For the past few years, I have been working very hard on improving my craft as a writer. My biggest achievement in this effort is my MFA in creative writing. All that work has certainly paid off. I've officially been published, I have a solid writing process that works best for me, and I have a much clearer idea of my path toward becoming a published novelist. The path forward is long but bright, and I do love me a cobblestoned road.
My efforts, however, have resulted in a writing process that is geared towards the goal of publication. There's nothing wrong with this, of course! That's literally the dream. But, when I sit down to write or edit or rewrite or revise and on and on... a part of me thinks back to the middle schooler who was so excited to come home to write the next chapter of my story.
When I was in middle school, I used to come home from school and run to my computer, eager to read the last chapter I wrote and to write the next one. I had no outline or plan. I just sat and let my characters show me what was happening in the story. I felt like I wasn't the writer but rather the messenger. I was the scribe that the stars chose to document the stories that they collect from other universes. I know that sounds pretty lame, but that's genuinely how I felt, and I loved it. Writing was not just a passion; it was a calling.
I think this is why I started to take creative writing classes in high school. The desire to be a better writer grew and grew, and the natural goal in sight was publication. Those goals I set for myself have turned me into the writer I am today, and I'm both proud of where I am and motivated to keep getting better.
Yet sometimes I really wish I could get back to that headspace. That pantser, curious younger me who would just sit down and wonder, "What happens next in the story?" and let my fingers fly across the keyboard.
In my mind, that mentality is the embodiment of my inner child. The young writer who opens herself up to the story and is happy to be along for the ride, offering her hands for service. And lately, I feel as though my inner child has been neglected. This year, I want to nourish her.
Every year, I participate in National Novel Writing Month and challenge myself to write 50,000 words. This challenge always lights a fire under me and delightfully forces me to recommit to my craft, but this year, I am writing a completely new story with the intention of not publishing it.
This challenge is difficult enough as it is, and though it is so helpful in getting a project done that you genuinely want published, I feel as though I have done plenty of that. I want to, instead, write just for the pure love and joy of it. No stress over publication or revisions or perfection, none of it.
I am writing a story for fun, and I am so excited about it!
So, what is this story? Drum roll, please!
Everland is a Peter Pan retelling that blends the fae and steampunk aesthetics in a fantasy adventure. Darcy Mae Wyngarden is a 20 year old auto-mail mechanic of the lower slums of Paris. After her twin brothers get snatched by shadow monsters, she flies to Everland with Petyr Peverell Pan to rescue them. The lively beauty and people of the kingdom bring a sense of new life and wonder to the parentified Darcy, but when reality comes crashing down on her, she has to not only fight the monsters terrorizing Everland but also her own inner demons to save her brothers, the kingdom, and herself.
Due to the controversy surrounding the NaNoWriMo organization, I have decided to no longer participate in the challenge using their tools and resources.
This year, I am so happy to be participating in Sarra Cannon's Rough Draft Challenge! I am taking on the 50,000 words Ruby Tier with Project Everland. I will be posting updates on Instagram, so be sure to follow me there if you want to keep up with how the challenge is going.
Best of luck to those of you who are also taking on a challenge this November. We've got this!
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