I realised recently I wanted to start blogging more about writing – something which may not really interest many people [I don’t know? Let me know if you are interested in particular topics in the comments!] or be a popular thing to blog about but hey ho!
Writing is my ultimate bread and butter thing to do, bar reading. It’s the thing that makes me most excited – starting a new project or planning something out is always fun and challenging and full of ‘yes’ moments, sometimes followed by ‘oh no’ moments.
My 2018 goals has a fair few targets I’d like to reach this year so I figured I’d go through them here, separately, just to delve a little deeper.
1. Write two screenplays – When I did my degree I focused very strongly on create writing [duh!] and whilst I’m a huge movie fan I never really saw the appeal in writing screenplays. I love reading them, though? Anyway, I had to do a few during my studying and I really loved the challenge. Even writing two short movies would be a fun accomplishment for this year and I’ve got a bucket load of ideas! One, in particular, has been running through my mind for a while; a kind of little miss sunshine, she’s all that hybrid. Sounds fun, right? *chortle*
2. Finish writing/ editing two books in a three part series so I can start querying it – I’m currently in the throws of writing a trilogy. I’ve almost nailed down book two and book one is almost edited and ready for beta readers. The hardest part about writing is actually finding the time and energy to write. When it’s not your actual *job* you feel like it’s a waste of time because you’re never going to make it [hello self doubt!] but I’m trying to push through that!
3. Find an agent to represent my first novel – I’ll write more on this subject soon because it’s the worst part of the whole process and, I think, something people don’t really know much about? Suffice to say I’ve had no takers as of yet but I’ve not even scratched the surface of agents I researched so… onwards and upwards!
4. Self publish Etta part 2 – This came to a stand still and I’m kind of thinking it would be pointless to publish it now because no one would buy it? But it’s done, bar someone else proof reading and offering feedback so… if you’re interested? I enjoy writing this series just for fun, not to gain anything other than practice, and I don’t want to actually give up because I planned the whole series out. Every story. And there’s 8.
5. Write and illustrate ONE of my graphic novel ideas – this is an oldie and a newie. I have a series of which I’ve written 2 and a half of the stories out of 7 [why do I plan such long projects?!]. It’s pretty bad ass and there’s lots of violence and swearing and great characters with utterly terrible character traits. I love it so much but I want to illustrate it… the only thing is, my drawing isn’t great so? The second graphic novel idea came to me just the other day and I’ve been planning it ever since because I LOVE the idea. The only thing I think is… can I really spend time working on this this year as well as everything above?
Like I said, the hardest part about writing is the TIME you have to set aside. I need to come up with a schedule, that’s for damn sure! I love all my projects, though. I love character building and coming up with plots and finding links that seem too smart for my own brain to have invented? Does anyone else enjoy the writing process or do you plan and then never quite reach the end? I have ten books in my stock, now, just ready to be edited and the like so here’s to hoping, at some point, this can become my career so I can spend more time on it for reals!
Sam
Pretty Thoughtful Blog 
That’s a lot! I admire you for finding the time to work on all those projects 🙂
The best part of any story for me (from a reader’s point of view) is character development. I guess for the writer it must be really cool to work on it too.
I would love to know more about your writing process. Do you have an idea for a story, decide the end and work backwards from there? Do you focus on the characters and then build the story around them? Or do you just start from a beginning and see where it goes? Just curious – I think it would be really nice to read how you build a story.
PS: What do you mean your drawing isn’t so great? I saw some pretty awesome sketches on IG!
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I kind of wing it, I won’t lie! I’m a very intuitive person when it comes to creating stuff. The more planning I do the more I don’t enjoy the process! I like to tinker with things after it’s all done! I’ll write a blog post soon about my process!! ☺ also thanks – I love doodling faces and stuff but I’m not so good at anything else! 🤪
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I was in a screenwriting club in high school, and it was super fun. I think screenwriting so much in my past has given me more of a grasp of dialogue on the rare occasions that I write fiction now. We didn’t have the means to film anything, but it still made me very aware of making sure to write dialogue that was as natural as possible. I hope you enjoy yourself doing it! Also, please publish Etta 2 — I bought 1 last spring immediately after getting my Kindle and I need to know what happens next.
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Yes! It definitely makes you think more about dialogue! I’m a stickler for spending a lot of time trying to make it believable ☺ also Etta 2 will get published, I promise!
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