Jayda Louise

Writer. English degree, Creative Writing minor. ~Always ready and willing to answer your writing questions.~

[thejaydalouise]

The update no one asked for:

After asking around a few friends and groups, I decided to take a break from my historical fiction novel. I knew it needed some structural change, but after trying to force it for so long, I needed to take a step back. I sent my critique partner my beat sheet, and she helped me brainstorm some options for how to proceed when I’m ready. (Thanks, India, I ❤️ you.)

In the meantime, I’ve decided to develop the fantasy series I’ve been dying to work on for a while. It’s been brewing for easily 10 years, but I really started forming some concrete ideas last year. Now that I can devote all my creative energy to it, I’m diving right into the world building.

It’s nice to be in a creative fervor for the first time in a while, after being in the trenches (ha) of this other novel recently.

[thejaydalouise]

It's not a quitters attitude to take a break when you need one. You do what you need to do if you're feeling burned out and maybe fresher eyes will help you see why you're unsatisfied with your story!

I really appreciate this message. Sometimes it’s hard to put a story on pause. It feels like I’m giving up or admitting defeat, shelving a project instead of completing it. 

But I think you’re right. How can I expect to make something better when I feel like I can’t look at it anymore? I’m hoping a break will give me the chance to write something else, revisit the story with fresh eyes, fix what’s missing, and allow me to do the story justice. 

Thanks for the encouragement.

[thejaydalouise]

Bunny Hopping into Spring: March 2021 Reflection

Hello, friends! After posting my February updates so late this past month, I decided to really get on my March update. Here’s what’s been go

Meet my bunny! And enjoy other Marchy happenings.

[thejaydalouise]

Oop having a Crisis abt my WIP.

I’m starting to feel like the story doesn’t make sense structurally. Like, I followed Save the Cat! Writes a Novel to a T... and yet, I can’t help but feel I messed up. As I’m looking at it, I think the action happens too late in the story. It seems like everything needs to be shifted forward, if not restructured entirely to accommodate character development.

Fortunately, I’m currently in the early stages of Draft 2, so restructuring the plot and making any major changes is definitely doable.

But I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed and kinda burnt out on this story. Do I take a break and write something else to collect my thoughts? Or is that a quitter’s attitude?

[inkskinned]

Can we talk yet about how endings are actually extremely important. About how sometimes “giving the fans what they want” is actually “resolving the story in a logical and plot relevant way”. That “subverting expectations” doesn’t always mean you did a good thing - sometimes it means you fucked it up, royally.

There are plenty of extremely good stories that don’t end happily, and yet remain retold and loved and cherished. There are plenty that have ambiguous endings or sudden turns - but manage to stick the landing through careful setup.

There is an odd tension between writers and fans that has become popular - that the writers somehow know something deeper or have a better sense of plot or are somehow more cunning. That fans are stupid and foolish and don’t matter. This dichotomy would be buckwild in any other field. There’s this sort of weird feeling that… The writing staff is allowed to hate and mock and deride people who have the nerve to… Like the product? Can you imagine any other brand that would survive off of “gotcha” marketing? Sure, it’s funny for them… And kinda only for them. I know all the ironic assholes in the world love this shit - “haha! You liked something honestly! I know better because I’m smart so I never like things!” - but the world is really fucking boring & annoying & unfun when it is run by people who think like that.

But even taking fans OUT of the equation, as a writer, it’s frustrating for me to watch other writers not value their OWN MATERIAL. Like, they don’t rely on the narrative as interesting enough, as challenging enough - they think they need to end it in a “surprising” or “sudden” way in order for it to be groundbreaking. They think they need to “push boundaries” without recognizing that they are fundamentally altering and destroying the map that they have spent all this time painting.

I’m not saying I have to LIKE how something ends, or that all of my favorite characters have to live or whatever. But I AM saying that an ending is drawing a thesis line through your entire work. And recently the thesis for many, many shows/movies/etc has been - “you were a fool for caring about these characters”.

Anyway art survives its creators when it tells a story that feels honest and human in the audience it is talking to - not when it is only a monument to the artist’s ego. And the ending tells us - how heavy is the story we are carrying? And how much was this story a farce? And where will we let go?

[thejaydalouise]

If you didn’t know, I have a second channel (yes, I also have a first channel), where I post fun stuff about my life. Here’s what I did for Thanksgiving break!

[thejaydalouise]

Spooky and Safe: October 2020 Reflection

Hello, friends! I hope everyone had a fun October and safe Halloween. My post is a little late this month because, honestly, the end of the

Since I cannot remember to post blogs on here in a timely fashion, here’s my post from last month about the month before!

[thejaydalouise]

WIP Update

I haven’t talked about my WIP, Entrenched, in a while, and I certainly haven’t posted a WIP Wednesday in months.

Truthfully, I began rereading my first draft and realized I had a lot of changes to make. After doing a full reread, I’m working on completely rewriting the first draft. This is for two reasons.

1) There are some chapters that have changed entirely and must be redrafted.

2) The chapters that haven’t changed are being retyped, word by word, to ensure they are written exactly as I want them to be. I am re-examining every word from the first draft and intentionally copying them or adding new words.

My hope with this second draft is that I will retell the story correctly and can then go through and add threads or improve sections for the third draft. This means I won’t be able to update for WIP Wednesday for some time, but when I do, it’ll be a much more accurate portrayal of the story.

Until then, please enjoy how satisfying my printed first draft looks in its binder.

The cover is a photo taken from a magazine, which depicts a black and white memorial with the date “1918,” which happens to be the year my novel is set. The interior is sorted by 3 stacks of notecards in pink, orange, and green pinned to the beginning of each chapter. The notecards are color coded by whose perspective the chapter is written from. I hope you appreciate the organization as much as I do.

[writeouswriter]

If a picture is worth 1000 words and my nanowrimo project has a cast of like 6 characters and I make a picrew of each of them, then that’s 6 pictures, which means I’ll totally already have 6000 out of 50000 words, yep, yep

[thejaydalouise]

Welcome Fall: September 2020 Reflection

Hello, friends! With the end of September comes the beginning of fall, aka the best season of the year. While it doesn’t feel nice and crisp

Happy fall, folks! September was a month of work and fun alike.

[thejaydalouise]

New writing vlog about reaching my midpoint in the reread process and how I’m planning to change my approach in the future.

[thejaydalouise]

Summer’s End: August 2020 Reflection

Hello, friends! With summer coming to a close, this was my last month of free-floating through life. I’m wrapping up the fun and getting down to business, finally.

The bittersweet end to summer paves the way to a new professional life. We had a good run.

[thejaydalouise]

Summertime: Stories of June & July 2020

Hello, friends! I hope you’re ready for another combo post of the past two months of content. There’s been a lot to consume this summer. Let’s get into it.

I consumed a lot of content over the summer. Click hear to read my thoughts on New Moon, Tron, Hamilton, Folklore, and so much more.

[thejaydalouise]

The Only Ten I See: July 2020 Reflection

Hello, friends! We are past the halfway point of this hellish year. Congratulations to everyone who has made it this far. It’s been an absolute whirlwind. Here’s how my summer is going.

Catch up on my July trip to Tennessee!

[thejaydalouise]

Reminder:

Keep writing your story. Because someone needs it. And it’s okay if that someone is you.

[thejaydalouise]

Having the worst case of “shiny new idea syndrome.” I’ve been working on this same book for a year and a half and I’m exhausted. It doesn’t help that I’m reading the first draft and realizing how much I need to change to make it work.

All I want is to indulge in a newish idea that’s got me inspired. I’m really not trying to throw away all my hard work on this story, I’m just not feeling it at the moment.

What do you do when you have a new idea and just want to drop everything to go for it?

[secretkeeper007]

I go for it. I've realized that motivation is few and far between, so when I get super excited about writing something, even if it's something new while I'm already working on something else, I just gotta go for it.

I'm not saying you should abandon your current WIP for a new story, but at least write the first couple pages or so of the new idea, just enough to get the jitters out. Usually that's enough for me to want to switch back to the original WIP again. Your brain is just looking for something fresh

[thejaydalouise]

I appreciate this suggestion! Honestly, you’re right in that my brain just needs a break and wants to play with a new idea. I will work on indulging her and hope that will reignite my passion for the original story!

[thejaydalouise]

Having the worst case of “shiny new idea syndrome.” I’ve been working on this same book for a year and a half and I’m exhausted. It doesn’t help that I’m reading the first draft and realizing how much I need to change to make it work.

All I want is to indulge in a newish idea that’s got me inspired. I’m really not trying to throw away all my hard work on this story, I’m just not feeling it at the moment.

What do you do when you have a new idea and just want to drop everything to go for it?