Request feedback on a retooled chapter

HellsPerfectSpawn

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I'm back again. If you can kindly spare the time, I'd appreciate a good round of honest feedback on a rewrite/ slight retooling of a chapter.

PS1: If you want me to look into your work. I'd be happy to.

PS2: Much obliged by the way.
 

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HellsPerfectSpawn

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I just wanted to put it as a .doc file but it wasn't letting me for some reason
In .txt format for those leery of .zip file.
 

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HellsPerfectSpawn

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Another moderate retooling. Any feedback/tips are very appreciated.
 

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Tempokai

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I've read from chapter 0 to chapter 4. They've written well (at least the retooled chapters), better than average webnovels in that genre, but have problems. Minor ones, thankfully. I'll write each chapter's issues.

Chapter 0: as overall prologue it's good. I like the intentional mystery, atmosphere and world-building is solid, and dialogue is good enough. Pacing, however is the problem. You need to tighten the "where do I want to go in the wilderness" part, it feels repetitive. And also the "reflecting my thoughts" bit slows down the pace, maybe add external action or sensory details to that.

Emotional depth is small. Sure, he's confused, has flashing memories, but emotions from those memories fall flat. You can use them by making the MC to give a small goal of uncovering them by going into city for example. The "temple of the storms" and "faith of the sun" in the dialogue bit feels abrupt, add some more details that MC sees before the dialogue, foreshadowing it.

Chapter 1: it's good for webnovel standards, but grammar and structural quality dropped a lot. It looks like first draft, I get it, you know how to fix it. The world is still immersive, and the subtle societal dynamic are shown well. Pacing, again is the problem, while each part has the place in the story, the shifts are too abrupt. Smooth them out by adding some sentences in between. There's some emotions that are told, like getting "agitated" by lying, try add more "show". And also, you missed the perfect chance of expanding the world-building through the dialogues with knights and priest. You could add more insight into the Faith of the Sun during talk with priest, therefore tying the MC to it more firmly. MC feels passive sometimes, which I get it by "amnesia" thingy, but MC could be more proactive in this chapter.

Chapter 2: The quality is the same as the chapter 1. Leera and Grog feel organic, which is good, but they feel one dimensional due to them being a surface trait characters. Add subtlety, however small to them. Action and conflict scenes are well made. Pacing here, again, feels abrupt in scene change, and then bogs down in the mundanity. More fluid transitions between high-action and lower-energy scenes could help maintain narrative momentum here, for example adding more world building. Taboo and demi-humans are cool, but they're not fully elaborated upon. MC is again passive, he just reacts, and has no plans outside of the boar hunt here. Tone consistency got hurt a little bit in this chapter, but it's minor.

Chapter 3: The quality is the same as previous two. Atmosphere and progression is good, feels realistic, but pacing, man it hurt. Cohesiveness is dying in the ditch. Smooth the transitions out. Motivations of Count and Ceryla can be made a little bit cleaner. Count scene feels a little bit rushed.

Chapter 4 (file you dropped on this thread): Quality went back to being good again. Characterization here is good, but you could add more emotional depth by adding flashback maybe, or physical reactions. Internal conflict portrayed well. World-building shines again, but can be added upon in the dialogue parts. Atmosphere and tone is awesome. Problem is again, pacing, feels abrupt again. Add more sentences between divine and mundane (in the apartment and exiting the apartment).

Overall: written good but not a masterpiece. Not in webnovel style though, but as fantasy book I would read if I had time to waste. Also, improve the synopsis by adding more clarification, it feels a little bit barren.
 

HellsPerfectSpawn

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I've read from chapter 0 to chapter 4. They've written well (at least the retooled chapters), better than average webnovels in that genre, but have problems. Minor ones, thankfully. I'll write each chapter's issues.

Chapter 0: as overall prologue it's good. I like the intentional mystery, atmosphere and world-building is solid, and dialogue is good enough. Pacing, however is the problem. You need to tighten the "where do I want to go in the wilderness" part, it feels repetitive. And also the "reflecting my thoughts" bit slows down the pace, maybe add external action or sensory details to that.

Emotional depth is small. Sure, he's confused, has flashing memories, but emotions from those memories fall flat. You can use them by making the MC to give a small goal of uncovering them by going into city for example. The "temple of the storms" and "faith of the sun" in the dialogue bit feels abrupt, add some more details that MC sees before the dialogue, foreshadowing it.

Chapter 1: it's good for webnovel standards, but grammar and structural quality dropped a lot. It looks like first draft, I get it, you know how to fix it. The world is still immersive, and the subtle societal dynamic are shown well. Pacing, again is the problem, while each part has the place in the story, the shifts are too abrupt. Smooth them out by adding some sentences in between. There's some emotions that are told, like getting "agitated" by lying, try add more "show". And also, you missed the perfect chance of expanding the world-building through the dialogues with knights and priest. You could add more insight into the Faith of the Sun during talk with priest, therefore tying the MC to it more firmly. MC feels passive sometimes, which I get it by "amnesia" thingy, but MC could be more proactive in this chapter.

Chapter 2: The quality is the same as the chapter 1. Leera and Grog feel organic, which is good, but they feel one dimensional due to them being a surface trait characters. Add subtlety, however small to them. Action and conflict scenes are well made. Pacing here, again, feels abrupt in scene change, and then bogs down in the mundanity. More fluid transitions between high-action and lower-energy scenes could help maintain narrative momentum here, for example adding more world building. Taboo and demi-humans are cool, but they're not fully elaborated upon. MC is again passive, he just reacts, and has no plans outside of the boar hunt here. Tone consistency got hurt a little bit in this chapter, but it's minor.

Chapter 3: The quality is the same as previous two. Atmosphere and progression is good, feels realistic, but pacing, man it hurt. Cohesiveness is dying in the ditch. Smooth the transitions out. Motivations of Count and Ceryla can be made a little bit cleaner. Count scene feels a little bit rushed.

Chapter 4 (file you dropped on this thread): Quality went back to being good again. Characterization here is good, but you could add more emotional depth by adding flashback maybe, or physical reactions. Internal conflict portrayed well. World-building shines again, but can be added upon in the dialogue parts. Atmosphere and tone is awesome. Problem is again, pacing, feels abrupt again. Add more sentences between divine and mundane (in the apartment and exiting the apartment).

Overall: written good but not a masterpiece. Not in webnovel style though, but as fantasy book I would read if I had time to waste. Also, improve the synopsis by adding more clarification, it feels a little bit barren.
Very grateful for the feedback. Will look into the pain points. I've been slowly retooling the chapters so this is great actionable intel.
 

HellsPerfectSpawn

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Heyo, another moderate retooling. Any feedback/tips are very appreciated.
 

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Tempokai

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1st chapter good for an average binge reader. Pacing slow enough but not too slow to be boring, it's atmospheric enough, and overall it's readable. I don't see any glaring problems compared to a previous iteration. MC's internal monologue sometimes is still too much expository, but it can be ignored due to situation he's in. There are few nitpicks here and there, like phrasing, but I don't think they're important to write down.
Yep, it's better. It still could be refined for a book version, but for a webnovel I'd say it's more than good enough.
 

HellsPerfectSpawn

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1st chapter good for an average binge reader. Pacing slow enough but not too slow to be boring, it's atmospheric enough, and overall it's readable. I don't see any glaring problems compared to a previous iteration. MC's internal monologue sometimes is still too much expository, but it can be ignored due to situation he's in. There are few nitpicks here and there, like phrasing, but I don't think they're important to write down.
Yep, it's better. It still could be refined for a book version, but for a webnovel I'd say it's more than good enough.
Much obliged for the feedback. I seriously don't understand how some authors can pump out 10-15k words a week.

PS: Thank you again. I asked you specifically because I was impressed how fair and in-depth your criticism was.
 
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HellsPerfectSpawn

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Greetings, another moderate retooling. Any feedback/tips are very appreciated.
 

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Tempokai

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Greetings, another moderate retooling. Any feedback/tips are very appreciated.
It improved significantly. It's far better than the original version, but I still see some typos (like floating " and missing comma after speech in few sentences), so just pass through with your eyes when you're refreshed. Scenes are the massive improvement, and I'd say it's passable for an average reader who just wants to read. It'd say maybe change formatting a little, speech in separate paragraph, remove entirely or add more "said" (or "asked" or "replied", not the embellished "bellowed" and so on) verbs, to make it look better during reading (you know, consistency). Style and tone wise, it's good. Proofread, and it's good to go for a webnovel.
 

HellsPerfectSpawn

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It improved significantly. It's far better than the original version, but I still see some typos (like floating " and missing comma after speech in few sentences), so just pass through with your eyes when you're refreshed. Scenes are the massive improvement, and I'd say it's passable for an average reader who just wants to read. It'd say maybe change formatting a little, speech in separate paragraph, remove entirely or add more "said" (or "asked" or "replied", not the embellished "bellowed" and so on) verbs, to make it look better during reading (you know, consistency). Style and tone wise, it's good. Proofread, and it's good to go for a webnovel.
Cheers buddy. I'll look into the gremlins.

PS: I'm very grateful for the feedback.
 

HellsPerfectSpawn

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I wasn't happy with it, let me see if I can shear a bit more flab of it.
 
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HellsPerfectSpawn

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Greetings, hopefully this will be the final version. Any feedback/tips are very appreciated.
 

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Tempokai

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Greetings, hopefully this will be the final version. Any feedback/tips are very appreciated.
It's better. The Count scene is good. There's again some nitpicks, like forgotten ", repeated "rumbled" dialogue tag. Scratch that, that's not a nitpick. Try to minimize the dialogue tags while writing. Your characters have distinct enough voices to understand who is who. Asked, replied, and so on disrupt pacing here. For example:

"Are you... one of the Count's men?" she asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"We're... associated with the Count," I explained, my tone strained. "But we're not exactly his men."


Could be shortened to:

Her brow furrowed in confusion.
"Are you... one of the Count's men?"
I hesitated, my tongue heavy.
"We're... associated with the Count, but we're not exactly his men."


And so on. This will make the story more streamlined. Otherwise, descriptions and atmosphere from it are good. You can search about on how to replace them on the web, like action beats, consolidating thoughts and actions, and so on. I have inputted to GPT for basic understanding, here:

Recommendations for Implementation

  1. Reduce Dialogue Tags:
    • Replace tags with action beats or introspection where appropriate. For example:
      • Original:
        "We wish for you to remove a pair of interlopers from one of our establishments in the east plaza," the Count intoned, his voice carrying a note of irritation.
        • Revised:
          The Count’s tone turned sharp, irritation bleeding through. "We wish for you to remove a pair of interlopers from one of our establishments in the east plaza."
    • The revised version removes the tag and integrates the Count's emotion into the narrative, making it more seamless.
  2. Vary Sentence Structures:
    • Avoid repetitive patterns like "She asked" or "I replied" by diversifying sentence constructions. Use pauses, ellipses, or descriptions to imply hesitation or tone.
    • Example:
      • Original: "What does the Count want?" she asked, her eyes narrowing as she seemed to have pieced together that I was his hired hand.
      • Revised: Her eyes narrowed, suspicion creeping into her expression. "What does the Count want?"
  3. Focus on Character Reactions:
    • Show how characters react to dialogue through body language, tone, or facial expressions rather than always tagging their lines.
    • Example:
      • Original: "I'll handle it," Grog said reluctantly, accepting the given task.
      • Revised: Grog’s jaw tightened. "I'll handle it." The words fell heavy, resignation thick in his voice.
  4. Retain Descriptions and Atmosphere:
    • While streamlining dialogue, ensure the rich descriptions and atmospheric details remain intact. These elements are a core strength of the chapter and should not be sacrificed for brevity.
  5. Practice Minimalist Dialogue:
    • Review each conversation and challenge whether a tag or beat is necessary. If the speaker’s identity is already clear or implied by the scene’s context, omit the tag entirely.
    • Example:
      • Original: "Very well," Grog replied, nodding. "Lead the way."
      • Revised: Grog nodded. "Very well. Lead the way."
 

HellsPerfectSpawn

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It's better. The Count scene is good. There's again some nitpicks, like forgotten ", repeated "rumbled" dialogue tag. Scratch that, that's not a nitpick. Try to minimize the dialogue tags while writing. Your characters have distinct enough voices to understand who is who. Asked, replied, and so on disrupt pacing here. For example:

"Are you... one of the Count's men?" she asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"We're... associated with the Count," I explained, my tone strained. "But we're not exactly his men."


Could be shortened to:

Her brow furrowed in confusion.
"Are you... one of the Count's men?"
I hesitated, my tongue heavy.
"We're... associated with the Count, but we're not exactly his men."


And so on. This will make the story more streamlined. Otherwise, descriptions and atmosphere from it are good. You can search about on how to replace them on the web, like action beats, consolidating thoughts and actions, and so on. I have inputted to GPT for basic understanding, here:

Recommendations for Implementation

  1. Reduce Dialogue Tags:
    • Replace tags with action beats or introspection where appropriate. For example:
      • Original:
        • Revised:
          The Count’s tone turned sharp, irritation bleeding through. "We wish for you to remove a pair of interlopers from one of our establishments in the east plaza."
    • The revised version removes the tag and integrates the Count's emotion into the narrative, making it more seamless.
  2. Vary Sentence Structures:
    • Avoid repetitive patterns like "She asked" or "I replied" by diversifying sentence constructions. Use pauses, ellipses, or descriptions to imply hesitation or tone.
    • Example:
      • Original: "What does the Count want?" she asked, her eyes narrowing as she seemed to have pieced together that I was his hired hand.
      • Revised: Her eyes narrowed, suspicion creeping into her expression. "What does the Count want?"
  3. Focus on Character Reactions:
    • Show how characters react to dialogue through body language, tone, or facial expressions rather than always tagging their lines.
    • Example:
      • Original: "I'll handle it," Grog said reluctantly, accepting the given task.
      • Revised: Grog’s jaw tightened. "I'll handle it." The words fell heavy, resignation thick in his voice.
  4. Retain Descriptions and Atmosphere:
    • While streamlining dialogue, ensure the rich descriptions and atmospheric details remain intact. These elements are a core strength of the chapter and should not be sacrificed for brevity.
  5. Practice Minimalist Dialogue:
    • Review each conversation and challenge whether a tag or beat is necessary. If the speaker’s identity is already clear or implied by the scene’s context, omit the tag entirely.
    • Example:
      • Original: "Very well," Grog replied, nodding. "Lead the way."
      • Revised: Grog nodded. "Very well. Lead the way."
Cheers. I will look into those. I tend to write tags so that people don't complain there is a talking heads syndrome but I suppose too much of that is bad too. I'll try to vary them a bit though.

Much Obliged
 

HellsPerfectSpawn

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Greetings, another moderate retooling. Kept getting stuck with this one. Not 100% confident but must push on.
 

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Tempokai

The Overworked One
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Greetings, another moderate retooling. Kept getting stuck with this one. Not 100% confident but must push on.
For a webnovel, it's now of better quality than before. I saw few grammatical mistakes that Word had pointed out, fix them. Children part could be enhanced a bit, by adding a rival or just endearing kid for juxtaposition, but as a plot point, it's okay. The okul part reads like info dump, but it's relevant enough for MC, so it's good enough. Maybe add some emotional weight to it, but only a little. I'd say refined up to 90%, and emotional reader probably will read it without questioning the technicalities, if you fix the grammar.
 

HellsPerfectSpawn

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Cheers, I'll try to get rid of them along with some more of the flab. It was looking more like an info dump the longer I stared at it.

Edit: His students are a bit of an afterthought yes.
 
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