Freya's blog

Whether we like it or not, the stories we consume help to shape us as people. And if you are a writer, they will also rub off on your writing. They can influence your genre, your style, your structure, your themes, even your grammatical choices. Or it could be less subtle. You might just pick and choose aspects you like from different stories to use in your own writing. They say great writers steal. It turns out, so do bad ones and everyone else in between. All writers steal, even if they don't want to admit it or even realise that they're doing it. So, as a reminder that nothing is original and that's okay, here are some books that have influenced my writing over the years. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins I read The Hunger Games when I was fifteen. At that point, it was the first present tense book I had read - or at least the first that registered in my mind. I was obsessed. The way present tense created so much immediacy and suspense blew me away. It felt li...

How does one* celebrate #BiVisibilityDay? This is what I've been asking myself today. And it's a bit of a conundrum because on the one hand it's supposed to be a celebration for bi** people to shout out that they exist and that they're proud of who they are. But it's also a space to speak out about the issues that affect bi people. How do we balance the two, the positives and the negatives? Do we even need to worry about balancing the two? Created on Wordcloud So I'm settling my conundrum with a list, which I find tends to be a good solution to many problems. As my contribution to this fine day of being unashamed and honest about experiences of being bisexual, here are some positives and some negatives that spring to mind about being bisexual in a heteronormative society obsessed with binaries (and sex). Let's get the negatives out of the way... That internalised biphobia that makes coming to terms with your sexuality a muuuch slower process than ...

I won't go into a long winded introduction about the age we live in and the way in which huge multinational chains dominate and permeate every part of our modern lives. We all know this already. We know that supporting local companies is a dying effort. We know that a lot of big brands are unethical. But this isn't what I've been thinking about lately. Rather I've noticed that always walking past and interacting with the same brands is starting to make very different life experiences feel generic. Example: recently I went on a day trip to Cardiff, to explore it a bit more and get a change of scenery. As much as I enjoyed the day, I spent most of it wandering around the centre surrounded by the same shops I would have been surrounded by if I had been in any other city centre. This isn't to say that I don't like Cardiff or that this is all there is to it. This experience is part of a larger pattern. Travelling to new places becomes less refreshing and less inspi...

Am I enough for... myself? For my high standards, the pressure I put on myself, my shabby brand of perfectionism? I often have thoughts such as 'I wish I had read more books in my life' or 'why have I wasted so much time not writing when I've had plenty of opportunity to' or 'I should have kept up a high fitness level, and not quit painting or sports or card making or cycling'. And then I will bargain with myself. ' If by the age of 25 you have written a novel, gotten fit, read 300 books, travelled and rediscovered art, then, then you will be good enough.'  And this mindset limits my enjoyment of things I really love. Time that I could be spending lost in my own world writing I spend berating myself for my word count and disjointed chapters. Reading can start to feel like a race to read as much as possible, rather than a process of discovering and enjoying new authors, writing styles and ideas. Obviously, this isn't a very healthy way to li...

I feel like it's probably a very British thing to be enthusiastic about seasons. But I've always found something refreshing and inspiring about entering a new 'time of year'. Currently it's 'Spring', although this season doesn't really register in my mind, as it's so, so slow to arrive. It usually feels like winter drags on and on, and then before you know it, it's sunny and bright and there's a chance it might hit 18 degrees Celsius... any... day... soon. And that says summer to me. Regardless, since the recent sunny days we've been having (at least in the south of the UK) I can sense a new perspective emerging in me. And perhaps it's because changing seasons signals time moving forward, prompting a kind of renewed approach to life. Or maybe it's just because the world simply looks different;  in a different light, with different coloured leaves on the trees and with different kinds of clothes worn by passers-by in the str...

Throughout January so far, I've been playing around with a few resolution ideas. Even if I make a few initial resolutions on New Year's Eve, I tend to reflect a lot in January and come up with a load more!

I was just about to write a bucket list for myself when I suddenly thought "why not share this with the entire internet?".

Hi everyone! My lovely friend Sophie, who has a fashion, beauty and lifestyle blog recently created a brand new tag.

I wrote this list around a week ago mainly for my own sake.

Hey everyone! Today I want to tell you about a new, exciting and beautiful young adult novel on the market. It's called The Scientist and is by the fantastic Elsie Elder, who is a dedicated and inspiring writer. This book is currently available to buy on Amazon.com and will shortly be available on Amazon.co.uk too. So, on to The Scientist! Let's jump straight in to the synopsis: "The Scientist is a story following Grace Fletcher, a sheltered, seventeen year old girl who has had the same three friends since before she could remember. Her reliance on her friends gives her a fierce opposition to letting anyone be alone, which becomes dangerous as her attempts to befriend Matt: a shy,  lonely boy implicates both herself and her closest friends in the massacre that he orchestrates. After suffering through the shooting, and losing Lucas: the boy she has fallen in love with, Grace must now attempt to forgive her oldest friends, herself, and the boy behind the gun...

Hey everyone, Another book, another bandwagon I was late for. I finally finished The Book Thief last night after reading it gradually for about four weeks then finally getting in to it properly last weekend. Narrated by Death who is, as it turns out, a very insightful and thoughtful person, this book also delves in to the world of Liesel, a young girl living in Nazi Germany who, as you may have guessed, has a tendency to steal books. I'll say no more about the plot... Because I have previously studied the holocaust and took a module called 'Interpretations of the Holocaust' I am interested in the ways that the holocaust and the WW2 are represented in history, media and literature. This book did a great job of being accessible to everyone and exploring the reality of Nazi Germany for the people living in it. Things I love about it It's exploration of the importance and power of language It's focus on underrepresented histories The pictures... ooo intr...

I'm stuck in a rut. All day I've been trying to write blogs, work on my novel, plan videos and I haven't got anywhere. Whenever I get an idea I over think whether it would make a better blog or a better video. And, as for other creative writing. I just have a block. I get this all the time, to be honest. Things keep stopping me creating. The last two weeks, the main things stopping me have been the avoidance of various other things such as going to the doctors, sending emails and being unable to solve internal conflicts. I feel too guilty/preoccupied about avoiding these tasks to create. I'm being very vague, I know. Another reason I find myself unable to create is because I obsess over  why it matters so much to me. Why do I want to blog? What do I have to say that's so valuable? Is there really any point? Does it just provide me with an illusion of progress and achievement? So, apparently, the solution I came up with was to blog about the things that sto...

Hey Everyone! On Tuesday the 15th my boyfriend and I travelled down to Plymouth Hoe for MTV Crashes Plymouth. It was my first big music concert so I was really excited to experience the atmosphere. It was also my first time being in the presence of famous people, haha. As I expected it wasn't a huge deal. It was surreal for a few moments but I soon got used to it. It was really all about the music which I loved. I've never really been someone who tends to get starstruck. People are just people, after all.  Look how pretty it is? It was definitely the perfect location and weather for it. The stage before the music started Anyway, the line up was Kiesza, The 1975, Example and Kaiser Chiefs. I really enjoyed all of the sets but the highlight for me was the Kaiser Chiefs. They played loads of their classics and we got pretty close to the stage so the energy was amazing. We wandered off to get food whilst Example played because we're not big fans but I could t...

Hey everyone! So, is anyone else sick and tired of hearing people moaning about how certain girls are "desperate for attention"? I mean, it's no wonder female comedians and entertainers are so underrepresented as so often women who claim the limelight are criticised for being desperate for attention. Madonna looks fed up of it And no, the reason so many more women are being accused of being attention seeking is not because women are more attention seeking than men. It's because men are more readily accepted in to positions of power, influence and attention. Women, on the other hand, are expected to be more passive and unassuming. If a woman attempts to step in to the limelight and especially if the things she's being noticed for do not fit in to what is expected of a woman, she will be branded as an "attention whore" and discounted because of it. Branding somebody in this fashion is an easy way to belittle or dismiss a person's thoughts, feeli...

Hey everyone and welcome to my second ever outfit of the day! I really enjoy watching/reading outfits of the day as I find them inspiring when it comes to choosing clothes and they're just generally fun to look through. So, on with the program! I love summer clothing but I get cold pretty easily. So today it was looking a bit grey so I decided to put on my awesome Miss Selfridge summer trousers and chuck on my River Island denim jacket. I chose to wear my yellow H&M T-shirt to keep the outfit looking bright and summery. Also yellow and blue go great together so that was a bonus. These printed trousers go with a lot of t-shirts because of their versatile colours and they are super comfy, like pyjama bottoms. If you love comfy clothes and don't always feel like bearing the temperature of the questionable British summers, then I'd recommend printed trousers. Overall, this just feels like a casual, fun and warm summer outfit.  It feels quite strange writing a blog ...

I was standing in front of the mirror this morning, after having just got dressed, when I suddenly had a blog idea. What can I say? I'm my biggest inspiration. Just kidding, but really, today I'm gonna be talking about playsuits and how to find one that you love. I really like playsuits, I think they're really fun. They're perfect for hot weather and they have all the convenience of dresses except they won't blow up in a breeze. Also, you can dress them up or down so there is plenty of opportunity to wear them. However it can be tricky finding one that is right for you. So, without further ado, here are a few things you might want to consider when trying on a playsuit. Comfort One of the things I love the most about playsuits is that they're super relaxed and comfy. So I, personally wouldn't settle for a semi comfortable one. When you're trying on one have a little/big dance in it and see if it passes the test! Crotch Check Beware of the playsui...

It's been amazingly sunny for the past couple weeks, here in the UK and I've been feeling super summery. But now it's raining. Still feeling summery though! So in celebration of British weather and all of the lucky, wet people currently at Glastonbury festival, here are my top summer albums! Disclaimer: It's kind of interesting what different people class as a good summer albums as you may completely disagree with my choices. I suppose some of it comes down to people's personal experiences and associations with summer. Disclaimer over. Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys by My Chemical Romance This album is inspiring, motivational, exciting and has just the right balance of anger and joy. I found this a great soundtrack for my creative summer assignments and for my summer projects but also for just general everyday life! As well as being one of my favourite summer albums (despite being released in the winter), it's also one of my favourite...

Some days I really struggle to leave my flat and often even my bedroom. If you experience this problem frequently and these feelings make it really difficult for you to function in everyday life then please seek professional help . But, if you are simply seeking some general tips or encouragement for leaving the house then here are the things I tell myself if I need to go out but just can't face it. They don't always work but they often do. 1.  Know that if you are feeling down then some sunshine and gentle exercise will probably lift your mood. 2. Try to break the viscous cycle. I've found that when I feel down and don't go out, I generally feel even worse at the end of the day when I haven't managed to drag myself outside to complete the errands I needed to do. So, if you can, try not to be your own worst enemy. 3. Break the task up in to smaller steps. When you're not in a good state of mind everything involved with leaving the house can seem ...

Magazines, websites and fashion advisers that tell you which cuts, colours and styles best suit your body type are really helpful and can help you to feel more confident in your body. However, I think that so much emphasis on fitting people in to categories that can only wear certain types of clothing can be pretty constricting. I mean, how many times have you heard "I love this dress but I'm too skinny to wear something like that" or "Wow, that top is gorgeous but that colour would look terrible with my skin tone". I think it's fun to try on things you would never usually wear! So I'd like to suggest to anyone who has been sticking rigidly to the specific clothes the fashion industry says suits them them the best, at least try wearing some items of clothes that you don't  techically  suit you. You might feel great in something outside of your "category". It's a great way to internally reject the idea that your figure needs ...