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Young Writers Society


E - Everyone

My Seventeenth Birthday

by Quieen


                                 9:30am

It's Saturday,1st of Feb 2017,my 17th birthday.I put finishing touches to my makeup and went downstairs to wait for my boyfriend, he promised to pick me up at 10am for a date,a birthday date. 

 I'm Cara Mason,a light beautiful girl of average height with a dark silky hair

  Have fun but make sure you get home by 5 in the evening;my mother said.At forty,she looked mid-twenty,people say I look like her,I guess I would look twenty at forty.

  Of course Mom,you told me that thousands of times already,I would get home before five.I said

  Don't mind your mother,she's missing you already.My forty five years old father chipped in.

 She has Cody to herself.I replied referring to my little brother 

  Cara,don't forget to buy my toy when you are coming back.My light,tall blonde hair little brother said.Although he's only 10years,he looks 13.People says he takes after my Dad

 I won't.I said,just then we heard a knock.He's here I said and waved my parent goodbye

  I opened the door and saw my Jeff,he was putting on a blue jean jacket on a white jean with matching white sport shoe. My tall,dark,handsome and sturdy with a lip that would make you want to kiss nineteen year old was all smile.It made me remember why I fell in love with him.I realized he was all smile staring at me.I knew why,I was putting on a Blue gown that reached just a little above my knee with a Red heel and mat matching Red shoe,my  dark silky hair was rolled to a side with pins.

 Jeff;I called softly

Baby,happy birthday.I can't believe my baby is seventeen, she's no longer the fifteen year old girl who's always shy.He said

  Come'on Jeff. I blushed, let's go

  Yea baby,let's go.He replied,hand in hand,we went to his black Honda

          4pm

Jeff and I had fun,we went to a restaurant for breakfast,from there to a cinema to watch movie then to the beach where we had fun,listened to music and danced. Oh I forgot,the beach was where I met Jeff

   Baby,we should go, mom said I should be back by 5 in the evening

  Oh baby,I don't want this to end. Jeff said, we are lying in a tent at the beach, watching a movie from his Laptop

  Me too honey,but I gotta listen to mom, so she's gonna allow is go our again some other time

  Okay baby.He said closing his Laptop and rising.I rose up also and tucked my hand in his arm.

  I love you Cara.He said with a peck

   I love you too Jeff.I replied

     Watch our Jeff!!I screamed.We are on the highway driving and I saw a black Range Rovers in the middle of the road,Jeff nearly ran into it.

   It's an accident. Jeff said parking. We got down and ran to the car which was badly smashed.A woman was driving and her baby,a young boy of about 8 months was beside her in the passenger's seat.We dragged the woman and her baby out.

   She hit her head against the steering and passed out.Jeff explained.Let's take them to the nearest hospital, what about the baby?He asked

  I looked at the little happy beauty in my hands,He's fine.I replied.

   Look for her cell phone Cara,I can't find it there. He said

  I searched the passenger's seat where are baby was.Found it but its broken,its useless Jeff.I said

  Let's go.Jeff who had succeeded in dragging the woman inside his car said

  Let's go,I replied and got inside the car with the baby still in my hands.

       

          5;30pm

You know Jeff,I think we should report this to the police. I said petting the baby who was crying. He's hungry, I think I have a little milk I can give him.I said to Jeff who was confused about what's making the baby cry

   I should go to the police then,while you stay with her incase she woke up.Jeff replied.The doctor had told us she fainted and would wake up soon.

   Okay Jeff,take care.I said to the guy who was already at the door.

  After Jeff left,I turned my attention to the baby giving him the little milk I have.He drank the milk hungrily and smiled at me.He's such a cute little boy.

Hmmm,I heard a soft sound about 30minutes after Jeff left.I rushed to the woman's side. 

Ma'm,are you awake? I asked

  Yes,she managed to reply.Oh my God!!she screamed,my baby, my John

   He's here,he's fine.I assured her let me call the doctor.

     

    The doctor came and attended to her.So Ma'm what happened?we couldn't reach any of your family,so Jeff had gone to report to the police.I asked after the doctor assured me she's fine

   I went shopping,to get my little girl,John's elder sister school stuffs,while I was coming,a bike ran into me and I tried to avoid hitting it,unknown to me,a big rock was there, I hit the rock and that was all.

   I studied the woman,she would be in her early thirties,She's a pretty woman.Thank God you are safe.I said.You should give me your address,I need to inform your family members about what happened

   No 2,street 5,Lekki phase 1 she replied.

   Okay Ma'm,I would be back,if you need anything,just call the attention of the nurse.Take care of little John,I said giving her the baby.

   

                   8pm

I entered the room with her husband a tall build man of about 38 and little daughter Juan who's about four years. She was sitting up in bed with a policeman, I guess he's asking her some questions.

  Cara,what's going on?Jeff asked coming towards me.

     She regained consciousness after you left and gave me her address,this is her husband Jackson and daughter Juan.I explained

    How are you feeling Kylie?Her husband asked using his hand to body with her little daughter resting on her chest.

    I'm fine now, they are my saviour. She said pointing to Jeff and I

   I don't know how to thank you two,thank you guys, you too officer thank you.Her husband said

   No,thank these two.The policeman replied

   It's a pleasure sir,I guess we can go now.Jeff said turning to the policeman

   Yes you can.The policeman replied.

  Bye Ma'm,take care of little John.I said and followed Jeff out

  It's a crazy day you know.Jeff said once we were outside

  Yes it is.I replied.

Now let's drive you home.Jeff said

                              10pm.

We got home to meet my family outside with two policemen.

   Cara!!!!my mother called hugging me.what happened?why are you late?she asked.

   Come'on mom,I'm fine,nothing happened, I only helped and accident victim.I said and went on to narrate what happened to them.  

   I'm proud of you guys.My Dad said after the narration.Officers, my kids are safe,they only helped an accident victim,thank you.My Dad said to the policemen

   I smiled,my parent had gone to report me missing at the station.

Where's my toy?my ten years old asked.

   I'm sorry Cody,I forgot but I promise you,I will get it tomorrow. I replied

   Okay.He said sadly

  I think I should take my leave now.Jeff said.

   Ooh my Jeff,I almost forgot he's there.Yes you should baby, call me when you get home, I love you.I said.

    I love you too Cara,happy seventeen baby,although it's a crazy one. I love you a lot.He said with a kiss and drove off.

    And he did call me,at 11pm,My jeff called me.

Happy seventeen Cara I said to myself and slept off


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Sat Apr 29, 2017 2:08 pm
Atticus wrote a review...



Hey there Quieen,

MJ here to serve you a nice little critique sandwich. Please remember that all of the advice I give you are purely my opinionated suggestions, and I don't expect you to take any and certainly not all of them. It is entirely up to you how and if you edit this story. Without further ado, let's jump right into it.

First off, I did like how you described a perfect romantic evening. Although it may seem cliche to some, showing Cara and Jeff's strong relationship is very important to later events in the story. I also enjoyed the plot twist when they found the crashed car, because it gave us some more action, and, with a bit of touching up, could catch the reader off-guard and keep them in suspense while you describe it.

But there are some improvements that need to be made to this story, just like any other. First off, punctuation, punctuation, punctuation! Although it may seem like a tiny detail, and for the most part it is, your story became quite frankly painful to read as I had to suffer through the grammar, spelling, and punctuation marks. Make sure that whenever a character speaks, you surround that passage with quotation marks and add the correct punctuation (commas, periods, question marks, or exclamation marks) at the end. Also be careful of little slip-ups, like saying and instead of an, shoe instead of shoes, our instead of out, etc. There were a lot of little spelling errors like this, and just rereading it and correcting it as you do so would make a tremendous difference. There were also a lot of basic grammar mistakes I think you would catch if you looked through it again.

Secondly, your overall writing quality could be improved. Instead of just arbitrarily throwing out facts you think are important for the reader, try to organize them into sections. To show you what I mean, I have a section of your writing down below in quotes, and I'm going to offer you one way I would rewrite it.

It's Saturday,1st of Feb 2017,my 17th birthday.I put finishing touches to my makeup and went downstairs to wait for my boyfriend, he promised to pick me up at 10am for a date,a birthday date.

I'm Cara Mason,a light beautiful girl of average height with a dark silky hair

Have fun but make sure you get home by 5 in the evening;my mother said.At forty,she looked mid-twenty,people say I look like her,I guess I would look twenty at forty.

Of course Mom,you told me that thousands of times already,I would get home before five.I said

Don't mind your mother,she's missing you already.My forty five years old father chipped in.


Now here's a better way of writing that same section:

It was Saturday, February 1st. I looked at my now-seventeen-year-old self in the mirror as I finish putting on my makeup. I combed through my silky black hair for the tenth time that evening just to make sure it was perfect. I looked down at my white summer dress, a gentle but clear contrast to my pale skin. It seemed to hang off of my average frame, made for someone bigger than me, but it still looked stunning. I headed downstairs to wait for my boyfriend, Jeff, to pick me up at 10 am. Checking my watch, I noticed that it was already almost 9:55. Mom looked at me and smiled.

"Make sure you're home on time," she told me. She was beautiful herself, still escaping age's clutches and keeping her twenty-something charm although she was well in her forties.

My dad looked over and smiled. "Don't mind your mom, she's missing you already." His eyes twinkled, as they always did when he teased my mom. Unlike her, he very clearly was aging and already looked to be in his fifties, although he was only 45. "How're we going to deal with it when you move away to college? My girl's growing up so fast," he said, crossing the room to give me a kiss on the cheek.

Some more passages of description would be great. For example, when they're on the beach, set the mood by describing the beautiful sunset, or the feeling of sand on Cara's skin, or the coziness of the tent as they lay together holding hands. They don't have to be super long and they don't have to involve a lot of complicated adjectives, just four-ish sentences will be good enough to help the reader feel exactly how Cara and her boyfriend feel together.

Another way I think that would help you to feel when your writing isn't as strong as it could/should be is to just read it aloud. When you read a short story, you should feel whatever the main character(s) are feeling. More passages of description would help the reader feel comfortable, satisfied, scared, unsure, etc. Using strong verbs makes a bigger difference than you think and helps guide the reader along.

Overall, you have a good idea for a plot and characters. Grammar was the biggest turn-off to this story and should be fixed ASAP, and you can start adding more significant changes, like a rewrite with more description, later. And above all, just keep writing and putting your work out here. I'll be around to review it, and the only way you'll get better is by practice, practice, practice. Keep writing, and good luck!

Best wishes,
MJ




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Wed Apr 19, 2017 8:22 am
Siddharth says...



Wow a very good work..




Quieen says...


Thanks,I'm grateful



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Wed Apr 19, 2017 4:30 am
MemoryHunter wrote a review...



Hey, Memo here for a review~

Let me begin by emphasizing the point that Asith made previously - punctuation is important, especially in prose, especially in short stories. You have to brush up on your grammar, because it will most likely prevent your readers from reading the entire piece.

Setting the grammar aside, I still think you have much room for improvement. Here are the skills you need to enhance:

1. Consistency
> If your story begins in the past tense, carry on with the past tense, or else it will look unprofessional. The point of view should also be consistent, which means that if you started with the first person perspective, you should continue with the first person perspective.

2. Info dumping
> There's the bad info dumping, there's the good info dumping. Info dumping is basically sharing information with your readers about a certain character, place or concept in the story. Most writers would advise you to show not tell, and I suggest to do that also on the getgo to get a feel of everything. You've probably heard this a lot, but it helps; show not tell means to show your readers a fact instead of telling them what that is.

I'll get an excerpt from your piece to elaborate.

I'm Cara Mason,a light beautiful girl of average height with a dark silky hair
This is a sentence that tells readers the information they need to know about the girl's physique. What's wrong about this is that you just plainly told the readers. What if you did something else? For example, what if you pointed out her appearance while she did her makeup? It may be a little bit cliche for some, but hey, it's a good starting point and a lot better option than the former.

3. Plot organization
> It's messy. And that happens a lot, even with me, when I don't plan out my stories well. There's a lot of scenes going on here that are, for me, random and only for the sake of moving the plot along. One way of making your work look neat is again, fixing the punctuation and other grammatical errors. Another way is planning out what you're going to do beforehand (I honestly don't always plan out on paper, but maybe you'll find that helpful. Personally, I prefer jotting things down in my head, but you'll risk making things less organized than planned.)

All in all, I could tell you're a beginner in the field of writing. We've all been there, and the most helpful advice I can give you is to not stop writing. Ever. And read as much as you can; take inspiration and tips from other authors - find your voice by reading books and combining different writing styles to form your own. It'll be a vast journey.

Happy writing~




Quieen says...


Thank you



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Wed Apr 19, 2017 3:48 am
Asith wrote a review...



Please, please use proper puntuation.
I'm sorry, but as pointless as it may seem, it's very important! Your story is essentially unreadable like this, and anyone who does read it is going to be reading it feeling extremely annoyed.

For starters, use speech marks (" ") followed by either a period or a comma (or even an exclamation or question mark) around dialogue. It tells the reader what parts of the story are speech before they get to the 'he said' part, so that they can read it in the character's voice.

Here's something I've been putting in a lot of my reviews lately, it should help:

When you use 'he said' or something similar, it's part of the same sentence, so you use speech marks with a comma.
"I like coffee cake," he said.

You use speech marks with a period if you start with a new sentence after the dialogue.
"I like coffee cake." He put down his fork.

It is also a new sentence, and therefore a period, if the next bit is not a way of saying something.
"I like coffee cake," he whispered.
"I like coffee cake." He shrugged.
See the difference? He can whisper the words, but he can't shrug them. That's a very common mistake, and one to watch for.

In other words, this isn't so much a matter of grammar as of punctuation.


That's not the only issue either, most of your punctuation and structure is messed up in a similar fashion.

I really can't review your actual plot because my OCD is kicking off thanks to the lack of punctuation and it's a pain to read. Hopefully someone else manages to trudge through it.

Please understand, I wasn't trying to be aggressive or anything, it's just that punctuation is really important. If you rewrite this with proper punctuation, I'd be more than happy to give you a proper review :)




Quieen says...


Thank you,I will do that




You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.
— Anne Lamott