Hey everyone! So I thought that I'd start a new segment: writing prompt of the month! Here, I'll share a writing prompt (a picture, sentence, a couple words) for all of us to use as we will, and I'll include my own short take on the writing prompt next month! I thought it might be a fun way for you all to get to know my writing, and to jump start your own motivation. This week's writing prompt is...(drum roll please...)
Outer Space, Cats + Love
Friday, March 25, 2016
Friday, March 18, 2016
Origin Story: How Sorcera was Conceived
I've been writing for a long time, and when I first began writing, my stories were always based off me and my friends--cliche and silly, I know, but it was an easy way for an elementary-school student to create characters, and even now I wish me and my friends could kick ass off in some far-away galaxy or alternate universe. As I began to get more serious about my writing, I drifted away from that, but returned to it in my first draft of Sorcera. So yes, folks, originally, the four main characters were based off of me and three of my best friends.
Now, of course, these characters are more "dedicated" to my friends--they react to situations differently and are definitely their own people in their world. Nonetheless, Sorcera originated as a way for me to write about my friends having fun.
The first draft of Sorcera actually had very little plot at all. My idea had been to write about a group of quirky witches who lived in a gigantic, magical library, and got into all sorts of shenanigans in New York City together--there were no villains and no true underlying story at all. Just cute, fun witches. Indeed, I have written short stories all about them just having fun! When I decided to start writing it, I realized I needed more plot than singular chapters about them messing around, so I created Storm and the prophecy of the Complete.
So there you have it, folks. Before there was Sorcera, there was shameless self-insert fanfiction written by yours truly. And then there was cute witches who didn't have any cares in the world. Hope this was at least mildly interesting--I think it just goes to show that ideas can really come from anywhere, you just have to start writing.
Where did you get the inspiration for your current work-in-progress?
Kekai
Now, of course, these characters are more "dedicated" to my friends--they react to situations differently and are definitely their own people in their world. Nonetheless, Sorcera originated as a way for me to write about my friends having fun.
The first draft of Sorcera actually had very little plot at all. My idea had been to write about a group of quirky witches who lived in a gigantic, magical library, and got into all sorts of shenanigans in New York City together--there were no villains and no true underlying story at all. Just cute, fun witches. Indeed, I have written short stories all about them just having fun! When I decided to start writing it, I realized I needed more plot than singular chapters about them messing around, so I created Storm and the prophecy of the Complete.
So there you have it, folks. Before there was Sorcera, there was shameless self-insert fanfiction written by yours truly. And then there was cute witches who didn't have any cares in the world. Hope this was at least mildly interesting--I think it just goes to show that ideas can really come from anywhere, you just have to start writing.
Where did you get the inspiration for your current work-in-progress?
Kekai
Friday, March 11, 2016
Website Review: Young Writer's Society
Hi everyone! This week I'll be talking to you all about a site that I used to use for writing: Young Writer's Society. It's what you might expect: young authors use it to share their writing and get good feedback. Today I'll be going over what I liked, and what I didn't like about this platform!
Part 1: The Bad
On the whole, there isn't much to complain about when it comes to YWS. One thing I would say, however, is that there are definitely ways that the interface could become more streamlined as a whole. My favorite sites operate easily and efficiently, and there were times that YWS didn't do this. I know there's a huge privacy aspect, which I like, but the permanence of things like usernames didn't sit very well with me. I like to make my profiles more customized and personal to me. However, this could definitely be a personal preference.
Part 2: The Good
There's a lot of great things I could say about YWS. I actually consider it one of the best writing communities I've ever been involved with. First and foremost, it is SO EASY to get feedback on your work. People have to write a certain amount in each review, and it's in your best interest to review other work. There are periodic review-writing competitions where people are put on teams to see who can review the most work. It makes reading other people's work fun, and your work gets plenty of reviews in the process. YWS also has a great forum system ran by a lot of different people, where you can talk about basically anything under the sun. It's very easy to make friends on YWS. People there are kind and really honest, they want to give you the best feedback they can.
Overall I'd say this is a great website if you're looking for more feedback as a young author. Try it out!
Kekai
Part 1: The Bad
On the whole, there isn't much to complain about when it comes to YWS. One thing I would say, however, is that there are definitely ways that the interface could become more streamlined as a whole. My favorite sites operate easily and efficiently, and there were times that YWS didn't do this. I know there's a huge privacy aspect, which I like, but the permanence of things like usernames didn't sit very well with me. I like to make my profiles more customized and personal to me. However, this could definitely be a personal preference.
Part 2: The Good
There's a lot of great things I could say about YWS. I actually consider it one of the best writing communities I've ever been involved with. First and foremost, it is SO EASY to get feedback on your work. People have to write a certain amount in each review, and it's in your best interest to review other work. There are periodic review-writing competitions where people are put on teams to see who can review the most work. It makes reading other people's work fun, and your work gets plenty of reviews in the process. YWS also has a great forum system ran by a lot of different people, where you can talk about basically anything under the sun. It's very easy to make friends on YWS. People there are kind and really honest, they want to give you the best feedback they can.
Overall I'd say this is a great website if you're looking for more feedback as a young author. Try it out!
Kekai
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
My Favorite Writing Playlists
Hey everyone! Sorry it's been a long time, school has been ABSOLUTE HELL the past few weeks. Sometime soon, I'll write a bunch of posts and queue them, so that you guys have something fresh every week at least. :) For now, here is a quick, fun little post!
I don't know about you all, but I really love writing to music. Today, I thought I'd share with you my favorite writing playlists, all from 8tracks. Please feel free to leave me comments with your own favorite playlists, or what you think of these!
1. Apotheosis by Alchemiist
Ominous, dark, and urgent, this playlist is exactly what you need for your most intense scenes.
2. MAD LOVE; by lilirabe
A perfect squad anthem, this has helped me often while writing Sorcera--coven unity is important!
3. Classical Fury by emma.cat
A great violin-centric mix that works really well with keeping you focused.
4. the battle in me by stewardssons
I love this mix for it's centering on heroines. Perfect!
5. Labyrinthine. by pratyushinhaa
Chill and dark, Labyrinthine is great background for working, especially late at night.
6. get shit done by radtastic
This was my first favorite writing playlist, with a mix of popular scores that are still super inspirational. It relaly does inspire me to get shit done!
Well, there you have it! I hope you all enjoy these playlists. :) See you next week!
Happy listening,
Kekai
I don't know about you all, but I really love writing to music. Today, I thought I'd share with you my favorite writing playlists, all from 8tracks. Please feel free to leave me comments with your own favorite playlists, or what you think of these!
1. Apotheosis by Alchemiist
Ominous, dark, and urgent, this playlist is exactly what you need for your most intense scenes.
2. MAD LOVE; by lilirabe
A perfect squad anthem, this has helped me often while writing Sorcera--coven unity is important!
3. Classical Fury by emma.cat
A great violin-centric mix that works really well with keeping you focused.
4. the battle in me by stewardssons
I love this mix for it's centering on heroines. Perfect!
5. Labyrinthine. by pratyushinhaa
Chill and dark, Labyrinthine is great background for working, especially late at night.
6. get shit done by radtastic
This was my first favorite writing playlist, with a mix of popular scores that are still super inspirational. It relaly does inspire me to get shit done!
Well, there you have it! I hope you all enjoy these playlists. :) See you next week!
Happy listening,
Kekai
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