Since it's April... Could you guys read First chap of my story "April Doesn't Exist"

TrutherP

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Is it a first chapter that makes u want to read more? Positives and negatives? More positives than negatives? is it good?
Follow up chapter? Is it something ud cont'd reading? Or is it average mediocre and ull forget about it tmrw.

As a new Writer and illustrator, I'd really appreciate it


ddcds_optimized.jpg
 

Rosica

Д̙̥̫̰̩̺̼̯̻͙̓͗̽̋̄̅̌̒͗̇р̴̼̫͍̤̜̖̼̠̈̅ͥ̆́̅͌ͩ͝у͋ͭ͛̔͋̈́ͯг
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If you write things like A "Psychological Horror Masterpiece" in your synopsis, readers will have a very high expectations on the story.

This is not recommended because the higher someone's expectation is, the easier they can get disappointed and rate your story harshly.

Check the formatting. They are inconsistent. Some of your sentences are in bold and the rest are normal.
 

Eldoria

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Is it a first chapter that makes u want to read more? Positives and negatives? More positives than negatives? is it good?
Follow up chapter? Is it something ud cont'd reading? Or is it average mediocre and ull forget about it tmrw.
Maybe you mean... does this story have a hook that keeps readers reading the next chapter?

Well, this is more of a preference and subjective matter. If you're targeting a specific audience (e.g., horror), your story might be good enough for them.

But if you ask me, sorry... I'm not interested. Besides the issue of genre preference, your writing style (such as writing format, POV, etc) makes me uncomfortable. But this is purely my bias as a reader.

Based on the engagement of your relatively new fiction, engagement is quite solid. You've even received 4 five-star ratings (You need to know... ratings are expensive).

In short, keep up the good work. :blob_melt:
 

Rosica

Д̙̥̫̰̩̺̼̯̻͙̓͗̽̋̄̅̌̒͗̇р̴̼̫͍̤̜̖̼̠̈̅ͥ̆́̅͌ͩ͝у͋ͭ͛̔͋̈́ͯг
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your writing style (such as writing format, POV, etc) makes me uncomfortable. But this is purely my bias as a reader.
Mission accomplished, then. That's the point of psychological as a genre. Good job.
 

Makimaam

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The bad
Your formatting. The random bold lines make me want to stop reading as soon as I see them. The lackluster synopsis promises nothing and gives me no reason to read the book. The strange use of emojis or symbols in the first chapter is distracting. Some chapters are numbered, while others are not.

The good
The first chapter. It’s wild and crazy in a good way. Would I keep reading after the first chapter? Yes. But I only read the first chapter because you asked for feedback. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have read it in the first place after those jarring issues I listed above.
 

Louhi

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Would keep reading.

Surprisingly good. Very genre-appropriate. The only thing holding it back is the inconsistent formatting and lackluster synopsis. This read like something @Hoshino would approve if he saw this. Our resident psychological expert.

My advice is to add tags to your story for more visibility.
 

Rosica

Д̙̥̫̰̩̺̼̯̻͙̓͗̽̋̄̅̌̒͗̇р̴̼̫͍̤̜̖̼̠̈̅ͥ̆́̅͌ͩ͝у͋ͭ͛̔͋̈́ͯг
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Our resident psychological expert.
Aren't you our resident psychological expert too?

Its designed by humans for humans because april is one of their made up words.
The Tower of Babel fell and instead of repairing it, they keep making up words. Stupid humans.
 

Louhi

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Aren't you our resident psychological expert too?
In psychological, you mix shock value and the unexpected elements of dreams and the subconscious to deepen the reader’s understanding of a character’s psyche.

There are many others in this site who can do that better than me.
 

Rosica

Д̙̥̫̰̩̺̼̯̻͙̓͗̽̋̄̅̌̒͗̇р̴̼̫͍̤̜̖̼̠̈̅ͥ̆́̅͌ͩ͝у͋ͭ͛̔͋̈́ͯг
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In psychological, you mix shock value and the unexpected elements of dreams and the subconscious to deepen the reader’s understanding of a character’s psyche.

There are many others in this site who can do that better than me.
SH have 164,514 registered users. Stop being humble.
 

TrutherP

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Maybe you mean... does this story have a hook that keeps readers reading the next chapter?

Well, this is more of a preference and subjective matter. If you're targeting a specific audience (e.g., horror), your story might be good enough for them.

But if you ask me, sorry... I'm not interested. Besides the issue of genre preference, your writing style (such as writing format, POV, etc) makes me uncomfortable. But this is purely my bias as a reader.

Based on the engagement of your relatively new fiction, engagement is quite solid. You've even received 4 five-star ratings (You need to know... ratings are expensive).

In short, keep up the good work. :blob_melt:
thank you so much.
If you write things like A "Psychological Horror Masterpiece" in your synopsis, readers will have a very high expectations on the story.

This is not recommended because the higher someone's expectation is, the easier they can get disappointed and rate your story harshly.

Check the formatting. They are inconsistent. Some of your sentences are in bold and the rest are normal.
good point its better for them to go in blind! thanks Rosica
The bad
Your formatting. The random bold lines make me want to stop reading as soon as I see them. The lackluster synopsis promises nothing and gives me no reason to read the book. The strange use of emojis or symbols in the first chapter is distracting. Some chapters are numbered, while others are not.

The good
The first chapter. It’s wild and crazy in a good way. Would I keep reading after the first chapter? Yes. But I only read the first chapter because you asked for feedback. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have read it in the first place after those jarring issues I listed above.
Understood, thank you for helping
 

HouseDelarouxScribbles

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What a very strange story! I felt strangely compelled to read it until the end! I find that there is 'weight' behind the story, and perhaps that is the strongest part of it all.

Make no mistake, this is a dark story, the main characters frequently engage in violence and don't pretend to be morally grey. From the start, I shifted my mindset to it leaning more towards a psychological seinen or power fantasy, and it made reading it much easier. The main storyline tells the story of Mr. N and his Elite Guards who are going to fight in a deathgame called the 'Presidency Battle'. There are many absurd and fantastical moments in the story, with 'The Shining'-style psychic bodily snapping the most common.

The story currently reads more like an assortment of stories rather than a tight narrative. The first part deals with Liam+Mr.N, then 'D'+James, finally Osprey+Asperia vs Mori and Co. The perspective jumps around quite a bit, which greatly hurts the enjoyment of the story. Perhaps there can be a bit more to the transitions, I notice that the scenes jump from chapter to chapter with very little to indicate the significance of the earlier event. Currently, the transitions are very brief, and at one point it snapped from the prison scene, to the helicopter, to a base nearby. All very convenient, but makes for really difficult follows.
By their interactions, I can get you were showing their personalities; I think that more weight can be added if the 'significance' of the Elite Guard is shown, rather than simply writing 'These are two of the ten Elite Guards.' (Ch.6) At this point, you haven't introduced any of the guards yet, only Mr. N, so the reader does not automatically relate, except for the vague feeling that 'oh the boss is strong, these guys are strong too'. In fact, I'm quite sure if you introduce the two after 'D' showing that the Elite Guard are ruthless, violent, and sort of morally abhorrent, the contrast will land better. This way, readers get a taste of what the Elite Guard are about and they wonder: "What are the rest of them like?"

Of all the chapters, I enjoyed the 'D' chapters the most, because it showed the POV of an ordinary human/victim against the overwhelming force that is the Elite Guard. If there is a template to follow, it would be this one. 'D' does not need to do much except killing a single woman to cause a mental breakdown in ordinary men. The atmosphere, the reaction from others not morally aligned with the Elite Guard make the scene oppressive without much effort. It's the little details like the snapping of the plastic at the end that make the story feel like it has 'weight'.

One thing that is curious about this scene is that somehow the facility here for Class 1-B represents 'one of the most proficient units in the entire United States program'. When you write that, I thought at first this was going to be the President's side of the story, because they represented the United States. If they don't, why do they follow the same system? What exactly are they fighting for if they run things the same, except in a slightly more cruel way? (laugh)

Sometimes you will remember to properly introduce characters, like 'D' by setting them up in the previous chapter, at other times, it doesn't quite work like Osprey and Asperia's first appearance. Character introductions are the place where the most improvement can be made I think. Mori is a little flawed because he tries to cram too many things, like him being former Elite Guard, somehow mixed with passive-aggressiveness I don't understand for someone who is coming to kill two supposedly very dangerous people! It really doesn't jive with how Mori is portrayed in later chapters where he suffered a defeat at Mr. N's hands. You would think someone like that would be a bit more cautious, or at least be more motivated to fight!

An improvement that I think will help your writing greatly is to remember that fight scenes usually have a meaning to them. People don't fight senselessly in manga, the fight usually represents a clash of values or a clash of ideals. The people doing the fighting are usually highly motivated to do so! With the Osprey vs Mori fight, the writing style starts to show its weakness because I am not able to get the sense of 'what are they fighting for' except for the vague sense that Mori is here on the President's orders, and the Osprey/Asperia team are on... guard duty? There's also a loose line somewhere about protecting civilians but you can tell how seriously the Elite Guard take that when the leader and 'D' are obviously morally black! Also, wasn't it a camp that was attacked?

I think that the reason this piece made me think so much is because the structure resembled one of my all-time favorite manga, Usogui. It tells the story of a Madrame Baku who does crazy gambling games to eventually challenge the leader of a powerful organization called Kakerou in a game called 'Surpassing the Leader', and must fight 'members' of Kakerou to earn the right to do so. The manga also does the whole gathering followers and sideways political commentary as well. The manga has it all, sex, violence, fights, mindgames, memorable characters and events, and it is nothing short of miraculous it comes together so well. I realize this is a more western-inspired webnovel, though I would strongly recommend reading it up at some point, I am sure it will give you some inspiration!
 
Last edited:

TrutherP

Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2025
Messages
13
Points
18
What a very strange story! I felt strangely compelled to read it until the end! I find that there is 'weight' behind the story, and perhaps that is the strongest part of it all.

Make no mistake, this is a dark story, the main characters frequently engage in violence and don't pretend to be morally grey. From the start, I shifted my mindset to it leaning more towards a psychological seinen or power fantasy, and it made reading it much easier. The main storyline tells the story of Mr. N and his Elite Guards who are going to fight in a deathgame called the 'Presidency Battle'. There are many absurd and fantastical moments in the story, with 'The Shining'-style psychic bodily snapping the most common.

The story currently reads more like an assortment of stories rather than a tight narrative. The first part deals with Liam+Mr.N, then 'D'+James, finally Osprey+Asperia vs Mori and Co. The perspective jumps around quite a bit, which greatly hurts the enjoyment of the story. Perhaps there can be a bit more to the transitions, I notice that the scenes jump from chapter to chapter with very little to indicate the significance of the earlier event. Currently, the transitions are very brief, and at one point it snapped from the prison scene, to the helicopter, to a base nearby. All very convenient, but makes for really difficult follows.
By their interactions, I can get you were showing their personalities; I think that more weight can be added if the 'significance' of the Elite Guard is shown, rather than simply writing 'These are two of the ten Elite Guards.' (Ch.6) At this point, you haven't introduced any of the guards yet, only Mr. N, so the reader does not automatically relate, except for the vague feeling that 'oh the boss is strong, these guys are strong too'. In fact, I'm quite sure if you introduce the two after 'D' showing that the Elite Guard are ruthless, violent, and sort of morally abhorrent, the contrast will land better. This way, readers get a taste of what the Elite Guard are about and they wonder: "What are the rest of them like?"

Of all the chapters, I enjoyed the 'D' chapters the most, because it showed the POV of an ordinary human/victim against the overwhelming force that is the Elite Guard. If there is a template to follow, it would be this one. 'D' does not need to do much except killing a single woman to cause a mental breakdown in ordinary men. The atmosphere, the reaction from others not morally aligned with the Elite Guard make the scene oppressive without much effort. It's the little details like the snapping of the plastic at the end that make the story feel like it has 'weight'.

One thing that is curious about this scene is that somehow the facility here for Class 1-B represents 'one of the most proficient units in the entire United States program'. When you write that, I thought at first this was going to be the President's side of the story, because they represented the United States. If they don't, why do they follow the same system? What exactly are they fighting for if they run things the same, except in a slightly more cruel way? (laugh)

Sometimes you will remember to properly introduce characters, like 'D' by setting them up in the previous chapter, at other times, it doesn't quite work like Osprey and Asperia's first appearance. Character introductions are the place where the most improvement can be made I think. Mori is a little flawed because he tries to cram too many things, like him being former Elite Guard, somehow mixed with passive-aggressiveness I don't understand for someone who is coming to kill two supposedly very dangerous people! It really doesn't jive with how Mori is portrayed in later chapters where he suffered a defeat at Mr. N's hands. You would think someone like that would be a bit more cautious, or at least be more motivated to fight!

An improvement that I think will help your writing greatly is to remember that fight scenes usually have a meaning to them. People don't fight senselessly in manga, the fight usually represents a clash of values or a clash of ideals. The people doing the fighting are usually highly motivated to do so! With the Osprey vs Mori fight, the writing style starts to show its weakness because I am not able to get the sense of 'what are they fighting for' except for the vague sense that Mori is here on the President's orders, and the Osprey/Asperia team are on... guard duty? There's also a loose line somewhere about protecting civilians but you can tell how seriously the Elite Guard take that when the leader and 'D' are obviously morally black! Also, wasn't it a camp that was attacked?

I think that the reason this piece made me think so much is because the structure resembled one of my all-time favorite manga, Usogui. It tells the story of a Madrame Baku who does crazy gambling games to eventually challenge the leader of a powerful organization called Kakerou in a game called 'Surpassing the Leader', and must fight 'members' of Kakerou to earn the right to do so. The manga also does the whole gathering followers and sideways political commentary as well. The manga has it all, sex, violence, fights, mindgames, memorable characters and events, and it is nothing short of miraculous it comes together so well. I realize this is a more western-inspired webnovel, though I would strongly recommend reading it up at some point, I am sure it will give you some inspiration!
Thank you so much for the review u made my day, Usogui is one of my two favourite manga of all time, It and JJBA, I do heavily take inspiration. I read your review, I'll make improvements and do my best. Thank you so much for reading. And for finding something good in my story.

As Usogui fans I think we should stick together I'm going to read your work myself now
 
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