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

'More Than This' by Patrick Ness Review

     AS levels have begun and I'm now a year 12 student so my reading time has been significantly reduced due to homework and revision unfortunately :( However, here is my review of Patrick Ness' 'More Than This'. This is done in a different style to what I usually do without subtitles but is still my opinions of the book. This is now one of my complete favourites and you don't understand how much you need to go out and read this! There's a teeny spoiler in this review so I've pointed it out if you want to avoid it.

   I received a review copy from Movellas in order to review this.

"Here is the boy, drowning."

   Seth awakens from death. But, he’s alive. Naked and alone in his old home back in England, he is haunted by vivid dreams of his life. He begins searching for answers in this ‘after-life’. Is he really alone? Or is there More Than This?

   I think Patrick Ness is a great author and this book proves this further. At first, I actually expected perhaps a paranormal story, which is quite popular within the YA genre, but it already started off with a twist and ended up being a suspenseful dystopian novel. It was a pleasant surprise.

   ‘Here is the boy, drowning.’ What a way to begin! Starting with the death of the main character really hooked me as well as indicating that this story takes place in the after-life, setting the scene without chunks of boring description. He is referred to as ‘the boy’, which I loved because it’s subtle but gives us readers an indication as to who to root for when reading, suggesting importance.

   However, the first chapters were quite slow for me, which kept up the suspense but did get a little boring after a while. Nevertheless, it quickly became more fast-paced that kept me wanting to read more. So stick with this story or you’ll regret it!

   The middle was exciting, introducing more flashbacks (which are perfectly placed without getting too long that we forget the actual storyline, dripping in more information about our protagonist’s past.) and introducing more interesting characters.

   Each character stood out because, although they are very different, they felt real. They contrast nicely with appropriate reactions to their situations. They have different stories, with different backgrounds but they unite in something they all have in common; finding out if there is ‘more than this’. They experience many real issues we do today, like murder, poverty, abuse and the world seeming to try and reject who you are. It’s so realistic it’s scary, with the internet taking over too. This really could happen in our future! It is really amazing for an author to create a new world and make it appear so vivid to the reader.

   The twists kept on coming and the final turn I loved. 

(SPOILER AHEAD: When The Driver “dies” SPOILER END), 

I really wanted another obstacle to appear in the way of our protagonists because I didn’t feel that the story should end just yet, but I wasn’t expecting what did happen and was almost shouting at the book to let there be a happy ending!

   Then, the impossible happens and the final flashback is beautifully carried out, rounding our knowledge off. It was a miracle that seems impossible, but is actually probable, and everyone is left confused by the unexpected. But that is because that’s what life is; you don’t know what’s around the corner. I thought I might be over-thinking the plot after finishing this but I have come away satisfied with the cliff-hanger.

   Overall, Patrick Ness has done a brilliant job yet again. ‘More Than This’ is full of twists that keep you going until the very end. If you enjoy Sci-Fi/Dystopian YA novels then this is for you. I would not recommend it to anyone under the age of 14/15 because it contains swearing and mature issues. However, I’ll only be giving it 4.5/5 because it did take me a few chapters to really get into the story, but I loved reading this novel and I'd certainly like to read more books like this :)

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