Pretty Good start!

Wow. This is great and so original. I loved all the description. Some people get annoyed with description, but I think it's the only thing that can make the book a movie in my head. Even if there wasn't much in it, I was hooked, the part of sleep was so very very original. The writing was beautiful and the way you wrote Gaara was as if you were Gaara himself, understanding everything the way he would, even knowing what he would think. I don't know what all I can say. I'm having trouble just thinking these words. It's mine blowing and can completely take my mind off the stupid chocolate monkeys circling my head (you, silverwolf, and demon fox are probably the only ones who even understand the monkey thing...... Well, Silverwolf a little more than you and demon fox, but still more than the people who see this review. Okay, back on topic). I loved it and wish I could read more, but, sadly, as it always does after I read such great writing, my mind is wandering my own stories and trying to think of how I can make them compare to others.

Author's Response: Thank you, sweetheart, and don't worry - that's a great attitude to have. Comparing yourself and trying to improve is what'll help you become a great writer.
I'm glad you like description as well. I do too. It's grown to become one of my favourite parts of any writing, because there is so much you can do with it. I often compare it to the flavourings (herbs & spices etc) in a meal (it makes everything taste just that much better), but recently I've found it can be instrumental even to the most basic parts of my work. I'm always learning more about description... It's virtually limitless in uses and that's why it's my favourite. I just wish I could apply half of what I work out again in practice, but that's what learning is all about. Too much of a good thing is also no good though. I find keeping the balance really tricky sometimes... =0p
I'm glad you think I got a good handle on Gaara. He's my favourite Naruto character (in case it wasn't completely obvious), but recently I feel like he's slipping away from me a little bit. Like I'm letting other elements of SWB intrude into his character when I'm writing, so it's always great to be reminded that I can actually do this. Ah, I love Gaara stories...

And I love ch-word. *sighs* Why is it you always successfully manage to give me serious ch-word cravings with your ch-word monkey stories? I always start envisioning these giant monkeys made of solid ch-word... and then I just have to go find some... Oh, dear...

... speechlessness has now consumed me... I can see how much thought and effort you've put into understanding Gaara, describing the desert. The way you've written it is amazing, you can just see him, sitting there, doing it. There's not much, but at the same time, a lot, of things going on.

Reading this... was nice. Thanks. I can now go back to my own fics and look at them with a new light. How much effort did I really put into writing this story? Does this fit the character?

If I want to be a good author, I've got to try harder. Work harder. LOL, with one chapter of this I've come to that conclusion.

But this really is amazing. Just love it from the first chapter.

Author's Response: Thank you so much for your kind words. Yes, I consider writing both an art form and a skill that has to be practiced just like any other skill. I spend a lot of my time doing just that and I'm thrilled when this effort pays off and gives someone else a lot of pleasure. I'm even more stunned that my meager efforts managed to inspire you with your own writing. That really does amaze me, so thank you. I spend so much of my time berating myself about the quality of what I write, so hearing somebody say something like that about my writing is incredible. =0D
On a less pleasant note, I'm afraid SWB seems to be having technical difficulties on TONFA at the moment. I've emailed the admins about this issue and I hope they'll manage to fix it. If not, I'll just have to repost. SWB is available on another site, if you want you can follow the link to my website to find it, but I'm kinda annoyed as TONFA did have the most recently beta'd version. Oh well. Thank you so much for your kind review! If you ever do decide to read some of the rest I'd love to hear whether or not you think I managed to maintain the level of quality you so liked. ;0) Thank you again just for making my day!

I really like it. This first chapter was very detailed and captured my attention. Can't wait to read more :)

Author's Response: Thank you very much! I'm flattered by the compliment to my story. =0)