
navlohoe (38)

Delivery

By jw4538 | Posted: 05 October 2008

Views: 534
The wind tossed her hair like thousands of jet black snakes escaping from a charmer's pot, fighting against her as she bent down to pick up her car keys from the moonlit car park floor.  The car park was deserted, but the howling of the ferocious wind made the place as noisy as a city centre in the middle of rush-hour.

Relief, relative silence as she shut the door behind her, Sarah expelled a sigh with such force that Mother Nature might have taken note.  But then, the quiet was rudely interrupted by a fibrillous tapping on the windscreen - an envelope being forced to perform a frantic dance, wedged between the wiper and the screen.  It was as if Mother Nature was grabbing Sarah's attention, letting her know who really was in charge.

Donning her raincoat as if it were a coat of armour and she just about to face a medieval duel, Sarah dashed out of her door to retrieve the envelope.
All articles on this website by jw4538 are copyright ©jw4538 and should not be reproduced without the author's prior written consent. All opinions are the opinions of their respective authors and are not necessarily the opinions of The Writers' Circle.
Comments 
Carl
05 October 2008
Very interesting start! There are a few problems regarding tense though.

You have to choose a tense and stick rigorously with it. "as she bent down" implies the past but the "carpark is deserted" is the present.

I feel it's usually much easier to stick to the past tense unless you're writing poetic prose. Writing in the present tense can make your work sound somewhat robotic unless you are extremely careful. It's almost impossible to do for very long works.

A small amount of a rewriting and you've got an interesting piece of work on your hands!
Jayeflo
05 October 2008
I have critiqued your work as follows -

[First impressions]
I found your work interesting and believable
I found your work to have an easy, rolling rhythm that moved the story forward
The story is very visual. I could see her hair whipping about in the wind and the letter between the window wipers flapping about.
I think that you have the makings of a good story.  I wish you well.  Jayeflo
rowland
07 October 2008
Hi,
 An interesting piece of work. I have a few observations.  (faught) dont you mean fought?   (Rish-hour) Rush hour? (Fibrillous tapping) Are you sure?
Finally, carpark is two separate words. Pruning and polishing would have found these problems.
regards
jw4538
08 October 2008
Many thanks everyone for all your comments and suggestions.  I have now edited the piece and hope it has been improved!  Unfortunately, I was in somewhat of a hurry as I transferred my story from paper to computer!

The only suggested change I have not incorporated it the use of the word 'fibrillous', as this is a term used in medicine to describe a a frantic heart beat.  I have therefore employed it to suggest a frantic rhythm to the tapping of the envelope on the windscreen.
Carl
09 October 2008
It's much improved! Most of your readers will know what fibrillous means. That isn't the problem. It is still out of place, unless you're using it within dialogue in a medical context. If I were to use jargon from my own profession (which is all fibrillous is) it would similarly grate against the reader and sound pompous. If you're writing fiction, it's the story that's important to the reader. The writer, and even more so the profession of the writer, is irrelevant. I think (MHO) that you need to draw on what life experience you have but at the same time mentally distance yourself from what you're writing. Be your character or narrator or even your scene while you write, not yourself.
TalRush
17 February 2009
I love it. like the images. would you continue with a story in this much detail or do you find it easier to write snippets?
Iram87
13 September 2009
Is this all, or are you going to add to this??

I really like it

It's fantastic
I can picture it too

A few spelling mistakes and you've confused the tenses but otherwise it's very good
I hope you're going to add more

Writer
jw4538

Total posts:
9
Roles: Writer
Bristol, UNITED KINGDOM
I'm a junior doctor, trained at University of Bristol, currently working at Musgrove Park Hospital.
Recent submissions 
C
Italian Morning, English Afternoon
Genre / category: Poetry
C
Isolation
Genre / category: Fiction
C
Italian Morning, English Afternoon
Genre / category: Poetry
C
Time
Genre / category: Poetry
C
Why I Love You
Genre / category: Poetry
C
Delivery
Genre / category: Fiction