Nick PuraVida

You could call me a "man in persuit"... of life. I live full time in Costa Rica with my wife and three children. On any given day you'll see me running or biking down an empty road, over dirt trails, along the tops of hills and even swimming two miles in the open ocean with nothing but sharks and fish beneith me. I live for extreme racing. Besides that I laze on the beach with my children, spend quality time under the stars with my wife and simply enjoy life to the fullest.

I've dabbled in writing for years and have come here in the hopes of improving myself as a writer.

As for friend requests - read below before you sign on with me as I can be pretty intense.

Below are some guidelines for giving reviews that I have gleaned from various other sites. Please, feel free to use these guidelines when reviewing my work as I will when reviewing work myself. If you like my work and want to say "Good Job. Well Done. Etc..." Great, everyone likes a pat on the back. However, I'd also appreciate that you, as the reader, let me, the writer, know where I failed you.
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Make sure to give the piece your reading the attention it deserves. If you need, print up the story, read it, make notations as you go along and then give your review. If you find yourself bored and rushing to finish what your reading, maybe your not the one to give that piece a review.

CHARACTERISATION: Do the characters seem real, or are they recognizable stereotypes, and is this a problem in the context of this particular story? Are the characters� motives logical and necessary to the story? Are we meant to identify with any characters, and if so, do we?

DIALOGUE Does the dialogue seem realistic? Can the reader imagine real people talking as the characters do? Does the dialogue add to the story, or distract us from it?

SETTING: Does the story have a context and place that is convincing and alive? Is the reader able to visualise each scene?

POINT OF VIEW: Is the POV consistent, or does it leap in the middle of a scene? Is the POV appropriate � do we get a clear enough picture of the principle character�s inner drama � or too much? Could the story be told fmore interestingly from another POV?

DEVELOPMENT: Does the story develop organically, without the reader noticing, or does the narrative make sudden leaps or get stagnant? Does the reader get confused at any point?

PACING: How deeply is the reader drawn into the story? How long does the story take to set up? Is the reader drawn into the story from the beginning? Which is most appropriate for each particular story: non-stop action or character development?

MECHANICS: At the outset, some writers experience trouble with the mechanics of expressing their fiction in words. Story, paragraph and sentence structure are all slaves to the flow of a piece. If something is amiss, the reader will experience the lack of flow immediately. A critique of a later draft can be invaluable in pointing out some of the specifics that are impeding the narrative flow.
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