Lilly- entry three

My dreams are nightmares that haunt me night after night. Darkness has surrounded me of lately. They have been nightmares of my father killing people right before my eyes. I know the idea is crazy but it's been happening. 

In my dream my father put me in a closet and told me that everything will be ok and locked me inside. There in the closet was a crack of light and I peeked through to see into the room beyond. My father had a man on a table that was strapped down and they began to argue with one another. Then my father began to cut into the man and he began screaming and crying out for forgiveness but my father showed no remorse. Eventually his screaming stopped and my father continued working. He cut the man into many pieces but not in a animalistic way. No. He did everything perfect and clean. 

I wanted to look away from the horror but I couldn't. Hours must have went by but it felt like an eternity. My father gave a knock on the closet door and he said. "Lilly, are you ok?"

I remained silent and said nothing. My father then opened up the door and the blinding light flooded the closet blurring my eyes. 

My father took my hand and told me. "Come on Lilly. Let's go home."

His words did not bring me comfort but immediately after I woke up from my nightmare. My dream was vivid as if it really happened but I know that it only a dream.

Lilly- entry two

Hello diary it's your friend Lilly again. I know this is only my second entry but I have terrible news to share with you. I want to write happy things but this has been really bothering me so I have to talk about it. 

There was another murder in my town. Our town has been plagued with murder after murder for the past decade or so. Police know it's the same killer but they have yet to catch him. Each victim has been cut up into multiple pieces and spread about different areas in town. The strange thing is no one can catch the killer in the act. I'm fearful of this person. 

The number of victims is staggering especially the past few years. With it being a small town many of the victims are well known and loved by many. The local police have been doubling their forces and the state police has also joined in to catch this maniac. I just hope they stop him before he takes another innocent life or before the victims are the ones I hold close to my heart. 

Well diary I'll talk to you and later and hopefully by next time I talk to you this will all be over with. 

Lilly's diary- first entry

My first diary. I'm excited about this. There are so many thoughts I keep to myself and I want to share them with someone but I lack in the friend department. I'll just share my thoughts with you diary.

My father and I went shopping last night for the first time in a long while and I found this diary. I thought it was really pretty. It's pink with yellow flowers on it. I basically had to beg for my father to buy it. He said, "Lilly, you don't need a diary. That's for little girls."

Does he forget that I'm only fourteen years old? I swear he thinks I'm older than what I really am. I guess that's the struggle I have with him and the burden of not being raised by a mother. So I guess I can't blame him. He's just looking out for me.

The other day I saw an old picture of my mother. Pictures of her are hard to find around here. I tried to ask my dad why we had so few pictures of my mom but he just pushes it aside and basically acts like he didn't even hear my question. So secretly I took the picture and placed it here in my diary. She looked so happy and beautiful. She died so young. 

I wish I could remember what she sounded like. I wish I could remember at least one memory with her but there is nothing. I was too young when she passed. 

Well diary I kind of made myself depressed. So I'll talk with you later. Your friend Lilly.

A blog idea for my new story.

I've been debating whether or not to do this idea using a main character from my new story but the more I think about it the more I like the idea.

Since the character is a teenage girl I thought about making a blog that's based off her journal entries as a young girl leading up to her teenage years to where the entries stop. I think it'll show how she evolves into the character she is now in the story I'm writing and will also allow me to create a solid character with a lot of backstory. I'm really looking forward to this and I feel this new book is some of my best work.

Is this a good idea? Feedback is crucial to me.

I'm not much for words.

Just as my title states I'm not much for words. About a year ago I finished my first published story. At about 70,000 words it is more of a short novel. I was really hoping to get more length, but I was reading a lot of articles online warning newer writers to keep their stories short or publishers or agents would not be interested. I agree with this advice. I decided to turn my first book into a series once I was about halfway finished with the story. Writing is an art that eventually gets better with time and experience. My writing is not the best and I've never been big on punctuation or syntax but that's where editors come in right?

I often thought this over and over in my head while writing my first book. Editing is crucial and don't leave it all for your editor to do. When I submitted my story to my editor I actually felt bad about it, the constant emails back and forth, I could tell they were a little overwhelmed, and maybe even a little upset with me. I guess where I'm going with this blog and my advice to younger writers is keep it simple and short. There is always time and room for more filler if need be. A great filler I have come to use of lately is character development. The more developed the character is the more your reader will love to hate them or hate to love them.

So remember keep the word volume down and focus your efforts on punctuation, syntax, etc. I'm sure your editor will thank you. I know I'm trying to focus my efforts in this direction and I feel that I have more pride in my finished product and with the help of a good editor it'll allow my work to shine.

This is my first blog but if I have the time between the two stories I'm writing then maybe I'll post more in the near future. Happy writing.