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[Anastasia]

I guess I can ramble if I want to, since nobody will read this anyway. :/

I first started writing when I was 10, and I haven't stopped since then.

I would, however, like feedback on my stories, which I will be posting here.

So...yeah.

[Anastasia]

Fourteen Falling Signs, my current WIP.

Enjoy! I would love feedback; this story is being rather stingy, if you know what I mean. ;)

http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/3...

[Taylor]

What genres do you work in? I'm too lazy to check. XD

[Anastasia]

Timothy wrote: "What genres do you work in? I'm too lazy to check. XD"

Spark is a mix of Adventure and Sci-Fi, while Fourteen Falling Signs is Contemporary.

[Taylor]

Anastasia, have you ever heard of a book called The Maze Runner? Spark's premise sounds almost identical.

[Anastasia]

Timothy wrote: "Anastasia, have you ever heard of a book called The Maze Runner? Spark's premise sounds almost identical."

I have. However, while the premises may sound the same, the two storylines pretty much diverge from there.

[Taylor]

I take responsibility for any offense taken from my comments, but here is what I think.

This is way too similar to Maze Runner, to be honest. The lab rat deal is utilized in this story, only with a lot less known reasoning. To be frank, it reads like a poor Maze Runner fanfic. Good writing, though...if a bit too familiar.

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

To be fair, the whole "lab rat" thing is a cliché to begin with; that is, I didn't think The Maze Runner was terribly original. Clichés aren't necessarily bad, however, as long as the author takes some kind of original spin on them. So, two books can have the same somewhat clichéd premise and still be very different. I don't think it's super constructive to tell someone that their story reads like a "poor fanfic" of another book, unless you have some suggestions as to how to make it more different from this other book.

[Anastasia]

Brigid *Flying Kick-a-pow!* wrote: "To be fair, the whole "lab rat" thing is a cliché to begin with; that is, I didn't think The Maze Runner was terribly original. Clichés aren't necessarily bad, however, as long as the author takes ..."

Thank you for supporting me, Brigid. I agree.

[Taylor]

She asked for feedback, and I gave it. If she wants me to give a formal critique, I'd be more than happy to do so. But it seems unreasonable to ask someone for feedback and expect to be full of helpful detailed advice. This was just a knee-jerk reaction. I apologize if anyone was offended by my reaction.

The reason why I say it reads like a bad fanfic is because, from what I managed to read of the first bit, you have a nearly identical situation. Main character wakes up, not knowing where he is and pretty much knowing nothing other than his name and how to speak. All of the kids are weird and are at the center of this maze trying to survive and find a way out. And, because Mr. Dashner has so much more experience, he simply did a better job at writing the scene, whether it was cliche or not.

[Brigid ✩, No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.]

I'm not necessarily disagreeing that the premise is similar, just that I think you might want to be more careful about your word choice. I also don't think it's unreasonable for someone to expect helpful advice when they ask for feedback. You don't need to write a "formal critique" but I think it's expected that you actually say something that will help the writer in some way. What I'm saying is, just telling someone "it's bad" isn't what I consider constructive. It just sounds discouraging. It may be your honest opinion, but it's not helpful to the writer. It would be better to say something like, "I think your premise is too similar to this book; maybe you could try adding this or that to make it more original." You see what I mean?

I also dislike James Dashner's writing so I don't agree with you on that front, although I guess that's kind of irrelevant...

[Anastasia]

Thank you both for your opinions. I appreciate your feedback. :)

[Anastasia]

Yay!

[Anastasia]

Poems!

[Anastasia]

http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/3...

My new WIP!