She began tumbling down the stairs in a massive storm of flying limbs and books.

Soon after, I saw his face was dripping with green, not realizing it had hit him.

And with that, she slipped, her face tightly glued to the floor.

Confused? Allow me to ask you this. For those past 3 sentences, were you laughing? Or perhaps feeling rather worried for the characters, or fearing for something?

After spending a minute or so reading submissions on Teen Ink, do you feel happy? I don't. I'm not saying that it's bad in any way at all. I just feel Teen Ink is lacking the humor in stories. Most of the poems and stories I come across are of eating disorders, lost love, poverty, hopeless romantics, death, bullying, and loneliness. Although these are all unfortunate tragadies that we cannot hide from in the world around us, there are also miracles and simple pleasures that take up the same amount of existance as tragedies do.Even as I search through the selection of pictures, nearly all of them would be matched with a bittersweet piece of writing.

Now let's all admit it, when writing, it is EXTREMELY easier to leave the reader crying or at least depressed and upset. I know I've never contributed any joy-filled articles. In fact, after reviewing mine and a few other member's pieces as well, I discovered they were all rather gloomy.

Let me also say this, absolutely none of them are bad. What I mean to say is, most of these depressing stories you and I read are DRIPPING with talent. This site is absolutely overflowing with skilled pre-teens, teenagers, and young adults.

So harvest that talent. Go and be inspired! But perhaps when you're trying to find ideas for your latest fiction story, try to peek through all of the negative and see the tiny light within it, because I can assure you there is one.