Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Warning Label

Prologue

A letter to the reader:

Dear Reader,

I’m sorry that you picked up this book. The back page is very misleading and you will soon find out why. This isn’t a book, its a diary of myself, my life, and pretty much just me complaining about how I find it so miserable. However, please, I beg of you DO NOT feel sorry for me. I deserve every word of what has happened to me and I regret it all yes but I know that it is the life I was given and there is no changing it.
This diary, that you are about to embark on, covers my four years in high school and all that goes on through them. However, before you begin to read this, even through I warn you it will bring nothing to your life if you do, you should probably know a little more about me. My name is Holly Grace Morgan, yes my parents suck and gave me three first names. I’m 14 and will be starting at Kentucky Oaks high school tomorrow. I have a brother who is a junior at the high school and a total idiot (this isn’t an understatement he’s actually quite idiotic). He’s a big shot baseball player and gets practically everything er wants, when he wants it. My parents worship his. 
Speaking of which, my parents. Well there isn’t much to say. They are married, but not happy. We have money, to much if I had to say so myself and they work. I have barely seen either of them in the last year. Most of our time spent together is on our way to their work events or the annual Christmas party they host. Anyway, getting back on topic; there it is, my life as I currently know it. I’ll check in as often as I can and I will warn you one last time…PLEASE PUT THIS DOWN AND WALK AWAY!!!

My deepest apologies,
The Author





Junior Year

August 18th, 2015
Welcome back. I’m honestly surprised that you’ve made it this far. Well I didn’t write over summer because well you know its summer not much happens like every year. I went vacationing with my Aunt Bridgett, she took me to California. We did all the usual touristy stuff, Disneyland, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Venice and Santa Monica, and when we were done we just laid on the beach until we were red. It was surprisingly nice to get away from everyone and everything. Dad and Carolina separated, but what dad doesn’t know is that her and Max continue to see each other while he is away on business.  It’s gross but I put up with it because when he moves out so does she! 
School starts tomorrow and I’m quite excited to see everyone again. Gillian and Kathleen are meeting me for our traditional first day of school breakfast at Cherries Coffee Hut and we will meet up with the guys after that. I’ve miss Tyler so much since school got out. We decided no immediate communication would make for a little more romance between us this summer so wherever we went we sent postcard to each other. He did a Euro trip with his brother so I got an abundance of letters from Paris, London, Italy, but my favorite was from a little town called Bled in Slovenia. It was a scene of a lake that seemed to stretch for miles that read:
“My darling, 
A place like this can only be as beautiful as the stars if 
my whole world were here to see them with me. X.”



December 20th, 2015
I just laid there…
How could I just lay there motionless? I didn’t make a sound or fight back I was as still as a rock… It was as if I were dead. How could I not fight back? 
The way he pressed hard against my bare skin and draped his cold fingers across my mouth to muffle the sounds that weren’t escaping my lips. His bare chest sticking to mine from the sweat that built between our naked bodies. What’s wrong with me? I let it happen. It’s all my fault. I asked for him to come onto me even though I knew I was with Tyler… Oh god Tyler… What am I suppose to tell him? 
I keep going back to the boy. How he smelt like alcohol and he kept slurring his words telling me to stay still, and I listened…I did exactly as he instructed me to. With every thrust my body became more foreign. When it was over he just left. I sat there still not making a sound or moving. I was a hollow shell of the girl that walked into that party. He invaded me and then stole all that I was…

I’m empty…and it’s all my fault…






So as you can tell this isn't the full story. I decided to start writing Holly's junior year and then make the connections based off of that. I hope this didn't confuse you to terribly much but its what I've got. 


Here is how I'm planning on outlining the rest of the story:


OUTLINE

Freshman year:
  • parents get divorce
  • getting use to new school
  • Dealing with the divorce

Sophomore year:
  • dad gets remarried
  • evil step mom has affair with brother
  • new boy friend

Junior year:
  • pregnant/raped
  • dealing with the schools reaction 
  • relationship with mom

Senior year:
  • depression
  • no friends
  • hating her baby


Epilogue - mom’s letter to the reader

1 comment:




  1. Hi Megan, here are my notes!

    Megan’s Submission: "Warning Label"

    Expectations:
    Well, based on your outline which you have provided, I am expecting a dark roller-coaster ride into the abyss. And hopefully a realistic glimpse into the soul of this young woman.

    I am also expecting (hoping for) some very powerful moments when we get to the pregnancy / motherhood phase of the story.

    Finally, I expect that you will attempt to thoroughly depress your reader. 
    (Actually, the outline seems like a good map for your story.)

    Connections:
    Crank by Ellen Hopkins
    Go Ask Alice
    13 Reasons Why

    Admiration:
    Good sense of voice. You seem to have a solid understanding of the family relationships -- as seen through the perspective of your narrator. Good use of the diary structure.

    Suggestions:
    The opening letter to the reader confuses me a bit (as I say in my notes). At first, I thought she was writing this as a warning after having experienced her four years of high school (and shortly before her suicide). But instead it seems as though she is writing the warning right before school starts, so somehow she knows that her life is going to be miserable and that she is responsible for her future misery and that she wants to warn the reader not to read onward. As I said, it's a bit confusing... but not necessarily unrealistic... because we've all been an overdramatic 13 year old...

    Make certain you know what your theme is… even if you never directly state it in the text. Is this a cautionary tale? Or is this simply for the reader to feel like, ‘Hey, my life doesn’t suck as much as this person’s life!”
    How do you feel about your main character? How do you want others to feel about her with each passing year?

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