Chatterbox: Inkwell

 Okay, I have an editing request!!!  This is the prologue of my NaNoNovel.  I don't praise, I want constructive critisism.

 

           Zotnoke’s tail bristled slightly as he thought of what the human’s did to the wolves and their land.  His hackles raised as he thought of what they had done to his past. No matter, he reminded himself.  Tonight, things will change.à            The Council of Wolves sat in a circle amongst the trees in the forest that night.  They sat in a small clearing nearly hidden by the thickness of evergreens.  Clouds covered up a full moon, and trees shivered in the wind.  A perfect setting for the mood everyone is in, Zotnoke thought.            “Tonight we discuss how to deal with the humans.” Fahtan, Zotnoke's second in command. spat out the word like a piece of grass.  “Suggestions?”            “I think we should let them do what they want,” Lillilita said.  She was a peaceful wolf, rarely joining in with hunts or raids, yet she was a vicious enemy if needed.            “No!” said Kahkian, one of the more aggressive wolves.  “Attack them, show them who is top dog!”            “Too risky,” Fahtan said, his nose twitching lightly, he smelled a skunk somewhere near, “they have guns and traps.  We would never survive."

            "But, they fear us," Lillilita said in a soft voice, "They no longer fight back."

                "Perhaps, but what if they change once more if we also change?" Yakulane said wisely.

            As each wolf in turn shared his idea, Zotnoke laughed at them so that only he could hear.  Have they all forgotten the ancient tradition? he thought.  When, at last, they seemed to have run out of ideas Zotnoke stood up and growled, “The Wolf Call.”            What!” Fahtan yelped.  “That is too—too dangerous!  Remember the disaster last time?”            “It is our only hope.  And I am the leader, so it is my choice.”  Zotnoke sat down and proceeded to lick his paw, sure of what the answer would be.            Fahtan growled in disgust.  "See reason!  We will lose fewer wolves in one hundred winters than we would using the Wolf Call!"            Zotnoke placed his foot back down on the ground and looked around before standing up to keep the rest of the council waiting.  "What about one thousand winters or ten thousand?  If we do not do it now, the younger generations will have to do it later, when there is nothing left of our once great and many packs.  Tell me, which would be better, Fahtan?"            Fahtan glanced around at the pack, hoping for some sort if support.  He knew that if this was what Zotnoke, the pack leader, wanted to do, he could not be swayed, but still, he tried.  Finally he hung his head in submission.  "Very well, we will meet tomorrow morning."

submitted by Charlotte, age 13, Right here, duh
(April 17, 2011 - 1:36 pm)

I seem to remember editing this one already...

submitted by Kat, age 13, Good question,
(April 17, 2011 - 9:40 pm)

Warning: I am a major purist and don't even fully understand the concept of poetic license, especially when it comes to animal fantasy. I hope that this is helpful, but if in any case I'm just being unreasonable, sorry. By the way, I do think that this is good overall, and I want to read more. The reason I'm not including that in my list is because that isn't what you asked for. I'm only telling you now so you can know what I think of it in general. Anyway, here are the things I'm criticizing/suggesting:

1: Names. This isn't particularly important, but I've never understood why people tend to give animal characters those sorts of names. You might have a good reason, but if so, please make it clear in the story. The thing is, wolves aren't able to pronounce those names, and they're unlikely to accept names given by a human since they hate them so much, so it doesn't really make much sense.

2. "His hackles raised as he thought of what they had done to his past." Unless the humans are time travelers--in which case this doesn't apply, and you can ignore it--they probably didn't do anything to his past. Do you mean what they had done in his past?

3. Not a criticism but an idea that you may not want to use, which would be fine, but I'm just putting it out there: Since wolves don't speak, they presumably don't think in words. They do communicate in their own way, but much of it isn't in sound. I've always thought it would be interesting and put a new perspective on things if they had some other thinking process in a story. People have tried it, but it was always pictures. Not that there's anything wrong with visual thinking; that's how I think myself. It's just that you might want to try something different if you use this suggestion at all.

4. I've never seen a group of animals decide on their own to sit in a circle.

5. "She was a peaceful wolf, rarely joining in with hunts or raids, yet she was a vicious enemy if needed." I might be wrong, but I'm pretty sure all wolves have to join in the hunt at some point, generally quite often. Maybe she doesn't like harming other beings, but what you said implies that she knows when it is necessary. Hunting in a wolf pack isn't really an option; it's an obligation. She might be able to stay out of raids, though. I also think that she might be more likely to say something hesitantly in the humans' defense than just, "Let's let them destroy us." The latter doesn't make much sense. The former shows that she has good reasons for her opinion but perhaps doesn't realize exactly what she's proposing, which makes more sense for someone in her place. Or she could say immediately that 'They no longer fight back,' so there'd be no need. What she actually said was a bit too... outright. And unreasonable. "But, they fear us," isn't grammatical, by the way; I'd advise changing the comma to an ellipsis.

6. "As each wolf in turn shared his idea, Zotnoke laughed at them so that only he could hear." Maybe this is too nitpicky, but wolves don't really laugh...

7: “Too risky,” Fahtan said, his nose twitching lightly, he smelled a skunk somewhere near, “they have guns and traps." 'He smelled a skunk somewhere near' is a sentence, or at least ought to be. It has a subject and a predicate. A comma isn't enough to separate it from the rest. Put it in parentheses instead, or make it a separate sentence, or put a conjunction before it, or do something else to correct it.

8. "Zotnoke sat down and proceeded to lick his paw, sure of what the answer would be." I'm not sure wolves do lick their paws, except when they're injured. Dogs certainly don't.

submitted by Ima, Weissnichtwo
(April 17, 2011 - 10:04 pm)

@Ima:

1. Yes, I should probably come up with a new communication method.

2. Yes, 'in' would be the correct preposition.  :P

4.  It's fantasy.  Basically, the wolves have gotten a hold on magic and they're starting to become a little intelligent from it.

5. I'll polish that up

7. Yes...

8. Our dogs lick their paws.

 

@Kat:  I think I did post it at some point in time.

submitted by Charlotte, age 13, Lost in my mind
(April 18, 2011 - 1:22 pm)

4. Oh, I see. That makes sense.

8. Oh, I didn't know.

submitted by Ima
(April 18, 2011 - 9:07 pm)

Okay, the newy edited prologue (and I am so lazy that I copy and paste, which would be why my formatting was weird last time):

 

            Zotnoke’s tail bristled as he thought of what the humans were doing to the wolves and their land. His hackles raised as he thought of what they had done in his past. No matter, he thought. Tonight, things will change.

           

           

            The Council of Wolves sat in a circle in the forest that night. They sat in a small clearing, hidden by the thickness of evergreens. Clouds covered up a full moon, and trees shivered in the wind.  A perfect setting for the mood we are in, Zotnoke thought.    Tonight we discuss how to deal with the humans, Fahtan, Zotnoke's second in command, said with his thoughts directed to all the wolves.  Suggestions?           

I think we should let them do what they want, Lillilita said. She did not wish people to retaliate, knowing the result would be disastrous.           

No! barked Kahkian. Attack them, show them who is top dog!           

Too risky, Fahtan said, his nose twitching; he smelled a skunk nearby. They have guns and traps. We would never survive.           

But… they fear us, Lillilita said in a quiet thought, they no longer fight back.

                It is only because we do not fight, Fahtan replied with wisdom etched into his thoughts.

            As each wolf in turn shared his idea, Zotnoke laughed at them to himself. Have they all forgotten the ancient tradition? he thought, but only so that he could hear. 

When they seemed to have run out of ideas, Zotnoke stood up and growled, The Wolf Call.           

What? Fahtan yelped. That is too—too dangerous! Remember the disaster last time?           

It is our only hope. I am the leader, so it is my choice. Zotnoke sat down and proceeded to lick his paw in assuredness of the answer yet to come.           

Fahtan growled in disgust. See reason! We will lose fewer wolves in one hundred winters than we would using the Wolf Call!            

Zotnoke placed his foot back on the ground and looked around before standing up. What about one thousand winters or ten thousand? If we do not do it now, the younger generations will have to do it then, before there is nothing left of our once great and many packs. Tell me, Fahtan, which would be better?            

Fahtan glanced around at the pack, hoping for support. He knew that if this was what Zotnoke, the pack leader, wanted to do, there was no swaying him. Yet, he tried without luck. Finally he hung his head in submission. Very well, we will meet tomorrow morning.

 

submitted by Charlotte, age 13, Closer to a wi-
(April 20, 2011 - 1:50 pm)

HEY!!!  I NEED EDITING HERE!!!!!

submitted by The topper
(April 21, 2011 - 9:30 pm)

Okay, I am usually more of the grammar/punctuation type of girl, so, if you don't mind, here is the edited edition. (I put in bold the changes I made)

 

Zotnoke’s tail bristled as he thought of what the humans were doing to the wolves and their land. His hackles raised as he thought of what they had done in his past. "No matter," he thought. "Tonight, things will change."

 

    The Council of Wolves sat in a circle in the forest that night. They sat in a small clearing, hidden by the thickness of evergreens. Clouds covered up a full moon, and trees shivered in the wind. "A perfect setting for the mood we are in," Zotnoke thought.    "Tonight we discuss how to deal with the humans."

 

"Suggestions?" Fahtan, Zotnoke's second in command, said with his thoughts directed to all the wolves.         

"I think we should let them do what they want," Lillilita said. She did not wish people to retaliate, knowing the result would be disastrous.           

"No!" barked Kahkian. "Attack them! Show them who is top dog!"           

"Too risky," Fahtan said, his nose twitching for he smelled a skunk nearby. "They have guns and traps. We would never survive."         

"But… they fear us," Lillilita said in a quiet thought, "They no longer fight back."

"It is only because we do not fight," Fahtan replied with wisdom etched into his thoughts. As each wolf in turn shared his idea, Zotnoke laughed at them to himself.

"Have they all forgotten the ancient tradition?" he thought, but only so that he could hear. When they seemed to have run out of ideas, Zotnoke stood up and growled, "The Wolf Call."       

"What?"  Fahtan yelped. "That is too—too dangerous! Remember the disaster last time?"        

"It is our only hope. I am the leader, so it is my choice." Zotnoke sat down and proceeded to lick his paw in assuredness of the answer yet to come.           

Fahtan growled in disgust. "See reason! We will lose fewer wolves in one hundred winters than we would using the Wolf Call!" Zotnoke placed his foot back on the ground and looked around before standing up.

"What about one thousand winters or ten thousand? If we do not do it now, the younger generations will have to do it then, before there is nothing left of our once great and many packs. Tell me, Fahtan, which would be better?" Fahtan glanced around at the pack, hoping for support. He knew that if this was what Zotnoke, the pack leader, wanted to do, there was no swaying him. Yet, he tried without luck. Finally he hung his head in submission. "Very well, we will meet tomorrow morning," he said.

submitted by Princess P.
(April 25, 2011 - 11:50 am)