Improving Your Stories: Part One

Hey guys!

Today I’m writing about books and stories, more specifically how to write them WELL. There are so many different aspects to this, so I’ve decided to do it in a multi-part way, although I have no clue how many parts there may be!

You must have a fairly even mix of action, thoughts, dialogue, and description. 

There are four main types of paragraph within a story: action, thoughts, dialogue and description. The key to writing a good story is getting a good balance of each, so as not to make it boring. I'll go over each one.

Action
This is basically just what happens - the main plot, all the drama etc. It is generally quite fast moving, so it doesn't matter too much if you have more of this - sometimes, if it is something really dramatic, it is best for the action not to be interrupted. However if it is just a small romantic event with your OC's significant other, it works better if you break it up with some other attributes.


Thoughts
This only really works if the story is written in 1st person. It is the narrator voicing their opinions and thoughts on what has happened / is happening / will happen. As I said in the last one, in small pieces of action, it is used to show the OC's affection or peace with the world. It is also very effective when a massive bombshell is dropped, if they find out something important, because they may not tell everyone exactly what they are thinking. In addition, it is a good way to end a story/chapter/section of the story as an alternative to a cliffhanger: ending with the narrator explaining in detail what they think of an event or situation really builds tension and makes the reader want to know more. This is shown quite frequently in The Fault In Our Stars by John Green.

Dialogue 
This is fundamentally speech, or conversations between two or more characters. Of course, it is essential to have long conversations every so often, but is it really needed to explain everything through speech? There are much more imaginative ways to tell the reader things, involving showing, not telling and reader deduction. I'm not saying not to include dialogue, it is really useful and it would be unrealistic to have a story without any speech, just don't overdo it because you will bore the readers.

Description
It is all just as well to have your action, thoughts and dialogue, but sometimes your readers just want to know what things or people look like! Here you can kind of go crazy - pull out all your best descriptive techniques to paint the perfect picture in the reader's mind. You could leave a few gaps for the reader to fill in if you want to, but some readers prefer to have it all there for them. All I will say about this, is not to make it last too long: one paragraph is alright, possibly two, but you will soon bore your readers if you just list everything around in minute detail.

I hope this helped you to get a better grip on the content of your story! Remember if you have any stories that you want me to read, review and promote, just comment on this blog or email me at teenagebloggerette47@gmail.com .

Lots of love,
Teenage Blogger x

Question of the day: What genres do you write about most?
My answer: Fantasy, action, adventure, fanfictions.
What about you? Tell me in the comments below!

The Other SIde Of The Mirror: Chapter 3

Hey!

I won't waste time with an introduction- I just wanted to post another chapter quickly. Anyway.

Chapter Three

I have finished all my work. It's been a really quiet day for me, since my Subject is in this side of the world with me. I check my rose gold watch. 22:00. Yawning, I close my laptop and plan to go to bed. 

I leave HQ and trudge down the stairs into my bedroom, about to climb into my bed fully clothed. Trouble is, there's someone else in in it.

"Get out my bed!" I growl viciously to Brooke.

"Oh, sorry," she says innocently. I clench my fists. "It's a pull out bed - we can share!" We pull out the bed, and I pull my duvet as far away from her as I can, as if she is contagious. I know that none of this is her fault, but honestly I don't want to have to blame myself for it. I quickly fall into a restless sleep. 

In the morning, I wake up to the weekday alarm that Brooke forgot to turn off. I groan, and roll over. 

"Wake up!" she yells in my ear, fully dressed already. 

"It's a Saturday!" I moan. "On Saturdays we wake up at 11:00, not 6:30! It doesn't change now that you're in my world!" She rolls her eyes. 

"No, stupid! It's Friday! I need to get to school!" She protests. I check my phone, which confirms my worst fears.

"Dammit. Wishful thinking." I yawn. "Well there is no chance that I'm letting you go. You are staying right here today!" She looks upset, but doesn't argue. 

"What're we doing today?" She asks cheerfully. 

"YOU are going to find lessons online so you don't miss out on your education. I am going to do my work." I say firmly.

"I don't have a laptop!" She whines. 

"Ugh! I have a spare one! Now go to your room and stay there!" When she obliges, I am probably the most relieved that I have ever been in my life. 

Back in HQ, I get another email - this time from The Boss. Whatever this is, it can't be good. 

He is telling me to prepare a statement for what has happened and why it did to present to the Council next Wednesday at 09:00. I have pretty much exactly five days (it is currently 08:57). I have ages - I'll put it off until Monday. I resolve to go and find Jay R, my boyfriend, but stop by to check in on Brooke first. 

I push open the door to my bedroom, to find Jay kissing her. 

"What is going on???" I yell. They break apart instantly.

"Oh crap," Brooke mutters. Jay looks at us one by one. 

"This - wait - WHAT? Which one of you is the real Brooke, and which is the Reflection? My Reflection?"

"I'm Brooke R!" Me and Brooke say simultaneously. I shoot her an angry glare. 

"I promise, Jay! She found out, and I had to bring her through. Law of Reflection Protection, and all that..." We both smile in recognition of our inside joke. Brooke looks between us in confusion. 

"Um... haha," she says lamely. 

"Go away! I can't believe that you would kiss my boyfriend! After all I have done for you!" I scream at her, sending her away. A tear drops down my face. "I hate her, Jay, I really do..." He rises onto his tiptoes to plant a kiss on his lips. Contrarily to most relationships, I, the female, am taller. I don't mind though. 

"Um... I'd better go and see if the Potion has arrived..." I say, linking arms with Jay and leading him to the admin desk. "Hey, do you know if there's been any deliveries of the Memory Potion in yet? I need it kind of urgently..." I nod in the direction of Brooke, who is now kissing a different boy. The man at the desk checks through his files. 

"No, sorry. I'll let you know when I do though!" He replies cheerfully. Ugh! How can people be cheerful now? This is a disaster! I manage to control myself and not say anything, but it takes A LOT. 

Suddenly, Anya R comes running into HQ, looking flustered. "Brooke R!" She calls, looking for me. I wave. "Brooke! There's a problem: Anya didn't get the message that Brooke was staying the night with a friend, so she thinks that she's run away! She's called the police and everything!" Oh crap.

"Don't panic. Um... Try to tell her again, or contact a Reflection of a police officer - see if you can get them to sort it. Have you tried asking Tyler R to tell Tyler? I can't get her back yet - she hasn't had the Potion and we don't have any in!" 

"Could you put her back without the Potion? It's risky, but we may have to..." 

"Not yet. Try everything else first, but that might have to be our last resort."

There we go! Comment if you like it xx

Lots of love,
Teenage Blogger x

Rape Culture And Feminism Rant

Hey guys! Whats up?

This is my second rant in a row, but I was reading an article about this this morning and it made me so, so angry.

Because of sexism and rape culture, girls can't do what we want to do without being controlled and shaped by society's "norms" and this isn't okay.

Let me give you some examples.

1. One of my best friends was assaulted last week at Scouts. She told the leader and the leader's response was "He was just messing about. Don't worry about it."

2. My friend's 8 year old sister, when she told her teacher at school that she wanted to be a firefighter, was told that "That's a man's job".

3. I can't walk round the corner to the local convenience store without constantly checking that I am being followed and change sides of the road whenever a middle aged man comes close, for fear of being mugged or raped.

I 'm sure that there are countless other examples I could give, but if I tried to list them all, we would be here for weeks. I know there are lots of rumours and made up information going around regarding womens' rights, but I'm here to give you solid info. I've looked into this a lot, and I'm pretty sure that everything I'm gonna tell you is 100% true.

Firstly, I'm going to give you another example. A girl got given 2 days exclusion in my school last week because she had her bra straps showing and told to go to the bathroom to remove it. She was given detention, and then argued with the teacher and demanded that it wasn't a problem, resulting in her getting isolation. Then she proceeded to take her bra off in front of her whole class, arguing that no one could see it anymore. Because of this, she was excluded.

Can we just talk about this for a moment? The school punished her for wearing underwear. And then told her to leave the lesson to remove it. Excuse me, but when the boys have their jeans hanging down below their butt because it's "trendy", I don't see you telling them to remove their boxers for goodness' sake! By making her leave the lesson, the school is teaching her that it is more important to not have a bra strap showing than to have an education. The same school that doesn't allow nail varnish or mirrors because it "interferes with learning" and "distracts pupils from their lessons". Just a tiny bit hypocritical, no? And the girl. So brave, to say the least, to stand up to her teacher like that (and may I just note that it was a MALE teacher!!!) but also because she isn't afraid to stand up for what she believes is right, which is a trait I think everyone should have. I saw this post on pinterest from twitter the other day:

"being taught that my clothes have a voice more powerful than my own & that even when I say no my clothes can say yes 4 me" - from @jociiii_ on twitter. I won't go into this, but I could not agree more.

Moving on. Someone told me the other day that they were a feminist, but didn't like to make a big fuss of it because they were afraid of what people would say. How wrong is that? They are too scared to stand up for their gender, which is 49.6% of people in the world. Half the world's population, not given fair rights because of their gender. And people like the person who told me that, who won't do anything about it because they don't want to be bullied. Does that not seem wrong to you? That is the whole point of feminism! That EVERYONE, regardless of gender, should be given equal rights and be able to say what they want to without fear of being cut down! This really isn't fair, and I want to do something about it.

Just to round this post off, I want to say something about abortion rights. I found another amazing, beautiful post on pinterest from tumblr the other day, and I just want to share this with you. 

"So if we have to show women what the baby looks like in the womb and tell them how the process works before having an abortion, does that mean we should teach our soldiers about the culture of the lands we're invading, and explain to them that the people we want to kill have families and feel pain, just like us?" - from @fairlylocaloddparents on tumblr.

I'll just give you that to think about. 

Finally, I need to say this. 

I am a feminist. I am proud. I will do whatever I can to raise awareness of this issue, and I will do anything in my power to make womens' and mens' rights equal. I am not afraid to stand up for what I believe is right.

Thanks for reading this guys. I get really passionate about topics like this :P Also on controversial rant posts like this, I am open to and welcome comments agreeing OR disagreeing with what I write, and feel free to have arguments with me or each other. I must say though, please don't say anything offensive or prejudiced. If you do I will have to report you. Very happy note to end on.

Lots of love, 

Teenage Blogger x

Question of the day: Do you believe in gender equality and equal rights?

My answer: HELL YEAH READ ABOVE

What about you? Tell me in the comments!

Selfish Rich People And Terrorism Rants

Heya again.

I need, and must say something about this issue. It has been bothering me for ages, and when would be a better time to post about it than now? I promise you guys that I will do something a bit more positive next time. Also I was thinking - maybe I should start doing slightly more personal posts too? Let me know in the comments if you'd like that!

Anyway.

One of  the things that disgusts me the most in this world, (and yes there is A LOT) is that there are loads of people that have so much money that they're doing nothing with, and then on the other side of the world there are starving, dying people with no help at all. 

I find it awful when people clutching purses, or with a handbag over their shoulder, buying lots of expensive stuff, walk past a homeless person without giving them a second thought. Can you not spare one of your millions of pounds for a dying, lonely and starving person who has nothing? I heard a fact the other day - half of the world's money is owned by 8 PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. The other half is owned by every 7 billion other people. 8 SINGLE PEOPLE OWN THE EQUIVALENT AMOUNT OF MONEY TO 7 BILLION. THATS RIDICULOUS. Who could be so stupidly selfish?? This makes no sense to me! Yes, you may earn it, and yes you may deserve it, but it just isn't fair on the world!

First rant over.

The second one is that, in the current situation (terrorism threats) there are young kids growing up to know fear. 

That's what it is. They are growing up, spending their first years in the world having to avoid busy places and watch people get killed in the news on TV. I'm a teenager and this is probably affecting us as an age group massively too- lately I've had to refuse four invites to birthday meet ups in town, shopping centres or pther busy places due to my parents being worried for my safety. This shouldn't be happening! I should be going out at the weekend, having fun, enjoying myself and not having to suspect that every stranger I walk past is a bomber!

I could go on and on, but you're probably bored now so I'll stop. Sorry.

Anyway that's just a little insight into a couple of things that annoy me about the world at the moment. Maybe I'll do more posts like this... I definitely have a lot of things that annoy me!!

Question of the Day: What is your pet hate? Answer in the comments below!

Lots of love,
Young and Enquiring x