I don’t know what has happened to me in the last couple weeks, but my sleep schedule has gotten a bit deranged. For someone who really loves sleep as much as a cat, I do not get nearly enough of it. I’m up at 6am most days for work, but I’m rarely in bed/asleep before midnight, and all last week it was closer to 1am for one reason or another. Usually cause I was writing late, cause I took a nap after work. Doin’ real great on that whole “structuring my time better” thing.
Still, I did write every night. Not quite hitting the daily goal I need to make 300k by 12/31/20 but I haven’t had any Zero Days in almost two weeks. For February my goal is no Zero Days. (Really, that’s the goal every month, but after January I’ll aim low.) The Twitter Prompts are good for that because it means I’m writing something every day, even if it’s only a handful of words.
I’ve been consuming a lot of non-book narrative media, the stories told on screen rather than on page. I know I should be reading more, but I’m just having an easier time digesting stories from watching new shows on Netflix and Disney+ and VRV and YouTube and wherever else. I’ve been feeling that I’m no good at the plot part of the craft and wanted to see what I could learn from how stories are told on TV series. How the beats flow within an episode and how they fit into the current arc, how they fit into the overarching story, it’s interesting to see these things play out.
My husband and I were watching Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (another great friggin show from Dreamworks Animation on Netflix, go watch it immediately) and there was a scene towards the end of an episode where I was like “this is gonna end with [character] [doing a thing].” And then two minutes later my prediction came true and I was excited that I’d called it. But then my husband hit me with the “well yeah, you’re a writer, you know how to tell stories.”
Somehow, I am always the last to know that I know things. And somehow, there’s still an obnoxious voice in the back of my head telling me that I don’t actually know how to tell stories, the writing was just predictable or I just got lucky. It makes me doubt all the people who support me and encourage me. It makes me doubt myself. It keeps me up at night.
That voice will never be silenced, but one day I will get better at muffling it. Until then, I will continue to write short stories and essays from these prompts and hope I am proving it wrong with each new piece I write.
370. What is one of the weirdest things you’ve ever experienced?
371. If someone were to walk a mile in your shoes, what is something they’d quickly learn?
372. What do you like to take your time with and why?
Aw yiss, these are some good, juicy prompts that should not drag me into the wee hours all week. I’ve already got ideas stewing. I hope they inspire you, too!
This weekend went by too fast. We saw Birds of Prey last night. Black Canary is my wife now. It was loads of fun and I left it feeling very similar to how I felt leaving Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel, like I could take on an entire army by myself. More women directing action films featuring more badass women 2020! I’m even more pumped for Wonder Woman 1984 now. I should go watch WW again. It’s been a while.
Anyway. Go see Birds of Prey. Go watch Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts. Go work on some prompts. And for the love of all that is good in this world, go to sleep! Peace!
PS-Like these prompts? Like the short stories I write based on these prompts? Want to show your support? Give the blog a follow! Leave a comment! Buy me a coffee! I put a lot of time and effort into these posts and your support means the world to me! Ok, now go out there and write!
Closet Full of Notebooks 