caspie's avatar
caspie

July 18, 2022

0
Trip to the woods

The woods on the outskirts of our town weren't unusual. Near the path that we had always walked was a poorly maintained campsite area. To be exact, it wasn't maintained at all. Each one of the wooden tables was covered with slurs written in black marker. Some of the tables even seemed to have been rotting. The spots for fireplaces were watered down by the rain as well as the rocks which used to surround them. Even during summer break, we hardly saw anyone camping there. But we had always been worried that somebody would appear and catch a bunch of drinking teens.

A bit deeper in the woods ran a small stream which bifurcated and in a few miles completely faded away, creating the swampy area to the northeast from Mereford. In order to make it to our spot we had to cross that creek. It wasn't swift-floating nor wide, so looking for any bridge there was to no avail. To cross the stream you had to simply jump over it. I leapt the stream in a single bound and I was already on the other bank.

I'm a fast walker, so I had to wait quite a bit for my friends.
Usually I compromised with their lack of stamina and I walked at the same speed as them, but this time while I was talking with Clyde we had to lose our focus and overtook Scott and Tobias. "Bro, let's wait for those lazy bones here," said Clyde and sat on a fallen trunk. "Said the one who's sitting," I pointed out. "Oh I just love this motherfucker," he said and moved slightly to the right to find a more comfortable place to sit. "I'm black but I ain't no marathon runner, Thistle. Let's just wait for them here."

The whole summer was obnoxiously hot, so I thought if the fall began I'd eventually be relieved. That summer seemed to be never-ending. August lasted like two or three months for me with all its blank and muddy days. But that eternal summer scenery finally came to its end. You could have felt a mild but yet cold breath of autumn on your skin. The rainy days and cold evenings started to rule and burden me. My strong desire to free myself from the prison of the summer numbness switched to the other. The desire to be able to dive in that cozy and warm summer weather once again.

But there I was, asked to stay put, asked to get cold. "nah, I don't feel like sitting here and freezing to death," I said and checked the time. "yo, what do you care, stupid? Like you'll get sick or something. That's our last trip before school and everything. We need to be together, you know," he said, but I was already on my way. "yo, and don't spill the good stuff,". He shouted from afar. "I won't," I shouted back to him.

Corrections

Trip to the wWoods

Title, so capitalization necessary.

The woods on the outskirts of our town weren't unusual.

Near the path that we had always walked was a poorly maintained campsite area.

To be exactprecise, it wasn't maintained at all.

Each one of the wooden tables was covered with slurs written in black markerSlurs written in black marker covered each of the wooden tables.

Yours is correct, but I wanted to include a correction showing how to change a passive sentence to active voice. Active voice is engenders concision and is considered easier to read when writing fiction.

Some of the tables even seemed to have been rotting.

The spots for fireplaces were watered down by thefire pits were wet from rain, as well asre the rocks which used to surrounded them.

'used to' does not seem appropriate here.

Even during summer break, we hardly saw anyone camping there.

But we had always been worried that somebody would appear and catch a bunch of drinking teens.

A bit deeper in the woods ran a small stream which bifurcated ____ and in a few miles completely faded away, creating the swampy area to the northeast from Mereford.

What did the stream bifurcate? I believe 'bifurcate' is a transitive verb and requires a subject.

In order to make it to our spot we had to cross that creek.

It wasn't swift-floatwing nor wide, so looking for any bridge there was to no availdifficult.

'to no avail' is what you add after phrases. E.g., "We looked for a bridge, to no avail."

To cross the stream you had to simplysimply had to jump over it.

Style here, not grammar. In other words, what is simple? The act of jumping, or the requirement? I would place the adverb before the word or phrase you wish to modify with it.

I leapt the stream in a single bound and I was already on the other bank.

I'm a fast walker, so I had to wait quite a bit for my friends.

Usually I compromised with their lack of stamina and I walked at the same speed as them, but this time while I was talking with Clyde we had to lose our focus (?) and overtook Scott and Tobias.

Removed second 'I' because it was unnecessary.

Not sure what you meant by 'lose our focus,' though. Why would they have to lose their focus? How is that related to overtaking Scott and Tobias? I would answer these questions and rewrite for clarity.

"Bro, let's wait for those lazy bones here," said Clyde and. He sat on a fallen trunk.

This one's a complex matter of clarity. So you have a quotation, which Clyde 'said,' and that's perfect.

But including 'sat' in the same predicate can be interpreted in such a way that the reader will read that Clyde said, and also 'sat,' the direct quotation. On a fallen trunk, no less.

Most people will understand what you mean. But if you're writing stories, and you want them to be easier to understand, I recommend breaking up those verbs into two sentences for clarity. For prose writers, clarity is king.

A 'fallen trunk' is also often called a 'log,' by the way.

"Said the one who's sitting," I pointed out.

"Oh I just love this motherfucker," he said and moved slightly to the right to find a more comfortable place to sit.

Look at my previous correction, it can be applied here too.

"I'm black but I ain't no marathon runner, Thistle.

Let's just wait for them here.

"

The whole summer was obnoxiously hot, so I thought if the fall began I'd eventually be relieved.

That summer seemed to be never-ending.

August lasted like two or three months for me with all its blank and muddy days.

'Like' is a good discourse particle for conversations, and its use here is correct. It also might very well be in keeping with the voice you're trying to achieve in this writing.

However, generally, if you're writing stories, I recommend writing with more certainty. 'Like' here functions as a hedging word, so I would cut it.

But that eternal summer scenery finally came to its end.

You could have felt a mild but yet cold breath of autumn on your skin.

Tautology here. 'But' and 'yet' mean the same thing. Use one.

The rainy days and cold evenings started to rule and burden me.

This sentence is beautiful!

My strong desire to free myself from the prison of the summer's numbness switched to the other.

Yours is also correct.

The desire to be able to dive in that cozy and warm summer weather once again.

But there I was, asked to stay put, asked to get cold.

"nNah, I don't feel like sitting here and freezing to death," I said and checked the time.

Again, you can apply my above correction about dialogue tags here.

"yYo, what do you care, stupid?

Like you'll get sick or something.

That's our last trip before school and everything.

We need to be together, you know," he said, but I was already on my way.

This is all correct, but I would move your dialogue tag [... ," he said ...] after your first sentence.

"yYo, and don't spill the good stuff,".

Yours is correct, but 'yo' is usually used as a greeting or to get someone's attention, so it's strange to have a conjunction after it here.

Hhe shouted from afar.

Punctuation issue, I'm sure this was just a typo. So:

"Yo, don't spill the good stuff," he shouted from afar.

"I won't," I shouted back to him.

Feedback

Excellent! I'm a professional writer so I hope this helps.

caspie's avatar
caspie

July 18, 2022

0

The spots for fireplaces were watered down by thefire pits were wet from rain, as well asre the rocks which used to surrounded them.

I didn't mean that they were just wet. Nobody has used those fire fits for quite a while. They broke apart. Even the stones, which used to encircled those fire pits got loose and were eventually flushed away by the rain.

caspie's avatar
caspie

July 18, 2022

0

Usually I compromised with their lack of stamina and I walked at the same speed as them, but this time while I was talking with Clyde we had to lose our focus (?) and overtook Scott and Tobias.

I meant they were so absorbed in talking to each other that they didn't notice when they overtook their friends. I thought the reason why they broke their rutine and overtook Scott and Tobias was important.

caspie's avatar
caspie

July 18, 2022

0

"I won't," I shouted back to him.

I'm really glad you spend your time revising my story. A big thanks to you!

theredchair's avatar
theredchair

July 21, 2022

0

I meant they were so absorbed in talking to each other that they didn't notice when they overtook their friends. I thought the reason why they broke their rutine and overtook Scott and Tobias was important.

Hmm. I understand, but that's a little unintuitive and unclear. Part of it is in how you wrote the sentence.

"...we had to lose our focus..."

(1) 'Had to' implies some kind of situational obligation, right? Why did they *have to* lose their focus? (2) The cause/effect relationship between losing your focus and overtaking someone on a walk isn't clear to me, but it seems to be implied in this sentence. It's jarring, for me at least.

If I were you, I'd try rewriting the sentence to make it simpler, possibly by cutting some extraneous details – or alternatively, making it longer and spelling out what you're trying to say.

theredchair's avatar
theredchair

July 21, 2022

0

I didn't mean that they were just wet. Nobody has used those fire fits for quite a while. They broke apart. Even the stones, which used to encircled those fire pits got loose and were eventually flushed away by the rain.

Ah.

This is quite advanced, and my feedback is purely subjective, so take it with a grain of salt.

So, 'water down' alone doesn't quite accomplish the task you've given it alone. I think this is because we tend to use collocate it with fluid nouns; I've never heard of a solid being watered down, but tea, lemonade, coffee, liquor can be watered down.

If I were you, I would add some choice figurative language to spell out the image you have in mind. Perhaps a metaphor [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphor] or a simile [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simile].

E.g., "The fire pits were broken and scattered, as if the rain had watered them down and broken their resolve."

(or)

"Water pooled in the abandoned fire pits, and stones lay strewn about like refugees from a flood."

theredchair's avatar
theredchair

July 21, 2022

0

I'm really glad you spend your time revising my story. A big thanks to you!

My pleasure, you've got a writerly edge :)

caspie's avatar
caspie

July 27, 2022

0

My pleasure, you've got a writerly edge :)

I've already written the second part of that story. Like you don't even have to bother correcting it. It's already revised, but if you wanna know the continuation that I came up with, you can check it out

Trip to the woods


Trip to the wWoods

Title, so capitalization necessary.

The woods on the outskirts of our town weren't unusual.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

Near the path that we had always walked was a poorly maintained campsite area.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

To be exact, it wasn't maintained at all.


To be exactprecise, it wasn't maintained at all.

Each one of the wooden tables was covered with slurs written in black marker.


Each one of the wooden tables was covered with slurs written in black markerSlurs written in black marker covered each of the wooden tables.

Yours is correct, but I wanted to include a correction showing how to change a passive sentence to active voice. Active voice is engenders concision and is considered easier to read when writing fiction.

Some of the tables even seemed to have been rotting.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

The spots for fireplaces were watered down by the rain as well as the rocks which used to surround them.


The spots for fireplaces were watered down by thefire pits were wet from rain, as well asre the rocks which used to surrounded them.

'used to' does not seem appropriate here.

Even during summer break, we hardly saw anyone camping there.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

But we had always been worried that somebody would appear and catch a bunch of drinking teens.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

A bit deeper in the woods ran a small stream which bifurcated and in a few miles completely faded away, creating the swampy area to the northeast from Mereford.


A bit deeper in the woods ran a small stream which bifurcated ____ and in a few miles completely faded away, creating the swampy area to the northeast from Mereford.

What did the stream bifurcate? I believe 'bifurcate' is a transitive verb and requires a subject.

In order to make it to our spot we had to cross that creek.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

It wasn't swift-floating nor wide, so looking for any bridge there was to no avail.


It wasn't swift-floatwing nor wide, so looking for any bridge there was to no availdifficult.

'to no avail' is what you add after phrases. E.g., "We looked for a bridge, to no avail."

To cross the stream you had to simply jump over it.


To cross the stream you had to simplysimply had to jump over it.

Style here, not grammar. In other words, what is simple? The act of jumping, or the requirement? I would place the adverb before the word or phrase you wish to modify with it.

I leapt the stream in a single bound and I was already on the other bank.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

I'm a fast walker, so I had to wait quite a bit for my friends.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

Usually I compromised with their lack of stamina and I walked at the same speed as them, but this time while I was talking with Clyde we had to lose our focus and overtook Scott and Tobias.


Usually I compromised with their lack of stamina and I walked at the same speed as them, but this time while I was talking with Clyde we had to lose our focus (?) and overtook Scott and Tobias.

Removed second 'I' because it was unnecessary. Not sure what you meant by 'lose our focus,' though. Why would they have to lose their focus? How is that related to overtaking Scott and Tobias? I would answer these questions and rewrite for clarity.

"Bro, let's wait for those lazy bones here," said Clyde and sat on a fallen trunk.


"Bro, let's wait for those lazy bones here," said Clyde and. He sat on a fallen trunk.

This one's a complex matter of clarity. So you have a quotation, which Clyde 'said,' and that's perfect. But including 'sat' in the same predicate can be interpreted in such a way that the reader will read that Clyde said, and also 'sat,' the direct quotation. On a fallen trunk, no less. Most people will understand what you mean. But if you're writing stories, and you want them to be easier to understand, I recommend breaking up those verbs into two sentences for clarity. For prose writers, clarity is king. A 'fallen trunk' is also often called a 'log,' by the way.

"Said the one who's sitting," I pointed out.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

"Oh I just love this motherfucker," he said and moved slightly to the right to find a more comfortable place to sit.


"Oh I just love this motherfucker," he said and moved slightly to the right to find a more comfortable place to sit.

Look at my previous correction, it can be applied here too.

"I'm black but I ain't no marathon runner, Thistle.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

Let's just wait for them here.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

"


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

The whole summer was obnoxiously hot, so I thought if the fall began I'd eventually be relieved.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

That summer seemed to be never-ending.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

August lasted like two or three months for me with all its blank and muddy days.


August lasted like two or three months for me with all its blank and muddy days.

'Like' is a good discourse particle for conversations, and its use here is correct. It also might very well be in keeping with the voice you're trying to achieve in this writing. However, generally, if you're writing stories, I recommend writing with more certainty. 'Like' here functions as a hedging word, so I would cut it.

But that eternal summer scenery finally came to its end.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

You could have felt a mild but yet cold breath of autumn on your skin.


You could have felt a mild but yet cold breath of autumn on your skin.

Tautology here. 'But' and 'yet' mean the same thing. Use one.

The rainy days and cold evenings started to rule and burden me.


The rainy days and cold evenings started to rule and burden me.

This sentence is beautiful!

My strong desire to free myself from the prison of the summer numbness switched to the other.


My strong desire to free myself from the prison of the summer's numbness switched to the other.

Yours is also correct.

The desire to be able to dive in that cozy and warm summer weather once again.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

But there I was, asked to stay put, asked to get cold.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

"nah, I don't feel like sitting here and freezing to death," I said and checked the time.


"nNah, I don't feel like sitting here and freezing to death," I said and checked the time.

Again, you can apply my above correction about dialogue tags here.

"yo, what do you care, stupid?


"yYo, what do you care, stupid?

Like you'll get sick or something.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

That's our last trip before school and everything.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

We need to be together, you know," he said, but I was already on my way.


We need to be together, you know," he said, but I was already on my way.

This is all correct, but I would move your dialogue tag [... ," he said ...] after your first sentence.

"yo, and don't spill the good stuff,".


"yYo, and don't spill the good stuff,".

Yours is correct, but 'yo' is usually used as a greeting or to get someone's attention, so it's strange to have a conjunction after it here.

He shouted from afar.


Hhe shouted from afar.

Punctuation issue, I'm sure this was just a typo. So: "Yo, don't spill the good stuff," he shouted from afar.

"I won't," I shouted back to him.


This sentence has been marked as perfect!

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