8/10/2019

Most of my posts on here seem to be fuelled by procrastination, but I’m currently putting off some homework that’s not due for a couple of days, so I guess that’s fine.

I handed in my EPQ this week, and for those of you fortunate enough to not know what the heck an EPQ is, it’s essentially a big university-style research project that I’ve been working on for the past few terms. Let’s just say that watching it print out, with the knowledge that I’d never have to think about it again, was immensely satisfying. Anyway, my point is that I suddenly have more free time than I used to, which is nice (and painfully temporary with A Levels looming…).

Looking forward towards this final year of school in the past was always daunting, but now I’m actually here, I’m probably the happiest I’ve been in a long time, which is surprising. Yes, there’s the ever present ‘you have big scary exams that determine your future coming up soon’ thought, but I’m okay with that? I have things to look forward to, and a big one of those at the moment is university. My application is pretty much ready to go; it’s just got to be checked through by a couple of teachers, and then I can press send. There’s one uni in particular that I absolutely loved when I looked around, and just the thought of potentially going there and studying a course I love is so exciting (so hi, if that particular university happens to be reading this somehow… (scary thought)).

Now my EPQ is out of the way, ignoring the English coursework I have to do, and, well, general A Level work, I really want to do some more creative writing, because I feel like I’ve been neglecting it recently, and I really miss it. Actually, I’m thinking as I write here, and I think I might go write something when I’m done with this. Like I said, my homework isn’t due for a couple of days, so a little more procrastination should be okay (hopefully no universities are actually reading this, because I’m painting myself as a terrible student… I promise I’m good really, aha).

So, books. I have a couple on the go at the moment: The Catcher in the Rye, which I’ve only read about three chapters of, but am enjoying so far, and Wayward Son (the continuation of Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl / Carry On series), which is so cute to read. It’s definitely one of those books you could sit down and read in one go, because, at least so far (I’m avoiding spoilers), it’s very fluffy and easy going (despite the Agatha – Micah angst). The Catcher in the Rye is the book I’m planning on writing about for my coursework, so I’ll probably share more of my thoughts on that as I get stuck in with that, and undoubtedly I’ll have lots of Wayward Son related thoughts too (although just as long as Baz & Simon are okay, I should be fine with it). I read Fangirl back when it first came out, which must have been around 2013 time? (I’m a liar, I googled that). I was only 11 then, which is maybe why I feel so attached to the characters, but anyway, I’ll keep you updated on that (and mark any spoilers!).

If any of you guys reading this are starting university anytime soon, or are there now, have / did you spend way too long watching room tour videos on YouTube? To be honest, at this point, all the rooms seem very similar, but there’s something strangely exciting about having a space which is entirely your own (kind of), and I dread to think how much time I’ve spent watching random people filming their first year accommodation. Safe to say, I may or may not have a Pinterest board of room decor…

Also, I’m absolutely loving a TV programme called The Circle on Channel 4 at the moment; I’m not usually one for trashy TV, but believe me when I say that I am emotionally invested in this show. In case you don

‘t know, it’s a game show type thing centred around the ideas of social media popularity and catfishing. The contestants are all in an apartment block, but don’t meet face-to-face, and only communicate through a social media type thing called ‘The Circle’, meaning that they have no idea whether or not the people they are talking to are real or fake. At the end, the most ‘popular’ player within the group will win £100,000, and if you’re in the UK and looking for a very easy to watch, entertaining show, I highly recommend giving this a go. Also, for the record, I’m rooting for Woody and Tim.

This post was pretty much a random jumble of my thoughts, but I quite like the casual vibe of this (?). As I mentioned, I’m hoping to do some more creative writing bits, so will hopefully be posting some of them here in the near future 🙂

–  Alice

The Last First

Hey, it’s been less than six months and I’m here writing another blog post! I’d call that progress.

Tomorrow is my last ever first day of school (excluding university, I suppose); it’s a really strange feeling, because whilst I feel ready, and mature enough, for school to come to an end (I’m sure I must be wrong about that, but it’s how I feel), pretty much all my memories are from my school-age self – yes, I’m ready to complete this chapter, but I can’t say with certainty that I entirely know the person I will be without it.

It’s an exciting feeling, I know that much, but that doesn’t do an awful lot to diminish the fear of the unknown. Human nature is, apparently, what causes that fear – something about evolutionary survival instincts. I’m fairly certain I’ll survive – maybe even thrive – in whatever comes next, but there’s always a little doubt about the future lurking in the shadows of my thoughts.

This all sounds serious, but in reality, I’m writing this as I think about my personal statement, which is Big and Scary, and due tomorrow (and at a word count of zero…). So, as usual, this is a procrastination fuelled post (sorry?).

Anyway, I think that because my time at school is nearing its end, I’ve been thinking a lot about what I used to like, and in a way, who I used to be.

I suppose that reading and writing has always been a core part of me, and that’s what brought me here. It’s interesting to find that almost everything about myself has changed with the years, but that little quirk has remained.

I’ve done a fair bit of creative writing this summer – its something that I’ve always loved, bringing to life characters and worlds which could otherwise only live in my head. That’s another point of reflection too; reading old stories often tells you an awful lot about who you were and how you were feeling when you wrote them. Characters always seem to be made up of parts of ourselves, just presented slightly differently, and maybe, if you look hard enough, their conflicts could be applied to our own problems.

I think that’s why I like English (as in the subject), because it is centred around writing, and writing possesses a kind of magic I don’t think I’ve otherwise encountered. The ability to take something from someone’s mind and present it in a way which allows another person to understand and visualise it, in their own unique way, can surely only be described as magical?

This has been short, but hopefully sweet, and I’m painfully aware there’s no proper conclusion. I have a better idea of what my personal statement should say now, so that’s one thing.

Good luck with your day, and remember that whatever happens to us in life is only something which will add to the person you are, and the person you are becoming.

Ciao

– Alice

where is my mind at?

Hi. It’s me again, Alice.

I’m terrible at consistency for most things in life, and this blog is no different, so apologies to the followers (who, realistically are here for April, but see my sporadic posts every so often).

Much like last time, a lot has changed in my life since the last time I posted, and I’m actually in a really good place, which is something of an alien feeling for me.

April and I are both seventeen now, and this time next year, we’ll have finished school forever, which is absolutely terrifying, but at the same time, I couldn’t be more excited. I’m going to go to university to study one of my favourite things in the world, live independently and get to learn new things about myself, and I can’t wait.

Tomorrow, I’m spending the day with my childhood idol, then pretty soon, school will end for the summer, and I’ve got some great things planned with friends. Life really is looking good, but I’m not making this post to rub that in your face, just to talk about it a little, because, despite all the happiness I’m feeling, there’s still an underlying tension.

Basically, I don’t feel like I’m being entirely authentic, but I’m not in a position where I can change that (at least not in real life – the internet really is a blessing). I have some days where I feel utterly hopeless, but at this point, the majority of the time, I’m doing fine – actually fine.

This time last year (and for quite some time before then), I was miserable, and genuinely couldn’t see any way for that to stop. Looking back now, I really don’t know how I managed, but the point is that I did manage, and right now, excluding when I watched Dan Howell’s ‘Basically I’m Gay’ video (which, by the way, you should watch), I don’t remember the last time I cried. Things. Get. Better.

If someone told the Alice of last year that I’d be sat here now, having had all the experiences I’ve had over the past several months, genuinely happy, I wouldn’t have believed you.

This is beginning to sound a little preachy and holier-than-thou, which is NOT my intention; I just felt like this was something I ought to share, on the off chance there’s someone reading this feeling anything like how I was.

You can do great things, and you can be yourself. You’ll find the people you want to keep close, and things will look up. All you need is time, and a little self-belief.

I hope you’re having a good day, reader, and with any luck, my next post will be less than six months away.

–  Alice

Blog Post #51: A bit about books

Hi all,

I thought today I’d return a bit to the roots of this blog and write a post about the books I’ve been reading recently. I’ve not written one of these posts in a while (there was a little book update in this post from a few weeks ago, but not much), and as of late I’ve been reading some really great books that I’ve really enjoyed, so why not fill you in?

These are in no particular order, because a) I’m bad at ranking things and forming measurable opinions and b) I’ve forgotten what order I read them in.

Firstly, I finished Mythos by Stephen Fry, which was a really great book and very much an enjoyable read. I won’t say a lot about it as I mentioned it in my last book update (see above), but I’m really looking forward to reading the sequel, Heroes.

Secondly, I read a new released called The Silence Of The Girls by Pat Barker, which is a retelling of the Iliad from the perspective of Briseis (one of the ‘main’ women, ‘main’ being in quote marks because despite this she still has a very small role in the plot of the actual Iliad). It’s a definitely a book for people who are a bit older because sometimes it mentions fairly… mature themes, however it’s also not too complicated or intellectual (as you might expect with a retelling of an epic poem) so easily enjoyed.

I also finally got round to reading The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, which I feel is one of those classic books which you just have to read at some point, especially as it’s so short, so not exactly a long and strenuous read. I enjoyed reading, and got special enjoyment from the absolute comedy gold line “‘If he be Mr Hyde,’ he had thought, ‘I shall be Mr Seek.'”

Another short book I read is We Should All Be Feminists, which is actually an adaptation of a speech the author (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie) gave at a TEDTalk she did. It was a great read and raised some good points, so I would definitely recommend to everyone, no matter whether you consider yourself a feminist or not (which you definitely should, but that’s a topic for a separate post).

Fifthly (is that a word? Can I say that?), I finished Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, which, I have to admit, is not my favourite book. The second half of the novel was alright and fairly interesting to read, however there was a long and tedious journey through the first half before I got there. The language was also difficult to decipher, and I actually had to clarify with someone else who’s read it what happened at the end because there were a solid 2 pages where I really didn’t understand what was happening.

At the moment, I’m reading The Secret Barrister (written anyonymously), which has actually been really interesting so far. It’s been so cool to me to learn about how the court systems and trials and all sorts of legal processes work (in the UK), and I also really enjoy the stories of cases he’s worked on too. I don’t know, it’s just so interesting to me, maybe I’m a bit odd.

Finally, I’m also reading the play A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen at the moment, and I’m also really enjoying this (I feel like I’ve said that phrase a lot in this post, but genuinely, it’s true). When I’ve read plays before I’ve not really enjoyed them, but this is different. The plot is actually really interesting, and especially knowing some context about how this would have shocked the contemporary audience, I’ve really enjoyed it so far, and I’m on edge to see what will happen next.

Anyway, that’s all for today’s post. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it and perhaps got some ideas of what to read next? I feel like there’s a fairly wide spread of genres, so hopefully there’s something for everyone. Thanks for reading,

– April

Blog Post #50: Feeling Helpless

Hi all,

I wanted to talk a bit about something I’m dealing with at the moment, which, as you can probably guess from the title, is feeling helpless. Feeling downhearted. Feeling like you can’t do anything to change a situation that you’d really like to change.

I’m feeling a bit helpless at the moment because there was something I really wanted to do, but I started thinking about doing it too late and now there isn’t anything I can do to mean that I can do the thing. (yes, I am aware that sentence didn’t make sense, and am also aware that the rest of this post probably won’t make much sense, but just stick by me and hopefully by the end you might be able to make a head or tail of what I’m trying to say).

Anyway, now it’s too late to be able to do the thing, I’m looking back at all the opportunities I had that would have enabled me to do the thing, that I didn’t realise would enable me to do it at the time, so I didn’t take, and now I’m feeling very helpless and useless because I didn’t take them and now I can’t do the thing.

It’s just annoying that I didn’t take the opportunities, not for any particular reason, just because I didn’t get round to signing up, or decided I didn’t really want to, and now I’m looking back and wishing I hadn’t been so nonchalant and uninterested because those stupid decisions have impacted something now, my actions (or lack thereof) had consequences and now I have to pay the price.

Basically, my message today to anyone who’s reading this is that you should take all the opportunities you have, even if you’re not too bothered about them or don’t think there’s any reason to do them. Seize them with both hands, otherwise someday you’ll be sat looking back on those chances like I am now, wishing you had taken them.

– April

Blog Post #49: A little life update

Hi all,

Every post I write seems to start with an apology, so I’m just going to come out and say it: posts on here aren’t regular, they are very sporadic and often sparse, so don’t expect much. If you want to be notified of when I do post, feel free to follow our instagram, as I always post on the story when something new has been uploaded.

I just thought I’d write a little update on my life at the moment, as I haven’t done one in a while, also I’ve been itching to write something but don’t have much time and this won’t take to long to write.

So, how is life at the moment? Well actually, it’s pretty great at the moment. I came to the realisation the other day that I’m in what is probably the happiest stage of my life so far (the happiest stage of my life that I can remember at least), which is just, well, great. Obviously not all of life is singing and dancing, but on average, I think I’m at my happiest more often than I’ve ever been. I don’t know, I just have a lot of great people in my life and a lot of great stuff happening and aaaa I’m feeling so mushy and happy just thinking about it.

Anyway, that got deep and sentimental quickly didn’t it? There’s a lot more mundane things I can include in an update too, so let’s do that.

I’ve started running again, and remembered how much I enjoy it. When I first started I hated it and questioned why I was putting myself through it, but now I’m a bit better at it I really do enjoy it. It gives me time to think and have time to myself, and also I love the sense of accomplishment I get at the end of a good run too.

I’m also reading quite a bit at the moment. I’ve got 3 books on the go currently, which I don’t normally do, but two of them are for school. The first school book is Northanger Abbey, which is alright, but because it’s written in a fairly old-fashioned way then sometimes I struggle to understand certain bits. It’s also a little tedious in some places, but maybe that’s just because I’m not at the main section of the story yet. The second school book is The Autobiography of Fidel Castro, which is, well, interesting(?) I guess. I’m not going to say much about that, partly because Castro is a fairly controversial topic and I’m not very educated on it as of yet, and partly because I’m not far enough into it yet to make a judgement on it as a book aside from the politics of it. The third book I’m reading is a book I’m reading out of choice, Mythos by Stephen Fry. Someone gave me the sequel, Heroes, for my birthday recently so I picked up this one from the library earlier today to read first. Like I said, it was only today that I started it so I’m not very far in, but what I’ve read so far is really good, both because I like classics and mythology stuff so it’s quite interesting, and also because it’s quite funny and I like the way it’s written.

In terms of music, my favourite album at the moment is definitely Sing To Me Instead by Ben Platt which came out at the end of March, and I’m actually listening to as I write this post. I’m really bad at describing why I like music so I’m not really able to justify myself, other than it’s just an amazing album and everyone should listen to it because it’s so good. I’m also really impressed at Ben Platt’s vocal range which, although it was shown off in Dear Evan Hansen, is even more than that (take for example, the very last note of New in comparison to the start few lines of Better or the end of Run Away). I think my favourite song is definitely Older, for reasons which I can’t explain other than it’s such an important message and also makes me unreasonably happy to listen to. However that’s not to say I don’t like the rest of the album, I love all the songs for their own individual reasons. To give a few – Bad Habit is so soulful and emotional, Honest Man is beautiful, New has some fantastic music, Share Your Address is a quality bop™ and In Case You Don’t Live Forever is beautiful and heartfelt and makes me want to cry every time and I want it to play at my wedding. I don’t have any intentions of getting married any time soon, I don’t even know if I will ever get married, but if I do, the first dance song is that.

I also recently listened to Newsies, and if there are any musical fans out there who haven’t listened to it yet I definitely recommend. There’s some absolute tunes in there, such as Carrying The Banner, The World Will Know, Seize The Day, King of New York and Once And For All. Also, Santa Fe, well, I have no words to describe Santa Fe. I am in love with the song, and in awe of anyone who can sing it, especially with so much emotion as it would have during the performance (Jeremy Jordan!! Is Amazing!!). Sadly it’s no longer being performed on Broadway or anywhere else, but there is a professionally recorded film which I’m going to watch as soon as I get the opportunity.

That’s all I have to say really, so I’m going to end this post here. Thanks very much for reading, and I guess I’ll  see you in the next one, whenever that is

– April

Blog Post #48: Un blog en Español

Hola,

Primero, lo siento que no he publicado en algunas semanas, voy a tratar de mejorar a compartilhando cada semana.

Segundo, ahora voy a escribir un blog en Español, y soy muy entusiasmada. Aprendo Español en mi colegio, así que soy entusiasmada practicar mis habilidades y ver a que nivel es mi Espanol. Por favor, si eres Español entonces dices si soy correcta o no. A mí me gustaría recibir comentario.

En este blog, voy a hablar sobre un tema bastante sencillo así que es mas facil para mi hablar. Ademas, este blog va a ser más corto que tradicional, sin embargo mi último blog era muy largo, así que ellos cuadran.

Para mí, a mí me gustaría aprender Español porque pienso que podría ser muy guay poder hablar una lengua extranjera. Abre más puertas en el futuro (por ejemplo me permitirá vivir en España o otros países que hablan Español), y también me permite hablar con personas españolas o brasileñas o mexicanas, que pienso que es increíble.

Tanto como aprender espanol en mi colegio, uso duolingo practicar espanol. También, intento pensar sobre como decir que digo en ingles en espanol. Hacer este, uso un sitio web estupendo se llama Word Reference. Si aprendes Inglés, Español, Portugués, Italiano o Francés entonce deberías usar Word Reference porque es un salvavidas.

He pasado la semana pasada en España, viviendo con una familia español y teniendo clases en un colegio de idiomas, y pienso que este ha ayudado yo para mejorar mis habilidades. Yo aconsejo tranatando este si puedes, porque es muy util y beneficioso

Este es todo tengo escribir ahora. Deseo que te guste este blog en Espanol. Gracias para leer

~ April

MFT: Musicals

Hi all,

Today I’m going to talk about one of my absolute favourite things in the world: musicals. I don’t know how I could start this post other than telling you how much I genuinely love musicals. I can’t even convey my love for them in words, I just, I don’t know how to say this, I just couldn’t live without them.

I’ve always liked musicals, mostly films that I’d watched, for example Mary Poppins or Mamma Mia or the Sound of Music, but it wasn’t a burning passion like I posses now. However, this changed when I listened to Dear Evan Hansen for the first time on Thursday 17th May 2018 – a date I have written down to remember, as it’s such a momentous day for me.

I’m struggling to write this post if I’m being honest, because I just have such a love for musicals that I’m struggling to articulate myself and write something coherent. I’m going to persevere, but I’m sorry if some of this doesn’t make sense.

Dear Evan Hansen is the musical I will always credit for kickstarting my love of musicals, however my favourite musical before this was Wicked. I hadn’t listened to the whole soundtrack, but Defying Gravity had been on of my favourite songs for a long time. Then, in the summer of 2018, I got the chance to see the actual stage performance of Wicked, and for that I am so grateful. I finally listened to the whole soundtrack in preparation and realised what great songs I’d been missing out on, but let me tell you, nothing can compare to actually hearing those songs in the actual theatre. I’m going to be completely honest with you: when the performance started, the orchestra had literally played 2 notes and I started crying. I just could quite believe I was actually there, actually seeing Wicked in person. Wow – I’m getting emotional just thinking about it.

Anyway, from there my obsession just escalated. I wouldn’t say I’m the biggest musical fan, because I’ve not listened to that many yet, but I’ve listened to fair few and have a long list of others I want to listen to.

The thing about musicals, and the reason why I love them so much, is the music. Which sound obvious and like a stupid thing to say but it’s honestly the truth. Songs in musicals can really move me emotionally and dictate how I feel and make me feel so involved with the story, musicals are a really immersive experience for me. Again, struggling to articulate what I want to say, but the first time I listened to Dear Evan Hansen I cried, a lot. And the second time. I’m getting better now but sometimes it does get me a bit.

Blog Post #47: Methods of Motivation

Hi all,

“I’m going to try and stop starting all my posts with the word ‘sorry’, as that’s all I seem to do recently: sorry for this being so bad, sorry for this being late, sorry for not posting for three months, et cetera”. That’s how I started the last blog post that I posted here, and I’m determined not to break that promise just one post later, so I’m not going to apologise for another 2 months without posts. However, just know that that’s the only reason why I’m not saying the s word.

Today I want to talk a bit about different ways to motivate yourself into doing things, as motivation is something I’ve been struggling with recently. It’s currently school holidays (phew), however I’m not completely off the hook as I’m meant to be doing at least a little bit of work each day. This is what I’ve been struggling with, as I really don’t want to. So I’m hoping that talking about these different ways of motivating yourself might help me to motivate myself too. We’ll see.

1. Rewards

Who doesn’t like to get rewards for doing something they should be doing, eh? Whether it be food, or letting yourself watch an episode of your favourite TV programme, or buying something you’ve been wanting for a while, it’s always nice to get something in response to your hard work. So method number one is setting yourself goals, then rewarding yourself when you reach them. “If I read this chapter of the textbook, I can have a cookie” “If I finish making my notes on this, I can watch an episode of Sherlock” “If I complete my to-do list for this week, I can buy that pair of shoes I’ve been wanting for months” etc. Obviously, you have to be careful with this and not reward yourself too frivolously, otherwise you’ll spend more time watching TV than studying and end up broke. But if this is the kind of thing that drives you, maybe give it a go.

2. Punishments

So this is basically the opposite of the method above: instead of giving yourself good things for getting stuff done, you take away good things for not getting stuff done. “If I don’t finish cleaning my bedroom, I’m not allowed to watch any TV tonight” “If I don’t finish this past paper, then I can’t meet my friends tomorrow” Of course, there’s then the whole issue of having the self-motivation to hold yourself accountable and stick to your punishment (which personally I’m not very good at), but maybe for some people who have decent levels of will-power this is a more effective method.

3. Trackers

This is the type of motivation I use to implement new habits into my life, for example doing a Duolingo lesson each day or going to bed on time. Basically the motivation behind this is wanting to fill the tracker in and the end of each day so that there’s less gaps than there are days filled in.

There are different types of trackers like this. The first type is for just one habit, that you want to do every day of the year. I used to use this when I had music lessons and wanted to practice for at least 10 minutes daily. Put simply, it’s a calendar and you colour the box in if you’ve done the thing that day. If you fancy giving this a try, here’s a PDF calendar for 2019. I typed out all those numbers so you didn’t have to.

A second way of tracking habits like this is in a bullet journal. I’ve spoken about bullet journaling on here before so if you’re interested in reading about the system as a whole you can see this post, but I’ll just give you a quick summary of habit tracking in a bullet journal. It’s very similar to the method above, however it’s done on a monthly basis (as that’s generally how bullet journals are laid out) and can be used to track multiple habits at a time. For example, my current habits that I track include getting 9 hours of sleep, making my bed, doing my mouthwash, cleaning my retainer and getting to bed on time.

4. Telling other people

A fourth way to spur yourself into action is by telling other people your intentions, so that they hold you accountable for them. This is somewhat controlled by whether or not you care about what other people think, but if you do then this could be the method that works best for you. I use my parents to do this, because if I tell them I’ll do something then don’t do it then I feel like I’ve let them down, so this motivates me to get it done.

5. Start small

Often, a lack of motivation comes as a result of a daunting task. It’s fair enough, if you have a big thing you need to get done, to feel as though it’s impossible to get started. So, to build up momentum, start with something small and gradually build up the size of the tasks your completing. This helps you to increase enthusiasm and motivation as you get things done, which encourages you to get more stuff done, and so on. Have a big project to do? Why not start by clearing your work space, then make a plan, then work on one segment at a time. Have to organise your mess of a bedroom? Start by making your bed, the picking up dirty clothes, etc.

That’s all I have in terms of methods of motivating yourself, but I hope that one of these might have helped somewhat. Just before I end this post though, I found this post while writing this, and thought I’d share it here as it’s quite useful and also fairly extensive (and, let’s be honest, does a better job than me at covering this topic). Thanks for reading

~ April

 

 

Blog Post #46: Inspiration

Hi all,

I’m going to try and stop starting all my posts with the word ‘sorry’, as that’s all I seem to do recently: sorry for this being so bad, sorry for this being late, sorry for not posting for three months, et cetera. However, I am going to say sorry in this one, sorry if it seems a bit rushed. I was planning on posting a short story today that I’ve written, however I’ve decided that there’s a major aspect of it I don’t like so it needs some heavy editing, but I really wanted to post today.

So in case the title isn’t obvious enough, this post is about inspiration. I was planning on publishing this post after the short story, as I was going to talk about inspiration in relation to that, however, that’s not happening. For that story, I drew inspiration from two things: an old story of mine that I found, and the plot of a musical.

I’m not going to say which musical I drew inspiration from, as it would be a kind of big spoiler. The old story however, I can talk about that.

The short story I wanted to post is, in short (pun intended hehe), a letter from a girl to her ex-best friend, explaining her side of the story and how she messed up so badly to get to the situation they’re in (not friends any more). I decided to write it as a letter, after rereading a story I wrote about 3 years ago, where a girl wrote letters (that she never sent) to her best friend  who she also happened to love. A bit cliché and cringey, I know, but I don’t think it’s actually that bad? Possibly? Maybe one day I’ll finish it and post it on here for you to see.

Ooh! Fun English fact, just to prove that I am a good student. When a book or story is written in letters or diary entries (like Dracula by Bram Stoker, for example), it’s called epistolary form. Writing in diary entries especially is a good plot device, as it provides an insight into the very inner workings of a characters mind and how they feel. There you go – this is an educational blog now!

Anyway, finding that old short story of mine was really helpful. I was in a bit of a rut at the time to be perfectly honest, stuck with no ideas on what to write. But when I found the story and read it, it inspired me and suddenly I was struck with an idea. I immediately opened a new document and wrote 2260 words in the first sitting, then finished it off with another 1910 words in the morning the next day (now, after the second edit, it’s 4479 words – does that still count as a short story? Probably not, oops). I was so, so excited to have some inspiration and just write something, it was fantastic. And where did this sudden drive come from? An old, cringey, badly written story I found in an abandoned dusty folder on my laptop.

It was actually after I’d finished the first draft that I realised I’d been channelling the plot of the musical, so I don’t know if that technically counts as inspiration, but all the same. The point I’m trying to get across is that you can get inspiration from anywhere, and don’t be afraid to take it! Of course, you always have to be cautious of plagiarism, so try not to take too much inspiration from any one thing, but there’s nothing wrong with drawing inspiration from certain ideas and making them your own.

And this goes with everything – not just stories. Maybe you’re a songwriter or a poet, and also stuck and unsure of what to write. Inspiration comes from all over – books, films, plays, stories, poems, art, songs, social media, the news, history, events in your life, even random snapshots of other peoples lives that you see as you pass them in the street. You just need to keep your eyes open for something that really clicks with you, and then you’re off.

Anyway, that’s all I have to say for today. My apology at the start probably isn’t necessary as it’s taken me longer than it should have to write this, but I wanted it to be perfect. Writing this was very enjoyable, so I’m glad I get the chance to share it with you. Thanks for reading,

~ April