Any links to Amazon are affiliate links.1 • If this is your first time receiving posts from Diary of a Stage 3 Writer, you can find the origin post here, the full list of posts here, and you can fiddle with your subscription settings here.
In this issue:
Trusting Creative Mind
Writing Prompt
WWT Tool Kit Craft Card
Trusting Creative Mind
I’m cutting it close today, so this is probably going to be short.
I think last week or so I was saying something about how I had a new idea, but I wasn’t writing it yet. Well, that changed this week. I stopped receiving general ideas from Creative Mind, and instead, when I thought about the story, I started narrating. Like, you know, narrating setting and internal monologue and stuff.
Setting is usually the last thing that comes to me, and I have to cycle back and add it in. So I figured this was Creative Mind saying, Hey, Meg… how about we start writing this story?
The project I was working on was still putting along, but at a fairly slow and unsatisfactory pace, so I figured… why not. I’ll work on the new project and then touch the old project at some point before bed to keep it going.
Let’s just try it. Who knows until we try?
Well, Critical Mind wasn’t up for that, so I figured I’d still be writing the current project the next morning. But the next morning I didn’t feel like getting out of bed…
Until I started thinking about the new project: then I was up and at ‘em.
So that first day, I went through my notes and pulled out anything that sounded substantive to the story. Anything that could be a scene. I noted those things on notecards and then put them into a rough order.
That done, I asked myself if I wanted to do anything else, any of the other things I’ve been known to do when I prep a story:
Do you want to do a Myers-Briggs test for the MC? Nah.
Okay… do you want to read through the D’Costa books? Maybe later.
Alrighty then. Do you want to do anything else? Not really.
Okay. Are you going to be ready to write tomorrow?
No answer.
I took that as a yes, because Creative Mind is always ready. It’s Critical Voice and I who are the only ones who ever aren’t ready.
I prepped the document for the new story the night before. Chapter 1, ready to go. I left it open along with the current project’s draft so that we could just work on whichever one Creative Mind wanted to work on.
So I get up the next morning and Creative Mind goes straight for the blank page.
I get 5900 words. I’ve never gotten 5900 words.
It’s now day two, and I’ve got 3900 words. I’m writing short, and I’m already staring down Plot Point 1. At this rate, I could finish in six more days.
And I’m not done yet. For the day, I mean. I’m eager to do more.
So I’m going to go keep writing now. We’ll assess this all later.
Hope you’re having as much fun as I am…
Writing Prompt
Character: THE SAGE (The Seeker of Truth)
Light Attribute: Uses vast knowledge, wisdom, and intuition to guide others and seek objective truth, acting as a clear, nontoxic source of information.
Shadow Attributes: Becomes overly detached and cold; hoards knowledge for self-gain or uses it to manipulate, convinced they know best for everyone.
Setting: An ancient, sun-dappled library or archive.
Object: An unlocked, leather-bound journal, a magnifying glass, a faintly glowing crystal.
Emotion: CALM. Serene, tranquil, centered.
WWT Tool Kit Craft Card
As mentioned before, I’m making a deck of craft cards to quickly remind myself of techniques while also having a convenient place to keep track of elements like character, conflict, and theme specific to each story. This week’s card is a reminder about all the tools besides craft tools that can help you keep writing.
Thank you for reading!
I hope this helped you, and I hope your writing goes well this week.
Keep at it,
Megan
WritesWithTools
site: writeswithtools.com
ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/writeswithtools
wishlist: http://tinyurl.com/WWTWishList
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, and links to amazon.com are affiliate links, meaning that if you make a purchase through a link, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps support my work and allows me to continue writing for you. Thank you for your support!