Happy birthday, Zabeth!
Kicking off the Year of Wistfeld with some main character (birthday) energy!
With the completion of The Witch’s Patron and my writing commitment to the Wattpad Creators Program in the bag, I want 2024 to be the Year of Wistfeld. Up to this point all of the work I’ve done for the project has been largely conceptual, like reworking the story’s outline (thrice!) and getting comfortable with the characters. Now that the pieces are in place and my schedule has opened up, I’m finally able to focus on drafting the story and comic scripts, and it’s so exciting!
During the conceptual stage I finally figured out the core cast’s birthdays and I wanted to start celebrating them this year, so we’re starting with the queen brat herself.
I love this little jerk so much and I can’t wait to share her story with you in the future!
January 12: Zabeth (aka Elizabeth “Bets” Hewitt)
March 27: Hollis (aka Richard Acevedo)
September 9: Clover (aka Chloe McBride)
November 28: Roya
Given how exhausting and tumultuous the last couple of years have been for my creative spirit, I was nervous about taking this step in the story’s process. To be perfectly honest, there was a stretch of time when the very idea of sitting down to write made me anxious and irritated. I was so depleted and disenchanted with the whole thing.
But if 2023 taught me anything, it’s that recovering from burnout takes a lot longer than we think it does. It wasn’t until I gave myself permission to take the time I needed to step back and rest, refill my creative well, and focus on other things for a while that the excitement and drive finally found their way back to me.
This isn’t to say that I’m completely out of the woods yet. When I sit down at my computer I still struggle to switch my brain from day job mode to creative mode, often to the point that I’ll avoid going into my home office entirely outside of work hours. To circumvent this, I decided to take a different approach to working on the first draft…
That’s right: I’m writing this bitch by hand. While it’s obviously a lot slower, I’ve found that working on the first draft using pen and paper has had some surprising (and helpful) benefits, including:
forcing me to stop second guessing myself and self-editing by making it harder to delete, rearrange, etc. (this draft is for brain-dumping only!)
removing the distractions that come with working on a computer or phone (I’m looking at you social media!)
giving me the freedom to write whenever and wherever I want without having to lug a laptop around or spend more time bent over my phone
making it easier for me and my ADHD brain to switch between work mode and creative mode
I know it’ll take way longer this way, but as long as I’m excited to write again I really don’t care!
Do you draft your stories by hand? If so, why? Tell me about it in the comments!
Soooo. A lot of things here to comment on. Happy birthgay to Zabeth. Also, I’m stealing that phrase lol. Has no one thought of saying birthgay before? 🤔
So, yeah, overall 2023 was rough. Especially from April to July (was in danger of losing my job). BUT I got a new one in December so yay! It ended on a good note. I am hoping for a way better 2024.
Back to the writing bits. I used to write by hand all the time in HS. College I typed and have been typing for the most part ever since. However, if I have a scene I know I left off in and am getting ideas about, I typically look for a pencil and paper to write with (but usually when I go on trips or will be somewhere bored for a few hours, I take a small backpack with a notepad and pen). If I’m not prepared with those items, I lastly resort to using notes on my phone. only thing about doing things by hand now is that I hate having to type it all up afterwards. But, I might start scanning written notes and just compile them within word or sheets. I use sheets because I only get word through school 🤭.