This über-clever post combines our favorite literature and those addicting Vh1 shows. Nice work, LadyLeafdawn! —SparkNotes editors

We hear stories about fictional characters all the time. The characters capture our interest as we turn the pages or sit glued to the television screen, completely cut off from this boring world known as “reality.” When we finish a story, we wonder what happens to these characters we know and love. Well, wonder no more, Sparklers, for I have found a fictional time machine and traveled into the future to see where a few of these characters will be and what they will be doing with the rest of their lives…

When it comes to literary gimmicks, the six word story is one of our favorites. The concept of telling a story in just six words is attributed to Ernest Hemingway, who wrote the following micro-tale:

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It hits you right in the gut, doesn't it? It's tough to compete with Ernie, but it sure is fun to try. Well-known authors have given it shot, and used the six word structure to write their own memoirs for the book Not Quite What I Was Planning. And a few years ago, Wired Magazine collected some of the best six word stories from popular sci-fi writers. Like a haiku, the concept is pretty simple (Use six words to make a story. Contractions are permitted), yet coming up with a good one is harder than you'd think. Since we love a challenge, we wrote a few of our own:

Sparkler lemondropofdoom brings up a problem we all face, but rarely discuss: what to name those pesky characters in our fiction projects. Enjoy! —SparkNotes editors

Maybe you’re an aspiring young writer aiming to pen an award-winning novel amazing enough for Dan Bergstein to write a positive blog about it. More likely, Coach is going to drop you from the team if you don’t pass English, and your teacher has assigned a fictional narrative for you to write.

Fiction writing requires a lot of thought and creativity. You have to pick the setting, create the events, and make believable characters. For many people, the innovative process of fiction writing is a fun experience, but for others, the creative freedom makes their blood run cold. Picking names is one of the millions of tasks would-be authors must face. "What do I name my characters? I like the name Jezebel. But doesn’t that mean something…bad? What if I name my main character something bad or lame, thinking it’s really cool, and everyone makes fun of me?" As a survivor of these panic attacks, I offer you my condolences, and a few tips that might help you pick a decent name:

Sparkler happyhostage reminds us that the annual NaNoWriMo starts in just 13 days! —SparkNotes editors

Here’s an idea, Sparklers: why don’t we all try NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)?

Those of you who know what I’m talking about are probably already arranging for my ride to the nearest loony bin. (Thanks, but I think it’s a bit too late for that.)

For those of you who don’t know, during the month of November, people all over the world write novels. There are two different ways to do it: through the Young Writer’s Program for writers 17 and under (where you write any amount of words you want), and the big one, NaNoWriMo itself, which is open to all ages, and which asks participants to write 50,000 words each.