《Essie's Critiques》Ignotus Peverell and the Curse of Death
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The Peverell brothers find out that their family have all been cursed by the veil of death itself. Will they be able to find a cure for the ill omens that keep them bound?
The image used represents the mood of the story. The black and white color scheme gives me the idea that the story is more of a grave/serious mood. However, the title is pretty small and hard to see against the cover. It feels like it's fading away compared to the image, and there's no hint that this is fanfiction as well. You'll probably draw in more of the appropriate audience by including something in the cover image that contributes to the fanfiction. I also suggest experimenting with the title presentation, font, and color. If you're not experienced with making a cover, you can also check out the fabulous cover shops I have featured in my reading list.
It helps the audience understand that the genre is fanfiction and attracts the right readers for your story. It's also to the point and original compared to many other fanfictions that there may be on Wattpad. I took off a point because your title is on the longer side. I typically suggest that a title should at most be five words long, and that already border's on the long side. Your title is seven words long. It isn't a huge deal; however, if you ever decide to rename your story, I suggest considering the length of the title as well.
I found no grammatical errors, and your blurb is concise and to the point. The problem is that it's too concise. There's little to no information about the story at all. You could expand upon the blurb to showcase your writing style to potential readers and include more details to flesh out the plot. For example, you could hint at some of the obstacles they may come across while searching for a cure for the curse. You could also include the trigger that starts the story; What happened that caused them to be cursed? A short blurb such as this one probably won't impress a reader or hook them in enough for them to click on your story.
Upon first glance, I found little grammatical errors. However, there were still a few. For example, "Centaur" in paragraph 3 should not be capitalized, as it isn't actually his name, and you should include the definite article "the" in front of it. Your writing style is well established, clean, and easy to understand. I found that you were lacking urgency in your hook. It seemed as though they were running away from something, but there were no strong feelings invoked within me. I suggest including details such as body language and facial expressions. Were they out of breath and terrified, or was the adrenaline pumping through their bodies keeping their head clear?
You had several comma mistakes. Keep in mind that commas are used to separate different clauses within a sentence, whether they're independent or dependent. An independent clause has a subject (who/what is doing the action) and a predicate (the action being done by the subject). Oftentimes, a sentence has two independent clauses, joined together with a conjunction. In the sentence, "I cried then Billy ran away," there are two independent clauses here. One is, "I cried," and the other is, "Billy ran away." Both have a subject and a predicate, and they're joined together by the conjunction, "then." Because of this, the two clauses still need to be separated with a comma, the correction being: "I cried, then Billy ran away."
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Dependent clauses are just like independent clauses: they also have a subject and a predicate. However, dependent clauses are exactly like what they sound like; they're dependent on another clause. They don't make sense by themselves. For example, the clause, "I decided not to," has both a subject and a predicate, but it needs more context to make sense. There should be another clause attached or a sentence before it that it depends on making sense. When joined to another clause with a conjunction, the dependent clause should still be separated with a comma as well.
Commas are also used to separate an introductory phrase or word before the main clause. In the sentence, "Today I went to work," the independent clause is "I went to work," where the subject is "I," and the predicate/action is "went to work." The word "today" is not included in the clause, and therefore should be separated with a comma. The correction would be: "Today, I went to work." This is a lot of information to take in, but try to keep these rules in mind for the next time you're writing.
I found several spelling errors and typos in your writing. I've done my best to point them all out to you in your chapter reviews, but I suggest looking up any words you may be unfamiliar with before using them. Additionally, when editing, make sure to look out for any spelling errors. You also had repetitive phrases and words, such as "since then." I've also pointed out the repetitive sentence structures for you. As the repetition is strong in your writing, I suggest proof-reading or skimming your writing and noting any diction choices or repetitive structures you may be using, and avoiding them in the future.
Your story pacing was very consistent, and you described each scene and event with clarity and organization. There were no plot holes or inconsistency with your conflict from the five chapters I've read, and your clean writing style also made it easier for me to follow your plot. Your chapters were on the shorter side, so although your story pacing is pretty consistent, you could also strengthen and extend it with more descriptions. I found the overall reading experience very flat. This is because you didn't spend much time explaining in depth any emotions. For example, you could describe body language and facial expressions in crucial moments. You could compare any pain with similes and metaphors, or with sensory details. This way, you can establish a stronger connection with your audience and your characters.
As I've mentioned earlier, your characters feel flat and two-dimensional, as you didn't spend time establishing and detailing the emotional aspect of the story. I suggest expanding upon their feelings in certain situations and reflecting back upon their actions or decisions. This helps build a connection with your readers and your characters, and they'll be more emotionally attached to the story.
Your writing voice is refined and clean. The lack of grammatical errors helps with the quality of your writing voice, and your choice of diction fits well with the mood of the story. You had a lot of repetition, however, with your sentence structures. I suggest experimenting with your sentence structures to avoid repetition. You can also learn to incorporate certain writing techniques, such as metaphors/similes, sensory details, and figurative language. I noticed often that in your dialogues, you ended the dialogues with the same kind of punctuation, which is: ?! This makes the writing voice of your characters sound similar, so I also suggest establishing different voices for your characters. This will also help readers remember who is who.
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Your story pacing was very consistent, if not a little fast. There were no awkward transitions or rushed pacing near the end of a scene, which can be common with a Wattpad writer. Some of your transitions may be repetitive, which is a common theme throughout this review. I suggest taking a look at your favorite stories and authors and note how they transition, and what techniques they use. How can you mix it up to avoid repetition? You could transition from moment to moment, or you could have a time skip in between scenes. How would you summarize that time skip without being awkward and repetitive?
"They were running, as if something or someone was trying to chase after them." (p.1). I suggest adding commas here. Correction: "They were running, as if something, or someone, was trying to chase after them." You could also add em dashes as an alternative: "They were running, as if something—or someone—was trying to chase after them."
"His dark eyes looked like they were cold dark tunnels devoid of light." (p.9). You need commas here. Correction: "His dark eyes looked like they were cold, dark tunnels, devoid of light."
"I brought each one of you here, to repeat the words of an ancient prophecy." (p.12). You have an unnecessary comma. Correction: "I brought each one of you here to repeat the words of an ancient prophecy."
"Chiron and the three brothers had since then departed leaving their centaur friend behind." (p.1). You're missing a comma here. Correction: "Chiron and the three brothers had since then departed, leaving their centaur friend behind."
"Worn stone steps covered with leaves lead to the mystical archway." (p.3). You have a tense slip-up here. The past tense form of "lead" is "led." Correction: "Worn stone steps covered with leaves led to the mystical archway."
"Cadmus had first heard the whispering of his dead finance..." (p.4). You have a typo here. I suspect you meant "fiancée," not "finance." Correction: "Cadmus had first heard the whispering of his dead fiancée..."
"All I hear is whispering Cadmus..." (p.7). You require a comma here. Without it, it sounds like Ignotus hears Cadmus who is whispering. Correction: "All I hear is whispering, Cadmus..."
"'What black magic is this?!' He exclaimed." (p.16). The dialogue tag, "he exclaimed," is part of the sentence. The beginning of the dialogue tag shouldn't be capitalized, as it's not the start of a new sentence. Correction:"'What black magic is this?!' he exclaimed."
"When he would flash his eyes to find what/who was staring, nothing but the forest was in sight, or ear shot." (p.1). The word "earshot" should be one word. You also have an unnecessary comma here. Correction: "When he would flash his eyes to find what/who was staring, nothing but the forest was in sight or earshot."
"'Weird,' Ignotus said quietly." (p.4). You have repetition here. In paragraph 2, you wrote, "... Ignotus asked quietly," which is almost the same as the dialogue tag here and the adverb "quietly." I suggest avoiding this repetition.
"The rest of the crows scattered and flew up, using the trees for shelter, trying to protect themselves from Antioch curses he was blasting out towards them." (p.8). You're missing filler words here. Correction:"The rest of the crows scattered and flew up, using the trees for shelter, trying to protect themselves from Antioch and the curses he was blasting out towards them."
"Antioch laughed coolly, 'Omens, you two really are ridiculous." (p.15). The action tag should not be included in the sentence, and the punctuation should reflect this. Correction: "Antioch laughed coolly. 'Omens, you two really are ridiculous."
"As spiders came into view, their black eyes gleamed wickedly as the moonlight came into view." (p.10). You have repetition here with the phrase, "... came into view." I suggest restructuring this to avoid the repetition.
"I am warning you I am not afraid to use the flames if I must." (p.13). You require commas here. Correction: "I am warning you, I am not afraid to use the flames if I must."
"Antioch was still waving his sword engulfed with flames to keep the creature's warded off." (p.1). You have an unnecessary apostrophe here. Correction: "Antioch was still waving his sword engulfed with flames to keep the creatures warded off."
"Remember all the three Hallows are needed to overcome the curse, death has placed on your family. It will take more than just that, to be honest though." (p.9). You have an unnecessary comma here. I also suggest removing "though," as it's redundant and doesn't contribute to the context of the sentence. Correction: "Remember all the three Hallows are needed to overcome the curse death has placed on your family. It will take more than just that, to be honest."
"It wreaks," (p.11). I suspect you meant: "It reeks." The word "reeks" means something smell strongly and unpleasantly, while "wreak" means to cause a large amount of damage or to avenge someone who's been harmed.
"Ignotus' skin became more and colder on their journey." (p.19). Ignotus' skin became more what?
"Ignotus began gasping for breath, and eyes slowly came back into focus." (p.27). You need a possessive adjective in front of "eyes." Correction: "Ignotus began gasping for breath, and his eyes slowly came back into focus."
I enjoyed your distinct and elegant writing style. It made it easy to understand and read your chapters, and your story pacing was patient and consistent. You had several grammatical errors, although not repetitive (except for the comma mistakes), and your chapters were on the shorter side. I suggest including more in-depth descriptions, particularly of any emotions, to connect more with your audience and feel less distant with your narrative.
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