Useful Websites for Young Writers...

I've used many websites when writing my stories, either for research, character or place names, adding little Easter eggs, sharing my work and many other things as well! Google is our friend so here is six probably very well-known websites I find handy and use regularly when writing. Hopefully they'll help you too!

http://nanowrimo.org/

I mentioned this website in my last post and they have tons of helpful tips on writing and the publishing industry as well as push you to write a novel in a month. You can meet loads of new writers in your area as well as across the world so I find this website helpful every November :)

http://babynames.merschat.com/

This is the name meaning website I use but there are so many out there. This one is useful because you can find the meaning of a name you already want to use, find names of a particular meaning, pick gender and origins and find out lots of information on names you can use throughout your stories.

http://translate.google.co.uk/

Any online translator will do but I use this one usually because of the range of languages it has. This is useful for the hidden Easter eggs I was talking about, weaving meaning into place names, surnames, magic spells or anything really!

http://www.creativewritingprompts.com/

 Looking for writing prompts? Then this site is perfect! It has loads of writing prompts that can get your mind racing for the next best-seller!

http://www.movellas.com/

This is a website aimed at young writers aged 13+ to gain feedback as well as spread constructive criticism. It's a great way to gain feedback on your work, with a helpful community that are your age to tell you tips on how to improve. It really improves your confidence and your skills when you get your first comment and with competitions to keep you motivated it's a really great place to get started. There are other websites out there as well, such as Wattpad, but I always come back to this site because of the amount of feedback you get quite quickly.

http://www.goodreads.com/

What better way to increase your writing skill then by reading? By reading as many books as possible through many genres, you can learn all the tricks of what works and what doesn't within those genres and work towards originality in your own stories. Here, you can post reviews and find recommendations on many books and they have giveaways and quizzes. It's a great reading community.



~White Ravens~
http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/10321725/white-ravens-writing

NaNoWriMo 2013!

 National Novel Writing Month is coming up soon (this year's gone too fast!) and it's time to get prepping! I'm not sure whether I'll be able to compete this month due to AS levels but I'm going to try and write as much of my novel as I can :) It's an excellent way to motivate writers to get down your first draft.

   NaNoWriMo takes place over the month of November where your aim is to write 50,000 words. The accomplishment of actually writing a novel is immense! I remember still having 7,000 words to write on the last day and not feeling particularly well but I pushed through and finished with 20 minutes to spare! It's a great way to meet other writers too, with regular pep talks and prizes when you reach 50,000 to keep you going. Even if most of what you write is dribble from an ogre's mouth, editing will come later!

   It's fun, though I will warn you it can be quite stressful at times too, but it's nothing chocolate and a warm bath can't handle! ;D

   You can sign up here:

http://nanowrimo.org/

I hope to see some of you there! Find me under the name White Ravens:

http://nanowrimo.org/participants/white-ravens

~White Ravens~
http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/10321725/white-ravens-writing

National Poetry Day 2013

   Last Thursday, it was National Poetry Day and to celebrate, I wrote a poem based on this year's theme water.
   Check it out on Movellas too!: My Love From the Water

   My Love From the Water

The

water

gleamed as

I waded in waist-

deep, so cold; so inviting.

The sea, full of mystery, as the

waves pull my feet from its safe bed.

I wash in its  tranquility; wash away all

the pain I’d  been fighting.  The shock of

my head under, I will go where I’m being led.

But then you took the stones from my pockets

and taught me how to float. You were the changing

tide in my life, a breath of sea air to my chest. You took

my body,  empty along the current,  aboard your  boat;

Showing me there is still something in this world that’s

pure and so blessed. The water I had once seen as an

escape was now my saviour, your home. I followed your

rushing river as you chase freedom, wrestling the

flow. We dance in moonlight fractured under the

surface, rampant as we roam; Untouched by

reality’s rain and storms as

I bathe in your glow.

I feel so alive since you brought me back when I was close to the end;

You saved me with a soul so beautiful only angels could send.

My love from the water.

My Love From the Water © 2013 Rachel Lowson

   Hopefully the layout it's in works correctly XD



~White Ravens~
http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/10321725/white-ravens-writing