Samantha

Hi all, I'm writing a story and one of my main characters (not the central character, but still a very important one) is a sixteen year old girl whose name is Alex. I need a bold, memorable surname to go with her first name. The title is going to contain her name - "The Alex <insert surname> Controversy" - so it needs to be catchy. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Thanks in advance :)

Tristan Avery Hicks

and

Tristan Avery Buchanan

It's for a story. Do they both have decent flow? What's the first impression you think of when you hear these names?

Or would you rather:

Avery Tristan Hicks

and

Avery Tristan Buchanan

Thank you :)

I'm writing a novel and these are the names of some potential characters... what sort of personality would you associate with their name/age?

Rosalie "Rosie" Wilde (in her 20s)

Skye Nolan (15)

Violet Wheeler (~15)

Christina "Chrissy" Doyle (~15)

Ally Guthrie (~15)

Jessica Sloane (~15)

Liesel Graham (~15)

Seth Buchanan (20s or 30s)

Lillian Hicks (in her 40s)

Yasmina Hicks (newborn)

Roger Nolan (40s)

My sister's 14, I'm 16. Our parents separated several months ago, but we were still seeing both parents every day - there's never been violence, abuse, etc. in our family, so we have no problem in that regard. Slowly, but certainly, maybe a few months ago, my sister's happy, upbeat personality has been changing into something that's dark, cryptic, and mysterious. She prefers to stay in her room, she argues with my Dad non-stop, and she's falling out with many of her old friends. A few months ago, we caught her with alcohol - she'd faked a sick day and raided some of my parent's alcohol. Thankfully, it wasn't serious enough to harm her. But my mum moved back home to be there for her, to keep everything running smoothly. I also found out that my sister had been cutting herself, and she says she's stopped but I'm worried she's just trying to cover it up. Just two days ago, my Mum was in her room and we discovered a drawful of empty beer bottles - countless, countless bottles. We were horrified, my mum had a stern word with her, and she's not to be left home alone any more.

But I'm still very worried.

I talked to her best friend - my sister's hardly been talking to her anymore and it's really worrying her old friends. She hasn't been sitting with them at lunchtimes but she refuses to say why - she's been very mysterious. Her friend is freaking out - she doesn't know what to do. She's been very down and moody, according to her friends. They've been worried - and so am I.

Our school counsellor is aware already - but my sister hates her and in truth, she hasn't been to see her for a few months anyway. The counsellor's no good.

What should I do? Who should I talk to?

Thankyou.

Hi, I'm writing a story. It's a young adult sci-fi sort of thing, where a drug has been invented to change ordinary human beings into volatile, violent, superhuman, yet breathtakingly beautiful creatures. They're not vampires - but they're just as evil. They feel no compassion and they can't be touched by love.

I need a name for the drug that converts people into this dreadful, monstrous state. It's been troubling me for a while now, and I'm lost for ideas. Does anyone have any potential names?

I'm 15, and I've been accepted for my first job at a local library as a book shelver. What sort of clothing should I be wearing when I go to work? Thanks!

Read my story concept. I need a name for a dark, evil cult - the one that Seth leads. Any ideas?

A wicked man by the name of Seth has perfected a highly addictive drug that can transform even the most gentle of human beings into destructive, savage, murderous superhumans. These dangerous people are outlawed from society - they are dangerous and frightening in every sense of the word and they constantly wreak havoc.

Does anyone have any names for the cult? Thank you!

I am in year 10 at the moment and doing maths - especially while I'm at home - puts me in a really, really bad mood. Every time. Maths makes me want to pull out my hair, yell, scream, that sort of thing. I just hate it, it makes me so angry.

It's not like I'm bad at maths - I'm in the top maths class and I get pretty good results. But it just makes me mad and ruins my mood and I need to work out how to calm down as well as get the maths done. I have to keep doing this subject for the next three years and it's driving me nuts! I listen to calm music but it doesn't do anything... what should I do to stop the anger?

A brief candle; both ends burning

An endless mile; a bus wheel turning

A friend to share the lonesome times

A handshake and a sip of wine

So say it loud and let it ring

We are all a part of everything

The future, present and the past

Fly on proud bird, you're free at last.

Rosemary "Rosie" Wilde. It's for my story. What kind of personality would you associate with this name?

Hero is a girl's name, by the way. It's for a story of mine. Any ideas for a last name?

There is this girl in my group of friends in school (we're in grade 10) who I've never really had the chance to get to know. In the past, she's never liked me very much, but I've made it a personal challenge for myself to befriend her this year despite the fact that she doesn't have much interest in me. Sometimes she can unconsciously shut me out but on other days this isn't quite so. What advice can you offer me on appealing to her (as a friend) without appearing annoying, strange or awkward?

I am in year 10 (grade 10). I am naturally an introvert, but I can become much more talkative when I'm comfortable.

Over a year ago, my closest friend completely cut me off, refused to talk to me, and for about 10 months, we weren't on speaking terms for absolutely no reason at all, despite my several attempts at trying to reconcile with her. It was a real nightmare. In my group of friends, she is "higher up on the food chain" so to speak. I am that quiet, super smart girl, but she is everybody's best friend. My friendships with other people weakened terribly as a result of our unspoken conflict. After all, she was the super nice girl who get along with everyone... except me.

Three months ago, the day arrived when she finally came to her senses and began speaking to me again... and everyone else began getting along that little bit better with me as well. I've got a lot more respect within the group now. She and I are good friends now - not best friends, but just friends.

I've been making her out to be some sort of antagonist - trust me, she's a lovely person and has almost all of the qualities I would look for in a friend.

This is my problem.

Ever since the fight, my introverted side has gone into full swing almost. I'm not silent - I've just had a bit of a blow to my confidence. But I've become quite a bit more shy now. When I'm in conversation, finding the right words to say is tricky.

How can I build my confidence back up?

I'm getting my hair cut but it's been the same style for such a long time now and I want something different for a change. I don't want to change its colour, I just want a different cut.

This is me a few weeks ago; they were taken days apart. (I wasn't smiling in either of them - but I think they look quite realistic):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33222127@N07/43001453...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/33222127@N07/43001454...

At the moment my hair's been layered a little bit to give it a bit of body because it's very thin and straight (and boring), even if it doesn't appear so in the photos. Any advice for a new hairstyle? Thanks!

I've had serious problems progressing with my novel. It's been months and I've barely written anything, the original inspiration for my work has sort of destroyed it... long story short, I've decided to stop, I was clashing personally with the plot.

But now I don't know what to do. I want to keep writing and I can't think of a new plot. I have nothing to write because I'm not working on anything and I can't think of anything new! Advice?

I'm not fat at all, in fat I'm in healthy shape for a 15 year old. But I have a tummy... I would try do more cardio/ situps, but I don't want to turn myself into a no-boobs no-butt stick person... hey, my boobs are tiny enough now, I don't want to trade my tummy in for smaller ones! what advice would you offer? is it worth my time, or am I just going to be disappointed?

Hi, I've got to confess I'm not really a very fit 15 year old. But maybe three, four weeks ago I began doing sit ups with the intention of toning up that area - I don't want abs, I just want to slim down. But shouldn't it be hurting?! I can do 50, 60, 70, 100 etc... and I'm not really feeling a "burn" or anything, only the tiniest sensation. The only thing that tires me out is that it turns into more of a cardio exercise then anything else... my abs aren't tired, but the rest of me is! Increasing reps isn't doing that much, just tiring me out more, and I've looked at a whole lot of different instructional websites and I can't see what I'm doing wrong. What do I do?

I've quite recently decided to tone my abdominal area with sit ups, and because I'm new to them, I know I'm supposed to feel some discomfort. But since day 2, not only have the sit ups themselves been painful, that whole section hurts whenever I bend or twist doing regular things throughout the day and even as I go to sleep. I'm new to this sort of thing, so is this happening because I've pushed myself too hard or because I've got to (very painfully) get used to it? What can I do to stop or prevent it?

I turned 15 a few days ago. My boobs are little, probably a B (the kind of bra I wear normally) or even maybe an A. I am 5'2 - pretty short - and I have a tummy that is bigger and fatter than my boobs. When I look in the mirror, the stomach fat sticks out in FRONT of my boobs and I cringe whenever I see myself in front of a mirror anymore. I am definitely not overweight - my weight is healthy - it is just my tummy that is the exception.

I have no older sisters to compare with. On my mum's side, my grandmother, aunts and cousins are overweight so I can't compare my little boobs and my stomach with them because their boobs are big and their stomachs are at least in proportion. My mum is a bit weighty as well so it is really hard to judge.

On my dad's side, the only female I really know is my grandmother, and in recent times she has lost a lot of weight only due to declining health at 80-something years of age. All in all, I don't believe this is some inherited thing.

I want to get rid of this tummy, but I can't get straight advice. Some internet places say that crunches/situps work miracles. Others say that crunches/situps will only tone me underneath my fat and are pointless. Others say that jogging is the only solution, but I have to sacrifice my already tiny boobs for that as tummy weight is the last part of the body to shed the weight. Some say I should do both. At the moment I'm also eating pretty healthily, but that hasn't done much to my stomach.

I've just about given up. I feel like getting I knife an manually slicing it off! I would never really do that.. but I hope you understand. I have beaten myself up enough about this and I need some realistic, reliable advice to make change.