I spent most of yesterday trying to sort out the mess that's my room. It seems like my parents just put all my shoes and books in big plastic boxes and put them in whatever space was available. I didn't make very much progress, and seemed to only add to the mess. After lunch Mum and I were talking about the Skunk water that's been all over the news and how it was being used as a humane way of dispersing potentially violent protesters. We laughed ourselves silly at some of the potential consequences if the police used them. The BBC article that we read about it from quoted a police inspector who informed the reporter that it was made of organic materials, and that it's even safe to drink! I don't think I could stomach it if I was asked to drink. The whole thing about skunk water made me think of the Last of the Summer Wine episode titled "The Sweet Smell of Excess" where Compo gets himself stuck in a bed that he'd been using as a trampoline, and his friends manage to cut himself free as he's dangling over a sewer and he comes out smelling "environmentally unfriendly". I was thinking that Skunk water could be used to flush out the violent protesters as the police would be able to investigate the bad smell complaints that would surely follow.
Earlier in the week, Mum arranged to meet with some friends and their children at a local restaurant. They're really friends of my youngest aunt, but we now consider them good friends. Because we were going out, I decided to dress up a bit; in my new long red T-shirt with a Scandinavian-style pattern that Mum got me at Lidl the other day, my olive green animal print skinny jeans, my cropped blue denim jacket and my burgundy two-inch Joseph Siebel ankle-boots. I also wore my grandmother's amber necklace and my places back rose ear-studs. I didn't wear any make-up other than a smear of clear lip-gloss. We met them the restaurant, a fairly new Thai place that we'd never been to before. The food was delicious. A couple of times I found myself coughing when something went down the wrong way as we were talking; the spice didn't really help either as it explodes in the back of your throat with every spoonful. It was nice seeing C and her family again. They got me a box of Godiva chocolates as a gift for finishing my Masters course. It was very nice of them, and I'm looking forward to tasting them as I've heard a lot about the brand. After we finished eating Dad drove them to the train station and Mum and I walked part of the way home, which I didn't mind at all as it was still warm outside even though it's very obviously autumn now. Dad managed to find us after he dropped them off and drove us the rest of the way home. My parents both went to bed shortly afterwards but I stayed up for a bit surfing the Net and watching a few episodes of Dragons: Race to the Edge. I know it's basically a kid's programme but the stories and the quality of the animation is a lot better than much of what's on television nowadays.
Today was uneventful as both my parents had to go to work. Probably the most interesting things to happen today was the bouts of rain that we've had on and off all day; sometimes it would fall softly and other times it would fall in torrents. J e-mailed me today; she'd accidentally deleted my last e-mail. I didn't mind too much as I've done that myself a couple of times. I emptied some of my shelving today and I've been trying to sort out what books I'm going to keep in my room, what will go in the attic, and what should go to charity or be sold on eBay. With how many books I've got now, it's going to be slow going.
Tips on writing a good story
A "good story" is actually difficult to define; what one person likes another person may not. What makes a story good is up to the writer and their readers. For me, a good story is one that's been well thought out, and while the general plot may not be original there has to be something that makes the story unique. The story also has to be well written with a consistent voice, realistic dialogue and proper spelling and grammar
Coming up with good ideas is definitely something every writer has trouble with. Everyone has different methods of finding inspiration; mine is listening to music, looking at pictures, reading articles and other stories, and working from prompts and lists. I also use Tarot and Lenormand to help me when I get stuck on what to write next for a scene, or just when I want to generate a few story ideas. Sometimes I'll just free-write for a bit and see where things go. No matter what or how much I've written, I'll often just leave for a bit and do something else then go back and edit it. Very often I surprise myself with what I come up with.
As hard as it is to come up with a good story, it is surprisingly harder to write it well. I know now from experience how difficult it is to keep consistency in a story, whether it's the grammar, the character's voice, dialogue, or the storyline. I've always found it useful to get a second and third opinion; they will be able to pick up on things that you will have missed. Writers the world over will have heard this many times but I strongly advise not to get discouraged by harsh criticism; very often there will be some very good advise and suggestions. That said, you don't have to follow everything they've told you as they are only suggestions. It's also a good idea to research your story, even if you're writing about a subject that you know well there's also some detail that could be important to your story and also lends authenticity. As for dialogue, listen to the people around you and watch how actors interact on television.
These are just some of the things that can help a writer to create a good story.
