The Sun Shines Brighter in the West - Comments

I really love the first chapter. How Chandler confides in the doctor rather than someone she knows, and that she feels comfortable enough to call him in the middle of the night to go to a waffle house. You really captured how venerable she felt during the rape and how nervous she gets when she starts to think about it. In chapter four I felt is when I could really see the emotion in Chandler and how she's feeling. I would think this is how victims of rape would think and feel, which is a hard emotion to put into writing, but you did it in this chapter.

I think that Charlie would be a great person for her to get to know and date, but I'm secretly hoping that her and Dr. Settler will just get it on. I don't know why, but I just got that feeling and it adds to the suspense of what will happen next. I like that everyone is encouraging her to date, but I feel that not everyone would be completely urging her to date in this kind of situation.

All in all this is a great story. I just think that you should a bit more description and emotion into everything, show rather than tell. I love the idea of a broken girl needing to find herself, I think this is a great way of putting it to works.

Everything about this story is amazing. The title first perfectly with the plot of the story. The layout is simple yet beautiful. This story is overwhelming. I liked how the story started which was off by the simple call Chandler had made to her doctor. It showed that there was more to the story and it made me intrigue and read more to find out what was actually wrong. It was a great start.

It's sad that she had to go through that. It's hard to read when she tried to cope with everything but fails at the attempt. I think it's brave for her to let a stranger her problems in order to get better. Dr. Settle is described as someone that anyone can trust. Even though it is in his job description to be understanding and helpful, he has become more than just a doctor for her. He has become a friend which is what she needs most at the time.

I feel bad for her mother because it must be hard to see her only daughter go through everything she is going through and not being able to help or console her the way she would like to. Jess sounds like an amazing friend. She really wants to help and it gives her the somewhat courage she doesn't have to deal with things. I think they compliment each other very well.

Chandler seems like a sweet person. She is very likable and knowing what happened to her makes me want to help her myself.

You are a great writer. This story is full of emotions and feelings that for some are hard to describe, but you've managed to detailed them in the process. It's heartbreaking to read stories like this but at least she is doing something about it. She wants to get better. She knows that she needs to work hard and that's what makes the character and the story very strong. It's amazing and keep up the great work. I really hope she does gets better because she deserves it. Hopefully Charlie is good to her. Being at the wedding and having a little fun is well deserved and can't wait to read what happens next.

Christie-

Dr. Settler seems like a very nice guy to just drop everything to go see Chandler so easy, but that probably comes with knowing how close to the edge and vulnerable everything has made her become.

I think a lot of people go through what Chandler went through - not wanting help. It's easy to think you can solve your problems on your own, but I think a lot of people realize they don't have the knowledge or resources to fix everything.

Dr. Settler is so sweet and understanding with her, and it's nice to see that he actually cares. I get good vibes from him and feel like he is really interested in helping Chandler on her road to recovery.

I can get where Chandler's mom is coming from, but I do think it's best she respects Chandler's wishes. What happened to Chandler obviously hurt her, but it's not about her and what would make her feel better.

I feel so bad for poor Chandler about what happened. It's really sad that she knew who her rapist was, and probably a lot of her friends know him too. I wonder what they all think about this whole thing with him or if they even know about it.

I really hope Chandler will be able to help the medication without going overboard. I'm worried she may take too many (on purpose or not) and it will either kill her or set back her progress.

I think this story is amazing so far. You took an incredibly emotional topic and turned it into what it should be - a story about recovery. This isn't one of those stories where a girl gets raped, falls in love with a guy and everything gets all better. This is more than that, and that's what I really like about it. It's about the girl's journey to finding herself again and trying to get better, and although it may not be something everyone has been through, it's something that everyone can relate to on some level or another. This is an amazing story so far and I can't wait to see what happens on Chandler's road to recovery!

I don't know if I'm emotionally ready for this story. The subject matter is obviously very hard hitting and that both pulls me towards the story and makes me somewhat wary of it. I'm interested to see how this progresses. The first chapter is such a great introduction to characters that I assume will be important throughout, Chandler and her mother, as well as Thomas.

It's so sad that her mother has had to become almost an outsider to her daughter because of the rape, but it's very realistic because she just can't understand how her daughter feels.

I'm not sure how I feel about the prescription drugs. I really hope she doesn't end up relying on them because I know it can be easy to slip into a habit, and I don't want that for Chandler. Honestly, as much as the sympathy is there for her being a victim of rape, I find that the thoughts and emotions you give the reader make it more than the sympathy you feel for someone on the news. It's more personal.

Overall, I feel like this story is going to break my heart at least once or twice but I'm kind of looking forward to it, because this is a wonderful story.

That whole chapter was heart breaking. Usually people don't know how important some things are until they either lose it or a knocking on death's door.

I don't think there is much I can say about this story that hasn't already been said. This is really good. I love that you have a good balance between past and present, that she's still dealing with emotions from an event that happened two years previously but also has to deal with the here and now...and yes, she's having to take baby steps towards improvement, but she is taking those steps. I think your description of her thoughts and feelings shows a lot of understanding and isn't too exaggerated or else ignored altogether. Plus, this is very well-written, which I appreciate.

The situation with her uncle got to me. It reminded me so much of my mom's brother, who coincidentally also died of a heart attack and whom I didn't know very well. I found it very sad that he thought the world would be better off without him, but I'm glad he got his feelings out there, even if it was too late.

I'm interested to see what you will do with Charlie, and what you will have Chandler do with the money. Definitely recommending and subscribing!

Okay, this is amazing.

I believe that it's really hard to write about something like rape and make the character come off as affected and flawed by it, but still...human? Like Chandler is trying to better herself with baby steps in a very realistic way and it comes off very obvious that she had a past before the rape and the incident, while is tremendously affects her, she isn't fully sucked into it.

Am I making sense?

I also like the relationship she has with her therapist thus far and how Chandler interacts with other other people.

I think you have something very strong and amazing on your hands and you should continue this all the way!

So. I'm here from comment swap, and I'm reaaally sorry I hadn't commented sooner, I just had so much going on. Ugh. Anyway, that's not important or interesting.

Your story is. Now I was originally supposed to read "One Love" I think it was called. (I'm still gonna do that cuz yay, boyxboy) But this story grabbed my attention.

The way you just grasp the concept of a rape victim who, after 2 years, is still scared and angry and just going through so many emotions. It's so realistic and so is Dr. Settler. He's like a father-figure to her in way in my eyes.

I can almost feel Chandler's anxiety when it comes to men and trusting them. I myself have never been attacked, but I have a family member who was and it's just a scary notion when meeting or seeing a guy. Is he good? Is he bad? Scary stuff.

But I love Jess, she reminds me of my friend and I.

This story is just great, honestly.

@ Grasshopper.
Thank you so much.

Alright. So I'm going to first comment on your summary because I feel that summaries are often ignored because they lack something or they say too much but not yours! Your summary is flawless and drew me in immediately. I'm glad that this isn't the typical zombie-like teen I read about. No one talks about the girls who become trapped in their emotions and so already that's a new spark to draw me in.

The first chapter is definitely full of perfection. The fact that she carries her pepper spray with her adds to the thought of her still being scared. The small background on her history with the shrinks and the panic attacks shows that its not just going to go away and I love how realistic this is. When it happened to me, I fell into my studies and cried over my text books late at night until my sister found out. I could imagine that her father would bring her to a shrink, trauma often triggers many other terrible memories to surface. What I like most is that you don't need a cliffhanger to make me want to continue, your story is just perfect and has me anxiously clicking the next button.

There's always an ass at a party. I would have stayed in my wet clothes if he had refused to leave. I understand her struggle with her mother completely. Its been eight years and I still haven't told my mother the full story and it might be for the same reason as Chandler. I'm not sure really. I personally loved my medication. It was more to deal with my ADHD than anything but it made me immune to emotion and time flew by in blurs.

Good lord, the realism within each chapter is just so incredible. I love the friendship you've shown, a lot of writers forget about their minor characters completely which can cause a story to be boring. Nightmares can bring the memories back full fledged like no other and it sucks. I seriously cannot get enough of your story, girl!

The mother-daughter moment was so perfect. I have many special moments with my mother myself. I would do anything to keep her happy and to see that in the story warms my heart. It is definitely something that should be shown in more stories and I'm glaf for the breath of fresh air compared to everyone always hating their parents.

Aww Charlie Johns sounds cute just from the small bit he was in. I hate bars. They're definitely full of the losers you described and the worst place to meet a guy. I met my boyfriend at work lol.

Shutting down seems perfect for her situation. Her anger towards Dr. Settler also seems perfect. Grieving comes in many different ways. Right now, she seems in denial about her uncle. I'd like to see Charlie again and see where he leads. I'd like to see a lot more within this story and cannot wait!

@ man.down
Thanks so much. :) Glad you liked it!

I love love love the new layout. So pretty.

Wonderful chapter, cannot wait for more c:

First of all, I love how you have presented the topic of rape without glorifying it! If written well it is a very good premise for a plot (please don't mind my technical approach to this, I do understand the severity of rape) and provides a good basis for character development. Too often is it presented badly and seen as insulting to rape victims, but here you've done a good job of making it respectful.

Your grammar and spelling are near impeccable with only a few tiny mistakes. Another bonus. I'm a grammar Nazi.

I like the simple layout; the colours are perfect and the minimal decoration makes it easy to read without being boring. (Personally mine tend to be overly decorated, but a little hard to read.) The banner is lovely and the fonts fit it nicely. A+.

Altogether, though I'm only half done, I can tell you're putting a lot of work into this and are very proud of it - with reason! It's very good. Thanks for sending me here, definitely recommending and subscribing!

Hello there. *Comment Swap*
Well, as promised, here I am. And I'll be very honest with what I felt.
This hurt. It seriously did. I don't have to mention that you're a wonderful writer for bringing this out so brilliantly; everybody else seems to have acknowledged that. But this seriously stressed me. Due to recent elections in my country, there has been a lot of mess, and I get to read such news on a daily basis. Like more than six cases in the newspaper daily. And yesterday it happened with a one year old. Can you even believe that? SO this was horrifying for me.
The fact that I admire is the way you brought out her agony. Touching. This story had me thinking - people can recover even after such tragedies. So thanks for that :)
I'll be looking forward to see how this will progress. Definitely recommending and subscribing. Very well done. (:

Comment Swap! :D

Summary/Layout - The layout is nice and doesn't hurt my eyes. The summary is very captivating and it would fit well as a prologue but I like where it's at now (I read the author's note for chapter 1 )

Chapter 1 - I'll most likely be commenting as I go. Anyway, so far (at the part when Chandler first arrives at the waffle house) Chandler seems like a very realistic character which is nice. I don't know what she went through, but I know a lot of people don't like talking about their problems. Alrighty onward I go! Damn. It seems that Chandler went through a terrible experience :\ Based on your strong description, I have a feeling I know what it is. *reads on* Yup. I was right. Just to let you know, your "show don't tell" is astounding. Before Chandler even said what happened to her in the narration, I got a perfect image of it in the dialogue before. Kudos to you!

Chapter 2 - Again, Chandler is very realistic. I know many people, myself included, who have trouble confiding in their parents. Sometimes I rather talk to friends or even a stranger as well. And Harley sounds terrifying. Oh my God. What a creep.

Al in all, this is a very captivating story! I love the imagery - it was like watching a movie but it was in my head. Dr. Settler seems so nice and he's right about Chandler seeming strong. I hope she makes it through okay! And Harley's a creep. Anyway, I'm subscribing! Great job! :D

Hey, I'm here from the comment swap.

I love the layout, first of all. I'm crap at making banners and layouts, so kudos :)

So far, the story is really interesting. It's a tough subject to cover, but you've done it gracefully and tactfully. You manage to portray the horror of what happened, and the emotional scars it's left behind without making the story too depressing or bleak to read.

Your writing is fantastic, I didn't come across any mistakes and your writing has a nice flow to it. I enjoyed reading this every much. Your ability to accurately portray the emotions, and the relationship that's developing between Dr. Settler and Chandler, is amazing and I'll definitely be subscribing and recommending.

Comment Swap: It's captivating. I really, really, really like it. The layout fits wonderfully - it's not too bleak, not too bold. I can read it smoothly [plus no misspellings, which is uh-maze-ing]. Not to mention, the word flow - I love it. Dr. Settler seems realistic, which is yet another plus. I enjoy the sort of stability he gives, if that makes since? Not just the main girl crying, yet no one helping her.

The thing I like most though is one: the emotion in the story and two: how you don't just rush into the problem and tell the reads everything to know about her. It's refreshing, and I know there's a lot of potential for this.

Comment swap: I love the title. Mysterious yet simple. Your description is very good too, draws in the reader as prey. It is amazing how at the start of the chapter you find out a little more with each sentence. Apparently she is on the bathroom floor, it changed the way I saw things in my mind completely. The emotion in this story is amazing. I really love this!

Dr. Settler seems like a good one too! I like it when the story contains more than some teens.

Keep it up!

first, i have to go on to say that i absolutely love the layout bc it looks super cool & normally i don't like the galactic stars layout, but this really fits the story! i really adore the way you describe things from the first p.o.v. i've always wondered how people write so great (i do write from first p.o.v but it's relatively new for me) & i love this style of writing so it adds a lot of emotion & depth!

i really love how she explains dr. settler & how her emotionally 'crippling' (love that) experience two years prior was now still eating her alive. the emotion in that whole paragraph is really just breathtaking & i can totally relate to that feeling of night terrors or just emotional pain that's unbearable nonetheless.

tho i'm still a bit intrigued to see where this story leads, i think you did a great job in expressing the proper brand of emotion. chandler not revealing her problems makes me wonder what exactly she's suffering from & i want to look more into it! good job on this<3

I absolutely loved the summary. It continued to explain how the main character is feeling, but it never tells the reader exactly what happened to her to make her feel like that. Now after reading the author's note for the first chapter, I'm glad that you didn't make it the prologue. I can't even imagine what you would use as the summary. Basically what I'm saying is that the summary is just perfect, especially to capture a reader's attention.

The very beginning of the chapter was interesting, and it felt to me very fast paced. It just pushed me into the action of what was happening and how Chandler was feeling. But I like the small interaction between the two since it doesn't indicate the time of day or anything like that. All we know in the beginning is that she needs someone to talk to.

Anyway, something else I like about the first chapter is the background about her and her anxiety attacks about the unknown memory, and about how she kept it a secret for so long. I, and I'm sure many other people, can relate to not wanting to tell other people what they are feeling and going through. Just knowing that feeling makes Chandler more realistic, and it just makes me really like her as a character.

Last thing. The fact that you mentioned what her haunting memory was in the very end of the chapter really drew me into the story (well more than I already was). It just fully explains the emotions that she is going through and why it's such a bad memory, a memory that she wants to forget, but she just can't. But I do like how she is slowly telling Dr. Settler about what happened. I just want her to make so much progress! SHE MUST HEAL.

Anyway........ I absolutely love this story so far. Like for realsies.