Scootaloo 2,575 members · 3,273 stories
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So I'm about half way done with my Scootaloo Quibble one shot stories and I'd like to know how good I've done so far I'm providing a link to my first one. Since they all have links to each other, here we go, I do ask that only constructive criticisms be given on each story so I know what is right and wrong on each one. Merci beaucoup to all that take me up on this.

6007887
So I read a few of the long description/story page descriptions of your stories, and not a single one stands out to me as anything I would ever want to read.

There is no rule that says every story needs a different cover art, or any cover art at all, but seeing the same one that many times in the story list is a pretty big red flag to not continue.

The limp and uninspired descriptions don't interest me either.

This was originally going to be about Scootaloo bragging about her adopted dad during a family appreciation day. But I think it is better now just a normal day for the father daughter duo.
There were no stories with just the two of them so I naturally had to rectify this terrible injustice! For The Q, from CBM

In fact, I think this one ought to be reported to the site mods for not even being a description of what the story is. You're abusing the privilege of auto-approval here.

Your apparent fascination with Quibble Pants is off-putting. Frankly, I don't even care how you set them up, but the idea of opening a single one of your stories and having to put up with a "good" characterization for him is like willfully taking a cheesegrater to my brain. If you make him pleasant to read about, he'll be out of character and I'd still need to downvote due to poor writing. So, if I take you up on your offer, you can expect a downvote for every story I read of yours. So lets do us both a favor and not do that.

6008360
Huh thought that I changed that, C'est le vie, non? Well I got it now. Any whose I was just putting this up for anyone that would be interested in reading them and giving a critique. If you're not interested in reading a story then it's just not you and I can respect that. Personal preference is a choice for anybody, and everybody no rights or wrongs when it comes to your reading list. The cover art was from a bet and since I doubt HerrEsel's interested in double or nothing I don't really see myself getting any new artwork unless one of the people who did like it creates the piece and lets me use it. Thanks for pointing that out non. Descriptions are tough, for me. Any who Merci beaucoup for the comment and the front line critique.

Read "Sick Day".

Just from reading the description, I'd say your writing needs some work, including in the grammar department. The description is where you make the first impression on a reader, and so you don't want it to be sloppy. Reading this one, the only reason I'd be inclined to dive further into the story would be if the writer was asking for feedback and I was in the mood to do so.

Breaking it down:

Scootaloo never needed an alarm clock, because her dad always wakes her up on time.

You only use commas before an adverbial clause (such as the one you begin with "because") when not doing so would cause confusion. For example, consider this sentence: "He didn’t run because he was afraid." That could mean that he didn't run due to being afraid, or it could be followed by a sentence that explains why he did run for some other reason. So for clarity's sake, if he did indeed not run due to his fear, you'd go "He didn’t run, because he was afraid." This sort of thing isn't an issue here, so no comma.

Second, you've got tense issues. She either never needs an alarm clock because her dad always wakes her up on time, or else she had never needed one because her dad always woke her up on time. Given the rest of the sentence, the past tense should be used here.

This sentence tells us that her father always wakes her up on time. Except the sentence that follows tells us that is not the case.

Normally every now and then he get distracted by work and she be late.

Dump the normally, because it is at odds with the "every now and then". Alternately move it... "Every now and then, he'd get distracted, normally due to work, and she'd be late."

You should have a comma after "then".

"She be late" and "he get" are both missing the word "would" in there, potentially contracted. This isn't characters speaking in Ebonics.

This time when he doesn't call her down it's not because he has his nose stuck in the future best selling book of Equestria it's because he's sick and in bed.

First up, this is two sentences stuck together. You need to start a new sentence after "Equestria". If you want the two to be a bit connected, you can use a semicolon instead of a period/full-stop.

You also need some commas in here. "This time" and "when he doesn't call her down" are both parenthetical statements, so it should look like "This time, when he doesn't call her down,..."

Given the use of "future", I'm guessing he's writing a future bestseller, not reading one. "His nose stuck in" is something readers will interpret as him reading a book, which makes "future best selling book" seem a bit weird. You probably want to go with something more like "...not because he's hard at work writing his next bestseller". Assume he's written one before, of course. If he hasn't, you'll have to rework the wording to something appropriate. If on the other hand, he's actually reading, just call it "a bestseller" or maybe "the latest bestseller". Unless he's a proofreader/editor, so it is a potential future bestseller, in which case you can leave "future", maybe adding a "potential" in there, and should probably swap out the verb to something that makes it clear he was proofreading/editing.

The phrase "best selling book of Equestria" is clunky. You never really see (at least here in America) a regional limitation applied to that sort of phrase, except for maybe with the addition of "world-wide". The "in your own country" bit is just implied. So I'd just call it a best selling book.

Quibble Has had a hard week and now is bed redden and sick.

You mean "bedridden", not "bed redden". To redden something is to make it red.

"Has" is capitalized and shouldn't be.

While he's thankful his daughter's not sick, and is looking after him. He wishes she'd just go to school, and quit worrying.

This should be a single sentence. While he's thankful for stuff, he wishes...

In both clauses of the sentence, you separate a verb from its subject with an unnecessary comma. Quibble is thankful his daughter is not sick and is looking after him. He wishes she would just go to school and quit worrying. There are times when it is okay to use commas in situations like that, but that is, as with before "because", to avoid confusion, to make clear it is first one action, then the other following it. This is not one of those situations.

The story itself contains similar issues. Some examples:

She sat up on the bed.. and rubbed her eyes.

".." should either be gone, an ellipsis (...), or a comma.

"Good morning Mom," she said reflexively.

The addressee is a parenthetical statement and should be separated from the rest of th sentence by a comma. "Good morning, Mom," she said reflexively.

"Huh," she said her mental clogs slowly turning.

"her mental clogs slowly turning" needs a comma before it, as it is a parenthetical statement. This particular type of error happens frequently in your writing.

Dad must have gotten so caught up reading he forgot to get me up.

Your story is told from third person, but this particular sentence is first person. You need something to indicate that this is Scootaloo's thoughts. Put it in italics or add quotes and a ", Scootaloo thought."

The one time that Spike had been in here he had told her dad only half jokingly that he'd set them on fire to keep that from happening.

Pronoun confusion. It is unclear here whether it is Spike or Quibble that would be setting the fire.

He started whizzing and coughing.

"Whiz" means to fly through the air or urinate. I think you meant to use "wheezing".

Scootaloo sighed just like that she knew she wasn't going to be seeing Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle today.

Like in the description, you have two independent clauses and no punctuation or conjunction in between them. It should be "Scootaloo sighed. Just like that...", "Scootaloo sighed, and just like that...", "Scootaloo sighed, knowing just like that that she...", or "Scootaloo sighed; just like that, she knew..."

You've also got to watch for typos. Some examples of that:
"she new" - knew
"Scotaloo" - Scootaloo
"he threat" - his
"Taco Stand Chiefs" - Chefs
"love you to" - too

So mostly:
Brush up on the rules for comma usage.
Watch for run-on sentences.
Watch for typos.

Now, I'm a bit of a stickler for grammar. Not that my grammar is perfect. I make plenty of mistakes. But one should know the basics, as well as catch as many typos and such as possible. The occasional screw-up is forgivable, but frequent errors, especially at a basic level, can take a reader such as myself out of the story. A helpful hint with proofreading: give it time between proofreads. Finish the story, sleep, and then proofread it the next day. Wait another few hours, then proofread again. Repeat as necessary. By doing this, you'll be more likely to notice errors as you will be in less of an auto-pilot mode.

Lastly, as to the story itself:
I found it to lack in its ability to create an emotional reaction. There's no weight.

It pretty much was just Scootaloo getting up, going to talk to her father, then going to Zecora's, and finally back home to cure her father. You even remove some possible tension, telling us the forest is perfectly safe. So she might as well have walked down to the corner store. Likewise, her skipping school is only superficially an issue. No talk of how she is barely passing, or how she's missed several days already and Cheerilee or maybe the principal had called Quibble in and warned him about Scootaloo missing any more days, that it would lead to expulsion.

Imagine if Quibble did bring that issue up. Possibly with it meaning Scootaloo would have to change schools, separating her from the CMC. And if Scootaloo pleads with her father to go to the doctor, but he refuses, perhaps collapsing, his fever that high. So Scootaloo races to the doctor, since she's already late and that will only take 15 minutes, but alas, he is out on some emergency. And so Scootaloo decides to make the journey through the Everfree, fraught with peril, her fear building with every rustle of the leaves or cracking of a twig, to find Zecora. She has to do it, no matter the risk, no matter if it means she will no longer go to the same school as Sweetie and AB. And so she reaches Zecora's hut. And then you cut to Quibble's bedroom, as he comes to, and perhaps some school related comment. To which Zecora would reply that he's lucky to have such a daughter, that she got there just in time, and she'd be sure to let the school know that Scootaloo was a hero. And then a heartfelt father/daughter moment to close it all out. Potentially with Scootaloo still being grounded (but in a light way, say by not being allowed to eat brussel sprouts for a whole month, if you'd mentioned somewhere earlier in the story how Scootaloo hates them) for a touch of humor.

That isn't to say that a story necessarily needs conflict, to have stakes, but it does need to engage the reader. Overall, it didn't do that for me.

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