Tag: Writing

Monthly Recaps

Monthly Recap: January

floraj5604

So, for me January passed in a flash. I can’t believe it’s already February! Well, I guess I’ll get started.

Bullet Journaling

The only new thing I did in my bullet journal this month was my stress tracker and Doodle-A-Day. They didn’t turn out very well because it was hard to stay caught up. Maybe I’ll do better next month.

I did my weekly log the same way I did it in December.

Goals

My goals for this month… Well, I didn’t really reach all of those. But you know what? It’s okay, because we have another month to try again. Start fresh!

My goals for this month are:

  • Drink more water.
  • Write more.
  • Exercise more.
  • Stay caught on school, bullet journaling, and devotions.

How are you going to start fresh for this month? Let me know in the comments!

Books

This month, I finished book five of The Chronicles of Narnia, and I am now in the middle of book six. I didn’t have a lot of time to read this month.

Writing

This month I got some planning done for my book and also a few chapters written. Not that much.

And now… I saved this as best for last…

My Story of the Month

Last but definitely not least… my story of the month! (I didn’t get any requests for what to call this section, so I had to come up with something… let me know in the comments if you can think of anything to call it!) My favorite story that I wrote this month was one on grief. Yes, it is sad, but it really helps you improve your writing. And, without further ado…

Tori wasn’t sure how much more she could handle. The grief was overtaking her; she couldn’t think. She swabbed at her now mascara-streamed eyelids with a tissue. She couldn’t understand what the pastor was saying- whether it was because of the sobs echoing from her aunt sitting beside her, or because she was in shock, she wasn’t sure.

Tori quickly stood up and pushed through the aisle. She rushed to the bathroom where she locked herself in the biggest stall. She leaned against the wall, sitting on the ground.

As she let her tears roll down, she allowed the memories of the two people she had been trying to forget for the past few days zoom through her mind.

The last time Tori had talked to her mom was the first flashback. She saw herself yelling at her mom and then running down the hall and slamming her bedroom door. Guilt surged through as she watched herself stick her tongue out from behind the closed door.

The next memory was when Tori had been telling her dad goodbye when he was leaving for work. She watched him wave and close the door, locking it behind him.

Sourness filled her stomach as more memories poured in, mostly she and her mom fighting. She couldn’t believe she had spent so much time fighting. And now that her mom was gone for good, she regretted it even more.

Most of her memories of her dad were of math homework. Dad had been a math and science whiz while Mom had been good in writing and grammar.

The one memory she still couldn’t allow herself to watch kept resurfacing. But she’d continue to push it away. It was the worst memory she’d ever had: the memory of the car crash. The car crash where her parents had died.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for this week. Comment and let me know of what you thought! Next week (February 7), I’ll do another post on our writing series (How to Write a Story). See you then!

How to Write a Story

How to Write a Story: Characters

floraj5604

Hello, friends! This week, I’m going to continue our new series on how to write a story by giving you tips on how to create your characters.

For your materials, you will need the following:

  • The notes you took on your plot,
  • More paper,
  • Pen/pencil of your choice,
  • And a quiet place to sit.

Ready? Then let’s go!

Main character

The main character is usually the protagonist. The protagonist is the one character that the story focuses on. I’m guessing that while you were thinking about your plot last week, you kind of got a glimpse of your main character. Right now, I want youto start thinking about these details:

  • Gender
  • Age
  • Appearance

For your gender, you have two choices (obviously), but make it appropriate for your story. Remember that as you’re thinking about the ages as well.

For the appearance of your character, be creative! Here aresome things to ponder:

  • Hair color
  • Hair style
  • Eye color
  • Skin color
  • Clothing
  • Body type

Now it’s time to think of details. Think about your character and how he/she fits into the story. Will he/she need to be brave? How about bold? I’ll give you another method to try for coming up with characteristics at the end of this post.

Now, try to make a sketch of your character, even if it’s just a stick figure. As you’re doing this, start thinking about names (gender appropriate, of course!). Make a list of names that you might like to try. Lookup the meanings and see if they could be relevant to your storyline. Also, you need to make sure that you really know your character; that’ll help you write easily.

Other Characters

Now, to do this, you will need to refer to your plot. Go through your story, thinking about what other characters will be needed. When you’ve decided, make a list of the necessary characters, and then fill out their characteristics just like you did with your main character.

Getting to Know Your Characters

This is a tip that I got from another author that I love (Nancy Rue). Hang in there, because this may sound a little weird. For this project, you’ll need only two things:

  • An empty journal,
  • And a pen/pencil of your choice.

You are going to use this empty journal to write letters to your characters. This is so you can really get to know them. Your first entry should look like something like this:

          Dear (your character’s name),

I really want to get to know you so I can write you the correct way. I want to know everything that might help me get to know you, so we can be friends. Thanks for helping me!

                   (Your name)

And then, write yourself back as your character. The first time I did this, I totally thought I was crazy to try it. But, surprisingly, it actually helped. It’s an awesome way to get to know your characters. By the time you’re done, you’ll be BFFs!

Well, that’s all for this week. Next week I’ll be doing my Monthly Recap. If you have a request for a post in this series, let me know in the comments, and I will definitely consider it. Thanks for reading!