THE PAPER DOLL

"The Paper Doll" - Bradley. I read the first 5 chapters and scanned through 8 and several comments. You write in a prose/poetry style that is very different and unusual. I wasn't sure whether this was going to be psych thriller or psych self-discovery book - still not sure. Some thoughts: suggest you don't keep asking reader if he/she is bored - self-fulfilling prophesy?; you might want to combine several short chapters; I wonder if adding a graphic "game board" might help?; I'm not sure of your target audience, but hopefully you will find one here.

Gideon ("Thrill Writer's Remorse")

Francene - You had me worried regarding being sent to chapter 25. Your eyes are deceiving you, there is no instruction to go to chapter 25 because it does not exist. Phew. I have tied myself in knots writing this and all the connotations work wherever you are in the book. I need to make this clear for future readers, it is the essence of the book.

The poetic prose hypnotises, but after a while this reader grows restless. I followed the game until I was sent to chapter 25. There is no 25. Therefore I continued reading. The concepts became better, the further i read. I chose pink, but seeing as I wasn't directed I continued reading. On and on. The game prompted me to continue reading, to not be bored. No tension, no excitement kept me glued to the page. Simply duty. I must continue because ... who knows? A sense of debt to finish what I started. And so I read to the end, only to be sent ... I don't want to give away the trick ending.

Good thoughts throughout, but, for me, not enough to involve me. I guess I need a story to wrap around the thoughts. Pitiful. But that's the way I operate.

Best of luck with this book. It's certainly different.

Francene.

The poetic prose hypnotises, but after a while this reader grows restless. I followed the game until I was sent to chapter 25. There is no 25. Therefore I continued reading. The concepts became better, the further i read. I chose pink, but seeing as I wasn't directed I continued reading. On and on. The game prompted me to continue reading, to not be bored. No tension, no excitement kept me glued to the page. Simply duty. I must continue because ... who knows? A sense of debt to finish what I started. And so I read to the end, only to be sent ... I don't want to give away the trick ending.

Good thoughts throughout, but, for me, not enough to involve me. I guess I need a story to wrap around the thoughts. Pitiful. But that's the way I operate.

Best of luck with this book. It's certainly different.

Francene.

Just carry on reading the next chapters until you have to choose.

Hi. I started reading Paper Doll and was instantly drawn in by the poetry, aggressive narrator and interesting typography but I feel I might be a tad dense as I've got to chapter 5 and have no idea what to do next or where to go or if I should be throwing a dice or.... Any hints or tips would be appreciated.

Hi. I started reading Paper Doll and was instantly drawn in by the poetry, aggressive narrator and interesting typography but I feel I might be a tad dense as I've got to chapter 5 and have no idea what to do next or where to go or if I should be throwing a dice or.... Any hints or tips would be appreciated.

Hi. I started reading Paper Doll and was instantly drawn in by the poetry, aggressive narrator and interesting typography but I feel I might be a tad dense as I've got to chapter 5 and have no idea what to do next or where to go or if I should be throwing a dice or.... Any hints or tips would be appreciated.

Bradley -

The Paper Doll – the house as a metaphor for the personality is one of the guided imageries I use in my work. It is found in a clearing after a journey through a copse along a brook. More often than not the house is not recognised nor taken responsbility for. Poignant insights emerge from such explorations. You offer a maze, the tunnel of forgetting into a new birth and identification, new attachments and separations. Owning a house can be fraught with difficulties, exploring the rooms, living. In the end we become what we think. Wouldn’t it be lovely if all players in that house acknowledged each other, if there was no need for locks and keys? It is a game where we meet ourselves in many guises, and it is easy to get lost. This and more you convey. I enjoyed the chapel, the healing room, the garden :) Well-rated for now, and grateful for your support here. Pia

Give this to Tim Burton and the most horrific physiological thriller would hit our screens with a bang that would reverberate across the globe!
I recognise this place, when I have nowhere else to look I look inside my mind, this is what I find. There is a game to play and You (me, I) is the only one playing. When you play against yourself it is more frightening and rewarding than playing against others.
Deep inside, you can not cheat.

This is something impressively different compared to everything else I've seen here on Authonomy. I have added it to my watchlist as it certainly deserves close inspection in all aspects.

Now we are squared up in front of our chess board, me white you black, I shall move my pawn to queen two. Oh you copied my move with that slight tremble in your hand, those creases in the lines of your skin. I'll bring out my bishop, oh your bringing out your bishop, I've just noticed your fingernails are sharp like razor blades, will I be cut down for making such a banal comment. I'll respond quickly with my knight. Dash it you moved your pawn again, trying to controll the centre of the board. I'll be on the recieving end of a nasty message for this hideous attempt at a comment. But wait my knight can capture that dam pawn. You've brought your knight out, Im locked in the centre, I could well and truly be beat.

I'm sorry for that, I was still trapped in the celler.

Right a comment: Pure genius. I did reach the chapel you see.

Thats my comment I see the light.

Daniel Manning
No Compatibility.

You can certainly write. Very engaging even though it took me up to chapter 5 to work out where this book was heading.

This is a book that brought to mind Jungian psychology. The house as a metaphor for the mind is a great idea, but the basement really should be a metaphor for the past, which encompasses the instincts, the subconscious, memories etc. In Jungian terms, the attic would be a metaphor for the universal consciousness and archetypes such as the Anima and Animus.

I'm not sure how receptive publishers or agents are to such a radical approach to writing. Though, in my opinion, for what it's worth, it would probably benefit from being accompanied by a few radical art-works to elucidate some of the ideas.

Laith

Fascinating, clever, inventive and so very, very different. It will be interesting to see what readers make of this.

Ellie

Essentially an intriguing concept and I'm backing it primarily for its originality. I had a similar idea myself (but based on a different concept that included a high proportion of illustration) Very good luck and thanks for the enjoyment.

For many people this would be a book based on an unusual concept. But that is exactly what makes it interesting. With good marketing ("A book you need to read again and again"; encouraging discussion groups, such about it) it could sell well. I see a good future for it, and am happy to back your book.

Michael Clifford

Sometime in Andalusia

www.ten-minute-stories.com - Tales to read quickly but never forget