I read chapter one, and it was quite good. Pretty much what Elidawn said, though; a lot of repetition, but honestly, I have a rough time of it, too, and in this situation, it's understandable that certain words wound up being used more frequently.
The fight scene was really well written, IMO; I could picture it all really clearly. There was a good flow to your writing, and the descriptions made it all the more enjoyable.
You have a knack for dialogue.
I'm also interested to see what becomes of Chorem's talents, as well...
IT'S SO ROUGH! I hate word repetition, but when everyone is bandits and using swords, holy sh!t it tests your synonym use.
I've begun to pride myself on choreography a bit. Trying to be more confident, but of course the problem is making sure that I can properly translate what's in my head onto the page...sometimes it doesn't come out perfectly :C
I've been hearing this quite a lot, and it's great to hear, because I value dialogue quite a bit n.n
Trust me, there's quite a bit of awesomeness to come
In this chapter we hear some students tossing out odd words, insults specifically, at each other, here’s what they mean in the context of Blast Back‘s universe.
Breadcutter
A derogatory term for squires or really any blade-using warrior. Refers to the person being useful for nothing more than cutting a soft loaf of bread. Especially attributed to squires of the Luna Caeruleum Academy, who use training sabers with incredibly dull edges up until they are gifted a sharpened sword at graduation.
Dazzler
A derogatory term for acolytes studying the magical arts. Dazzling is an extremely basic low-level spell that emits simple sparks like fireworks from the hands. As it is such a low-level spell, it’s one of the simplest to learn, and so to call a mage a dazzler is to call them a simpleton. Fans of Dungeons & Dragons might know of a similar low-level spell.
Spoonsucker
Aristocrats are already often mentioned as having been born with a silver spoon in their mouths, and this insult takes it a step further, implying that the aristocrat not only has privilege, but wants and expects more, like trying to suck more soup from a spoon that can only give so much. In essence, a spoonsucker isn’t just an aristocrat, it’s one that demands more and more simply because of their privilege.
The hardest part about the detention scene was making it sound like they were ungodly bored without making the reader bored, too >.<
Interesting that you found that underlying theme of Chorem worried about what he wants to be. I expected most people would only see it at its base, where Chorem only fails because he doesn't want to get hassled by his classmates, but there is some overall uncertainty in the kid, and it's a much larger part of what makes Chorem who he is, and what's to come.
Also for everyone, I talked about this in my newest blarg post, but I suppose I should post it here for good measure, too...
Same here, I'll be spreading the word, seeing as I can not donate anything righ now.
As an artist myself I know how hard it is to get exposure... I mean I'm still a student but I really wanna publish an illustrations book one day and without exposure no one is gonna buy it.
I wish you the best of luck with it!
I'm gonna give out my thoughts on chapter 2 later today^^
There certainly is something in the works^^And I appreciate your support too Likewise, if you've got anymore fanart you wanna do, I'll certainly be showing it off on muh blarg. It's a mutual thing, hahaha.
I didn't mind the time skip as much as I thought I would, but it wasn't that long and the dialouge between the characters pretty much summed up the events of that time perfectly. They are also one of your greatest assets, none of them sound forced and they all flow pretty well.
Which brings me to the characters. I really like what you're doing with the archetypes that they represent. You seem to have them fleshed out pretty well, since I do have the feeling that they are actual characters, with layers of personality.
On a side note, I really don't know why, but that scene with Volnen reminded me of the first Harry Potter book where they meet Draco for the first time XD
Well Din is the wise old man, with a mysterious past.Hmmmmmm...what archetypes do you think they represent? Not skeptical or anything, just super-curious :3
Haha! Well, it's actually a slight parody of Back to the Future's scene where Marty is in the cafe in the past, sitting next to young father. Notice how both Dylock and Chorem both respond to the name the bully calls Chorem. This isn't the only Back to the Future reference I have inadvertently planned
Here's a little Chapter III teaser for yah
“I fail see how that’s my fault, considering sahuagin don’t have a habitat anywhere close to here for one to have wandered into a busy capitol, let alone a café,” Chorem said. “They should have known it was an illusion.”
“Most people don’t know such irrelevant trivia, Chorem,” Dylock responded.
“Irrelevant trivia? We learned that last week in survival class, it’s in our bestiary,” Chorem explained.
“Ho…so that means it’s going to be on the test this week…doesn’t it?” Dylock asked.
Also, you omitted the word "to" at the very start of the sentence. ^^; (I fail to see).