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30s | Writer | 💛

[sunmaea]

Hello sunbeams! Feel free to call me sunmaea. I'm a UK-based writer who loves words and sunshine. That's pretty simple, eh?

This blog is mainly for recording my literary endeavours and attempts at creativite challenges. I primarily write young adult literature, speculative fiction and poetry. However, I love experimenting and trying out different forms, so I'm hoping to undertake various projects over the coming years.

I've been on tumblr for a long, long time (since 2011!), but this blog is a new venture.

Happy reading! And... if you happen to see any typos... please let me know!

[Icon Credit]

[sunmaea]

For a little while now, I've wanted to really challenge myself by writing 50,000 words over three days – and this November, I finally had the opportunity! My original plan was to start writing on Friday 1 November but, as I became busy with other commitments, I pushed back my schedule and started writing on Friday 22 November instead. Let me tell you: it was an absolute rollercoaster. As the challenge was so ludicrous, I decided to mostly keep it private, though I sent one of my best friends cryptic messages saying things like '10%!' and '20%!' when I hit new milestones. I did something a bit different this year and tried to track my writing progress in a notebook. For ease of viewing, I've typed up my tracker. It should be... at least 95% accurate.

Phew! Friday was quite slow; it had been my intention to complete 20k on Friday, another 20k on Saturday and the final 10k on Sunday. However, by the time it got to Saturday night and I could see that I was woefully behind, I started to lose hope. I thought, "Let me make peace with this: maybe I'll complete my draft in four days instead of three and that will be incredible enough. It will still beat my previous records." Yet... I can be very stubborn. I started writing very early on Sunday morning and somehow, I managed to write the outstanding 27,000 words – a new 'personal best' (my previous record had been 25,000 words in a day, a number I'd been sure I would never replicate, let alone exceed). When I finally completed my draft on Sunday night, I felt a sense of contentment I've experienced only a handful of times. I was reliant on my characters; they directed the narrative and took it in unexpected directions. The 25k to 40k stretch was definitely the hardest. I always find the last 10k to be comparatively easy, like running downhill after an arduous climb. I'll need to let the story rest for at least six months before I can even start to think about it again! In the meantime, I plan to work on plenty of other creative challenges. Thanks for reading!

[sunmaea]

Two rapid poems that I wrote during Notebook November. I like how these pieces turned out, so I thought I'd type them out here. i. When your world comes tumbling down do you find anything worth holding onto do you find that you have the wherewithal to love anything at all? Because I went to the places where the lights are so bright that you cannot see my words – YOU MUST GUESS AT THEM and that, believe me, shall be your folly. YOU MUST GUESS AT THEM. and the things i set aside as beauty and poetry conspired and became little more than myth... The second poem is under the cut since the formatting made it pretty long!

ii. i became very good at finding you when you had no desire to be found and i promise you that i regret that now i am sorry for all the pain i caused by refusing to let you stay hidden and i am sorry for the sad way that things worked out but since we are here and we are together forever until the end of time would it really kill you to smile My quick writer's note would be... I really love the word 'wherewithal'.

[sunmaea]

I had a wonderful (albeit slightly stressful!) time participating in the Notebook November event designed by @astorythatwritesitself. The aim of the challenge was to fill up a notebook over the course of November.

I opted to use one of the many, many notebooks I had in my stationery crate. My notebook was A6 in size and had about 80 pages (I think). Thankfully, those pages were fairly wide-ruled!

I actually began scribbling in my notebook on the 11th of November. It quickly became clear that I wouldn't be able to complete the book if I fastidiously stuck to only using it for plotting stories – which had been my original plan – so I tried to be flexible. That turned out to be much more fun and, interestingly enough, much more productive.

I completed the notebook on the 30th of November. Here are some of the pages (be awed by my dodgy handwriting):

A bit more about the photos:

The notebook itself. I think it came as part of a pack of three. I remember it being fairly cheap

A word search puzzle featuring a few fruits. Solve the word search and look at the remaining letters to find a secret message...!

A bit of poetry. I had fun using different colours. I've typed up the two poems to make them easier to read

Some strips of metallic washi tape. I also used a paper puncher to create some teeny hearts from the washi tape

A snippet of my initial plans for Four Choices, my 200-word RPG. It was so good to write this out by hand as I edited slightly more than usual

A snippet of my word count tracker for The 3-Day Novel, a challenge where I wrote 50,000 words in less than 72 hours. It's definitely one of the most ambitious writing challenges I've undertaken to date!

I hope to take part in Notebook November again next year!

[200-word-rpgs]

200 Word RPGs 2024

Each November, some people try to write a novel. Others would prefer to do as little writing as possible. For those who wish to challenge their ability to not write, we offer this alternative: producing a complete, playable roleplaying game in two hundred words or fewer.

This is the submission thread for the 2024 event, running from November 1st, 2024 through November 30th, 2024. Submission guidelines can be found in this blog's pinned post, here.

[sunmaea]

Declaration: I confirm that I am happy for Four Choices to be archived off-site.

Introduction

This is a one-player game.  The aim of Four Choices is to inspire the player (“You”) to overcome various scenarios.

Note: You may make any selection either knowingly or randomly. Build Your Base

First, select your weapon:

Sword

Staff

Spear

Shield

Now, select your assistant:

Eagle

Swan

Vulture

Canary

Next, select an element that you may utilise:

Fire

Water

Earth

Wind

Finally, select something to protect:

Your home

Your wealth

Your assistant

Your dream

Congratulations!  You have made four choices. How to Play

You will encounter between four and twelve scenarios.  You may select the difficulty level of each scenario: Easy / Normal / Hard / Severe.

Ask the following when encountering each scenario: How does this threaten what I am trying to protect?  Then, resolve the scenario in four steps. The Scenarios

You must overcome:

An argumentative mythical creature

An unforeseen weather event

An expensive, missing artefact

An irritating, recurring nightmare

An unlikely, powerful rival

An empty dinner table

A nurturing, arduous journey

A vacant crime scene

A demanding training session

A mandatory social event

A rare, wasted opportunity

A dear, long-lost friend.

Epilogue

Whether successful or unsuccessful, construct your epilogue.  Remember!  Your story does not end here.

[sunmaea]

I'm very pleased to be able to share 'The Tea Break' a short story that I wrote for Caffeine Rush. You can find the story on pp. 48-50 of the zine. Alternatively, you can read it here!

Summary: A group of English teachers discuss their classes during the mid-morning break.

You huddle around the kettle like witches circling a cauldron. Naomi fills her fox-shaped mug and immediately sips her Yorkshire Tea (it’s the type that has been specifically designed for hard water areas; after all, in this part of England, most brews are tinged with Essence of Limescale and Naomi, who moved only recently, is adjusting). “We just got to the Oliver Twist extract,” she says, setting the kettle back on its base. “They spent half the lesson screaming at a spider.” “A big one?” Amara’s voice is clogged. She tops up her lemon-and-ginger combo and wafts the steam towards her nose. “I saw a black widow in my kitchen last night.” Instinctively, you wince. “I’d die if I saw a black widow. They’re massive, aren’t they?” You take the kettle and pour water on your rooibos teabag. Redbush tea is naturally caffeine-free and, despite its delightfully woody taste, you think that this might be a mistake. You stayed up until 2 am playing a silly pizza game. The main reason you stopped, really, was because the cooldown mechanism kicked in and the vegetables would need a few hours to restock.

Amara has excellent reflexes: she hurriedly slides her mug onto a desk before turning away to sneeze. Five mini-explosions later, she emerges from the crook of her arm to insist, “Black widows aren’t actually dangerous. They’ll only bother you if you bother them.” “I would give anything for a cold,” grumbles Karina. She’s opted for peppermint. “My room stinks of damp and the children are even worse.” “Aren’t they dealing with that?” “No! Tom Bailey sent an email to say they have other priorities. They have given me a monstrous dehumidifier to keep me company.” You murmur, “Small mercies.” Naomi checks her watch. “Ten minutes,” she declares. “I told them to be back at eleven. If that Billy Blizzard ambles in with a burger again –” “I’m sorry. Billy who?” “Blizzard! I thought he was trying to be funny. But it’s on my register and everything.” Naomi picks up a custard cream and crams it into her mouth. Somehow, she manages to ask, “How’s your morning going?” Karina launches into a spiel about students turning up without pens, refusing to put their phones away, bickering bitterly over the seating plan – then, she relays that a tall girl came bursting into the room, scowled at her new English teacher and promptly stormed out again. “It was very strange,” Karina concludes. “I have never seen her before in my life.” “Pink skirt?” “Yes! How did you know?” “She stormed out and lambasted you in the corridor.” Naomi grins. “You’ve definitely seen her before. She swore at her mother at Induction and you told her to stop being a cow.” “Oh!” Karina starts. “I am surprised they let me get away with that.” Everyone laughs. You take another gulp of rooibos tea, smiling as Amara suggests hurling a black widow at the next student who spells ‘a lot’ as one word. Karina groans – so far, her students’ performances in the spelling tests have been dire. Naomi demolishes another custard cream. It’s a funny job, you think, making your way back to class. You spend most lessons oscillating between teaching and parenting. You dedicate unpaid lunches to ferrying students around the college, or ducking behind your laptop when your manager announces that there’s yet another spreadsheet to update. At home, you mark assignments or reply to emails or titivate PowerPoints. Every other weekend, you vent in the group chat about the nonsensical things that make you want to quit. Nevertheless, there are some perks. You have friends. And you look after each other in little ways, stocking the staffroom with biscuits and boxes of tea.

[bycmykae]

☕️ Brew yourself a cup of happiness and enjoy Caffeine Rush today.

167 page pdf filled with illustrations and writing

Personal Use Digital Merch

80 contributors

Download at: cmykae.itch.io/caffeine-rush

Featured Art by: @jackalopii | Hikari | @pumpkinsouppe

[sunmaea]

You huddle around the kettle like witches circling a cauldron. Naomi fills her fox-shaped mug and immediately sips her Yorkshire Tea (it’s the type that has been specifically designed for hard water areas; after all, in this part of England, most brews are tinged with Essence of Limescale and Naomi, who moved only recently, is adjusting). “We just got to the Oliver Twist extract,” she says, setting the kettle back on its base. “They spent half the lesson screaming at a spider.” Excerpt from The Tea Break by sunmaea

I had a wonderful time participating in Caffeine Rush, a zine organised by the incredible @bycmykae! This beautiful collection brings together writing and art to celebrate tea and coffee. If you love a caffeinated beverage, this zine is for you! The zine is being released on the 16th of November 2024!