Tuesday, June 11, 2019

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back



So…I almost finished the edits I’ve been working so diligently on and then I came to the part that prompted me to go back and edit in the first place. And then I dithered for a bit thinking I might have to make a map after all because my group was supposed to meet someone at this shrine, and I had no idea where the shrine was in relation to where my group was.

Then a light bulb went off over my head.

The shrine scene kinda bugged me and it suddenly dawned on me that this book hasn’t been published yet. I can go back and change anything I want. And trust me, I want!

So now I’m backtracking 30 pages or so to get rid of a couple more scenes I didn’t like. One of them I might be able to change enough to save, but I still feel like for every step I’m taking forward I’m taking two back. Am I ever going to get this book finished?

I hope so, because I’ve become so fixated on it that I can’t seem to focus on any other writing. And as I was falling asleep the other night I suddenly had all these ideas invade my brain for this science fiction series I came up with while I was still in high school. I laid all kinds of groundwork for it but eventually abandoned it, mainly because I just wasn’t mature enough as a writer to handle it. Then I wrote the first book for NaNo one year, but there were several sticking points I needed to overcome before I could give the series a go.

The notes I made the other night not only clear up the sticking points of that series, it also connects with my Elemental series (which is set further into the future) and I’ve figured out which of the three possible endings for the Elementals makes the best sense. Woot!

But first…Wandering Wizards must get finished!


Prompts of the Week

Last week’s prompts marked the end of my jar of prompts. It was a good idea, but it lacked proper execution. So until I come with better prompts for the jar (feel free to send me any of your own) I’m going to change things up a bit.

I have a large book I bought through Reader’s Digest called The Family Word Finder. Yeah, it’s pretty much just a big ole hardback dictionary, but it also contains the odd quote and word origin. Anyway, I’m going to pick five words at random, and the challenge is to use all five of them in whatever you write – poem, story, opinion piece, whatever.

For the second prompt…remember last year I talked about how the writing group I was part of used Archetype cards as prompts for some freewriting during our meetings? Well, I bought myself a deck and each week I’m going to pull one at random and share it with you for the second prompt.

And if these don’t work…well, I guess I’ll just have to come up with something else. :-D

Prompt One

Forestall
Review
Applause
Vocalize
Govern

Prompt Two
The Archetype cards are great for creating characters, but you can also create a story (or poem) using the attributes in the abstract. And really, you have three choices here: just the light attributes, just the shadow attributes, or a combination of both.

Child Eternal
Light Attributes: Determination to remain young in body, mind, and spirit. Ability to see things with fresh eyes.
Shadow Attributes: Inability to grow up and be responsible. Extreme dependency on others for physical security.


And remember, you don’t need to spend a lot of time on these, they’re just meant for fun. But if it turns out you like what you’ve written, then by all means keep going and turn your exercise into an actual story or poem or whatever.

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