Although I have been inactive for a while, I would like to share some great news with you.
About a month ago, my short story, Learning to Look Back, was given an honorable mention in a writing contest.
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I am beyond thrilled for this. If you don't know, I've submitted to this competition before, and LTLB did not get any honor. I revised, and now I'm featured on the list.
I want to keep submitting LTLB to other contests. No specific plans at the moment, but I will soon be posting calling for beta readers to make this even better. Be on the lookout if you're interested!
LTLB intro
LTLB tag list (ask to be +/-) @thepeculiarbird @mrbexwrites @mymomsaysbobcipher
If you're curious about more specifics about me, my blog, or other projects, feel free to read below:
Feel free to only read the parts that interest you :)
The Blog and Me
I have no plans to become regular on this blog any time soon as I get my life together, but I will come back whenever I have a larger writing update.
That being said, this community has been invaluable for me. The tag games motivated me to deep dive on specifics I never considered. Beta readers have helped me deeply think about my writing craft. I would never trade the time I had here for the world.
The reason I had to step away was for mental health. I'm doing better now, but I'm focused on other things outside of this site. I do believe in stepping away I have helped myself. I was worried about the wrong things, obsessed over notes, and tried very very hard to be a loyal member of the community by responding to every single tag. It eventually started to become an obligation instead of the fun it should have been.
I do want to come back, but it won't be like it used to be. I simply have other priorities, but I hope to get to the point in my life in which I am able to be more active without sacrifice. I miss you guys.
The Secret Portal... Draft Six
I am preparing for a massive overhaul of TSP. Thanks to many people's feedback and a lot of thinking for myself, I am slowly workshopping the following aspects:
Perspective. I have too many heads to hop across. It has become too much. Despite its 13 years as such, TSP will be converted to being in third person. I need to keep the perspective of the characters without confusing my readers on who "I" is pertaining to.
World building. I want Alium to be alive. I need to know every aspect of it. The science of the powers, the religions built around it, the creatures, the customs, the architecture, the holidays, the geography.... I'm not going to Tolkien it, but I will be ensuring that the world feels distinct and alive.
Occam's razor. Kinda with world building, but I have so many things that are way too complicated for no reason. Enough of that! I'm making it simple. Even if I have to abandon ideas. It's ridiculous.
Focus. I need to have my installments have a plot. Not that they don't have a plot, but they don't have ONE plot. I need to interweave the storylines and character arcs to be focused so the individual book feels like it's actually building to something. I feel like too much is going on but nothing is going on. Maybe that's overly critical, but it's how I feel.
Let it be clear: the core of what TSP is will NOT be changing. I love this series more than anyone on this planet does. But I need to let my baby grow without taking it so damn personally. If I am not satisfied with it, then I should change it! It's making me feel better knowing I'm doing it for myself and my audience. TSP has been held back for too long by my own stubbornness against change. It's time to take the training wheels off.
TSP intro
TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites
Been doing a lot of work on IWAJAD recently. Building different dream settings, symbols, and character work. I'm realizing Noemi is like...the dark version of Lexi. It's so fun.
Also, I'm gonna try dipping my toe into horror... Dreams are scary and poor Kyla is gonna go through it.
IWAJAD intro
IWAJAD tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @mrbexwrites @drchenquill
And for the Lexi shout-out...
TSP intro
TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @finchwrites
This won the poll by a huge margin. Wasn't expecting that! But I really wanted to get into this one. So here we go!
Basics
IWAJAD is planned to be a standalone YA speculative fiction/horror novel
Queer and POC representation
Only four members of the main cast with one first person present POV
Themes of coming of age, change, redemption, social status, peer pressure, reflection, queerness, and cutting out toxic relationships
About
IWAJAD follows popular 17-year-old Kyla Tran, top of her class in academics, and a bit of a stuck-up bitch
One night, Kyla has an intense, vivid dream with many layers she struggles to navigate that caused her to recognize the kind of person she is, how she became that way, and what to do to change it.
Important relationships include her best friend Noemi Romano, boyfriend Ty Savage, and classmate Phinessa Miyake
IWAJAD is full of hidden meanings, symbolism, absurdness, comedy, drama, and suspense as Kyla learns how to navigate her dreamscape and tries to keep track of what's real
Where Am I?
I've had an idea for a girl named Kyla Tran being trapped in a Dreamworld for many years, since I think eighth grade, but the concept of IWAJAD didn't solidify until my senior year
I have a working draft for IWAJAD in the form of a short story I wrote as my final for the creative writing class I took in my senior year of highschool
I've formed more ideas extending from the short story, and despite my focus on TSP, and even SOTL, I think I want to start drafting it again soon!
I will do research into dream psychology for the fun of it so I can have all kinds of crazy symbolism, so that's kinda what I'm focusing on now! After that, I need to make an outline for how the dream segments will be organized.
Tags
I tag IWAJAD related content as #it was all just a dream and #iwajad
While I don't have many posts on it, all characters listed above will have their own tag
When I do get to drafting it, I will use #iwajad update and #iwajad excerpt for self-explanatory reasons
Reply to or reblog this post or send me a message if you want to be added to or removed from the taglist!
@thepeculiarbird @mrbexwrites @drchenquill
I will be adding to this post later down the line!
Thanks to @rhikasa-archived here, @melpomene-grey here, @willtheweaver here, @the-golden-comet here, and @urnumber1star here!
Rules: fill out the bingo card for your WIP/OC, then use this bingo site to create your own!
Hey, guys, I'm back! Not consistently, but back! Been working on this very slowly for a while now, but I'm glad I can finally post it! Seriously - excited to have finished it!!
Filled in TSP, Kelsey, Maddie, Xitlali; blank SOTL and Carla
TSP filled out and blank
SOTL blank and filled out
Filled for SOTL, Jill, Waru, Ritchie, Mele; empty TEOS, Ash
Filled out TSP, blank Perspectives
Decided to fill these up for IWAJAD!
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One bingo!
It's funny that so many of these had friends to lovers when I'm pretty sure IWAJAD is the only main WIP where I don't have that trope! The only romance I have is truly Kyla and Ty, and they have to rekindle their romance as they become friends?
I'm gonna do a little idea that's temporarily called Eternity but I don't like that name anymore.
Thanks @paeliae-occasionally here, @frostedlemonwriter here, and @the-golden-comet here!
Shaking things up. This is from my final project back in my creative writing class in high school!
From "It Was All Just a Dream"
“Well, we’ve decided to give you all of these awards!” Ms. Dakota gestured behind her, and a man with long, dark hair in all black pulled out a wagon stacked high with awards.
“Wow,” I said. “Thank you, Keanu Reeves.”
Thanks @eccaiia here, @aalinaaaaaa here, and here, @drchenquill here, and @mysticstarlightduck here!
WIP Wednesday Rules: post something (anything!) about your WIP on a Wednesday
Writing Share Rules: share some writing!
Since I just posted an intro post for IWAJAD, why not post something about it?
I wrote an early draft in high school, so here's the opening! I'll refine it later....
“And the next award will be for the most influential person in our school,” said Ms. Dakota from the top of the stage. I was in the front row seat, waiting in anticipation. Ms. Dakota opened the envelope, pulling out a card. “Kyla Tran!”
I gasped as the room applauded around me. I heard the football team cheering, the artists hollering. Noemi beside me patted me on the back, encouraging me to my feet.
On the stage, Ms. Dakota gave me a hug. “We are all so happy that you’re at our school, Kyla. Whatever would we do without you?”
“I don’t know, Ms. Dakota,” I said.
“Well, we’ve decided to give you all of these awards!” Ms. Dakota gestured behind her, and a man with long, dark hair in all black pulled out a wagon stacked high with awards.
“Wow,” I said. “Thank you, Keanu Reeves.”
Keanu smiled at me and handed me one of the awards.
I gazed out into the audience. There had to be a few hundred people here. “Thank you. Thank you everyone. I’m so glad to be your most influential person. I’ve had the speech prepared, but I am so overwhelmed, that
I couldn’t speak. The lights were now off. No, my eyes were just closed. The stage was soft. Wait, I was lying down. The audience was still there. I felt them. I wanted to speak. Thank them for the award. Then I realized my head was on a pillow. The audience wasn't there. I didn’t have an award in my hand.
What was happening? Wait, didn’t--hold on, Keanu Reeves was there.
I was now aware that I was awake, but I refused to open my eyes. Maybe I could finish the dream so I could finish my acceptance speech.
My alarm wasn't going off. Great. I’d woken up before my alarm.
I promise that you'll never find another like me…. I know that I’m a handful, baby, uh….
Oh, there it is. I reached for my phone, blindly swiping the alarm left to stop the Taylor Swift song. It was Friday. No, wait, Thursday. Right? Wait, what happened yesterday? I stayed after school for volleyball. Yes, that happens on Wednesdays. Not Thursdays. Therefore, because that was yesterday, that means it was Thursday.
Unless it was Tuesday or Saturday. Practices were three times a week. Was it only Tuesday? Was I waking up this early on a Saturday?
No, yesterday was Thursday. No, wait, today was Thursday. Yes.
I feel like when I start the next draft I'll have a similar opening. Not exactly, but similar. It's gonna be in present tense though.
