I'm writing a realistic fiction (it's the truth with a few made-up things) story from the perspective about a seventh-grade girl nicknamed Red Shoes (because of her neon red shoes) and is friends with nearly the entire school. (Teachers included.) She's even friends with the kids that…other people don't like so much. The troublemakers. The depressed people. The ones with anxiety, autism, etc. One day, one of these friends deems Red Shoes trustworthy and decides to trust her that she'll help her with this massive secret she's about to tell her.
She's pregnant. From sexual assault.
Did I mention she's in seventh grade?
Red Shoes already knows that she's been bullied, gotten drunk, does a little self-harm, considers suicide, her parents drink/do drugs, etc., etc. But this is a challenge bigger than anything Red Shoes has ever faced as a 'psychiatrist' for her many friends. During the nine months leading up to the birth of the baby, which Red Shoes and the friend have decided to name Victoria, their lives become more and more confusing than they already are. Other people begin to notice the changes and are concerned for the two, and some even try to stop them (especially Red Shoes) from whatever she's doing. The trouble is, only Red Shoes and the friend know the truth. It's a sworn secret.
The friend nearly dies when the baby is born, but she pulls through. Red Shoes honestly didn't think it could get any worse than it already was, but raising Victoria turns out to be a nearly impossible task without any other aid except the internet. The problem gets even worse five months later when Victoria learns how to speak. Then, the shattering nightmare finally happens.
The friend's parents have noticed the rapid increase in the friend's weight and then the almost immediate decrease. They begin to notice signs of Victoria's existence and it's not long before they question the two. Victoria is found out.
Lawsuits, court, orphanages…there are so many things that have just exploded in their faces since the unfortunate discovery. Although, in the end, they do turn out drained and exhausted and spent - though educated, I must say - things have been sorted out. Instead of being killed as was originally planned, Victoria is sent to an orphanage. The boy who sexually assaulted the friend is in jail and his family sued, and both the friend and Red Shoes are in counseling…and grounded for almost their entire lives. But it's over.
Is the pregnancy too extreme?
This stuff actually happens at this age. If you don't believe me, look at the genre…nonfiction, with a few little elements of fiction thrown in for the sake of the plot. I want to publish this story eventually but I don't know if it would be accepted. I just can't think of any other way for me personally to bring attention to the fact that yes, this happens all around th world to this day, more commonly than you would think. But…I just don't know.
My question is, how does Red Shoes and the girl, at seventh grade with small, pubescent bodies, hide a pregnancy like that from everyone? I feel like someone would notice beforehand, as there is only so much one can do when trying to hide a pregnancy in an environment full of people, not to mention the strain and dieting she has to go through.
I also am wondering why the girl doesn't try to abort the pregnancy at first but I think I already know the answer to that, or at least several answers that are most likely it.
Another question, what are you referencing when you say "Instead of being killed as originally planned…"?
Also, how do Red Shoes and the girl manage to hide a crying infant in a house, as babies make tons of noise before they learn how to speak and require a lot of attention that would absolutely drain a young seventh-grader.
The pregnancy doesn't seem too extreme at all, because the sad truth is that this does happen too often than it should. I just have questions about reasonings here.
Honestly, a lot of those questions I don't know how to answer because…um…well, long story short, we don't know yet. We don't know because she's not at that stage yet.
When I say instead of being killed as originally planned, I've done some research and I know that if the illegal child is really young then they'll kill it.
Yeah, your questions make sense. Thanks for the feedback!
Oh shit man, I had no idea about that law. Where does this take place by the way? (this may explain my ignorance about it)
And yeah, no problem for the feedback. So far, despite my questions, the story makes sense. It doesn't seem too extreme at all–mainly because this is the truth behind a lot of teen pregnancies. This is in no way mud-raking, as far as I can tell this is rather accurate, considering this is realistic fiction.
(indiana)
yay. but I mean idk how to publish it as my english teacher knows I'm debating publishing something and is always checking…so if he reads it…
(oooohhhhh that's why I didn't know about it lmao)
Well first things first, are you planning on publishing it as a short story or a full-on novel?
And you may want to find out his stance on a few things included in your work before you let him read it, that way you'll know if he has any biases before he gives you any feedback.
And since he's an English teacher as you said, try to have him look strictly for grammar, spelling, capitalization, etc. errors, unless your plan was to use him to read over the plot as well, go ahead and have him do that too if you want.
(yeah lol)
probably a novel
yeah…he'd probably call the couselor regardless of whether he knew the genre though…
Oh nice! Good luck with your novel writing.
If he's gonna call the counselor then you may want to have someone else who's very literate read over your work.
Well Red
Thank'ee
(waits in panic for Angie to find this thread because I can't delete it)
What. The. Crap. That is so much. Do it. Write it.
I will because today is day 2 of Nano!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We got some stuff to discuss, btw.
So what if you think it’s too extreme? Don’t let that hold you back
Write it.
They're right though. It's a pretty original plot, and it's good to have a purpose behind your writing…
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh crap Angie's found the thread.
Also thanks Tira!
Yeah… hi, thanks for the welcome
YALL I DEVISED A FAILPROOF WAY TO PUBLISH THE BOOK WITH THE SAME PLOT WITHOUT AROUSING SUSPICION
So it's set in the 90's, Leslie (Red Shoes) and Elijah (comedy relief) are dating, it's all that and a bag of chips. Leslie is still super popular and friends with everyone like in the original, blah blah. The friend, dubbed 'Erica', is here as well, and deems Leslie trustworthy enough of a secret:
She's pregnant.
With an alien.
THAT'S RIGHT MY DUDES, WITH AN ALIEN. So the aliens want to take over the world so they've chosen Erica and a couple more young girls as hosts for their kids so that the alien children will have no trouble taking over the world once they're on it. Now, obviously this is a little extreme for Leslie and she starts hallucinating, lucid dreaming, going a little wack. She thinks her pet chamaeleon is talking to her, etc. Now here's where it gets fun.
Erica, unlike the other girls, knows what's happening and is trying her hardest to resist, and so the aliens have injected her (?????) with some weird thingy that takes control of her brain and makes her hurt herself and others. Leslie and Elijah try their hardest to help but it's simply no use, trying to solve the mystery of how to stop the aliens.
Then, three weeks before the aliens are due to enter the world, the three hatch a plan. A nasty 'lil plan. They're going to hitchhike onto a NASA spaceship/thingy (I haven't done my 90's research yet) and visit the alien's headquarters.
They barely survive the trip, but when they do they learn that the aliens are exceedingly powerful and have taken over every other planet in the universe. The only thing keeping them from earth is its ozone layer, which is why they chose Erica and the other girls as hosts instead. So, Elijah is the real hero of the day and unplugs the weird injection thing and then they manage to brainwash one of the alien doctors to take the alien out of Erica. They come to the nasty decision that they must kill the other girls in order to save the earth, so with great regret, they do it. Then they go back but get no awards because it's the 90's and people don't believe them and Elijah goes to an asylum but comes back 15 years later to marry Leslie.
