I don’t always read, but when I do, I prefer Wattpad. Stay reading, my friends.
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Wattpad brings you a guest post originally published in Teen Ink magazine:
Dr. Maya Angelou, Poet
By Luke A. & Kortney R., Charlottesville, VA, & Raleigh, NC
Born Marguerite Johnson in 1928, Dr. Maya Angelou survived a segregated, violent childhood in Arkansas and left for a life lived around the world. Talented in dance and music, a civil rights crusader and professor, Dr. Angelou is best known in America for her books of poetry and prose, including: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings; Gather Together in My Name; And Still I Rise; andThe Heart of a Woman.
Dr. Angelou is a hero - Read more in one teen’s tribute …
Would we be correct to describe you as a wife, mother, writer, poet, actress, activist and documentarian?
Of course, of course, a total life is a full life. But it can’t ever be contained within a biographical work. You read a biography of Charles Dickens, James Baldwin or Emily Dickinson, and, no matter how thorough or how honest or even how articulate the writer is, it cannot really capture the life.
I’m giving you a lesson here.
I’ll tell you my secret about writing and my encouragement to young men and women: READ. If you want to write, read, and here’s a gem of a hint: read and read aloud. Go into your room and hear how your language sounds in your mouth and in your ear. Let it out because poetry in particular is music written for the human voice.
I know there are poets who are enamored with something called concrete poetry/calligraphy where the poet puts the words so they look like a heart, then put a heart around it, in a heart shape and that’s a poem. Well, no, that’s not a poem. If the words don’t convey the meaning, the arrangement of them on paper will not create the magic. So read the words aloud. That’s the most important advice.
Another suggestion is that you learn another language.
THIS WEEK’S GUESSING GAME FOR OUR MOST WATTPADDY READERS AND FANS:
“My dog-eared vintage New Order poster hung above him, and he looked tired and aging and a little like a fashion victim with his goatee and earring. And for the first time in my whole life, I realized that my dad is just a man. Forget the rock star part, and he’s just a guy with feelings.”
Which story is this quote and book cover from?
WANT TO DISCOVER A HIDDEN GEM? CHECK OUT THESE STORIES FROM OUR PARTICIPATE-TO-PROMOTE CAMPAIGN!
Wattpad Weekly Wrap-Up: Most Popular Posts
Check out these exciting stories about lost children, mysterious pasts, and unknown family legacies.
Watty Awards 2011 ends on January 31st so vote for your favorite stories and writers now!
Wattpad brings you a guest post from Featured Story writer Darrell Pitt:
What if spaceships ran on steam power?
What if cars and trucks and ships and trains were all steam operated? What if we built towers that stretched into orbit so that people could catch a lift into space? What if airships dominated the skies, carrying passengers across the world?
What sort of world would that be?
That would be the world of steampunk.
It’s a sub-genre of science fiction and one of the most popular up and coming genres of today. Think of Victorian England and Sherlock Holmes and War of the Worlds and you’ll begin to have an idea of what steampunk is all about.
It’s books like The Steampunk Detective (by yours truly), Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld, Boneshaker by Cherie Priest and Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. It’s movies like The League of Extraordinary Gentleman, The Golden Compass, The Prestige and The City of Lost Children.
But it’s more than this. Steampunk has become a fashion statement too. It’s famous for brass and leather and corsets for women and coats and tails and top hats for men.
Accessories abound too – brass rimmed aviator goggles, parasols and canes, hats and gloves. The list goes on. Steampunk conventions are held in many countries. The internet abounds with steampunk related websites. Steampunkers happily parade the streets in full steampunk outfits.
In many ways it’s more than a genre. It’s an art movement. It’s a lifestyle.
So what’s the allure to steam? Why do people like steampunk?
I think part of it is because steam is exciting. Until the steam engine had been invented, no human being had ever – in all of human history – moved faster than the speed of a galloping horse. Suddenly people could cover a country in a matter of hours where it used to take days.
Then there’s the allure of airships. Vast, hydrogen filled balloons that carry people around the world as efficiently as airplanes. It’s a world that very nearly might have been.
Then there’s the mystery of steam. Think of Victorian London and fog filled alleys. Who knows what lurks in those impenetrable streets? Jack the Ripper? Sweeny Todd? The Invisible Man?
But lovers of steampunk do not just dwell on the past. They also enjoy mashing together our modern era with the Victorian age. What would a steampunk camera look like? People have made them. What would the Star Wars characters look like if they were ‘steampunked’? It’s been done. And how about a steampunk IPad? Strange but true. They’re out there.
Steampunk has infiltrated television shows too. The alternate universe of Fringe is steampunk. Dr Who has had steampunk episodes. Castle did a steampunk episode. Chances are you’ve seen steampunk around and not even recognised it.
It’s a whole new world that is only going to get bigger and better. There’s a beauty and a style to steampunk that more and more people are beginning to appreciate. Next time you see a steam train in operation spare a thought for the world that might have been – a world of airships and steam powered spaceships and brass edged clothing and fog filled streets.
Somewhere out there in some parallel dimension there’s probably a steampunk Earth.
There’s probably a steampunk me.
There’s probably even a steampunk you!
Read Darrell Pitt’s The Steampunk Detective on Wattpad!
Wattpad Vlog: Science Fiction “Future Developments
Today, we review “Future Developments” by Ben Carey on Wattpad. Check out this really well-written, intriguing science fiction about a mysterious, magical camera.
Don’t forget to vote in the Watty Awards! The contest ends on Jan. 31st.
Wattpad brings you a guest post originally published in Teen Ink magazine:
By Jake G., Broomfield, CO
William Golding’s novel, Lord of the Flies, is brought to life by Harry Hook in this superb 1990 movie. It is an excellent choice for classes reading the book.
A plane full of American military boys is shot down onto a deserted island. Completely separated from the adult world, the boys struggle to make shelter, find food, and get rescued. Then a dispute over a hunt brings violence to the island. The protagonist and antagonist, Ralph (Balthazar Getty) and Jack (Chris Furrh), develop a bitter rivalry that leads to nighttime raids, savagery, and murder.
…Murder? Continue reading here!
“I must be crazy to be in a loony bin like this.”
Which book-to-movie adaptation is this from?
Reading and Writing: Favorite Quotes
Think you know what Aisling’s Diary is all about? Check out this quiz to find out how well you actually know Aisling!
Ok, so I’m Aisling and I moved to Dublin, Ireland from Boston Massachusets which is kind of weird because I thought I was coming home but actually nothing was how I thought it was going to be.
To start with no one warned me I was going to have to wear a uniform. That was kinda a shock. And the dancing was a little different here too.
But then I met Ali and Siobhan and suddenly things didn’t seem so bad. Oh, and did I mention Murphy, the boy next door…
At the end of each chapter, you can watch a webisode of what just happened in the book. Hope you like it!
Read Aisling’s Diary and watch the web series on Wattpad FREE!
Check out the Watty Awards 2011 finalists for most imaginative setting! Which story has the most fantastic, well-defined world? Vote for your favorites now!
In the near-future, mankind succeeds at curing A.I.D.S. However, something much worse fills the void, changing the world forever…this is the first season of “M.A.I.D.S.”
The Cunatros of Cherry Blossom Island
Four friends must look for a legendary sword that is said to be on the equally as legendary Cherry Blossom Island. Nobody who has been sent to the island has ever returned for it is largely populated by the horrors known as Cunatros. When Keera Primrose finds Jerry Clearwater a foot from death in his destroyed home she nurtures him back to health. But when Jerry discovers that she is from a society in which they kill its members when they turn eighteen he doesn’t reveal his own age. And when the time comes he must make a choice.
Mariah thought she knew who she was, but she was wrong. When Mariah meets the alleged, ‘cool guys’ of Richmond High she soon learns they really aren’t that cool. They have been hiding a secret. A deadly secret that is somehow intertwined with Mariah. This so called secret in the end plummets Mariah into another world where her father grew up. Mariah lands in Thrombus, a world filled with magical beings, prophecies and secrets that were meant to be buried and stay buried. A story filled with magic, action and with a spicy amount of romance. This is Myriah.
Ever thought about what you would do when the world around you was no longer the safe place you thought it to be? When every person you meet becomes an instant threat? When all around you turns to chaos, yet you have no idea what’s going on? In Absolute Contamination, Keara Haynes tries to survive when the whole world changes so drastically. Keara and her two brothers are instantly forced to leave their home – completely unprepared and without the time to say their goodbyes. Ordered to relocate to the Safe Zones, their journey proves treacherous as they meet many unexpected obstacles along the way. Despite the chaos all around, they must hurry because death is only a single touch away.
The year is 2018. 2 years ago 95% of the world’s population was infected with a lethal disease turning people into mindless flesh-eating Rabids. Leaving Cassandra, her 3 other siblings, and the other 5% of the world’s population to try and rebuild a government. The only problem with that is Cassandra has no clue if there is even anyone else alive besides her and her siblings. There also this weird thing of how she can’t get infected with the disease and how she can’t help think her father might have had something to do with the world ending. On top of that she also has to deal with practically raising her 3 siblings, one being a hormonal 16 year old boy, and the big group of survivors and their aggressive leader that she’s not sure she wants to trust. You know the usual things a 19 year old has to deal with
Eight White Seasons after Acacia’s mother’s death, the Low-Lily finally has to meet the man she will Ipomoea; be forever attached in sacred bounds, carving their names in the Myosotis, making them one.
But she never reaches destination.
Enter the latest writing contest hosted on Wattpad!
Whether you’ve had your heart broken, found true love, or are still looking—everyone knows that when it comes to love, there are two sides to every story. Our friends at Chronicle Books have just published the ultimate Valentine’s Day book, Girl Meets Boy, and to celebrate, author Kelly Milner Halls is stopping by Wattpad for an exclusive contest.
Find out more details! Contest ends Feb. 8th!
Wattpad brings you a guest post originally published in Teen Ink magazine:
The Breakfast Club
By Katy S., San Antonio, TX
The ’80s were a time of movie magic. While some would focus on masterpieces like “The Color Purple” or “ET: The Extra Terrestrial,” my favorite flick from that period is “The Breakfast Club.”
The movie’s plot is simple enough: What would happen if five people from totally different groups of the high school scene were forced to spend a Saturday together in detention?
The Marauder’s Map
