QUESTIONS FOR YOU: 1. Do you ever feel uncomfortable when a major change occurs in your writing? 2. How have you developed since you first started writing? 3. How do you track progress of your WIP? TIMESTAMPS: 0:00 - Intro 0:46 - How I've changed as a writer 2:02 - How I solved writer's block in a scene 3:22 - My morning writing plans & re-reading my WIP 4:16 - Tracking progress in my WIP 5:33 - Struggling to write a short story 8:09 - When progressing in a book is uncomfortable 11:36 - Writing the end of a book sucks when you're a pantser (?) 12:54 - Making progress & my first book signing! 16:29 - Reading (cute) excerpts from my WIP
1. No. I welcome change but I do get annoyed when it happens very often bc it feels like I can't stick to my ideas. However I've recently realized that I was just in the process of figuring out the structure of my story and who my character was. If I'd known either of those from the start, I probably wouldn't have had such a turbulent time. 2. I understand structure better. I know when something is boring. I am either less or more in awe of the simple ability to write words, so I write fewer that I appreciate more. That is confusing. 3. Voice notes
As someone who hates drafting, I feel for you. 1. It's not a bad thing to be afraid, or even uncomfortable when it happens, but it's like a growing pain. And you're a hermit crab looking for your next home, while hulling the old shell right behind you. It feels like I'm exposed, vulnerable, going to be eaten alive when I'm doing something new with my writing. Whether that's technique-wise, in the kind of writing of I'm doing, new characters/settings, some combination of all the above, or even none of them because my perspective has changed in some way. And it's during moments like that, I've heard you've got to be patient and give yourself grace as you're "taking up space in your new home" and having it be "lived in." And, because I'm not that kind or patient with myself if I'm being completely honest, something that helps me get through it is knowing I'm not being stagnant. That I'm not growing too comfortable that I've boxed myself into something and won't outgrow from the circle; that I'm still looking for my next adventure even though I could grow comfortable and think I know and have done everything I could ever want with my writing. 2. Let's see...In 2011, I was under the notion that big, DRAMATIC, whirlwind, ROLLER-COASTER emotions in a story meant you wrote a good story. Which, well. There is a way to do it, but 2011 me didn't know how xD Describing journey to now, I'll use an acting thing as a comparison. I know in the theatrical sense, audiences often remember the big, showy, emotional, the raised voices of tension-grabbing, cheek-slapping performance and would think, "By golly, that person knows how to act." While equally in the same arena, not more important but just as important, audiences might not always remember but performances like this will stick with them far longer than they might now -- it's the performances that are quiet, subdued, as if a character put a leash around their heart and have yanked it back, and you might see a twitch of the thumb in doing, but you rarely see a quick jolt to yank the heart out of a moment. I like to think that I've been growing more to that quiet area. Not because it's easy or that it's necessarily harder than being bombastic in writing. But because I like the idea of something quiet on the surface, but hooks into you where you least expect it, and exploring what does that do to the reading experience. I think you can write a phenomenal story that's more of a simmering pot of water than a pot of water about to explode off the kitchen stove. 3. Vibes. Word count means nothing. Plot beats are a suggestion. Arcs are a thing that goes into it, but not consciously thought about. I just use vibes. Or rather, I mostly use vibes and depending on what I'm doing, I may use the other metrics to gauge an idea of what I have left and where I want to go. I don't use the other metrics often because I've mostly been writing as a reader, than writing as a writer. I'm writing what I want to read, not necessarily what I want to write -- if that makes any sense. So the reading experience plays a huge role in letting me track what I want to fix, where I want to go, how I want to approach something, and so on. And it's from this reading experience, I get a better idea of how long certain things can be and where the story starts and ends because I'm picking up what feels natural for the work.
You always leave the best comments 😭 thank you for sharing all your knowledge! Progress by vibes is an amazing idea, lol! I think that’s what I usually do too, that’s interesting!
another vlog, another slay!! i also listen back to my writing using text-to-speech :D it's honestly a great way to edit but even just to enjoy your story in a fresh way. and those excerpts you shared are SO lovely!! 💛
Congratulations on the book signing! Your excerpts are amazing! You really love your characters. Interesting re: short stories. I might try writing every other month or every third month as well. It seems a bit less stressful than what I did last year. Btw, the very first story I wrote for the one a month short story/flash fiction challenge last year (January 2022) is finally being published soon. So excited! 🎉
Thank you, it was so surreal having people come up to me lol! Definitely an author moment! Also happy you like the excerpts, I do love my babies! I’m doing every other month short stories and I think that’s working out tbh! Also YAY pls link me when it comes out!
This video is so refreshing! It came just at the right time because I had some struggling with my new novel. I'm a Plantser and started using the STC-Beats for my story. That way I have beats as guide lines but still have enough room to explore my story as it's coming to me :) The thing is that I need to learn to work with these STC-Beats so that I'm really comfortable with them. That's a bit of a journey, let me tell you :P But it's nice to know others are struggling as well and that creating a story is NOT a piece of cake but actually a mess with a lot of doubts and sometimes tears. As to your questions: 1. Yes, major changes do feel uncomfortable when I planned otherwise because then I feel I need to change EVERYTHING. That's the reason why I stopped plotting everything in detail. 2. I started writing about twenty years ago (my own stories) and the growth is amazing! I matured in so many ways and am proud that it shows in my stories :) 3. I do track my progress in my Writing Bullet Journal. Also in Papyrus Author on my Thinking Boards. I want to start a Bullet Journal for each novel that I'm writing and put everything in there from start to publication :) Excited to see how that turns out :D And YAY!!! A collar with Ana Neu!
i havent seen anyone share a snippet, so i will! this is from a project that i cannot talk about that will hopefully be published in october! this is from the very first chapter ♡ "Catching snowflakes on her tongue in the midst of a winter storm was both foolish and freeing. The cold bit at the bronze exposed skin, numbing her limbs, nose and ears quickly growing cold. Yet, with every visible puff of breath, Etta didn't care. She was bathing in moonlight, holding what she treasured most to her chest. Finally, she was free. That freedom tasted like snowflakes and a bitter chill beneath the full moon, standing in stolen silks. It was delicious." i will now dissapear ♡
Oh my god the “I’m doing e v i l things” is so relatable. I love the way the excerpts mirror each other - I love doing that in my own writing too. You can really feel their friendship and how much they care about one another - so cuteee!! I’m working towards finishing my novel before my summer holidays end (I live in Australia haha) - I’m going into my first year of university! I’m doing Bachelor of Arts and I wanna major in creative writing. I’ve got an excerpt from a short story I’m working on that I think would be okay to share (the story is called She Eats Dead Animals and I basically wanted to capture as much chaotic unhinged bisexual woman energy as possible) She arrives by a tree and sets the fox down at the base of the trunk and whispers to him about the woman her boyfriend is having an affair with. She’s seen a photo of her. She’s all bronze skin with toned muscles and movie star legs. She has a tattoo sleeve filled with roses and a red dragon on her back. She’s pulling down her sunglasses to reveal her eyes. Blue and so electric, she feels stung by the current when she looks at her. Her eyeshadow is smoky and in the shade café noir. Her lips are slightly parted and her tongue is pressed to her top canines. Her hair is windswept and tousled and effortless. She shovels away the top layer of earth. It takes a while, but she has done this many times before. She has developed her technique. She buries the fox and whispers to him that she doesn’t know whether to hate this glorious woman or love her with such burning passion that she implodes. All the best for finishing Seventh Virtue!! Looking forward to your next video ❤
Ahh your excerpt is AMAZING! The title is fantastic too! Also thanks for your kind words, I think Reeve and harrison’s friendship is one of the most precious things in my life 😭😭❤️
I've bee stalling starting my third act since some time early december. I got through act two like a freight train, but suddenly here, I should introduce a new setting and my characters' immediate problems are going to change in big ways, so I ABSOLUTELY feel you on horrible issues all boiling down to 'I don't want to write new things waa' 😂 yesterday I fiiiiinally forced myself to wrap up the third repetitive session of filler with 'and then they saw the outline of the city come on' because I've GOT to start writing the third act for real.
1. No, not really because for me I feel as if, one I haven't really had any major changes and two the ones I have had have been to better my writing, so no. 2. Well, I finished my first ever story today, it's a short story which I incidentally also started today. I'm pretty proud of myself, for doing that. This short story was actually easy to write as it just flew from me. So zero draft is done, and I'm going to start the first draft (one day, dk when lol). 3. In all honesty, I don't. I don't track the progress of my WIP, I just internally know where I'm at. So...yeah. Congrats on the book signing. The excerpts of Harrison and Reeve are so...I can't think of the word, but like ... it's so cool to see their relationship and how much they care for each other.
1. It depends on how confident I feel about my plan for the story after the gears change-- like if I know what I want to come next, I'm usually pretty excited to hit milestones. But if it's like a blank space where I gotta just figure out Point A to Point B it can be like pulling teeth Dx 2. Hmmm, I'm not sure! I hope my writing has gotten less melodramatic and my characters actions are more natural-- I think those have been weak points for me historically. Meanwhile I feel I got a good handle on sentence flow early on, though I do have a few recurring patterns that I fall into, especially when trying to write punchy, emotional moments. 3. I tend to just do a day's progress note-- write down the date I was writing, the starting word count for that day, the amount of new words, and the total. But I don't archive them, I just rewrite the digital sticky note. I don't have any new snippets, as I've mostly been brainstorming with a little mini outlining lately. But! I got pointed toward a short story call that'll be opening in March that's in my wheelhouse (ie robots), and I'm hoping to write something for that this month!!
1. iii don't know? i struggle with identifying my emotions, or remembering things in general, so i can't really answer this question. i think, theoretically, i would feel quite uncomfortable with major changes in my writing since it's like, one of the few constants in my life and i cling to it maybe a bit too hard, but in practice, i don't know
QUESTIONS FOR YOU:
1. Do you ever feel uncomfortable when a major change occurs in your writing?
2. How have you developed since you first started writing?
3. How do you track progress of your WIP?
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - Intro
0:46 - How I've changed as a writer
2:02 - How I solved writer's block in a scene
3:22 - My morning writing plans & re-reading my WIP
4:16 - Tracking progress in my WIP
5:33 - Struggling to write a short story
8:09 - When progressing in a book is uncomfortable
11:36 - Writing the end of a book sucks when you're a pantser (?)
12:54 - Making progress & my first book signing!
16:29 - Reading (cute) excerpts from my WIP
1. No. I welcome change but I do get annoyed when it happens very often bc it feels like I can't stick to my ideas. However I've recently realized that I was just in the process of figuring out the structure of my story and who my character was. If I'd known either of those from the start, I probably wouldn't have had such a turbulent time.
2. I understand structure better. I know when something is boring. I am either less or more in awe of the simple ability to write words, so I write fewer that I appreciate more. That is confusing.
3. Voice notes
rachel gesturing with a random popsicle as she explains her books has become my new favourite thing.
LMAO 😂😂 one thing about me is I’m a popsicle FIEND
As someone who hates drafting, I feel for you.
1. It's not a bad thing to be afraid, or even uncomfortable when it happens, but it's like a growing pain. And you're a hermit crab looking for your next home, while hulling the old shell right behind you. It feels like I'm exposed, vulnerable, going to be eaten alive when I'm doing something new with my writing. Whether that's technique-wise, in the kind of writing of I'm doing, new characters/settings, some combination of all the above, or even none of them because my perspective has changed in some way.
And it's during moments like that, I've heard you've got to be patient and give yourself grace as you're "taking up space in your new home" and having it be "lived in." And, because I'm not that kind or patient with myself if I'm being completely honest, something that helps me get through it is knowing I'm not being stagnant. That I'm not growing too comfortable that I've boxed myself into something and won't outgrow from the circle; that I'm still looking for my next adventure even though I could grow comfortable and think I know and have done everything I could ever want with my writing.
2. Let's see...In 2011, I was under the notion that big, DRAMATIC, whirlwind, ROLLER-COASTER emotions in a story meant you wrote a good story. Which, well. There is a way to do it, but 2011 me didn't know how xD
Describing journey to now, I'll use an acting thing as a comparison. I know in the theatrical sense, audiences often remember the big, showy, emotional, the raised voices of tension-grabbing, cheek-slapping performance and would think, "By golly, that person knows how to act." While equally in the same arena, not more important but just as important, audiences might not always remember but performances like this will stick with them far longer than they might now -- it's the performances that are quiet, subdued, as if a character put a leash around their heart and have yanked it back, and you might see a twitch of the thumb in doing, but you rarely see a quick jolt to yank the heart out of a moment.
I like to think that I've been growing more to that quiet area. Not because it's easy or that it's necessarily harder than being bombastic in writing. But because I like the idea of something quiet on the surface, but hooks into you where you least expect it, and exploring what does that do to the reading experience. I think you can write a phenomenal story that's more of a simmering pot of water than a pot of water about to explode off the kitchen stove.
3. Vibes. Word count means nothing. Plot beats are a suggestion. Arcs are a thing that goes into it, but not consciously thought about. I just use vibes. Or rather, I mostly use vibes and depending on what I'm doing, I may use the other metrics to gauge an idea of what I have left and where I want to go. I don't use the other metrics often because I've mostly been writing as a reader, than writing as a writer. I'm writing what I want to read, not necessarily what I want to write -- if that makes any sense. So the reading experience plays a huge role in letting me track what I want to fix, where I want to go, how I want to approach something, and so on. And it's from this reading experience, I get a better idea of how long certain things can be and where the story starts and ends because I'm picking up what feels natural for the work.
You always leave the best comments 😭 thank you for sharing all your knowledge! Progress by vibes is an amazing idea, lol! I think that’s what I usually do too, that’s interesting!
another vlog, another slay!! i also listen back to my writing using text-to-speech :D it's honestly a great way to edit but even just to enjoy your story in a fresh way. and those excerpts you shared are SO lovely!! 💛
Yesss, I love listening to my work, it’s so helpful! Thanks Kris ❤️❤️❤️
OMGGG those excerpts!! so beautiful!!! my heart just💓
omg thank you
Yess!!
Congratulations on the book signing! Your excerpts are amazing! You really love your characters. Interesting re: short stories. I might try writing every other month or every third month as well. It seems a bit less stressful than what I did last year.
Btw, the very first story I wrote for the one a month short story/flash fiction challenge last year (January 2022) is finally being published soon. So excited! 🎉
Thank you, it was so surreal having people come up to me lol! Definitely an author moment! Also happy you like the excerpts, I do love my babies! I’m doing every other month short stories and I think that’s working out tbh! Also YAY pls link me when it comes out!
Love watching these vlogs they’re so motivating and u got this!!❤🎉
This video is so refreshing! It came just at the right time because I had some struggling with my new novel. I'm a Plantser and started using the STC-Beats for my story. That way I have beats as guide lines but still have enough room to explore my story as it's coming to me :) The thing is that I need to learn to work with these STC-Beats so that I'm really comfortable with them. That's a bit of a journey, let me tell you :P
But it's nice to know others are struggling as well and that creating a story is NOT a piece of cake but actually a mess with a lot of doubts and sometimes tears.
As to your questions:
1. Yes, major changes do feel uncomfortable when I planned otherwise because then I feel I need to change EVERYTHING. That's the reason why I stopped plotting everything in detail.
2. I started writing about twenty years ago (my own stories) and the growth is amazing! I matured in so many ways and am proud that it shows in my stories :)
3. I do track my progress in my Writing Bullet Journal. Also in Papyrus Author on my Thinking Boards. I want to start a Bullet Journal for each novel that I'm writing and put everything in there from start to publication :) Excited to see how that turns out :D
And YAY!!! A collar with Ana Neu!
Awww I’m happy you enjoyed thank you for watching! And these answers are great, I love the idea of having a writing bullet journal!
i havent seen anyone share a snippet, so i will! this is from a project that i cannot talk about that will hopefully be published in october! this is from the very first chapter ♡
"Catching snowflakes on her tongue in the midst of a winter storm was both foolish and freeing. The cold bit at the bronze exposed skin, numbing her limbs, nose and ears quickly growing cold. Yet, with every visible puff of breath, Etta didn't care. She was bathing in moonlight, holding what she treasured most to her chest.
Finally, she was free.
That freedom tasted like snowflakes and a bitter chill beneath the full moon, standing in stolen silks.
It was delicious." i will now dissapear ♡
“She was bathing in moonlight” omg amazing! Thanks for sharing!!!
hehe thank you!
These contents are so useful ❤
Oh my god the “I’m doing e v i l things” is so relatable. I love the way the excerpts mirror each other - I love doing that in my own writing too. You can really feel their friendship and how much they care about one another - so cuteee!!
I’m working towards finishing my novel before my summer holidays end (I live in Australia haha) - I’m going into my first year of university! I’m doing Bachelor of Arts and I wanna major in creative writing. I’ve got an excerpt from a short story I’m working on that I think would be okay to share (the story is called She Eats Dead Animals and I basically wanted to capture as much chaotic unhinged bisexual woman energy as possible)
She arrives by a tree and sets the fox down at the base of the trunk and whispers to him about the woman her boyfriend is having an affair with. She’s seen a photo of her. She’s all bronze skin with toned muscles and movie star legs. She has a tattoo sleeve filled with roses and a red dragon on her back.
She’s pulling down her sunglasses to reveal her eyes. Blue and so electric, she feels stung by the current when she looks at her. Her eyeshadow is smoky and in the shade café noir. Her lips are slightly parted and her tongue is pressed to her top canines. Her hair is windswept and tousled and effortless.
She shovels away the top layer of earth. It takes a while, but she has done this many times before. She has developed her technique. She buries the fox and whispers to him that she doesn’t know whether to hate this glorious woman or love her with such burning passion that she implodes.
All the best for finishing Seventh Virtue!! Looking forward to your next video ❤
Ahh your excerpt is AMAZING! The title is fantastic too! Also thanks for your kind words, I think Reeve and harrison’s friendship is one of the most precious things in my life 😭😭❤️
Omg thank youu!! Titling is not my forte - whenever I hear your titles for your stories I’m always like how did she come up with that??
omg The Giver has owned my sooouul lately, that scene must be heartbreaking lmaooo
omg yay somebody who knows this song!!! lol it is RIP HAHA
I've bee stalling starting my third act since some time early december. I got through act two like a freight train, but suddenly here, I should introduce a new setting and my characters' immediate problems are going to change in big ways, so I ABSOLUTELY feel you on horrible issues all boiling down to 'I don't want to write new things waa' 😂 yesterday I fiiiiinally forced myself to wrap up the third repetitive session of filler with 'and then they saw the outline of the city come on' because I've GOT to start writing the third act for real.
LOL new things suckkkk but they’re also fun! When I get used to it 😂 good luck pal!
1. No, not really because for me I feel as if, one I haven't really had any major changes and two the ones I have had have been to better my writing, so no.
2. Well, I finished my first ever story today, it's a short story which I incidentally also started today. I'm pretty proud of myself, for doing that. This short story was actually easy to write as it just flew from me. So zero draft is done, and I'm going to start the first draft (one day, dk when lol).
3. In all honesty, I don't. I don't track the progress of my WIP, I just internally know where I'm at. So...yeah.
Congrats on the book signing. The excerpts of Harrison and Reeve are so...I can't think of the word, but like ... it's so cool to see their relationship and how much they care for each other.
Ahh congrats on finishing your first story!!!! And thank you for your kind words on the excerpt, they are a joy to write ❤️
@@rachelwritesbooks Thank you!
1. It depends on how confident I feel about my plan for the story after the gears change-- like if I know what I want to come next, I'm usually pretty excited to hit milestones. But if it's like a blank space where I gotta just figure out Point A to Point B it can be like pulling teeth Dx
2. Hmmm, I'm not sure! I hope my writing has gotten less melodramatic and my characters actions are more natural-- I think those have been weak points for me historically. Meanwhile I feel I got a good handle on sentence flow early on, though I do have a few recurring patterns that I fall into, especially when trying to write punchy, emotional moments.
3. I tend to just do a day's progress note-- write down the date I was writing, the starting word count for that day, the amount of new words, and the total. But I don't archive them, I just rewrite the digital sticky note.
I don't have any new snippets, as I've mostly been brainstorming with a little mini outlining lately. But! I got pointed toward a short story call that'll be opening in March that's in my wheelhouse (ie robots), and I'm hoping to write something for that this month!!
Ahh I love how you track progress-I’ll have to try that!
"it's going to be the last part of the book . . .i hOpE" felt
LOOL I’ve been writing the last 20k of the book for the last 80k words 😂😂😂
1. iii don't know? i struggle with identifying my emotions, or remembering things in general, so i can't really answer this question. i think, theoretically, i would feel quite uncomfortable with major changes in my writing since it's like, one of the few constants in my life and i cling to it maybe a bit too hard, but in practice, i don't know
Omg I also cannot identify my emotions 😂 you’re not alone there! Thanks for sharing ❤️❤️
first yaaaaas
Yay hello!!
@@rachelwritesbooks