Photography for writers

Photography is one of those things that show, in a realistic and easy to understand how creative a person is. As writers, we have to be creative, so photography is a tool that can help us be creative but also help our writing. Photos from your vacation, every day life, or extraordinary events can give you writing prompts with no words to limit your creative ability.
-Take pictures of anything and everything. These pictures could spark something later and result in a  novel that the world would not be complete without. You don't have to print them out if you don't want to, simple save them to your computer (I would tell you how to do that, but I have other people do it for me so I don't know how, sorry guys).
-Look at the pictures you take and write about them. You don't have to write about the person or the main idea of the pictures, you can write about anything, the little dog in the background, the girl in the yellow dress, describe the sky, or even explain how the gum got on the sidewalk. These pictures will have no words to limit you and they are connected to memories, which makes it a two for one type of deal.
Your pictures don't have to be good, believe me when I say that sometimes the best pictures to write about are the blurry ones where there is someone falling and the cameraman is running to them as he takes the picture.

Happy writing!

5 apps every writer should have

In this day and age, our cellphones are constantly at our sides. We do almost everything on them, including work, school, and games, but do we use them to help us write?

To be honest I'm very old fashioned in my writing. I like to have a lined notebook and a pencil. I edit with a regular, outdated red pen, and I read books with actual paper pages (gasp!) But even though I like to use those things, my phone can still help me write by providing prompts, other writing pieces, and even an app so I can blog (thank goodness).

1. Wattpad- free!
Wattpad is a great place to discover young writers you like and to get discovered yourself. You can publish books that you write and have people comment what they think and what edits they make. You can read other's works and comment thoughts on them. It will make you a better writer and a better editor. Reading other's comments have showed me some things that I missed when I was reading it.

2. Pinterest- free!
What better way to get writing prompts, diy journal ideas, and book reviews than on this huge idea server? Pinterest is my #1 app on my phone. All of my friends and family insist I'm addicted, I'd have to say I agree with them. Pinterest has tons of articles about writing, tips, prompts, and fandom type things (the ultimate app right?!).

3. GoodReads- free! (Not pictured)
GoodReads is a wonderful place to get with other readers and talk books. You can write book reviews and rate books you have read, and have a list of to-read books. Follow your favorite authors and see what they are reading (told you great writers read)

4. Writing prompts- free!
Need a quick write? Need something for your character to do? Use this app! There are over 100 prompts to choose from and if you don't like it, go to the next one.

5. Amazon Kindle/NOOK- free!
Again I say, good writers read. What better way to read than everywhere? If you have one of these apps you can read anywhere at anytime! Heaven right?! There are free books and ones you have to pay for. Amazon kindle is from Amazon (duh) NOOK is from Barnes and Noble so if you get gift cards to eitherof those places you can use them on your phone for e-books.

Bonus! Instagram (not pictured) is a great place to get writing prompts, inspiration, and quotes!

I know there are some other great apps out there for writers, but in my opinion, these are the best. I don't spend money on apps, so these are all free and ready to use as soon as you set up an account! Be sure to search me at thesierraspot on the social networking apps.

Happy writing!

Writing Prompts for Teens

We all know those lists of school writing prompts that make you want to fall asleep halfway through the writing piece. We also know that feeling when you can't think of anything to write. I have found some writing prompts that (hopefully) don't bore you and will break through that writer's block.

1. Lost

2. Rescue mission

3. The heist

4. Amnesia

5. Teen writer

6. The villain's sibling

7. The villain's child

8. Prank war

9. Girls vs. Boys

10. Blind date

11. Secret admirer

12. You as a character

13. Homeschooler at public school

14. Seniors last day

15. The worst week

16. Treasure map

17. Modern fairy tale

18. Prison escape

19. No rules

20. That party

21. You disappear

22. The championship

23. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer

24. The hardest choice

25. If you were in a movie

I didn't limit these to just one genre, I tried to keep them general so you could be creative. If you have any prompts of your own that you would like to share, comment them. Feel free to share these with other writers, they are certainly not limited to just teens.