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SwordsMaster
09-13-2006, 01:28
Hi all,

It has been some time since I had last posted something here. Real Life took over for a while, and my heart just wasn't in the writing. This is an attempt to rediscovering the literary flame and I leave it at your cwitticism. :laugh4:

Please criticise, comment. I would appreciate some clues as far as style, language, etc.



Damn them all to hell. I had had enough. The opportunity had presented itself now, finally, with the sound of the guitar resounding in my imagination, there, where the fires were lit, and where I could hear the horses. The small town was silent. I was expecting the bell to ring the second hour of the morning. Any minute now.

It was getting cold. I imagined the warmth of the fires once again. And heard the guitars. I remembered how the previous morning a young woman was dancing and singing in the square, before the wine merchant’s shop. Something like la,la,la,lalala, la,la,la,la…. And she was beautiful too. I couldn’t avoid swallowing as I remembered the dark skin on the neck, and open back, the lean, agile body under the dress and the long legs. She seemed so independent, but at the same time so feminine, so fragile.

One of the fires seemed to almost extinguish, and then some dark silhouette crossed swiftly and the fire leapt up again. In the moment of light, I saw a shape of a man with a guitar. I could not hear it.

I though about why were they so free, while I was so miserable. Maybe it was the work. I did not mind working though. It was the mindlessness, the pointlessness of it all: a work that kept me alive to work so that it’d keep me alive for another day so I could work more. And for what? No family to feed, no care for King or country – I served my time under the musket already and I wasn’t going back. I had chose this backwater town because I needed quiet, peace and because, if I remember correctly, my dad always told me this is where I should live when I grow up. This is the best land in the province. Here. So here I am. And I care about the blackness of the land even less than I do about the country in general. That is why I sit here, watch the fires, and smoke.

How would their lives change if I left? The wine merchant would notice next Thursday – that is when I always buy some liquor, after a market day. The only other person who could notice was the woman who made baskets in the square. She lives two houses down the street. She is a widow, but I think she liked me more than she should as a neighbour. It is a pity I didn’t return the feeling.

How much can a man say for himself if there are only two people in the town where he lived for five years that would even notice if he left? Not much. So Damn them all. The fires of the Rom are welcoming. They are warm. They have the music.

I got up from the step, put my knife in my boot, the old carbine on my shoulder, put on my old leather hat, and stopped for a moment looking at the house. Damn them all. I lit up the torch from the oil lamp and threw it into the house. Then I turned around and left through the stables, kicking the doors open and leaving them so, as I went towards the campfires. A few hundred steps later I turned around. The flames had engulfed the house and I could hear the cattle as they roamed free. I turned around. I could see more fires now. And the sound of guitar was clearer.

Ludens
09-14-2006, 13:38
Welcome back, SwordsMaster.

English is not my first tongue, so I won't make any comments on the language. Your story is well written, as always, but I found the plot uninteresting. Just a man taking a decision. No conflict, no inner struggle. Just anger.

Don't get me wrong: it's a good story, just not up to your best.

Banquo's Ghost
09-14-2006, 14:14
Greetings, SwordsMaster.

I felt the piece was a little unfocussed, with no real clue as to the source of the protagonist's anger. Was he angry at his recent choice, the peace of the townsfolk, his war experience or all these? I don't get a sense of who the narrator is, or why I should care about him.

I liked the use of the guitar as a metaphor for elusive harmony, just out of his reach - which made me think perhaps it was an unquiet soul that frustrated him. Does he desire the farmer's life, a wife, a hearth, a routine? If so, why is he so angry with the townsfolk?

The style seems to indicate your aim to produce a seventeenth century feel, so there are some inappropriate words (like dad) which reduce the impact. Also, some of your sentences are very unwieldy and difficult to read because they contain too many clauses. The third sentence (begins 'The opportunity...') is a prime example - the paragraph is characterised by short, staccato sentences which one uses to build tension, except for that third sentence where the clauses bunch together and lose the attention and rhythm.

There are some nice touches, such as the hint about the musketeer life, and the longing for the girl he had seen. My personal preference is not to objectify women quite so much as this sentence does -
the dark skin on the neck, and open back, the lean, agile body under the dress and the long legs and I would use 'her' rather than 'the' to personalise his desire a little - but then maybe you are communicating his brutishness, his inability to really think about a woman as anything but an object. I don't know enough about him to judge - yet.

There are some spelling errors that would benefit from a proof-read.

I get the feeling this is the opening for a longer story, and there may be much to tell. I liked the atmosphere, and the hint of tensions to come. I liked the music image, and wonder what it might portend. If you can make this opening more punchy and focussed, reveal more of the man's character and his distress, it should turn into a fascinating story of a soul-sick musketeer.

SwordsMaster
09-14-2006, 14:34
Thank you both for the criticism. It is hard to find critics, believe it or not, specially people who would not only tell you what is wrong but why. So again, thanks for elaborating Banquo's Ghost.

About the anger of the protagonist, I guess it was clear in my mental image, but not so clear after I wrote it down... He is frustrated, feels unchallenged, dull, his existence meaningless, and makes his decision after he sees the gypsy woman.

Anyway, I just got an hour off work and felt like writing something for the first time in months, so I decided not to waste the inspiration. I might do something bigger if I can gather a good focus for a story. Or rather if a good focus finds me...

PS: Ludens, english is not my first language either... God bless globalisation:laugh4:

Ludens
09-14-2006, 22:18
It is hard to find critics, believe it or not, specially people who would not only tell you what is wrong but why.
In case you haven't spotted it: there is a small discussion going on in the Mead Hall on how to remedy this (link (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=69079)).

I agree with most of what Banquo's Ghost said, except that the source of the protagonist's anger was clear to me when I read it. He is frustrated with his life: it isn't getting him anywhere.