Writing Again
After a huge move across the country in May, and a month of adjusting, I have hit a writing sweet spot that (I hope) isn’t stopping any time soon. Read through for an exciting introduction.
From Ohio to Seattle in less than two weeks by car, my partner and I hit many sights, including the Corn Palace, the Badlands, and Devil’s Tower. The weather treated us kindly on our journey and our belongings made a safe trip of their own. After one night on the floor of our new apartment and the adoption of our beloved kitty Daisy, we are moved in and settling in. We have fallen in love with the city, grateful for the work we’ve found that will allow us to stay.
While my chronic illness threatens to put a damper on things, I have found myself on the other side of the spectrum I was at at the beginning of the year. You may have noticed a previous blog post about finding time for writing no matter what mood you’re in. Aside from the somewhat convoluted metaphor, I had a point and my optimism was not misplaced. The pendulum always swings the other way eventually. Now I’m writing more than 1,500 words a day. It’s been two days, but that’s more than I had been getting done in two weeks.
A huge boost in my writing activity has been thanks to a TikTok video I saw that a writer created to share how they motivate themselves. It’s a reward system that works based on word count. For instance, you get a prize for reaching 3,500 written words, another at 7,000, and so on. The value of the prize increases with word count. I customized my own chart to follow my writing goal of 30,000 words. Now, I made up some arbitrary mathematical system to break 30,000 words into 7 prizes, each milestone requiring more words than the previous one, with the exception of the last. See here:
Rewards:
3,600… Candy
7,500… Stationary
11,700… Coffee Shop Date
16,200… TikTok Shop Item
21,000… 1 Book
26,100… Date Night
30,000… Go to a fancy Book Store
It started by getting me to write every day. I was only getting 100 or so words out, but I was getting them out, and doing so consistently. This was a major help in getting the river of creativity flowing. I rode its soft trickle to a rushing stream that will hopefully lead to a raging waterfall.
What may surprise some people, but not many authors, all of this hard work has not been on Outkast. Sorry, Nana. So I suppose it’s time to share a different WIP that has occupied my brain since writer’s block put a halt to all Outkast progress.
The title (changed a few times already and is subject to change again) is Call of the Void. This is another YA Paranormal fiction novel like “Ripples.” As I do in anything I write in the mind of a modern teenager, the story’s themes rest in the stigmatization of mental health with a heavy trigger warning concerning the overwhelming focus on suicidal ideation. It begins with the main character’s attempt, but she gets stopped by a supernatural entity who doesn’t want to see her take her own life. Ultimately, the story begs the question of fate, of what happens if someone doesn’t pass when their time is up, especially when the person wants to go.
So that’s the update: a cross-country move, motivation to write, and a new blurb. Thanks for reading. I’ll try to keep you posted.
