Writing Update #2: Brainstorming Buddies Are Literally The Best

10 Comments

Hey all! So I realized today that I never actually followed up with this post idea and I figured this week was as good as any to go ahead and fix that. :)

To be honest, writing's been a little slow for me since YoungArts. It's not that I haven't been inspired (quite the contrary, I have a few too many ideas right now. :p); I've just had less time. I've really thrown myself into figuring out how to better manage my book blogging on Verbosity and so, though I haven't missed too many days working on my ten-minute-rule projects, there hasn't been a lot of tangible progress in them. For instance, in TheWizard Apocalypse, I'm doing mostly worldbuilding and brainstorming to figure out what the heck I'm even doing with this project (my advice: get a brainstorming buddy. They are freaking invaluable, I tell you). My biggest breakthroughs have been discovering my MC's brother's motivation (Dason is a special snowflake—also ideally played by Captain Cold), discovering my villain's motivation (since I literally didn't even know he was the villain until a quarter-way through the project), and deciding on the name of the group meant to actually bring said apocalypse (the Diruo, in case you were wondering).

I'm also working on some poetry to enter a contest at my library. Honestly, I'm not sure how good the poem is or how good it's going to do, but hey, it's fun, it's different, and I'm taking a risk with my writing, so I figure, the worst the judges can tell me is “you're actually a really awful poet,” which I kinda knew anyway (of course, the best they can tell me is “YOU ARE FANTASTIC; THE NEXT MAYA ANGELOU,” which I did not know at all but would be a pleasant surprise). So. All-in-all, I figure I really can't lose anything.

I've also been writing a lot of essays for scholarships, which is not nearly as boring as it sounds, as most of the ones I'm going for have involved bookish discussions (for instance, is Marmee's goodness unrealistic and overly exalted in Little Women?), and even though they're not my normal writing and I don't know that I'll ever actually be able to share those essays outside of the scholarships, it has been pretty interesting to dissect the ideas and form my own opinions.

Well, that's about all I've got as far as writing news. Leave me a comment on your recentest project or a book you've had to read for school that prompted some really deep thoughts. Can't wait to hear from you guys! :D

10 comments:

UnknownApril 19, 2016 at 2:38 AM
I have also been writing poetry recently and I love your attitude (the worst best thing basically made me laugh). I've been doing various writing for a contest at school kinda like you, and I have 3 short stories, two of which are pretty okay and one that needs a LOT of help (I wrote tiny chunks every day fora few weeks and so it has problems). Anyway, it sounds like you're doing a lot of writing, even if it's not just on large projects, which is awesome :) :)
Emily GApril 19, 2016 at 10:38 AM
"I'm doing mostly worldbuilding and brainstorming to figure out what the heck I'm even doing with this project"-- BASICALLY DESCRIBES MY RELATIONSHIP WITH MY MAIN WIP FOR THE PAST YEAR OR SO. Although recently I've actually been WRITING in the thing and stuff is happening and it feels so great to feel like I'm accomplishing something again. xD And yesss, having somebody to bounce your ideas off of is the best. I'm lucky enough to have a sister who is willing to sit through long sessions of me basically rambling and talking about all my bad ideas and sometimes with the combination of both of our brains we actually come up with something that makes sense. :P
ALSO, good luck with your project(s). :D
Skye HoffertApril 19, 2016 at 2:59 PM
Good luck with the contest! It's always great to have one friend to bounce ideas off of.
cleemckenzieApril 21, 2016 at 12:23 PM
You have a lot of things going on! That's always exciting and challenging. I'm launching a book and so I've been going 24-7.
HeatherMay 4, 2016 at 9:10 AM
Time management and writing is always going to be my greatest enemy. :P And yours too, perhaps? Blah. Still, I think aiming to be the next Maya Angelou is a noble goal.