I had to do an imitative writing assignment for the college course I am in. I thought I would post the sample of the published work and my own attempt at imitating a similar scene as well as writing style:
Sample of Forests of the Night (1993): Nohar slowly turned around. Bigboy had a switchblade out and was showing the world he couldn’t use it. It was long, pointed, and had no edge to speak of. Bigboy was swishing the thing like a baton. Wide slicing arcs that, had they connected to anything solid, might raise a welt and would probably sprain Bigboy’s wrist all to hell. “Teach you some respect. I’ll have your tail for a belt.” Nohar stowed the comments. He spread his legs apart and bent down, lowering his center of gravity. He thrust his left arm, claws forward, in a defensive posture, while his right arm hung back behind him, hand cupped to slice at any opening Bigboy gave him. He growled, deep in his diaphragm. The sound didn’t make it out of his throat. Bigboy was oblivious in his advance. Fearless Leader had a little more brains and hung back. Bigboy was reeking of excitement and adrenaline. Fearless was almost as jacked, but he was beginning to realize he might have bitten off more than he could chew. Bigboy swung one of his wide, predictable arcs. Nohar caught Bigboy’s wrist in his left hand, remembering Nugoya, and smiling at the rat. Nohar’s right hand swung forward in a well aimed sweep that left four light trails of blood on Bigboy’s overlarge gut. “Listen, ratboy, I could have pulled you into that sweep. We’d have a nice view of your intenstines- Drop the knife.”
Sample of imitative writing: Sondo’s body tensed up. Toothy Smile gleefully showed off his saw dagger, its teeth gleaming in the red light. It was a metal shaft with the upper jaw of a saw-toothed dog attached. Even in death, some things could still bite. Dread seeped into Sondo but something clicked in his therap brain and he remembered that he needed to breathe. He moved a leg back and bent both knees to mid-angles while slowly inhaling into his nostrils. His whiskers twitched, which made Toothy Smile scoff at him. “Heh heh! Pathetic little whelp! You’re meat for the saw!” Toothy Smile’s bloodlust elicited cheers from his fellow brutes. Sondo’s claws exited from their slits as his breathing helped him steady himself. He was ready now. Toothy Smile lifted his bulky arm and swung his weapon. Sondo noticed that while Toothy Smile’s blows were strong, they were slow. He sidestepped the third blow and quickly thrusted his claws into Toothy Smile’s arm, smirking all the while. “You left yourself wide open, buddy.”
Sample of Forests of the Night (1993): Nohar slowly turned around. Bigboy had a switchblade out and was showing the world he couldn’t use it. It was long, pointed, and had no edge to speak of. Bigboy was swishing the thing like a baton. Wide slicing arcs that, had they connected to anything solid, might raise a welt and would probably sprain Bigboy’s wrist all to hell. “Teach you some respect. I’ll have your tail for a belt.” Nohar stowed the comments. He spread his legs apart and bent down, lowering his center of gravity. He thrust his left arm, claws forward, in a defensive posture, while his right arm hung back behind him, hand cupped to slice at any opening Bigboy gave him. He growled, deep in his diaphragm. The sound didn’t make it out of his throat. Bigboy was oblivious in his advance. Fearless Leader had a little more brains and hung back. Bigboy was reeking of excitement and adrenaline. Fearless was almost as jacked, but he was beginning to realize he might have bitten off more than he could chew. Bigboy swung one of his wide, predictable arcs. Nohar caught Bigboy’s wrist in his left hand, remembering Nugoya, and smiling at the rat. Nohar’s right hand swung forward in a well aimed sweep that left four light trails of blood on Bigboy’s overlarge gut. “Listen, ratboy, I could have pulled you into that sweep. We’d have a nice view of your intenstines- Drop the knife.”
Sample of imitative writing: Sondo’s body tensed up. Toothy Smile gleefully showed off his saw dagger, its teeth gleaming in the red light. It was a metal shaft with the upper jaw of a saw-toothed dog attached. Even in death, some things could still bite. Dread seeped into Sondo but something clicked in his therap brain and he remembered that he needed to breathe. He moved a leg back and bent both knees to mid-angles while slowly inhaling into his nostrils. His whiskers twitched, which made Toothy Smile scoff at him. “Heh heh! Pathetic little whelp! You’re meat for the saw!” Toothy Smile’s bloodlust elicited cheers from his fellow brutes. Sondo’s claws exited from their slits as his breathing helped him steady himself. He was ready now. Toothy Smile lifted his bulky arm and swung his weapon. Sondo noticed that while Toothy Smile’s blows were strong, they were slow. He sidestepped the third blow and quickly thrusted his claws into Toothy Smile’s arm, smirking all the while. “You left yourself wide open, buddy.”
