I have not been writing here for a little under two and a half years... but I'm back, and hopefully, I can write a few posts every month. First, there's something I just needed to talk about.
Have you ever read a really good story? I mean an incredibly well-written piece of prose. Even when you weren't reading, you thought about it. The characters seemed so real, the scenes played out in your mind's eye, and the pieces of the plot seemed comparable to something you've seen in life. That book was the epitome of a 'page-turner' and you found it hard to set down. The book, with its meticulously crafted world way different from this one, served as an escape from reality. You could sit down and read, word after word, page after page, chapter after chapter, until you're left with nothing but an enchanting tale coming to a close.
Now picture this; there is no book. That intriguing story, the dynamic characters, the riveting plot, the ingenious scenes, the picturesque scenery, none of it has ever been written; imagine every aspect of your favorite book, but you just dreamed it up one night. You know if it is written correctly and given the proper care, it could be an amazing read. Nothing too prestigious, you don't expect it to become a best-seller or anything of the like, but you feel it would look really good in a full-fledged novel. So, you start writing. Having never done something like this before and only armed with 10th-grade level English class, you just start writing. You flesh out characters, you solidify locations for scenes and scenery, you write out an insanely rough outline for a plot. You write your first scene; the prologue introducing the hero of your story. Lucky for you, the scene just... flowed. It came to you and you just began typing. You feel a sort of accomplishment and move on to chapter one; that's when it hits you. How do you force creativity?
Now, add one cup of expectations and a spoonful of bashfulness about the whole thing, and you just created whatever it is going on in my head. I'm writing what I hope to be an intriguing novel, a fictional fantasy telling the story of the Lavender Assassin, an assassin (who would've guessed?) named Naria who goes from a badass survivor in the cutthroat criminal world to a frozen heart yearning for the warmth of love. I know, much different from what I've written about two and a half years ago. Why? Just because; I woke up one day and thought, "Let me stop dreaming about this and make something of my imagination." This is no cliche either, I knew this wasn't going to be easy. I started anyway and still got discouraged writing the first chapter of the manuscript, the first chapter. Is my mind stalling? No, I can still picture the scene I want to write but I cannot put words on a page.
"Just write," I hear you tell me, "get something on the page to get your juices flowing."
Ah, yes. The coveted "write/draw even if it's ridiculous" strategy. Trust me, I've tried. I have the first paragraph, just sitting there in the Google Doc with an idle cursor blinking at the end, waiting for the next wave of imagination. The problem is I set such a high standard writing the prologue; the scene just came to me and it was so effortless to put it in words. What was it, you ask? A literal run-of-the-mill bounty for the hero meant to introduce her. The first chapter didn't seem to 'just flow' like the prologue, and as much as I am sure it eventually will come to me, I'm not sure how long that will take. It's not exactly easy to prepare for college and work on a novel simultaneously, so I would like to finish a rough draft of the whole story at least before the end of my junior year.
So this is my situation. Thoughts? Let me know down below. If you'd like to read the prologue I was talking about, click the button below (it's a Google Doc). Remember, hate the sin, not the sinner.
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
Luke 6:35 NIV
