An essay by shadowsettle
- What did you think of your partner's work?
It was really well written! The plot interested me very much (at first, I thought it was a little similar to The Hunger Games; not the plot, just the writing, and hints) and I was always curious to see what happened next and what was going on. The main character, Millie, seems to be going through grief with the loss of her brother, Henry, who was sent off to an asylum and has schizophrenia. Overall, it was very interesting and had a great plot.
- What sets it apart from what you usually read?
This story seems to be about a girl working through grief and sadness. Henry also has retardation, and I think this is an interesting and new turn to this; usually, these losses die, not get carted off to an asylum. It's interesting and pretty different from other stories. Millie's aunt is also a dressmaker of sorts. I never see this profession in books, and is pretty interesting and nice to read!
First of all: this description was. so. good. The beginning described a beautiful depiction of a scene, down to the details that really bring a place or a scene to life. Although we did not have many inner thoughts said directly, her decisions and actions made very clear her thoughts and the kind of person she was. The description and how my partner, Davrielle, wrote Henry's state and actions made my heart break - it was so sad and even sadder to see how Millie reacted to it. Her writing had a simple straight-forwardness to it that I really appreciated. The dialogue was also very realistic and really sold the story to me.
- As an author, what did reading a fellow writer's work teach you about the art of writing?
That sometimes, it's best to be simple instead of over-using metaphors and idioms and purple prose. Her use of wording really showed how the characters acted, what they were like, etc. I've also never seen such a straight-forward scene about schizophrenia - this brings us back to straight-forwardness being good. It also kind of made me consider adding more emotions other than my POV character and description to my story since I tend to focus on inner thoughts more. Davrielle's work made me think about how I go about revealing other people's emotions and thoughts. Her use of description was also very realistic, again, and it'd be amazing if I could have a sense of wording as cool as hers.
Really loved this book. Interesting and different.
YOU ARE READING
Inner Reflections: June Edition
Non-FictionIn celebration of our one month anniversary, authors engaged in a stimulating Readathon and reviewed the works their partners had worked on in the month of June. The aim of the Readathon was not to exchange critiques or votes. Its purpose was to exp...
