Welcome to my writing journal!The idea behind this is that by posting my writing stuff, be it ideas, snippets, short stories or chapters of a novel, I will gain more motivation to actually write down all the things that are going through my head.Not all of the entries will make sense to you, the reader. Some will be just me tossing around half-finished ideas, or referencing things only I know about. ...but stick around for the stories!I'm currently reading "Writing Magic" by Gail Levine (autor of Ella Enchanted), and besides advice, the book features lots of writing excercises, which I intend to do most of. Here's the first. The first time I saw Stephen, he painted a hex sign on my right arm, and I couldnt move my fingers for three hours. The next day, I waited patiently behind the bushes in the bend of Crook Street until I saw him walking down the road, his backpack slung over his right shoulder, hands thrust deep into his pockets. As he neared my hiding place, I stepped out into his way: Youre a witch! He stopped dead, blinking in confusion. Id probably broken some train of thought, because it took him a while to answer me: Yeah. So? You cant be a witch. I grinned and folded my arms across my chest. Youre a boy. Everybody knows witches are girls. He shrugged: Suit yourself. With that, he took a few steps foreward, trying to get past me, but I blocked his way again. But you hexed me. So youve got to be a witch. Its obvious. He let out an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes: What do you want from me? And dont you know that youre sounding totally stupid, contradicting yourself like that? I bit my lip and stared down at my sneakers for a while, trying to come up with something clever to say. In the end, I just turned on my heels and ran, all the way home, up the stairs into my room, where I banged the door shut so loudly that it took my mother only seconds before she stuck her head in: Everything all right, honey? I nodded, staring at the wall. Mom? Yes? Theres no such thing as a boy witch, right? She laughed: Of course not. And if one of the boys in your class is trying to scare you by saying something like that, you just tell him to shut his mouth, or else Alice will turn him into a newt. Yeah, I smiled a little, Ill tell him that. Once again, we were facing each other at the bend in Crook Street. You know, I grinned, lifting my chin a little, making myself look bigger, my sister Alice is a witch. Shes at a school for witches. Theres only girls there. So there. Stephen looked away, his lips pressed together to a tight line, his eyes clouding over like a storm. Youre right. Boys cant be witches. I didnt hex you. It was all in your head, because, he grinned maliciously, youre crazy. And now leave me alone. I stepped aside, letting him pass, then fell into step beside him. We walked for a while before he stopped, spinning around to face me. What do you want? He snapped. I, I swallowed hard, all bravado suddenly leaving me, I want to be your friend. He said nothing, only looked at me as if Id suddenly grown a second head. By the way, my names Holly. I smiled, pushing my bangs out of my eyes. Holly. He took a deep breath, then grinned at me: You sure have a strange way of making friends.