#sunlightwriter

[nikkywrites]

hey!! I just wanted to ask you how often you'd like to receive questions this month! I know the original post said daily, but I want to make sure I don't overwhelm anyone so I figured I'd ask. I'm usually on a lot, but if you want them weekly, or every 2nd day instead, let me know! though if every day is ok thats good too!

Hey! I’m good with whatever. My main concern with daily is getting repeat questions but that’s not a huge deal, honestly. So do what works for you! Daily or bidaily, whatever. I’ll answer whatever comes in (and will do my best not to procrastinate answering any, but I make no promises). Thanks for dropping by to check! It’s very nice of you.

[nikkywrites]

here's ur underwing question!! todays question is about writer's self-care! what do you do to keep away creative burn-out? have you done one of those things in this past week? (if not here's ur reminder to please take care of urself!)

If I’m at a point where I don’t really want to push forward in a project/don’t know what to do next, I’ll read over the last bit or a few scenes to see if that sparks anything. If that doesn’t help, I’ll step away for a couple days at least and look back it later. Having a lot of WIPs is good for this. If one becomes frustrating, I can switch my focus to another.

As for when I get totally burnt out — I’ll just step away from writing for a bit. Watch a few episodes of a tv show or read or something. Writing was super iffy last week but got fixed over the weekend when I completely edited the Super Betrayal thing but it still has no title (and I’ll look over it again cause a couple parts are still a little scuffed). So I guess it got fixed when I looked at something I’d kind of forgotten about?

It doesn’t happen super often, though. I get a little antsy if I can’t write. I’ve been meaning to set a weekly writing goal so I have something to shoot for, but I have no idea what would be a good number to aim for. Thank you for the reminder, though! Much appreciated.

[afoolandathief]

here's ur underwing question!! today's question is about writer's self-care! what do you do to make sure you keep creative burn-out away? have you done that for yourself in the last week? (and take this as a reminder to take care of urself!)

*Jade and I simultaneously look up from our laptops in a daze* “Self-what-now?”

But in all seriousness, avoiding burn-out is something I really have to work on. I have a job that often exhausts the writing/creative part of my brain and has kind of the expectation of putting in long hours, absorbing traumatic events, and spitting out some text. Then, I try to write my own fictional work after that.

My boyfriend is really good about reminding me not to exhaust myself, that my fictional writing is supposed to make me happy, and that it’s okay to take a break. I generally write at the end of the day, so when I’m done it usually means going to bed; but going for a run or reading a book also help me recharge.

I’ve been off on vacation for this week, although I’ve been using the time to work more on Something Wicked. But having none of the other external pressures is nice.

If anyone does have tips on avoiding burnout specifically for WIPs, please let me know.

Also, thank you for this important reminder!

[afoolandathief]

Hey!!! Hope ur doing well!!! So for my question, how did Ruby and Jade meet? What is their dynamic like? has it always been the same dynamic or have they gone through a lot of changes since they met?

Hello, and thank you!

I haven’t gotten into it as much yet in the story, but Ruby worked at one of the casinos Jade was trying to sneak into when she was 17 or 18 and trying to make money with her abilities. Ruby recognized who she was (the local Seer and Myrina’s mentee) and used her glamour to help her fake an I.D.

Now the two most often see each other at their respective work at the casino: Ruby and her performances and Jade at her “job” playing poker. Ruby is a bit of a conduit for information about the Coven since Jade was kicked out, but also her friend and confidant.

Ruby is not exactly protective (she’s pretty confident in Jade’s abilities), but she’ll offer help with illusion magic whenever she’s able, and gather information to make sure certain vampires are alright for her friend to work with (in the form of going on date’s with them, but still).

[elliothandsomewitt]

heyyy so here's a question for the underwing challenge! i really like the grenadier and was curious if there's any fun dynamics he has that you're excited to write? i'm curious how he gets along with the others and if it changes a lot

Hey, Pheonix! You have unlocked a whole treasure trove!

I absolutely do love my little bombastic disaster so thank you for the opportunity to talk about him! Out of the three protagonists he's the one who's grown desensitized to violence, which puts him at odds with Ty right away. Four whole years he's been competing in the Contest - that kind of does something to a person, y'know? Having to watch the tentative friend-coworker relationships fall apart because someone's got a gun in their hands, over and over - he prefers not to think about it, which means most of his disgust has long since been repressed. It only partially registers with him that other people aren't like that, so when Ty objects to defending themself in fear that they'll end up killing someone, it just ends up a big circle of misunderstandings and arguements. But still, they defended their shop and him by extent, so he owes them now, in his mind, and that means helping them through whatever they've just gotten themselves into. Aside from the violence bit, he's got a solid moral compass, which does irritate Ty, because how can someone be so sure of what's right and wrong but then manage to bring someone to the brink of death? (He's on a personal journey to prove to Ty that he's worthy of respect despite it. It's gonna be a long one.)

Tina, on the other hand - she used to be BIG into the Contest. Her interest fell away as she got older and started taking on more responsibilities in the shop, but she's the first to sort of recognize exactly who the Grenadier is - and despite the seriousness of the situation, she's a little bit excited. It's not every day you get to meet a celebrity, yknow? It's not every day the celebrity invades your home and you get to interrogate them. It's really surprising for Gideon to meet someone who cares about him, even if it's only as fan/influencer type relationship - or it least, it starts that way. They become buddies officially late in the story, and share a habit of coping with humour. She's the one he ends up opening up to about his rocky past instead of his charge - you know, he hasn't had the chance to really do that to anyone in... years. Literal years. That's probably not good for his mental health. But then again, neither is the murder. He'll be okay. Maybe.

[afoolandathief]

hey!! I just wanted to ask you how often you'd like to receive questions this month! I know the original post said daily, but I want to make sure I don't overwhelm anyone so I figured I'd ask. I'm usually on a lot, but if you want them weekly, or every 2nd day instead, let me know! i really love what i'm seeing so far of something wicked!! its so fun

Hi, thank you for asking! I was going to say ask as often as you’d like, but there are more questions than anticipated, so every other day is fine by me. I’m glad you like what you’ve seen of SW!