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Dog Tags, Chapter 0: Prolouge

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novel, action, fiction, thriller
1st
Draft

Published on:

March 20, 6:30pm

Word Count:

1616

Work Description

I know it's patchy and needs alot of work, but I love war stories, and often don't make alot of sense when writing them. So please, feel free to critique, but I hope you enjoy!

Chapter Description

This starts off the book by describing the setting of the book, and will start off a conflict that MIGHT come up later.

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I wake to a firm hand on my shoulder.

“Wake up, man! We’re home! We’re finally home!” Shouts and cheers fill the space of the Greyhound bus, warm spring air brings me to life as windows open, cheers and applause coming from outside. The blurred outline of hundreds of family members outside fill with detail as my vision comes into focus. I look up as Jeff reaches over me, sticks his head out the window, and shouts to his wife, tears rolling down her cheeks. I finally sit up and look out the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of my loved ones. As I do, the bus comes to a halt, cheers erupt around me; people start lining up in the aisle way, not even bothering to grab their bags or personal belongings. I scramble to my feet, trying to shove my way into the line that has formed in the aisle, clutching nothing more than a small red teddy bear.

I look to Jeff as he pats me on the back, “How’s it feel? Comin’ back after all these years?”

I smile and turn towards the front of the bus, trying to hide the single tear working its way down my cheek. All I could mutter was, “It feels…like home.”

I rush off the bus as quickly as the line will move, and begin scanning left to right for the slightest hint of a friendly face. I turn to Jeff, but he’s already locking lips with his wife, his kids clinging to his legs. “Good for him…” I mumble to myself, “…Good for him…”

I start pushing my way through the crowd, looking everywhere for a glimpse; a glimpse is all I need. I don’t see anybody anywhere. They had to be here, somewhere.

As I turn, I hear the voice in my head, the voice which has kept me alive all these years: “Adam!!!” This time it was for real. I turn and see Tara sprinting full tilt towards me, bumping into passerby as she went. I hold open my arms, waiting to catch her, and as she jumps…

 

I wake up… and look around my tent…my squad mates sleeping in bunks around me. I blink as cold beads of sweat roll off my forehead and into my eye. I raise a tired hand and wipe the rest from my brow. I sit up on the edge of my cot, feeling the cold tingle of my dog tags as they brush against my bare chest. I shiver for a moment as a light wind blows into the tent, causing the tan tarp ceiling to shudder; then gently glide back into place. I grab a shirt from the footlocker at the end of my bunk, and walk to the slit in the tarp that serves as a door. I slide the shirt over my head, taking in the bitter-sweet aroma of stale sweat from the day before. Pulling a flap of the tarp aside, I see Jeff sitting in a lawn chair in front of a drum fire. He looks over at me; then pulls out another chair from behind the crates stacked against the tent; he then reaches down into the cooler at his feet and pulls out a bottle of water and holds it out to me.

“Pop a squat, man.” He says, smiling.

I sit into the chair, letting my butt slump forward and my back slouch as the heat from the drum fire soaks into me. I twist open the cold water and tilt it back against my lips, letting the icy liquid slide down my throat. I take in a gasp of air as I look at the water bottle, now empty.

I look out at the cold, lonely, barren dessert; the red moon looming over the sand. I can’t help but wonder what we were doing here; what we were trying to accomplish. Tossing the empty bottle into the golden blaze, I listen to the hollow clanging as it bounces off the sides of the barrel. I look to the horizon as the sun begins to peek over the desolate hills.

Jeff holds his bottle up against the pink ellipse, letting it the rays shine through, covering his face in

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Discussion

 Even though you say that you are not good at making stories, yet you love war stories, I still got the opportunity to enjoy this. It is okay if you do not make sense when writing, just take your time and reread your work for any possible errors. The first time I tried publishing a work on here (I am still editing this work) called Carmine Being and The Midnight Rose (It is romantic story of two troubled valentines) people have said that it was good, but redundant. It had first gotten three stars out of five, then later it got two stars out of five. I had to delete it, so you are not the only one with a story that does not make sense. I feel that you have a lot going for you when it comes to writing. I believe in your potential to do war stories and such. Nothing was bad about this piece except the title you made called Prolouge. It is Prologue. Also if you are not sure on how to spell a word, get a dictionary and look that word up. This is a reference for avoiding any spelling errors. Also besides this story, I think that you should make a story on World Wars one and two. Here is how the first one should go for you:

Crossfire rang across the battlefield.

"You sure you can make it out there, Private Parker?" asked the Drill Sergeant.

"Sir yes, sir!"

I was a bit shaken that I was going to serve in this war. Millions of bold and brave soldiers had fallen just to win this war. It was do or die. Either I win this epic battle or die trying in stray bullets that fly in the line of fire.

Contact me on my scratchpad (Or give me a gift say thanks, or better yet send me a private message.) to tell me what you think about the blockquote that I posted up there. Overall, I believe that this story can be very good once you try at it and go with my suggestions of help. Take care!

 tears rolling down her cheeks.

How does the character know this is he's not looking out the window?  Stay true to you POV.

hoping to catch a glimpse of my loved ones.

Here I'd like to know what loved ones he's looking for.  Specifics with names. 

I look to Jeff as he pats me on the back, “How’s it feel? Comin’ back after all these years?”

Because you started the sentence with "I", I thought he was speaking instead of Jeff. 

cold, lonely, barren dessert

You've told us that it's cold lonely and barren, now can you show us through the power of description.  Tell us about the empty horizon, the heat running from the sand, etc...Example of showing, not telling.

everyone laying prone

Wow. I didn't know the word prone.  Taught me something new.

is more than just gunpowder and compressed air propelling that bullet, there’s anger.

Fantastic.

In fact, the whole thing is fantastic.  Well written, grim, lonely, intense.  I can't really say much more, which tends to be rare for me. Great Job.

Amber

 Hello again, Stigma! What did you think of my idea? I had just come by to say that I hope my ideas worked for you on doing another novel about World War One, World War Two, The Civil War, and The Vietnam War. You should do a compilation of stories based on those war stories, called The Chronicles of War: Throughout The Century. I had just gotten you an idea of your first story (World War One) and pretty soon, I will give you ideas about the other wars too! Oh, and please write on my scratchpad to tell me what you think. Take care and I wish for your to see some stories on my profile. Bye now, don't forget to write!

Shouts and cheers fill the space of the Greyhound bus, warm spring air brings me to life as windows open, cheers and applause coming from outside.

You've got several subject-verbs in this sentence. Not a copy editor so I don't know how to classify it, but it is somehow gramatically incorrect.

The blurred outline of hundreds of family members outside fill with detail as my vision comes into focus.

The subject "outline" and the verb "fill" seem weak to me for this sentence. I can sense the image you're trying to describe, but it might work better if you describe the "I" narrator's feelings and experience. "My vision was blurry, but gradually I could make out the distinct outline of hundreds of family members as we drew nearer..."

I look up as Jeff reaches over me, sticks his head out the window, and shouts to his wife, tears rolling down her cheeks. I finally sit up and look out the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of my loved ones. As I do, the bus comes to a halt, cheers erupt around me; people start lining up in the aisle way, not even bothering to grab their bags or personal belongings. I scramble to my feet, trying to shove my way into the line that has formed in the aisle, clutching nothing more than a small red teddy bear.

This sounds like stage directions to me. I think it'd work better told as the narrator's experience. Or perhaps break it up a little so the action is visible. At least then it'd be easier on the eyes.

As I turn, I hear the voice in my head, the voice which has kept me alive all these years: “Adam!!!” This time it was for real. I turn and see Tara sprinting full tilt towards me, bumping into passerby as she went. I hold open my arms, waiting to catch her, and as she jumps…

This ends the dream, but I feel like it'd be more of a hook if I didn't see Tara. For a moment, you had me hooked-- I was thinking, 'where is his family?' but then you close the suspense a sentence later.

Then, we're out of the dream-- and I wonder, why even have any suspense about him wondering where his family is? The hook felt wasted to me.

I look out at the cold, lonely, barren dessert;

desert

“Back in the states, we would’ve been up all night, working on those presentations for the boss, waking up to hot cup of coffee, taking in the sounds of the city below.”

I like what you're doing with this scene-- but this line of dialogue feels just a bit off. It sounds too long. The following sentence "...here we get paid to fire rifles and blow crap up" hits just the right note.

Now, Jeff’s cot lays empty at night. Nothing more remains but memories, dog tags, and a letter sent home to his wife. I can see her now in my mind. Just like in my dreams, she’ll have tears rolling down her cheeks, he’ll be coming home…in a casket….

This last paragraph was too on-the-nose for me. I know what's happened. I know the sentiment behind it. But it just feels like someone's trying to drill it into my head. The impact of the sequence is already there when I read "...I just step over it... and keep on walking..." That's dramatic. Everything after that seemed to me like an unnecessary monologue, like voice over narration in a film.

I think this is an excellent first chapter. My main criticism is about the opening scene on the bus ride home. Although I get the idea behind it, I feel that (from a book perspective) the opening of this novel would work better if it began in the tent at "A shot rings through the cold Middle-Eastern morning air..." That's captivating. The whole sequence preceding it is good--so I wouldn't eliminate it-- but not necessarily for the opening of a book. It didn't capture me like the tent sequence did, and it's the opinion of many publishers that you've got to capture the reader in the first few paragraphs of the book.

On a sidenote, if any of this material comes from first hand experience, you're going to have an even more advantageous time selling it. You've demonstrated some skill here. I encourage you to continue with this. Best of luck!

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