Blog @ Work

Diaries

PROMPT: throughout history, stories have influenced a change in society (for example Jules Verne's " from the Earth to the Moon, inspiring the moon landing, or 20000 leagues under the sea inspired the creation of electric submarines, or George Orwell's "1984" inspiring the NSA spy scandals, Using a specific literary work, explain how a novel might influence change in society. (BCoF)

PROMPT: What is the most independent thing you have ever done? (BC)

The diary of Anne Frank. Anne Frank was a German-Jewish teenager who was forced to go into hiding in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, Holland during the Holocaust. Shortly after receiving a diary for her 13th birthday, the girl started recording entries on June 14, 1942, and she continued writing down her impressions while confined with her family and four other fugitives as they hid behind a bookcase in a concealed attic space in her father's office building. She died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, (probably of typhus) in February or March 1945.

The young girl's entries were made in the form of letters to several imaginary friends and she also employed pseudonyms to conceal the identities of her fellow fugitives and accomplices. Like many other normal teenagers, Anne agonized over her conflicted feelings about her family and a possible romantic interest, as well as her evolving thoughts about life. But her extraordinary depth and fine literary ability, combined with her optimism in the face of such adversity made her account a literary and historical treasure.(Scott Christianson)

Some facts: On June 12 it was the 87th anniversary of Anne Frank. The book has sold more than 30 million copies in 67 languages. The Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam had more than 31 million visitors since 1960. Anne is one of the most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust.

So it seems that a lot of people either read or heard about these war diaries. It has drawn the attention to the horrors of the Second World War, and has influenced many writers to look into this gruesome era. It also is a very personal account of a 13year old and she has influenced me, as so many other teenagers, into wanting to write.

Keeping a diary, a journal or a blog is not something I have been doing throughout my life as is the case of so many writers here. I have had a love-hate relationship with writing daily ever since my younger brother read my earliest attempts when I was 13 years old. I struggled throughout the years and only took it up seriously 3 weeks ago starting this blog.

So strangely enough I am a novice at this, although I am way way beyond my teens in real life. There is a lot of catching up to do finding my own voice writing daily and trying to give this blog its own identity. I am proud of this attempt; and it’s probably one of the most independent things I did in my life.

Reading other people’s blogs has been great. I will mention a few I have read in the last days, (I am sure they are well known in this community), and so many will follow. But I love "Still Figurin' Out Who I Think I Am" , "Invalid Item"  and "What's She Up to Now? Jody's Life Blog"  for various reasons. They are a great inspiration as I continue to form my own personal account of my life as an aspiring writer.

Fun facts about blogging: In 1999, there were just 23 blogs. Today, there are over 1.5 billion blogs on the internet. Every half a second, a new blog is created. There are about 31 million bloggers in the US alone. 291.7 million blog accounts worldwide, and counting.

Tomorrow the start of 30-Day Blogging Challenge. I can’t wait to do the prompts and be challenged into writing on subjects yet unknown. It will be a huge effort on my part, but I am ready for it. Let's kick some ass!