Saturday story time!

Hello, readers. This week has been difficult and long for me and I could certainly use your prayers. I was able to finish my story about a princess facing her mortality during a raid on her castle. It was suggested by an anonymous reader so thank you, anonymous for this suggestion. Here's what I came up with:

  Princess Alyssa ran up the stone stairs as fast as she could. The screams of the peasants outside pierced her ears and sent chills down her spine. She ran breathlessly to her room and threw the door open. Inside, she saw her head lady in waiting huddled in the corner her eyes wide and frightened.

 “Princess, thank goodness you are alright,” the lady, Isabel, said, rushing forward and embracing Alyssa.

 “I was in the gardens when I heard the ruckus,” Alyssa told her, trembling slightly. “The guards came and told me to go inside and lock myself in my room.”

“Their screams are so loud, there must be hundreds of them out there,” Isabel said, leading the princess over to a chair and helping her sit. “Thankfully the rest of your ladies are off in the fields picking flowers and safe from this madness.”

“What do you think they want?” Isabel asked.

“Our lives,” Alyssa replied, slumping down in her chair and putting her face in her hands.

“My father has pushed them too far. He has been raising taxes for months and taking more and more of their food. He has even sent his soldiers out to scout for strong young men who they will force to be part of the army.”
 Isabel gasped.

“What a horrible thing to do,” she said, then covered her mouth and blushed realizing she was speaking against the King.

“I am sorry, my lady,” she quickly apologized. But Alyssa shook her head.

“You are right, Isabel. It was wrong of him to do those things. He has become so greedy. All of us have. It seems as though the royal family seeks nothing more than riches and wealth.”

  The princess looked up at Isabel with despair on her face.

“What if I die today, Isabel? I have always avoided thinking of death because I could not bear the thought of parting with such a luxurious life. Now it seems it will be forced upon me.”

“That is not certain, my lady,” Isabel soothed, gently rubbing the princess’s back and shoulders.

“But what if I do die?” Alyssa squeaked, her voice choked with sobs. “What do I have to show my Maker other than riches and wealth I cannot take with me? That will not impress Him.”

“None of us can take those things with us. That is why we cannot live for worldly possessions. We enjoy them for a time but then they are gone.”

  There was a loud crash from downstairs and Alyssa gasped and jumped out of her chair.

“The peasants have made it through the front doors,” she said, horrified.

  Isabel stood next to her and took her hand, struggling to remain calm for the princess’s sake.

“We should go into your bedchamber, my lady. You will be safer in there,” she insisted. The princess allowed herself to be led into her bedchamber and watched numbly as Isabel quickly closed and locked the door behind them.

“Why are you not frightened, Isabel?” the princess wanted to know.

 Isabel smiled and helped the princess take a seat on the side of her bed.

“I am frightened, my lady. But I wish to be brave for you. And I know if I die I will be with Jesus.”

“I am not sure that Jesus wants me anymore,” Alyssa admitted, looking guiltily at the floor.

“My life has become a quest for riches and even though I knew my father should not tax the people as he did, I said nothing to him or my mother because I wanted more and more wealth. God cannot be pleased with such selfishness.”

“God is always willing to forgive if one is truly sorry,” Isabel explained comfortingly.

“I am truly sorry,” Alyssa insisted. “And I am thankful for his forgiveness but I still do not wish to die.”

“No one wishes to die, my lady,” Isabel told her. “But all of us must leave this world someday.”

“I am only seventeen,” Alyssa sighed. “I have barely had a chance to live my life.”

“That is not true,” Isabel insisted with a smile. “You have done many exciting things and have many happy memories.”

“Will anyone remember me?” Alyssa wondered.

“Of course they will, princess. But you must stop talking like this. The guards will protect us and the peasants will be sent home.”
“I hope so,” Alyssa said, wincing as she heard more screams from downstairs. They were getting closer and the princess imagined it was only a matter of minutes before they would be right outside her door.

“Would you like some water, my lady?” Isabel offered.

“No thank you, Isabel. My stomach is in knots and I do not believe I can eat or drink anything till this is over.”

  Isabel nodded and sat back down next to the princess.

“If I live past today I will strive to live a life more pleasing to God,” Alyssa decided. “I do love all my fine things but I do not wish them to be my idol. And I do not wish to be remembered as a princess who boasted in her wealth while the people of her realm starved.”

“Perhaps you can return some of their money to them,” Isabel suggested.

“My father has been quite generous to me these last few weeks. I am sure I do not need all the money he has given me,” Alyssa mused aloud.

 “I can visit the peasants and show them that I do care for them by returning the money my father unjustly stole.”

 “That would be a very kind thing to do,” Isabel agreed with a smile. “The people will be encouraged to know they have an advocate in you.”

“They will never know such things if they kill me however,” Alyssa whimpered, straining to hear exactly where the fighting and yelling was occurring.

“My lady, be at peace. God is watching over us.”

“I do not wish to die,” Alyssa squealed. Isabel took the princess’s hand in her own and squeezed it tightly.

“Pray, my lady. Pray for peace,” Isabel encouraged.

 Alyssa closed her eyes and Isabel could see her lips moving but her body still trembled. Suddenly there was a loud pounding on the door of the princess’s outer chamber. Alyssa’s eyes flew open and she screamed.

“They are here. They’ve come to kill me!” she cried hysterically. Isabel wrapped her arms around the princess feeling tears forming in her own eyes.

“Do not fear, my lady. It shall all be over soon.”

 They were both silent listening to the ruckus and pounding outside. Alyssa was convinced at any moment the peasants would flood into her room eager to punish her for her misdeeds. Then, just as she had lost all hope she heard a familiar voice calling to her.

“Princess Alyssa, are you well? The peasants have surrendered and are being sent home. The castle is secure.”

 Alyssa squealed with delight.

“The captain of the guard! He is safe and we have won,” she exclaimed.

“Praise God!” Isabel breathed, embracing Alyssa in an excited hug.

“I must ensure my parents are safe,” the princess decided, sliding off the bed. “And I must speak to my father. I should like him to reconsider his heavy tax on the peasants.”

“I am sure after today’s events he will not need much convincing,” Isabel said.

 Alyssa nodded in agreement and left the room with Isabel right behind her, both thankful God had spared their lives. 

Thanks for reading and feel free to comment and tell me what you liked/disliked and why. Keep the comments focused on the writing and not what you thought of the topic/subject matter. 

Happy weekend!

Avon anyone?

    -We interrupt your regulary scheduled blogging to bring you this public service announcement!-

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Avon has been around for a while but it's making new and exciting changes all the time. Check out my website via the link above and I guarantee you'll find something that you will love. And spread the word to your friends so they can discover exciting new products from Avon too!

       -We now return you to your regularly scheduled blogging.-

Tuesday?

I don't usually post on Tuesdays but I didn't get story suggestions till late last night after I had gone to bed. My two suggestions were:

Write a story about a reporter interviewing a political candidate. (HenryJackson)

And

A young princess faces her own mortality as a mob of angry peasants storms her castle. (anonymous)

I like both of these story topics a lot! Since I've had more experience writing stories about princesses, I'm going to try that story first and if I'm not busy this week I'll try to write on the other one also. If I don't get to it this week, maybe Henry will suggest it again next time!

Thanks to my few followers on here who continue to suggest topics for me. Hopefully these exercises will help improve my writing!

Monday again!

Good morning, all! I hope you all had a great weekend. Since it's Monday I'm taking suggestions again on a story to write this week.
Last week I wrote two stories but that won't happen often. I'm hoping to get more suggestions than last week.
Anyone should feel free to make suggestions, even someone who might be reading this and doesn't know me personally.

Remember, I'm writing short stories so keep your suggestions short, about one or two sentences and keep all the suggestions G rated! Start suggesting and I'll pick a story topic by the end of the day!

Here is the other story I wrote this week suggested by HenryJackson about a girl who struggles with peer pressure at church.
Enjoy and comment!

  Amy stood in the pew singing the final hymn of Sunday morning’s church service. She had tried to pay attention to the message but she kept thinking about her new Sunday school class. She was finally old enough to be in the teen class and would get to sit with the older girls that she had looked up to for so long.

 As soon as the hymn was over, Amy gathered her things and hurried out of the sanctuary and down the hallway to the Sunday school room. Many of the other teens were filing into the room talking and laughing with each other about the events of the week. Amy spotted a group of the older girls that she had been hoping to make friends with. They had talked to her a few times before in church but never seemed interested in being her friend. Amy was sure now that she was in Sunday school with them, things would change.

“Good morning,” Amy said cheerfully, walking over to the girls and edging her way into their circle. They stared at her for a moment looking confused. Then one of the girls whose name Amy knew to be Dana, smiled and said,

“Good morning. You must be new in this class.”

 Amy nodded.

“This is my first time here. I’ve really been looking forward to being in your group,” she told them.

“Well let me introduce you to everyone,” Dana offered. “My name is Dana, this is Natalie, Emma, and Kristin.”

“My name is Amy,” said Amy, shaking hands with all the girls. She admired their designer handbags, stylish dresses and cute delicate shoes and was suddenly aware of her plain green dress, simple purse and clunky brown shoes.

“The girls and I are going to get some coffee and pastries before class. Why don’t you pick out a table and we’ll get a cup for you,” Dana suggested. Amy agreed and watched the girls walk away. She was so excited to be in Sunday school with these girls. Not only were they nice but they were older and would no doubt have a lot of advice and wisdom to give Amy as she started on her teen years.

 Scanning the room, Amy looked for a table that with five open chairs. She spotted one in the corner of the room where only one girl was sitting. Amy walked over to it quickly before anyone else could claim it and laid her Bible and purse down.

 “Are you saving these seats?” she asked the girl who was sitting at the table.

 The girl shook her head but didn’t say anything.

“Do you mind if I sit here with my friends?”

The girl shook her head again but still did not speak.

“Thanks,” Amy said, feeling a bit uncomfortable with this girl’s silence. Sneaking a quick glance at her, Amy noticed this girl’s dress was even plainer and simpler than hers and the Bible she carried was worn and discolored. Amy was about to ask the girl her name but before she had the chance, Dana walked over and tapped her on the shoulder.

“What are you doing?” she whispered, leaning down close to Amy’s head.

“I picked out a table like you said,” Amy explained.

“No, honey, we already found a table over there,” Dana told her, pointing across the room. “Grab your stuff, I’ll take you there.”

  Amy was confused but she picked up her Bible and purse and followed Dana over to the table where the rest of the girls sat.

“Why were you sitting with Josephine?” Emma wanted to know as Amy sat down at the new table. She looked back across the room at the girl who sat alone.

“She said the seats were empty. I thought it was a good table,” Amy said with a shrug. “Is something wrong with her?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Kristen asked. “She dresses horribly, she doesn’t talk to anyone and her family is practically homeless.”

 Amy frowned.

“So what? She seems like a nice girl.”

“She’s a bad influence,” Dana insisted, without explaining why. “If you want to be friends with us, you won’t hang out with her.”

  Amy looked up at Dana whose face was completely serious. She wanted to argue but the bell rang for class to start and Amy settled in with her coffee to listen.

  During the week, Amy thought often about Dana and her insistence that Amy not spend time with Josephine. She still could not understand how Josephine would be a negative influence. Maybe Dana knew something about her that Amy did not.

  When Sunday morning came, Amy picked out the nicest church outfit she could find in her closet and carried her nicest purse. It wasn’t designer like the others girls’ purses but it looked fancier than the one she had carried last week.

  After the main service was over, Amy made her way back to the Sunday school room and looked around for Dana and the other girls. They stood by the refreshment table chatting and sipping on their coffee. They welcomed Amy into their circle and complimented her outfit and purse. She smiled and graciously accepted all their compliments happy to finally be accepted into this group of older girls.

  Out of the corner of her eye she saw Josephine walk into the room and look around. She walked over to the refreshment table and grabbed a scone and a napkin.

 “I like your hairdo today, Dana,” she murmured shyly approaching the girls. Dana looked down at her from atop her high heels as though she were a queen gazing down at a peasant.

“Thank you, Josephine,” she said with a forced smile. Josephine smiled back, then walked away to find a seat.

  Dana and the rest of the girls looked at each other and giggled.

“Of course she liked your hair. It’s actually washed and brushed unlike hers,” Natalie said quietly.

“Why are you all so mean to her?” Amy wanted to know. The girls stopped their gossiping and looked down at Amy as if they didn’t understand why she would ask such a thing.

“The Bible says we’re supposed to be kind to everyone. And she was really nice to you just now.”

“We aren’t being mean to her, we’re doing her a favor,” Emma explained. “By avoiding her, it shows her that she isn’t going to make friends while she comes to church looking and acting like that. Once she cleans up a little bit and stops being so shy we’ll consider making her part of our group. Until then she will just have to sit by herself.”

  Amy stood there thinking about Emma’s reasoning and could not help feeling that something was wrong with it.

“We’re going to run to the ladies room, Amy. Find us a table again will you? Except this week, find one that doesn’t have Josephine at it,” Dana said, and they all laughed again as they made their way to the bathroom.

Amy turned around and looked over the tables. Josephine sat by herself eating her scone and watching the other teens talking together. Making her way to the table, Amy set her stuff down across from Josephine and smiled at her.

“Good morning, Josephine. My name is Amy.”

Josephine looked up at Amy blankly.

“Won’t you get in trouble for talking to me?” she asked.

“The girls are in the bathroom right now. I wanted to ask you why you were nice to Dana just now when she dislikes you so much.”

  Josephine shrugged.

“I liked her hair style and I wanted to be nice. The Bible says to be kind to everyone even when they are unkind to you.”

 Amy nodded at the familiar words.

“Dana said they would let you into their group if you dressed better and acted more outgoing. Wouldn’t it be worth doing that to have some friends here? You wouldn’t have to sit alone anymore.”

  Josephine smiled.

“I am the way God made me. I’ve always been shy and never wanted fancy clothes. My family doesn’t have money for them anyway. And besides, I want people to like me for who I already am, not who I could change myself into. I want to be accepted by God more than other people. If He is happy with me, then I am happy.”

 Amy thought about Josephine’s words and was aware of how she tried to change herself with the new outfit and purse. She should not have to change herself to be accepted by other girls. Christians were called to love all people no matter how they looked or acted. Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder. She knew who it was without looking.

“I thought we went through this last week,” Dana whispered through gritted teeth. Amy turned around to face her.

“I’m going to sit with Josephine this week,” she told Dana.

“You can’t have this both ways,” Dana said, a little louder now. “You are even friends with her or friends with us.”

“A real friend wouldn’t make me choose,” Amy said. “You want Josephine to change herself to fit your personal standards but God made her who she is. You might not like how she dresses but you should still be kind.”

  Dana shook her head and looked disappointed.

“You just don’t get it,” she told Amy, and walked away to join the other girls.

“I guess I don’t,” Amy agreed. “You’re right Josephine. I should care what God thinks of me, not other people.  I was wrong to ignore you last week and I’m sorry.”

“I forgive you,” Josephine said smiling. “But are you sure you want to sit with me if it means upsetting Dana?”

“I’m sure,” Amy told her, confident that she had found a real friend in Josephine.

Story time!

It's Saturday and that means it's time for me to post my first round of stories. Usually I'll only do one story a week but since I only received two suggestions this past Monday I decided to write two stories.

Today I will post them and open them up for comments from my readers. Here are a few guidelines for the commenting:

-The purpose of this blog is to improve my writing so I need constructive criticism as well as compliments. Don't be afraid to tell me about something you didn't like or that could be improved.


-Try to keep the comments aimed at me. If you like something about the story and someone else hates it, don't get into a big discussion about why they're wrong. Just agree to disagree.


-If there is something you don't like, be specific. Don't just say "I didn't like that part" tell me why you didn't like it and if you know how I could make it better, say that as well.


-The purpose of this blog is to improve my writing. If you disagree with any of my views expressed in the stories be they religious, social, political or whatever, this is not the place to comment on it or have a discussion. I moderate all comments (to avoid spamming) and if you try to comment about my views or start a debate I won't post your comment. Save the soap boxes for another day.


All that being said I'm going to post the first of my short stories. As I said before, it is a very rough draft so keep that in mind as you read it. This story was suggested by Elaienar and is about a girl who has a talking mouse in her mattress.

  Rachel ran up the stairs into her room and threw herself face down on the bed. Her cell phone in her hand was still vibrating with received text messages. Wiping her eyes she looked down at her phone. Five new messages from Tyler. What could he possibly have left to say?

“It’s not you, it’s me. I need to focus on my schoolwork right now. Parents say I need better grades to get into college. Don’t be mad at me.”

“Don’t be mad at me?” Rachel repeated incredulously. “He breaks up with me a week before prom and the best he can say is don’t be mad at me?”

  Down the hall Rachel could hear her sister’s music playing loudly in her room. She slid off the bed, walked across her room and shut the door. The last thing she needed right now was to hear her sister singing love songs at the top of her lungs.

  Sitting back down on the bed she deleted the rest of Tyler’s text messages unread. He would have plenty of time to concentrate on his grades now but she was without a boyfriend and a prom date.

 “Whatever, I give up on love,” she decided, laying back on her pillows and staring at the ceiling.

“Don’t give up yet,” said a small voice.  Rachel sat up and looked around the room. She checked her cell phone to make sure she hadn’t accidentally dialed someone’s number.

“I’m not on the phone, I’m over here,” said the voice again. It was coming from somewhere on the bed. As Rachel scanned the blankets she spotted a small mouse sitting calmly at the foot waving at her. She screamed and hopped off the bed pointing at the mouse and shaking her head.

“You’re a mouse. You’re not supposed to talk,” she babbled. The mouse laughed a tiny yet disturbing laugh.

“Everyone assumes we can’t talk but no one really ever stops to ask,” he said. “I’ve been talking most of my life as have all the other mice I know. My name is Henry.”

  The mouse held out his paw as if to shake hands.

“I’m Rachel,” said Rachel, frowning confusedly and holding out her own hand.  The mouse took hold of her pinky finger and shook it enthusiastically.

“Why are you in my room?” Rachel asked, still not totally believing she was conversing with a rodent. Maybe her break-up with Tyler had affected her more deeply than she realized.

“It was the most comfortable out of all the rooms in your house,” the mouse explained. “I like making my nest in beds and you had the nicest mattress.”

  Rachel looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

“You live in my mattress?”

“Yes and I quite enjoy it. Except when you fling yourself upon it so violently as you did moments ago. I was planning to talk to you about it which is why I made an appearance. I only do so under the most extreme circumstances since many humans react as you did when they discover a talking mouse.”

“Can you blame me?”

“I suppose not. But now that we’ve established that I am a mouse who can talk I feel like we can move on to the heart of the issue. You and I are sharing this bed and I feel like we should agree to some rules of conduct.”

  Rachel gave the mouse a confused look and walked cautiously back to her bed. She sat on the edge watching the mouse’s every move ready to flee again should it become necessary.

“I’m not ok with sharing my bed with a mouse,” she told him. The mouse looked offended.

“I don’t see why not. I barely take up any room and it’s obvious that before a few moments ago you were not even aware I existed.”
“You’re a mouse,” Rachel said, as if that explained it all.

“And you’re a human who is talking to a mouse. I don’t see a problem,” the mouse said cheerfully.

“So back to the topic of your bed,” the mouse began. “I think we should agree on some ground rules.”  Rachel interrupted him.

“I don’t want to make ground rules. If you don’t like my bed you can move. Go live in my sister’s mattress. I’m sure she would love that.”

  The mouse smiled and puffed out his chest.

“I’m glad you think we would get along. What kind of mattress does your sister have?”

  Rachel rolled her eyes.

“I have no idea. And I was being sarcastic anyway. My sister would freak out if she found a talking mouse in her bed. You’re safer with me. For some reason, I’ve accepted the fact that you’re talking and I’m actually talking back. I must be insane.”

“Not insane, just open-minded,” the mouse assured her.

“Tyler would think I was crazy for talking to a mouse,” Rachel said.

“Well he sounds like a quite unadventurous young man then,” the mouse observed. “It’s probably for the best that you got rid of him.”

“I didn’t get rid of him, he got rid of me,” Rachel cried, throwing herself on the bed again so violently that it catapulted the mouse off the bed and onto the floor. He lay there for a second, dazed, then got to his feet and climbed back up on the bed.

“You really should be more careful. You could have squashed me,” he told her.

“Sorry,” Rachel muttered, not totally believing that she was apologizing to a mouse.

“Don’t let yourself be so upset about this boy,” the mouse said comfortingly, crawling over and putting a sympathetic paw on her hand.

“You are young and there are other mice in the sea.”

“I think you mean fish,” Rachel corrected. But the mouse shook his head.

“Fish are notoriously bad at relationships.”

Rachel laughed feeling slightly better.

“I guess you’re right. There are other guys. Gary in my algebra class is kinda cute and sometimes he sits with me at lunch. Maybe I can get him to ask me to prom,” she said dreamily.

“But I still miss Tyler.”

The mouse nodded and patted her hand consolingly.

“You will feel better over time. And you always have my shoulder to cry on. Figuratively of course,” the mouse clarified. Rachel smiled surprised that a talking mouse could be so delightful.

  Just then there was a knock on the door and Rachel’s sister Sarah came in the room.

“Who are you talking to?” she asked, looking around to see if anyone else was there. Rachel looked down at the mouse who was crouching near the foot of her bed under some folds in the blankets.

“Um…would you believe a talking mouse?” she asked Sarah. Her sister laughed.

“Don’t be silly, Rachel. Mice can’t talk. Just admit you were talking to yourself.”

Rachel looked down at the mouse again who appeared to be silently laughing.

“Alright, I was talking to myself,” she admitted.

“Well stop being a weirdo and come eat dinner. Mom made lasagna.”

Rachel slid off the bed and the mouse slipped back into his hole.

“Did you really think I’d believe you were talking to a talking mouse?” Sarah asked as they made their way downstairs.

“Of course not, I was just kidding,” Rachel said. “Everyone knows mice can’t talk.”

  Sarah nodded and Rachel knew no one would ever believe there was a talking mouse in her mattress. 

I hope some of you made it to the end. Feel free to comment on the story. I will post the other story I wrote this week, later on tonight!

It's Monday...night!

So today I accepted my first round of suggestions for story topics. Since my blog is new I wasn't expecting a lot of suggestions so I'm happy with the two I got. They were:

Write a story about a teenage girl who deals with peer pressure at church. (suggested by HenryJackson)

and

Write a story about a girl who broke up with her boyfriend and has conversations with a talking mouse nesting in her mattress. (suggested by Elaienar)

Because I only received two comments and am fascinated with both topics, I am going to write stories on both of them.
That's right, ladies and gentleman. Two stories!

I won't be able to do this every week but I hope people will continue to suggest topics and my audience will grow.

Thanks to both commenters and I'll have the stories written and posted by Saturday. At that time I'll open up the floor for comments and critiques and learn ways to improve my writing.

It's Monday!

Good morning, readers!

Hope you all had a good weekend. I certainly did and I'm ready for the first round of story suggestions! In case this is your first time reading my blog I'll repeat my last post and add some new info.

I started this blog for the purpose of improving my writing skills. I believe God gave me a talent for writing but, like any talent, it takes hard work and dedication to grow and improve. I'm hoping all of my readers will help me do that.

This is how I want the blog to work:

Every Monday I'll ask my readers for suggestions for short story topics. By "short" I mean between 1 and 3 pages on Microsoft Word.
I'll pick one of the suggested topics and write a story about it. I'll take most of the week to write and edit the story and then on Saturday I'll post it here and open it up for comments.
Since the purpose of the blog is to improve my writing and not just feel good about it, I welcome constructive criticism as well as compliments.

Today is the first day I open my blog up for story suggestions so I wanna post some more guidelines about how I want things to go.

-Since these stories are going to be short, the topics for the stories have to be short. I'm thinking your topic should be about 1 or 2 sentences. That being said...


-Your topic suggestion should be simple. If you write a whole paragraph about a story idea I'll be impressed but pass on your topic and suggest you write your own story about it. Think of a very simple plot that can be fully explained and resolved in 1-3 pages. 


-Let's keep everything G rated. I'm not going to write stories about "adult" topics. I wanna keep this blog fun for everyone and not awkward. 


-If I write a story on your topic or even another topic and you think it's just so amazing and you want to share it on your blog, Facebook etc., please credit me when you share it. 


-No one reading this blog has my permission to take credit for, copy, alter or publish any work that I write on this page without my consent! (I know my friends wouldn't do anything like that but I don't know who else is reading this blog since it's public.) If I find that someone publishes my story without my consent I will pursue legal action against that person. 


Now that all the icky rules are out of the way, I'd like to open the floor up for story topics. Remember: keep it simple, between 1 and 2 sentences. 3 *might* be acceptable but no paragraphs please.
I'll pick a topic by the end of the day and take until Saturday to write the story.

Alright, your turn. Suggest away!

My First Post!

Hello, all!

I haven't blogged in a while but I wanted to start a new blog, as you can probably guess from the title, to help improve my writing skills.

Ever since I was little I've had a passion for writing and I believe God has given me a talent for it as well. My desire is to use this talent to glorify God by writing stories I can take pride in and others can enjoy. My eventual goal is to be a published author. Until then I really want to work on perfecting my technique and I'm hoping the readers of my blog will help me with that.

This is how I want the blog to work.

Every Monday I'll ask my readers to post ideas for short stories. By short I mean 1-3 pages on Microsoft Word. The stories can be about pretty much any topic but it has to be a topic that can be resolved in a short story. I'll pick one of the several topics suggested and write a story about it.

I'll take most of the week to work on the story and then on Saturday I'll post it on my blog and open it up for comments. Since the point of this is to improve my writing, I'll welcome constructive criticism as well as compliments.

Any story topics that aren't picked can be suggested again and I'll try my best to pick at least one topic from all of my readers.

I've set my comments to allow anyone to comment including anyone who doesn't have a blog. I'll post some guidelines later about comments and story topics.

For now I just wanted to introduce the blog and invite you all to keep checking back regularly and suggesting story topics. For those of you who are friends with me on Facebook, I'll be posting links to my blog there regularly.

I'll post more later on this week about how everything will work and I'll accept my first list of topic suggestions on Monday the 11th.