Where Oh Where Shall My Story Take Place?

Generally if you want a great story, it should take place in somewhere you are more or less, familiar with. Doesn't mean you have to live there or anything, but you should know enough about the area you are talking about that you aren't just guessing where things are. If you mention real street names and real shops in your books, it will sound more confident, at least if you are a beginner/intermediate writer. If you want to have a fictional town, by all means, go ahead. You can describe it like you were describing your own town or a mix of many towns' descriptions. Example: since I live in Washington, I will describe a fictional town that really doesn't exist, but describe it with my town's descriptions: "Marthaville was big, yet small. Hard to get around, yet everything was in walking and biking distance. The town had an abundance of elders and cute little shops which the lacking youth strongly enjoyed. Downtown was where the youth met up: for pre-homecoming and after-sports practice frozen yogurt, after school hangout, and coffee talk. The most beautiful part was not how everyone got along or how well the shops all complimented each other, but the vast, blue ocean. Visible from the edges of the meadow that the town sat in and at the top of hills (and if you were lucky and rich, your own porch), Puget Sound overwhelmed you if you were 2 feet away or 2000 feet away. The turquoise body when paired with an orange, blue, and pink sunset made the perfect opportunity for a first kiss or a marriage proposal. Marthville was the city of dreams, as much as the Titanic was the ship of dreams." Sorry if I got a little carried away. That happens sometimes, because describing things like cites and other items are my second most favorite part of writing. My first is dialogue, which will be an entirely DIFFERENT blog post. So as it turns out, how I described the fictional town Marthaville, Washington, is exactly how I'd describe my own town. It makes the place/setting sound much more relaxed and comfortable if you know what your talking about. Another aspect of setting is time, even though it can really be its own aspect of writing a book in general. Say I wrote a book about somewhere I visited when I was five years old, and I haven't visited it since. Things have probably (and hopefully) changed since 2003, with technology these days and people and all that. Make sure that the time lines up and makes sense. It wouldn't make sense if a book takes place in 1975 and they have cellphones. Unless, of course, you are writing a book where instead of technology advancing as time progresses, everything gets old-fashioned as time goes on. Interesting aspect to think about, huh? Anyways. Setting is also important because maybe it compliments your characters. Say your main character is a country girl. At least have part of your book take place in the country. Maybe another part in a big city, so the reader (and YOU) can see both sides of your characters. She needs to express her country-ness and what she's like in a big city, which is the opposite of what she's used to. Same with maybe a city girl, a computer techie, or a surfer. You get the idea. Well, I hope you've found this helpful and interesting! Just so you know I really enjoy writing these, it's not a chore for me or anything. Happy spring break!! :D

Book Review-"The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen

WARNING: THERE MIGHT BE SPOILERS (I guess we'll see how much I let slip from my brain on this one). I read a book yesterday called "The Running Dream" while I was sick and laying on the couch. It's an easy read, but a REALLY good one. It's very inspiring, and very relatable if you are a runner. It's about a girl who gets in a terrible accident after running a 55-second 400-meter at a championship meet (a league record in the book) and ends up losing her right leg below the knee. The book is about her realizing to be thankful for what she hasn't lost and the friends and family, and her team, that care about her most. Another important aspect of the book is how she gets to know a girl named Rosa who has cerebral-palsy, who also one day would like to cross a finish line. Jessica (the main character) learns to see Rosa for who she is, not her condition like she had always seen Rosa before her accident. The book is called "The Running Dream" because Jessica has a running dream every night when she is dreaming about running every morning with her dog Sherlock, like she always used to before she lost part of her leg. The symbolism is that each time she has this dream, she is getting closer to having it come true. Her track team is working to raise $20,000 for a running prosthetic so she can run again. I recommend this book for anyone who wants an easy read and also if you just need/want to be inspired! The book made me tear up at the end because it made me realize that if people truly believe in something, they will stop at nothing to get it, and will never give up. Happy reading! :P

Characters=IMPORTANT!!!

Has anyone noticed that in books, characters are what makes the book interesting? Whether it's a person or a things, the characters matter to a high extent. There's the protagonist, which isn't necessarily the "good" guy. Up until a few months ago, I thought that's what the protagonist was. But really, it's just the main character whose actions are followed throughout the book. So, for instance, imagine J.K. Rowling followed Voldemort's actions throughout the Harry Potter series. Imagine how completely and utterly different the books would be! Harry Potter is the protagonist in our reality, but if Voldemort's actions were followed instead of Harry's, VOLDEMORT would be he protagonist. Weird thought, huh? Well, I'll stop babbling and try to get to the point. Now the antagonist isn't just the "bad" guy, either. This is the character that forces the protagonist (AKA the main character) to act. Just think about it. In every movie you've watched and every book you've read, the antagonist (most of the time a villain) does something that causes the main character to go on some big adventure or do SOMETHING big. I don't know about you, but I never really thought about that before. I just accepted the fact that it was the way things went in every book: Something big happens (the first event in a series of complicating events), there's this whole adventure (whether or not it's an actual adventure like Percy Jackson), and often the end of the book leaves a lead to another book in the series or two people fall in love. Lots of books are like that, and it may seem ridiculous. But that's just the way plots were made to be. And authors try to do anything they can to make THEIR book as interesting as possible to spice up the original plot diagram. Now I'm really getting off-topic, so I'll talk about characters now. Making good characters can be REALLY hard. It sure is hard for me. It sounds ridiculous, but something I have trouble with is coming up with names for my characters. In the book I wrote, the main characters name is Daphne Willowston. I love her last name, and it's a shame that I don't remember how I came up with it. I love it when I find the perfect name for my character, because when you do, it seems to speak about them and expresses every little detail even if you aren't sure exactly what your own character looks like. The name speaks for it, so you don't really have to worry about it. When a name speaks for the character, it gives an idea about who the character is but often leaves their physical appearance open for interpretation in the reader's mind. I have a character named Vee, who has icy blue eyes and black hair and pale skin, and my Mom saw her as African-American. You can never really force an image in a anyone's mind, especially if the reader likes to imagine their own way. Secondly: you need to get to know your characters. I read a book called "Spilling Ink" a few weeks ago, and I discovered a very useful tip. It's a bit mad, but it helps me sort out my characters' ambitions and feelings. What you do: sit down at one end of your bed. Pretend one of your characters is sitting across from you, like you were sharing gummy worms and gossip about the latest...whatever. Now, interview your character. Talk to them. Don't say I didn't warn you that this might look utterly crazy if your brother or sister walks in and wonders what the heck you are doing. Ask your character questions about their childhood, what they want most in the world, who their best friend is, their deepest secret, their favorites foods and books and music, who their crush is, etc. Give them time to reply. Keep asking questions until you feel you could write a brief biography about them. You don't want to get your characters in the wrong place by the end of your book and have them speechless (AKA writer's block) because you didn't know their heart's desire. Trust me, if you just listen, they will reply. And to make sure your characters never get old or unlike themselves, keep revealing new things about them. Make minor (or major) characters that compliment their personality. Say you have a character that's scared of snakes, #1. Say you have another character that loves snakes, #2. They compliment each other, because #2 can save and comfort #1 about snakes. If you have characters like that, it will keep your reader's interested in the characters because they will want to keep seeing dramatic things like that. If that makes any sense. I might be talking crazy. All I know is that your characters need to be interesting. MAKE them interesting. YOU are their creator. Make one character have an infatuation with anything banana-flavored. Have one character that is a professional tree-climber. A character whose life depends on the fragile life of a single fish. You get the point. If necessary, make your characters as WEIRD, and as FUNNY and SARCASTIC as possible. That's what can make dialogue and interactions between characters interesting and engaging. Now go ask your character their favorite color!

Essay~The Obedience of Being Free

The freedoms and confinements of reality are portrayed in the beat poem. “Dog” by Lawrence Ferlinghetti describes a dog walking through the streets of a busy city street, being able to see and smell and hear everything. The poem also has a deeper meaning, being that the dog is free and able to do what it wishes, but also tells the downside of freedom: having a master in some form or another. The reader is able to picture everything that is happening in the poem so clearly that they have an understanding of the dog’s feelings from a certain standpoint. In Ferlinghetti’s poem, creativity bonds together the imagery, figurative language, and the speaker to create a vivid picture of what is happening and describes the feelings and actions of the dog. The imagery in this poem is very distinct, and helps the reader actually smell, hear, and feel what the dog is. At the very beginning of the poem, the speaker describes, “The dog trots freely in the street/and sees reality/ and the things he sees/ are bigger than himself/and the things he sees/are his reality/drunks in doorways/Moons on trees/The dog trots freely thru the street/and the things he sees/are smaller than himself/fish on newsprint/ants in holes/chickens in Chinatown windows/their heads a block away”(1-15). This imagery makes this really easy to picture the street itself, and everything that is going on. These fifteen lines also plant a seed in the reader’s mind that wants to keep growing, that is thirsty for more, that wants to keep reading, because the reader can actually relate to how the dog feels. Towards the end of the poem, the speaker says, “with his head cocked sideways/at streetcorners/as if he is just about to have/his picture taken/for Victor records/listening for/His Master’s voice/and looking/like a living question mark/into the/great gramophone/of puzzling existence” (68-79). These twelve lines describe the dog’s actions, and although the speaker does not tell what the dog is feeling, one can feel what the dog is feeling. The dog is feeling the desire to be obedient, but the need to be free. While telling the dogs actions and vision, the speaker creates a beautiful picture in one’s head, and raw feelings in the reader that stick for a lingering time. Figurative language in this poem arises with the recognition of a sort of fervor and sincerity in the dog. In the middle of the poem, the speaker says, “Congressman Doyle is just another/fire hydrant/to him”(44-46). This metaphor shows that the dog really doesn’t care for politics and the people involved in it. He’d rather do his business on them than agree with them. It’s a way of saying that everyone has thoughts about politics and similar controversial subjects, no matter how small or unable. Near the end of the poem, the speaker describes, “A real live/barking/democratic dog/engaged in real/free enterprise/with something to say/about ontology/something to say/about reality/and how to see it/and how to hear it”(57-67). These ten lines tell us what the dog is feeling, but also plants another greater seed in the reader’s mind: the seed of change. From what the reader can tell about what the dog is feeling, it is easy to go along with because the dog seems so confident and like such a free spirit, but without insulting someone’s judgment aggressively. The reader can value the dog’s way of looking at things, while the speaker is describing a vision of hope that the reader can build off of. The speaker of the poem is able to keep us in check with what the dog is doing, while letting our thoughts roam but also planting the dog’s own feelings in our minds. Towards the end of the poem, after talking about politics, the speaker describes, “The dog trots freely in the street/and has his own dog’s life to live/and to think about/and to reflect upon/touching and tasting and testing everything/investigating everything/without benefit of perjury/a real realist/with a real tale to tell/and a real tail to tell it with”(47-56). This describes the dog’s actions (walking through the street) but expresses the dog’s curious personality, just like people in the world are curious about almost everything and want to do something about it. The reader also makes sure the dog sounds comfortable and confident, which gives the reader, even, a triumphant feeling. In the middle of the poem, the speaker says, “He’s afraid of Coit’s Tower/but he’s not afraid of Congressman Doyle/although what he hears is very discouraging/very depressing/very absurd/to a sad young dog like himself/to a serious dog like himself”(34-40). These few lines are directly saying the dog’s feeling, but it also makes the reader wonder why the dog is feeling this. The speaker plants a feeling of mystery in the reader because it makes you wonder why the dog is so sad and so serious, and maybe if the reader is reflecting his feelings in an indirect way, through the dog. The speaker allows the reader to know what the dog is feeling while also letting our minds (the reader’s minds) wander and think of different possibilities. In this poem, innovation forms a unique alliance between imagery, figurative language, and the speaker’s language to connect thoughts in the reader’s head and tell what the dog is feeling. The imagery paints a bold picture of everything the dog is seeing, feeling, and smelling while letting the reader’s imagination roam a little. The figurative language lets the reader interpret how the dog feels about something, like its lifestyle, Congressman Doyle, and the obedience of being free. When one is obedient, they usually have a master of some kind, right? As it turns out they also have a master when they are free. When our thoughts roam, they are still often controlled by one central thought. So nevertheless they are controlled. One could say we, people, are never truly free from anything, no matter how hard we try. The reader can make the assumption that that’s why the dog is disappointed in the world. Being “free” is important to everyone on different levels, and that is why our world likes to be and is so different.

New Writing Blog!

You could say I am already a writer. I mean, anybody can be a writer if they want to. But since I'd like to make writing a living in my future, I thought I'd start by creating a blog ABOUT writing. Writing about writing, believe it or not, helps me learn new things about writing. And it could help you learn some things too. I'll be posting advice, short stories, chapters of my books, and sometimes essays from school, all to get your feedback on them. I love getting feedback, because it helps me make everything better. Even if it's constructive criticism or just plain criticism, it gives me even more confidence. I'll tell you a few things about myself. My name is Emma, and I'm a high schooler who loves music. I play cello, trumpet, ukulele, some piano, guitar, and I'm planning on learning upright bass and hopefully flute. And probably more in the future, hopefully :) Happy writing!