Writeblr Challenge - Day #5
I've been working on my main WIP for longer than I care to admit 🥴 It has to be at least ten years. Of course not actively for that entire time, but it has certainly occupied a mental tab. I'd say I was pretty serious that first year, tucked it away to work on other projects, then picked it back up at the start of the pandemic.
I remember covering a work event, but I was stationed on the other side of campus and had no visitors. To pass time, I found myself down a Wikipedia rabbit hole researching various cryptids, mythology, etc. I compiled a list of dozens, categorizing them by type and habitat. The human characters came afterwards. Honestly, I was more interested in the world of these animals (still am) and just how the humans navigated that.
Many years later, with an opportunity to slow down and unable to leave the house, I decided to revisit the story, promising to finish it. I was making excellent progress, but couldn't break the story. Characters were lacking motivation and I couldn't stick the ending. It finally clicked during a coffee date with a best friend (also excellent writer!) and I was ready. My next kick in the butt was the release of Cryptozoo during Sundance 2021 (would recommend watching!).
I fully subscribe to that concept that an idea will only stay with you for so long before it moves into another creative. That was a sign.
A few months later, our friends decided to book a cabin and I knew that I would not be leaving until I wrote the words "The End." I spent every morning at that wooden table on the porch, racing through words and pages like I never had before - and I did it! One of my proudest moments.
