Why I Write.

I write simply because I want to.

I write because it gives me something to do other than lounge around feeling lame. I write because I the most bizarre thoughts, sometimes, and somehow my brain comes up with strange scenarios that I want someone to read and feel entertained.

I write because there's a part of me that feels disconnected from other human beings emotionally. I write because a part of me hopes that I'll learn what "empathy" means. I write because I want to learn who I am, because who I am is subconsciously written down in between the words I record.

I write because want other people to hear what I have to say. I write because I want to teach people lessons that they can keep with them. I write because in this world, it's very easy for meaningful words to fall upon deaf ears, or to be forgotten, or to be lost. I write because written words are forever and never disappear.

I write because I want to impact lives. I write because I want people to read my words and think, and do more than just sit there and absorb. I write because I want to provoke thoughts, arguments, debates. I write because I want to provoke dreams.

I write because I want to evoke emotions. I write because I love to make people laugh, because I want to touch people's hearts with words that mean so little yet mean so much.

I write because it is an art that I enjoy. I write because it's one of the few things I actual have a certain degree of talent in and am sure that I can.

I write because it helps me forget. I write because it helps me remember.

I write because I love when people tell me that they love what I write. I write because it feels good to be doing something. I write because it gives a sense of accomplishment when everything else I do sucks. I write because while everything else feels wrong, writing feels right.

I write because it's the one thing I can call my own, from my heart. I write because it gives me a way to show.

I write for a number of reasons. But above all, I write because I love it.

10 Things I Don't Like in Books

I recommend you write one of these lists! It helps you figure out whether other people will like your books, because chances are, if it's something you don't like, 90% of readers won't like them, either.

So, here's a (very basic) list of things I don't like in books!

1) Perfect characters (physical or personality)
2) Unrealistic characters
3) When the main character is too nice (This aggravates me to no end)
4) Narrator does not sound like how they should sound (i.e. boy sounds girly; 16 year old sounds 10)
5) Paragraphs that are ten pages long (exaggeration)
6) When every sentence starts with "I" (sounds like a list. "I did this. I did that. I ate. I slept."
7) Too little detail
8) Too much detail
9) EVERYTHING is predictable
10) I can't relate to it. At all.

I'm guilty of some of these things. You're guilty of some of things.

But the great thing is, because you've written out a list of what sucks in books, you'll be aware of it & you can improve!
Happy writing!

--Ivey

Homemade Coconut & Sugar Scrub

Hey guys! Once I learn something fun and cool, I like to share it, so here's something I tried today: Homemade Sugar Scrub!

At bath care stores, sugar scrubs can cost like $20-$30. I don't like to spend too much money, so I decided making my own! It's really easy and it leaves your skin super soft :) I found this recipe on Google, then modified it just a teeeeeny bit.

INGREDIENTS:
-table sugar
-coconut oil
-(optional) water

To make a sugar scrub, all I did was add two parts of sugar to every one part of coconut oil (Coconut oil is really good for you!). That means for every one tablespoon of coconut oil, I used two tablespoons of sugar.

First, I put the coconut oil in the microwave it for 15 seconds, since it's usually a soft solid at room temperature. It's just easier to mix when it's a little runny, but not impossible.

Combine the sugar to the oil and mix. I added just a little itty bit of water, like a few drops. Probably about half a teaspoon. Don't add too much, otherwise the sugar will get kinda mushy and soggy.

I let it sit in the fridge, just long enough for it to chill and harden. It doesn't take too long, like two minutes.

Voila!  A homemade, cheap, easy, quick sugar scrub all under three minutes!

The best way to use it is on dry skin. Don't wet it first, otherwise the sugar will just melt. I tested the scrub on my hands first. It's supposed to be kinda weird to use. You're supposed to feel all the grains rubbing into your skin. After, rinse it off. It'll also feel kinda weird--kinda like when butter melts on your hands? You know, slippery and oily? It's from the (duh) coconut oil, but also from the sugar melting.

Dry. Doesn't your skin feel soft now? ;)

I even used it on my face. It didn't dry it out at all! Mind you, I didn't scrub so hard that it hurt to wash my face with it, but the scrub kinda gives like a little massage. It feels really nice and left my cheeks feeling smooth and soft(: If you feel your skin going a little dry, just use a little bit of coconut oil (like, a little little little teeny bit) as a lotion on dry spots. The nice thing about coconut oil is that it hydrates without clogging. It's like a light lotion!

This scrub can be used all over your body. I love it so much xD

Ya'll should try it and tell me watcha think! :D

Ciao!

--Ivers

How to Succeed on Wattpad

Tips for How to Become Popular on Wattpad
This is all my experience/opinion. Don't hate.

1) Write a good book.
Seriously. I'm gonna be honest here. There are some people who write crap novels and expect everyone to read it. I'm not saying that your writing is necessarily bad, but that doesn't mean your novels not...if that makes sense. Aha. But you can't expect to be popular in anything if you suck at it.

2) First impressions count.
TITLES. Need I say more? Don't give the entire plot away in the title. You know how for papers, you have to formulate a thesis that sums up the entire paper into one sentence? It's kind of like that. Titles should be concise and intriguing. I'm not going to lie; I really like "Why She Fell" as a title (does it sound pompous that I say that?). Put enough thought into the title so that when people read it, they'll think, "Hey, this sounds interesting." At the same time, don't over think it!
Make your cover attractive. Don't put too much on it, you know? Be bold and make a statement but don't overdo it. I really like @Perfectionism 's covers because they're simple, pretty, and professional looking. Make sure you can read the title, too. Dude, like, if I can't read the title, chances are I'm not going to read the book. "Don't judge a book by it's cover." Pshhhh screw that. Everyone does it; I know I do. If you can make good book covers, great. If you can't, go to the book cover forum. Choose your book cover maker person wisely, dude.
AND OH MY GOD DON'T PUT PEOPLE MAKING OUT AND NAKED ON YOUR COVER.
Kissing, okay.
BUT NAKED AND GROSS AND EWWWW.
PLEASE DON'T.
IT'S DISGUSTING.
Classy, not trashy, folks.
The summary of your story is perhaps one of the more crucial elements. Sure, your title might be great, and your cover may be pretty, but the first thing a reader will read of your book is the summary. Again, don't make them super long (I had a really long summary once. I deleted the book, aha). Use as few words as you can to give  little bit to the story. Make it concise and interesting. Ask a friend to help you, if you need it. Ask them, "Would you read this story?"
Actually...don't ask a friend. They might just tell you that they would 'cause they're your friend. I'd ask a sibling if you have one. They can be pretty harshly honest (trust me).

3) Do read-for-reads.
Before I start on this, let me just say: Don't spend too much time promoting. If you're spending five hours promoting your book that has one chapter, and you've written 50 words of the next chapter, then obviously you're promoting too much. Remember the real reason you want to write--because you love it, not because of fame.
That being said...
You can't expect that everyone in the world will just seemingly stumble upon your story. Sure, a few people will, but if you're just starting out on Wattpad, there's a very slim chance you'll get anywhere. (I'll talk more about my experience in a bit). The fairest way is to do R4R's and C4C's, ya know?
If you're just starting out on Wattpad, your new best hangout place for when you're not writing? The Share Your Story Club.
Don't be one of those "omg i love this check out my book http://wattpad.com/sdlfkaj;sdlfkjlfrkjdlkfjdkfldjfdl" It not only gives you a bad reputation, but it's annoying. Do it fair. If they say to read their prologue and comment, read it thoroughly and give a genuine, honest, and helpful comment, not just a generic one. I hate when people do that. You know who you are.
Enter in contests, too! I did a few of those, it really helps to expose your story to other people's fans (if they have any). Follow the contest guidelines. Hold your own contests, too, if you want.
 Now, I've often said that the reason, I think, Why She Fell became so popular is mostly because of luck. And you know what? It is. I did advertise and enter contests and stuff, but I think that there are some people who read my book that happened to have a lot of fans, or liked to recommend books, or whatever. But remember--I did start out as an undiscovered writer. I did start out with R4R's. I did once have only, like 28 reads on my story (I was so psyched when it hit 100!). I spent time promoting, but the most important thing: I wrote the book.

4) Be social.
I've made a few friends on Wattpad. And you know what? They all read my stories. I read all of theirs.
If I receive a comment or message that says something as simple as, "Hi! Let's be friends." I'll usually click their profile and see if they've got anything written. At the same time....DON'T JUST BEFRIEND PEOPLE SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF GETTING YOUR BOOK READ. I cannot stress this enough. I HATE WHEN PEOPLE DO THAT. STOP BEING A USER.
All you have to do is....you know. Communicate. If you like a story, click the Vote button and comment. Drop a message on a newcomer's board welcoming them. Help out a writer in one of the clubs. Ya know? Good.

5) Ignore them haters.
People will tell you they hate your book. It happens. People have told me that. Get used to it, or get out.

6) FINISH YOUR BOOK.
DON'T LEAVE PEOPLE HANGING OH MY GOD I CAN'T STAND WHEN PEOPLE DO THAT.

7) Keep your fans in the loop about updates.
Okay, so I'm the last person to ever say this hahaha because I suck at updating frequently.
But, as a fan of books myself, I like it when authors post maybe once a week and consistently. (I'm sorry I suck!) If you want to update on Saturdays, do that. If you're running off schedule and you're going to be two days late, let them know.
But please, please, please don't broadcast messages every two minutes. That's just annoying.

So. These are just a few tips. I'm going to do a part (2) soon--How NOT to Succed on Wattpad aha.
Hope this helps! :D

--Ivers

Lesson #2: Characters~Pt. 1

No one wants to have a perfect character.

Let's be honest here--what fun is it to read about someone who lives the ideal life, has an ideal personality, and looks perfect? It just reminds us how much our lives suck. It reminds us how screwed up our family is, and how mean we sometimes can be, and how we don't have a perfect body. If there's one thing that bothers me it's when characters aren't people I can easily relate to.

That being said, here's a little something you can use to make your characters more realistic.

In 7th or 8th grade, my class came up with "ASHAT." It stands for 5 things to think about for your character: Appearance, Speech, How others react to him/her, Actions, and Thoughts.

Step One: Appearance.


Some basic questions to think about:
-What clothes does he/she wear?
-How does he/she present herself?
-How does he/she walk?
-What does her physical appearance reveal?
-Does your character have any scars?

Like I said before--nobody's perfect. Don't be afraid to give your characters some flaws. Maybe she's short. Maybe he doesn't have a six pack. Maybe she has a little bit of a tummy. Maybe he has acne. Maybe she dresses in sweatpants all the time. Maybe he likes Armani suits.

Catch my drift?

Here's an example:

A boy is walking down the hallway, hunched over. His dark hair is tangled in a wild mess and his pale skin looks even paler underneath the fluorescent lights. He wears jeans that are two sizes too big, and a sweatshirt that is fraying on the edges. 


When you read that, what can you conclude about the boy?
Here's what I say:

-A boy is walking down the hallway, hunched over. He doesn't have a lot of self-confidence, so he tries to hide himself.
-His dark hair is tangled in a wild mess. He doesn't care much for grooming.
-his pale skin looks even paler underneath the fluorescent lights. Perhaps he doesn't go out much, which implies that he may be a very lonely kid.
-He wears jeans that are two sizes too big, and a sweatshirt that is fraying on the edges. Maybe these clothes are hand-me-downs, because perhaps he can't afford his own clothing.

Get it? Got it? Good(:

Step Two: Speech.


Dialogue is a major step in making someone feel real. What you say is what is in your heart. So the first important thing is: listen. If you're in the cafeteria of school, eavesdrop on some kid's conversations, or pay close attention to your own. What are some often used phrases? How are the kids saying them? What do they do while talking to friends? Do they swear?
The key to writing is understanding. You have to get why someone would say something.

What I like to do while writing dialogue is imagine that I'm the person speaking. How would I respond to the question? For example, if I were Calista, what would I say in response to Melodie's question? Basically, I'm having a conversation with myself :S but I think it really, really helps to put yourself into your character's perspective.

And honestly? No one actually talks like "OMG did you see him? WTF are you doing?" NO ONE SPEAKS IN TEXT LINGO. Okay, so I get it. You want to show that these girls are stupid, ditzy, and annoying. But I beg you, DO NOT USE THIS. I hate it. Where I go to school? No one uses text lingo. It just sounds...stupid. I may have used it in WSF but I'm probably going to change it when (if) I edit it, because it's so STUPID. Want to show how someone is ditzy? Rather than using text lingo, just use their dialogue. Maybe they ask a stupid question. Maybe they say something dumb. You know?

I'm gonna stop here because I'm getting lazy. I'll continue on later :)

Oh Dear.

My life is truly a mortifying mess.

I'm actually extremely late typing this, because this happened almost three weeks ago.

I haven't had time to blog or much lately--finals week is next week (!) and after that, I'll be done with my freshman year of high school! :D

So I've been studying studying studying studying studying. I've already taken my physics final--that's over and done with, thank goodness! I'm taking my Spanish final in class tomorrow, and I've already taken half of it today. All that's left is History, Math, and English...three of the subjects I struggle most with =\

Anyways. I'm getting off track. What was I saying again?

Oh yeah. My life is mortifying.

So I liked this boy. We are good friends. Then finally I got up the courage to tell him "Hey. I like you."

You know what he did?

He didn't take me seriously.

In fact, you could say he laughed at me, kind of. He thought I was joking and making it all up just to screw around with his brain, and no matter how much I tried, he WOULDN'T. BELIEVE. ME.

I haven't bothered mentioning it to him because...well...I don't know. It's almost the end of school, anyway. It's just a waste of time, right? I may as well not even bother.

Yeah, I'll keep telling myself that.

And maybe,  just maybe...I'll start believe it.

But...probably not.

God, I'm so naive.

I'm sorry if you're reading this and you're bored. My life is boring.

Gah.

Dueces!

--Ivers

Pain....

Ugh. I'm in so much pain....

My stupid body is...well...stupid.
I have this problem where this bacteria or something causes pimple-like things to pop up all over my body, and they get infected, and they hurt.
It sounds gross. It is gross. But most of all...it hurts like a motherflipper!
To make it worse, I have a cut that hurts. It got infected. And it's nasty.
Not gonna say more...

Ah. I've decided that girls are really annoying.
This one girl, in concert choir today, was completely obnoxious. I said something like, "Hey, I think we should work more on learning on the notes than the rhythm, and the rhythm's not quite right, either..."
And she said, "Well, why don't you teach it?"
It was bitchy. Trust me. And she gave me that obnoxiously sweet smile that was just so fake and annoying.
Then her and her little friend--who I don't really like either--were being immature and so damn annoying.

The problem? She's friends with my best friend.
She's supposedly friends with me, but I don't like her.

Ugh.

I hate people.

--Ivers

Boys

I actually don't know what to title this post aha. I kind of just need a venting sesh here.

I'm a major tomboy. Now, I hate referring to myself that way (no particular reason) but it's true. I talk like a guy, I act like a guy...I am one of the guys. That's what I am. "One of the Guys." I'm a boy. A dude. A bro. And don't get me wrong, I love my guy friends and I love who I am. I have fun and I love joking around (a lot).

But...I kind of wish I were still a girl.

See, my guy friends don't really see me as a girl...I'm a dude. They treat me like a dude. I've noticed a difference in how they treat me and how they treat other girls. With me, they poke fun of me all the time, tease me, call me names, push me, shove me...NO IT'S NOT BULLYING (my school is completely whack with all the crazy ass extreme bullying BS they have, but that's only my opinion). It's friendly teasing. They're "mean," you could say.

Then they see a girl and they're all sweet, giving hugs and smiles and telling them how, no, they aren't ugly, yes, that shirt is nice, and yeah, her hair is perfect.

This is literally what it's like:

BOY (to me): "You're fat."
ME: "Gee. Thanks. You're severely underweight and have no muscle whatsoever."
BOY (to another girl): "Don't call yourself fat! You're anything but!"

=_=

And the one, amazing, glorious time my friend recognized me as a girl...well...
ME: "I could kick your ass any day of the week."
BOY #1: "Yeah, well...I can't hit a girl..."
BOY #2: "Come on...it's IVEY...."

Here are just a few other examples...

ME (to Boy #2): "Dude, BOY #1 is gay for you, obviously."
BOY #1: "No, I'm gay for YOU."

BOY: "Ivey, you only hang out with guys. That means you're either a slut or a lesbian. And you act like a guy, talk like a guy, walk like a guy...hell, you even eat like a guy. You aren't interested in guys either. You're obviously a lesbian."

Yes, my life is lovely.

BTW, I don't mean to offend anyone by these things. This is my life and if you don't like it, then leave. :P

Anyway...where was I?

Oh, yes.

So I'm a guy. Half-man. Boyish. Whatever you want to call it. My guy friends see me as One of the Guys. And that'd be all right...if I weren't me. Because it's not all right.
See, I have this horrible habit of crushing on my guy friends. I don't know if I'm confusing friendship attraction to romantic attraction, but...I'd say there are quite a few guys I may or may not harbor feelings for in a more-than-friends way. It's stupid and immature and annoying, but I can't help it. My hormones are at their peak right now, I guess...

I forget the entire reason as to why I started this post in the first place lololololololol.

Well anyways, I guess I'd just really like it if guys looked at me and said, "Oh, look. She's a girl," instead of, "Oh, look, it's Ivey. Let's go make fun of how stupid she is."
My older sister is super duper pretty. Guys like her. She's had quite a few boyfriends and guys are attracted to her.

Guys are attracted to me, too...just in a strictly-friendship way.

I've been friend-zoned.

Ouch.

Ah, well.
And life goes on.

Hope you've enjoyed yet another useless point from yours truly.
Over and out.

--Ivers

Crabs Suck

No, I do not mean literal crabs.

Today was another regatta. It was only Novice kids, but...dude, some of these novices are fucking crazy. Like, legit. I go to--and row with--the public high school I go to, and we're pretty decent for a public school. But these kids, they've been rowing since like September and they're ridiculous.

But that's not the point. The point is, crabs suck.

That's rowing slang for when an oar enters the water the wrong way and gets stuck. Usually it's for like a second, but today I caught like 4 mini ones in a row, then it was really bad...the oar was, like, parallel to the boat, and we had to stop the entire boat, and then start up again. What sucks is that:

a) We were doing O.K at first
b) If it had happened 10 meters before, we would've qualified to start all over again.
c) It's kinda my fault we lost.

That's pretty much what I looked like.

Sigh. We came in dead last, a full 30 seconds behind the 4th boat. lsdfkJ:Dlfkjs;lkfjas;dlkfj. It's so frustrating. My teammates were being really nice because they knew I was beating myself up for it, but honestly, it made it worse.

Gah. Crew.

Behind These Walls: Chapter Thirteen Sneak Peek

                The day I finally recovered was on Christmas.

                It kind of sucked, wasting the first five days of winter break. Jefferson High let out school later than others—on the nineteenth—and we started back up third of January, so it wasn’t as if I had an unlimited time of freedom before school began, along with the stress and work and lack of social life (not that I had one, anyway). So, while all normal kids out there in the world were celebrating because there were no classes, I was lying in bed.

                Well, at least I had plenty of time to finish Macbeth.

               Anyway, so Christmas finally rolled around. I was never a big fan for holidays—being a part of a typical Greek family, my many relatives were invited over to the house for a party. By many, I mean a lot. My mother was the youngest of six kids, and my father had three siblings. Each sibling of my parents were married and had anywhere from three to six kids. Throw in a few grandparents, a few great aunts and uncles, and some second cousins and cousins twice-removed as well, and that meant there were at least forty people coming over. That meant that my parents spent hours in preparation and needed Jake and me to help out as well. The guests would be over at dinner, so that meant that cooking started as early as ten. I hated working and my extended family was freaking loud, so holidays were never my thing, but as soon as my eyes popped open at precisely nine in the morning Christmas day, I was in a surprisingly good mood.

                “Calista! Are you awake now?” Jake’s voice called out to me. He poked his head through the doorway to check up on me, hair still stuck up at all different angles in a messy bed head. “Are you still sick?”

                “Nope!” I said, jumping right out of bed and stretching my aching limbs. My muscles felt tired and sore, as if they hadn’t moved in days (which they hadn’t), but I had a surprising amount of energy. “What’s up?”

                “Mom and Dad need you to run out to buy some stuff.” He held up a sheet of white paper, with several items scribbled on it. I grabbed it from him and scanned it. Plastic cups. Plastic spoons. Plastic forks. Napkins. Butter. Peppers... “That is, only if you’re feeling well enough to.”

                “Tell them I’ll be down in a minute. I just need to get ready, and then I’ll go shopping.”

                Jake nodded. “All right.” As soon as he left, I picked up my phone and turned it on, sending Melodie and Emilia the same messages—can you guys come tonight? I brushed my teeth and washed up, and changed out of my pajamas, throwing on a pair of warm leggings and oversized sweatshirt. With my hair tied into a messy bun, I couldn’t have been less bothered with trying to look nice. That would have to wait till later.

                Already, right as I stepped out of my bedroom, I could hear the clamoring of pots and pans banging into one another, as well as my mother calling out to my dad, “Honey! Where’s the oven mitt?”

                “Good morning,” I said, entering the kitchen. The thick smell of homemade cooking filled the air and made my mouth water.

                “Calista! I need you to—”

                “I know, go shopping. I’m on it.”

                Without another word, I left to hurry out to the car. The only store that was open Christmas day was a huge supermarket that was a quick drive. Just as I was getting in, my phone rang. It was a text from Melodie. Sorry, can’t make it. Hanging out with the family.

                Not long after, while I was scouring the aisles for a bag of white bread, did I receive another text, from a different person but saying basically the same thing. I’m so sorry, but I can’t come! Emilia wrote. My grandparents are coming.

                I sighed. I guess I’ll have to put up with my crazy Greek family alone...

                But it’s funny, because fate—I don’t know what else I’d call it, because I wasn’t quite sure if you’d call it luck—seemed to like to play at the most random times. Even at a stupid supermarket that didn’t have any white bread.

   “Calista? Is that you?”


=End of Preview=


Hmmm. Who do you think it is? Obviously it has to be one of the boys. Which one? :D
Which one should I make it?
Mwahahaha.

Lesson #1: Writer's Block

Hey, guys!

I've decided to do a special few little blog posts here and there, all about writing tips!
I used to have a book titled "Writing Tips" (how creative, right?) on Wattpad, and I used to add on to it every so often.
But...I deleted it :P
So, I'm going to do blog posts instead! How fun is that?!

So here we go! Without further ado, lesson numero uno!

Lesson #1: Writer's Block


Scenario: You're sitting in front of your computer screen. It looks just how you feel: blank. You don't know what to write. Or, maybe, you have something written, and you have no motherflippin' idea how you're going to continue it.


Okay! So, usually people don't start talking about writer's blocks till later, but the thing is, Writer's Blocks can start before you even start writing, so may as well start with it. (Why not?)

The thing is, I've learned there are three different types of Writer's block:

A) You don't know what to write. At all. Everything you're writing is just wrong.
B) You know you should be writing, but instead you end up sitting on the couch, eating potato chips, watching reruns of How I Met Your Mother or Gossip Girl, and...not writing.
C) You're so excited and you have a new story or chapter planned out all in your head. This is going to happen, then this is going to happen. Only problem? You don't know how to start it.

I'll address every single one independently...

Writer's Block Type A: You're stumped.


Let's face it: everything you write--word, phrase, sentence, paragraph--it's just...off. You hate it. You want so hard to pick up the computer and fling it across the room. Now, now. I know it's frustrating, but trust me when I say that it won't help at all. In fact, it'll make things worse, because not only will you have not solved your problem, but now you need to be a new expensive computer.
In order to solve this, you need to take a step back and a inhale some deep breathes. Look at the story from what you have so far. When I say look, I mean really analyze it. Maybe that'll help. But truth be told, it probably won't. So take a break. Bake some cookies. Go on a run (Tip: Exercise always helps get the oxygen flowing! It helps bring your mind into clarity and focus). Walk your dog. Watch reruns of How I Met Your Mother and laugh. Take an hour. A day. A week. Whatever it takes.
Now that you've had a break, do you feel some of the stress lifted off? Yes? You do? Good. Now, take a pencil or pen and write out the first five thoughts you have for the upcoming chapter.

You have it? Now write.

The thing is, these are the kind of things that you, as a writer, will run into all the time. You can't let it stop you. Write something totally bogus and make it work, if you have to. This kind of writer's block is the kind you need to write around. It's a major pain in the butt, but that's the suffering you endure as a writer. Get used to it, or stop writing. Simple as that.

Writer's Block Type B: You're just plain lazy.


Seriously. If you have Type B, why are you reading this right now? You should be writing! I don't care if you need to see your great aunt or if the dog needs a bath. You're being lazy. Go and write. Shut off the Wireless and leave Facebook logged out and just write. I have nothing to say to you if the reason you're not writing is simply 'cause you're lazy.

Writer's Block Type C: You've got too many ideas flowing.

Honestly, I envy you if you have too many ideas. I sometimes don't have enough.
Anyway, what you should do: write the first chapter (or paragraph) of the story/chapter in as many different ways as you can choose. Maybe you want to write a story about a popular girl falling for her nerdy best friend, but because of her reputation, she rejects when he asks her out. How are you going to start it? Maybe you can start it when they're 8 years old, and they've just met on the playground. Or, you could start it with him getting rejected by his so-called best friend. OR...you could start it with him coming back after two years.
Write out as many as you can think. I've always loved writing first chapters. They come the easiest to me (the rest of the writing sucks, hahaha!). Ask a friend to read them and choose the best. Read them to your cat. Post all of them and have your readers vote. I dunno. Just choose one already!

So! There you have it. First little lesson. Well, they're not really lessons so much as they are tips, but...I hope this helps!

Later, alligator!

--Ivers

How You Met Me

Hey, guys! If you remember, I asked a while ago how my fans found me on Wattpad.

Here are all the responses! There were a LOT xD

I fanned you after surfing through author's that I liked, favorites....I really love your stories!!! :D

I found you in whats new chapter one of why she fell and loved the frist chapter and didnt want to miss it.

I still need topos messga ebout how I found you :P

Okay, so I told a friend that I need a story to read because I'd ran out. So she suggested Dear ________, to me. I loved it! And I love the characters, but I have a question: Would be willing to write an actual story for it once its done?

The letters are awesome, but sometimes I feel like they lack something. [Don't forget, I'm not professional, so I'm probably just chatting bullcrap :-P ] The letters are great, but I want to know more about them. Like what happens in school, and how they look. What they do with their friend, or when they're at home etc

I found you in whats new chapter one of why she fell and loved the frist chapter and didnt want to miss it.

Well I found WSF on one of the people I fanned library can't remember who's but that's how I find most of the storys I read on WATTPAD .... I read it an liked it a lot so I fanned you cause I thought you were a great writer an the story was well written 

i saw why she fell in the what's hot list. read the description. read it.love it.fan you. reread why she fell.

one of my friends recommend you, and Why She Fell was the 1st story I read of yours. I loved it!! :D

Why She Fell popped up while going through the completely romance stories and I saved it to read later, which of course I read later and loved, and here we are!

I was looking for something new to read and found Why She Fell, I ended up loving the story so I decided to fan you :)

I stumbled and found the story Why She Fell and I thought it was interesting so I read it and loved the story so thats why I fanned you

profile hopping

I was on my phone and looking through lists, I can't remember exactly what category it was in but I saw Why She Fell and though in looked good - and it went from there =)

I think you were the first person I fanned, so it's been about 7 months but if I remember correctly it was while searching through teen fiction for books and feel upon Why she fell and fell in love with the book. That's when I decide to become a fan :) I'm in University so my exams are right now, but my summer project is to read all of my books that are waiting for me.. including B.t.w. ;) Thanks for keeping us entertained!

I read your profile and decided that you were awesome. and plus you agree that foreign boys are hawt. So yeah XD

profile hopping (reading lists- why she fell)

Was on wattpad shuffle and a chappie for the contest came up an it made me want to read the real thing and it wa so good I fanned lol :)

I was on wattpad home page looking in the humor catagory, I came across "why She Fell" which was, at the time, in the top 100 i think, it made me want to read it - it drew me in and I was interested to read more. I love the story, and your a great writer, since, i've read other works of yours <3

hey~I was just randomly searching for things to read and stumbled upon Why She Fell either by just searching through romance categories or as a wattpad feature story but it hooked me to the story pretty quick :)

wellll do u know how ur supposed 2 go 2 lectures and pay attention 2 wat the prof is teaching??? yh well i dont do as much a si should, and well neither do any of my friends, but there was this one friend hucned and bunched over her fone, and i peeked over her shoulder and saw wat she was reading,,,,, annd man i was hooked on why she fell since that day... even if i did start reading it from somewhere in the middle... :P then i checked out ur other stuff nad thought O.O WOWWWW and u got ur fan!!! :D hahahha lollame right... i know 

Weeeeeeell irst my cousin fanned you- and added WSF to her reading list- so I thought I'd check WSF out At first I was kinda bored with it- so I went on by. A few weeks later TWO of your stories were under recomended- so I read Dear_______ an it was AMAZING- Then I fell in love with Ghost of Me- which you deleted YOU HOE (jk  jk jk jk your awesome) Then I read some of U and WSF and decided you were frickin awesome and fanned you!

Ran across why she fell and it was funny well written and romantic. So I wanted to check out other stories of yours.

I was bored one day and looked up humor stories and stumbled upon Why She Fell. The summary really brought me in and I really wanted to find out why she fell! LOL. Anyways but I didn't fan you. I was looking at the clubs one day and saw your thread. I forgot what it was (I think it might've been a cover contest?) and you said something about we had to read and comment a real opinion and review on the first chapter of Behind These Walls. I was hooked and I fanned and here I am! :D

I read Why she fell and thought it was so good, I had to read your other storie. I saw it on the Wattpad speacils page ;D

I joined Wattpad, looked at the front page, thought the title of Why She Fell was intriguing.  Clicked it, read it all in one hour, voted for every chapter.  Then carried reading the last couple chapters as you uploaded it. :D

I read all your stories. :P

ow. It was hard to find that post! I found you when WSF was in the Watty Awards. And I couldn't believe a 14/15 year old could write so well. Considering I'm the same age lol

So I gave you kudos (what are kudos by the way??)! Because by the time you get older then your writing skills will be awesomly delici--wait... I don't think that's right... whoops haha

It was more likely of Why She Fell. I was curious why the title was like that, and when I read the summary, I got the feeling that it has a lot of drama and romance in it, so yeah... :D I liked it, and I'm going to read your other stories as well if I've got time (maybe after the college entrance exams, which is months away). :D All in all, it's because of  Why She Fell. :D

I found you when I was looking for stories to read, liked your stories that much I faned you :)

I found you out when I was looking at "Share my Stories" and saw you promoting "Why She Fell". Needless to say, I was hooked since then. :)

I came across it while browsing the What's Hot list :D Keep writing.Ganbatte!

I forgot.

Well I "stumbled across" why she fell and LOVED IT...so i subscribed..and now im following BTW too and im loving it as well, uve got talent ma friend :)

I just stumbled across why she fell and loved it :)

Trying out wattpad and stumbled across wsf so I fanned to find out when your story was updated. I'm not really into the social part of all these sites but every now and then I find I must comment given you have taken your time to write for our enjoyment. So Thx

I was stalking profiles and "Why She Fell" in somebody's library. Naturally, I clicked on it and started reading. I loved the prologue and added it to my own library. I wanted to read more (even back then!) but then realised it may be one of those books which never end up getting finished. So I had it in my library and sent you a message.

I think it went something like, "Oh my gosh, I LOVED Why She Fell! Please update!" And you were all, "Thank you!" 

And I have no idea how I came to talk to you in general. I think through Formspring at first, but we became Wattpad besties! ;D

i fanned you because you were a great author.. one of the interesting story teller that describe everything in depth but still leaves room for us to guess. i loved your storied becasue they just captivated..

an ofcourse that no title prolouge was great and i just can't seen to find it

Well I'm pretty sure Remy said to read Why She Fell...

So I looked at the blurb and thought 'Eww, way too cliché.'

I then read the 'Sneak Peak/Preview/Whatever it was called' and decided I liked your writing so I gave Why She Fell a try and enjoyed it :)

(Added afterthought to last message)

I also needed someone new to stalk.

*cue evil laugh*

Mwa ha ha ha ha

Why she fell :D

I read WSF :)

I found you by my cousin recommending me to read ' Dear ______, ' and so I though the little stoy thingy in general was awesome and you seemed like an awesome person too soo.......I fan'd you. As simple as that (: hehe.

Well, I don't really remember how I found you on here o.o, I most likely stumbled upon you while viewing the what's hot list a while back. But I fanned you because I loved your writing simple as that If I think writing is good I fan, vote and put you in my library to stay forever! (:

before I had an account I used to just go on wattpad to the "What's Hot" section and I saw Why She Fell on there. So once I got an account, the other day I saw it on somebody's Reading list and I was like fan and vote :]

I fanned you coz you were friends with Remy, and she told me to read Why She Fell.

Then, of course, I fell in love with your writing and continued =)

Haha. I saw Why She Fell and decided to read it, which eventually led me to fanning you so I could read more of your great work. :)

I think I saw Dear ________, and thought it was funny, came to your profile, fanned you, and read Why She Fell. (Which I read from start to finish again the other day, by the way. :D)

I saw Why She Fell on the on the front page of wattpad... I clicked and fell in love with the story and fanned :) and I love ur type of  writing and now loving the story Behind These Walls !

I saw a Why She Fell on the home page. Fell in love w/ the story!! Really good story!!!

Oh G0d, I don't really remember. I think I was seeing Why She Fell a lot on the homepage which got me to at least to acknowledge it, and you, at first. Then I think one of my friends on here voted or something which brought my attention more to the story and eventually I started reading. Then, obviously, I fanned you(:

P.S. \m/ S.W.A.G. \m/

I discovered why she fell on wattpad and immediately fanned you after I got my own account on wattpad 

I read entirely too much.  I have almost 600 books in my wattpad library now (and that's not all of the stories that I am reading - the total list is over 1000 I think).  I do NOT fan all of the authors by any means.  I only fan authors that I enjoy their writing style, so that a) I can see when there are updates of the stories I'm reading and hop to that chapter right away or b) see when they start new works as well.  I think I fanned you because while I was reading Why She Fell, you also came out with Unconditional.  Generally speaking, if an author has more than 1 work that I enjoy, I may fan them so I can see those future works -- glad I fanned you, or else I may not have seen Behind These Walls.

I puns why she fell on the front page read and loved your writing and now I'm reading all your books that seem to be my type!!! :)

I was looking at the what's new page and saw your story why she fell on there. Being me, I clicked on yours and started to read it. I really liked it so I fanned!

I'm a friend of Remy's! :) And I always see her commenting on your board so I clicked on your profile and I started to read Dear ____________ and loved it! :) Hence your newly added fan! :D 

I was looking for clever stories in the Romance/Humor categories, because it's so hard to find them, and came across Dear ____. It was so addictive, sweet, and hilarious that I read the whole thing in one sitting and fanned you! :D

I just like your writting! You also seem awesome :)

i randomly went through 80 peoples fans lists and found you

A majority found me through Why She Fell, which makes sense, because it was while I was posting the book that I got most of the fans xD I'm STILL getting fans solely from WSF o_o you'd think people would get sick from it by now...

Well. That's all! :D

--Ivers

Go Ham or Go Home

Yooo!

Guess what! Today was the first regatta I've ever participated in! Woot woot!

'Case you don't know, I'm currently a novice rower. I started winter training in January and it went through till almost the end of February, until the Spring sports season began. School crew teams is a Spring sport, so....yeah. I'm on novice 1st eight boat (we only row eights as novices), stroke seat! (I realize you probably don't know anything about crew, but don't worry, neither did I...) Girl's Novice 1st boat raced as girl's Varsity 3rd boat (the varsity girls have 2 boats). There is no JV, only Varsity and Novice, which means that we raced against other Varsity girls! :O I have to admit, we kicked ass. It was pretty cool. No, we didn't win, but we came pretty darn close.

What happened was that the wind kept screwing up the boats as we were lining up in the beginning, and the entire race ended up starting wayyyy above the starting line. Like, 250 meters. It doesn't seem that much, but it is because the races are supposed to be 1500 meters. My boat started out all right, but we were last. Towards the middle we caught up to two other boats and passed them, and in the last 500 meter sprint, we caught up a lot. We ended up placing 2nd out of four (five?) boats, and lost only by .83 of a second! 

I have to say...as a first race, that's pretty darn awesome. We beat varsity boats! Like...I can't get over it, haha. All of the girls just started rowing this year, which means that varsity kids having been rowing for 1+ years. My teammates and I literally started just sitting in the boat a month and a half ago. Holy. Crap.

^That up there is what an eight boat looks like.

I was dead tired once I got home, so I passed out for a couple hours...

And, I'm now sporting a couple Hello Kitty bandages.

Crew is not a sport for those of you who hate cuts and injuries and such...I had a part on my thumb that's been rubbed raw before, and it started bleeding again during the race......ew :P

The story behind "Go Ham or Go Home" is....there's a bridge that we row through every day during practice. It used to say HAM in big letters, so my coach would just say "Go ham" to tell us to go through the bridge. Unfortunately, some stupid other school decided to cover it up (spraying bridges is kind of a crew tradition) and it no longer says HAM anymore :( And you know that saying "Go big or go home"? Well...so....yeah. Go ham. Go big...ah, you get the idea.

I'm suuuper tired right now. I don't know why. And I haven't had a chance to write since Monday; I've just been so busy. I haven't gotten good sleep this past week, either. I fell asleep in all my classes yesterday. I probably looked like this----->

Well. I think I'd better start some writing right now. Or maybe I'll just sleep. I dunno. But I'll be baackkk!

--Ivers

I Got that Pretty Girl Swag

The title of the post is irrelevant to the actual content of the post...hahaha...I was just thinking of the phrase "I got that pretty boy swag" and decided to make it the title...ahaha...

Awkward.

Anyways, so I'm back in school now...ugh. I hate work. I got a history test back today, and received a 73%, which is equivalent to a C =_= Needless to say, I didn't study...at all. I should have, but I didn't...

Which brings me to my goals:

My Goals for the Rest of the 2011-2012 School Year:

-Study. "Sort of" studying isn't going to cut it. Study for all tests, quizzes, and exams.
-Stop procrastinating (like I'm doing now). Get all homework done before 10
-Get at least 8 hours of sleep each night.
-Bring up my math grade from a B to at least a B+.
-Get a solid A this last quarter in English. So far I've gotten B+, A-, and B+...
-Bring up my History testing average--which, usually, is an 87 or 88. I want at least a 92!
-Do really well on my end-of-term-huge-ass research paper in History, which is worth THREE TESTS GRADES and 300 hundred points. Get at least a 270! (90%)
-Try harder in all of my classes...which means paying attention, taking good notes, stop sleeping in class, and DO SOMETHING.
-Finish Behind These Walls. I realize this isn't an academic goal, but I'm still including it, because I want to finish it by the end of school, or at least some time in June.

That's pretty much all of it! I was never a really goal-oriented type of person, but I figure I should probably start now.

Annnnywayssss I have to go now. I got a lot of homework to do and I don't want to not do it, you know? 'Cause I prefer not getting yelled at by my oh-so-lovely teachers. Kidding, they don't yell at me. At least, when I'm not talking/singing/being loud, they don't.

Peace out!

--Ivers

It's Sunday, Sunday, Tomorrow is Monday...

Tomorrow's Monday. Tomorrow's school. I'm not looking forward to starting school after a week of nothing. I don't want to go.

Okay, that's a lie.

This vacation didn't even really feel like vacation, to be honest. I still had crew practice to go to. I feel like I pretty much wasted the first half of the day, so a part of me is kind of happy to be going back to school, but only to socialize. Only the socializing part. I hate work. I hate work so, so much. So I guess I was only kind of sort of lying?

Ah. Also, my dad recently issued a new rule for me:
No writing on weekdays.

Um. What the heeeckkk?

Don't get me wrong. I love my dad to death, no matter how many fights we get in, but he's just so...nghh. So overbearing. He's worried it'll "get in the way of my academics" and that I'm "not focusing on school." First of all, I'm a high school freshman. Dude, calm down a bit...
Second, well, my parents act like I don't do ANYTHING in life. Like just today:

Mom: Ivey, did you finish your math homework?
Me: I'm starting it.
*An hour later*
Mom: Did you do your math homework?
Me: I'm almost done.
*Ten minutes later*
Mom: I thought you were working on your math homework! What are you do-
Me: Gosh! I heard you the first time! Seriously, Mom, you don't have to act like...like...my mom!


I know, I know, I'm being ridiculous...that's what moms are supposed to do. But it's still. So. Dang. Annoying. They're all about work, work, work.
<----I swear...this will be my life in the future.


Anyway, where was I?
Oh yeah, my dad.
I got really, really mad at him. Of course, I'm going to write anyway whenever I have even a free ten minutes or something, but he doesn't have to act like I'm addicted to it. Wait, no, I am addicted. But it's not like I'm smoking or anything! I don't drink, do drugs, smoke, sleep around...or any of those things. It's writing! If anything, he should be glad I'm addicted to writing and writing only. Nothing else. Except maybe music, but that's a different story.

Gah! Parents. They're so infuriating.

I guess I can kind of say I'm happy that I'm seeing my friends. Like I said, I love socializing. I haven't seen all of the non-crew members or any non-church members for an entire week. Especially a certain someone ;) hah. I'm not going to blab about it right now, surprisingly.

Sunday (to the tune of "Friday" by Rebecca Black)

It's Sunday, Sunday, tomorrow is Monday.
Nobody's lookin' forward to the weekdays, weekdays
Sunday, Sunday, why can't it be Friday?
Nobody's lookin' forward to the weekdays...
Studyin' Studyin', No! Studyin' Studyin', No!
DIE. DIE. DIE. DIE.
Mondays really need to go die


--Ivers

'Lo there!

I finally got around to making a blog. Well, that's a lie, 'cause I made one before but deleted it...but whatever. The important thing is, I'm backkkk!

Why am I back, you ask? Well, my dear friend Remy (Hi!) can't hear me and my rants very often ('cause she actually has a life xD) and I need some way to rid myself of these terrible build up of words before I explode. I say, it's better than bursting, right?

Peace out, brothahs!

--Ivers