I Don’t Sh*t Stories, So Don’t Ask Me To

Recently, I’ve been receiving a lot of requests to write blurbs for other people (for free). These blurbs include stories that cover someone’s family history for their family reunion, dedication pieces, poetry (I’m a fiction major), collaborate on a science fiction piece (I’m a HISTORICAL fiction major) and many other things that make me want to scream:

I DON’T SH*T STORIES, SO DON’T ASK ME TO!

Many, and I can’t be the only one that experiences these kind of encounters, believe that I sit at my desk and just sh*t out a story, like my butt is magical and everything I digest becomes something the masses want to read. That’s not how writing works! I sit at my desk for hours everyday and maybe ONE good sentence comes out. Some days I write an entire short story but even then the whole thing doesn’t come out and is immediately ready to be published.

The Challenges We Face as Writers

Today marks the final day of the 30 day writing challenge I signed up for and, while pleased with a lot of aspects of the challenge, I’m also a little disappointed. Because I like to stew in things, I’ll focus on the disappointments faced first during this challenge before going into the positive aspects.

Day 25: The Writer’s Return! Renewed/Confused/Infused with Words of Encouragement!

It’s day 25 of the writing challenge I’m currently participating in and I will admit that I dropped off the face of the earth for a bit. Honestly, I was writing and didn’t have time to update my blog of all the thoughts pouring out of my now pounding mind. What I’ve managed to accomplish during this lapse are three new stories (two short stories and one flash fiction) which will be incorporated in my -shivers- novel once I receive feedback from my mentor. This challenge has also taught me that it is okay not to write every single day AND share every painstaking update through your blog or chosen social media poison. Just seeing my journal filling up with pages of written work, some usable some that shall forever remain hidden behind its black covers, makes me feel like I’m doing something right.

Day 14: The Fiction Writer Explores the Realm of Playwriting

DAY 14 – DAILY PROMPT:

Plays and scripts can be some of the most challenging writing we attempt. Even if you’ve no interest in it, write a few pages of a script for a play. Where you can, include stage directions as if the reader is going to be participating. Stretching our borders can help us better fill them when we return.

Day 13: The Writer as a Reader Playing the Imitation Game

DAY 13 – DIG DEEPER:

How would describe your love affair with reading? Who are your favorite writers, what genres do you frequent most, what are your reading habits? What kind of meals do you nourish your imagination and intellect with?

Day 12: What are You Afraid of? Creativity or Reason?

DAY 12 – DIG DEEPER:

What’s your worst case scenario as a creator?  Describe your “horror” or worst fear and try to embrace it. Then ask yourself, So What? Could you survive it anyway? And is it worth the risk?

My worst case scenario as a creator  is falling into the plan my father has made for me. He loves me and is naturally concerned about my future. we still argue about having a career in writing and how even being an English teacher doesn’t promise financial success. this is coming from a man who was the first to graduate with a college degree from his family, worked hard all his life and eventually reached the top of his career working for the government. It’s all he knows, which I understand, but having such a logical thinker, who calculates salary and achievements above overall happiness is a struggle. Especially when others applaud my creativity and he still dismisses it as a hobby.

Day 11: Dear Self, Combine Today’s Prompt with the Story You have to Write. Love, The Writer

DAY 11 – DAILY PROMPT:
Write a letter to your shadow, your alter ego, your darker side, or the parts of you that you have repressed in favour of your more socially acceptable persona. Try to include the reasons why you disowned these parts (or characters) and propose a reconciliation.

Below is one of the many letters that will eventually be exchanged between Esther and her father, Sympco.

Day 10: Ignore the Prompt of the Day and Write a Renewed Fairytale

Today’s assignment was to write a fairy tale and transport the reader to a new world but instead I chose to rewrite one of the Grimm Brother’s fairy tales, The Willful Child.

Darkness slowly devours him as dirt compresses his eyelids, conceals his nose, and seeps through his lips and teeth. Worms and maggots approach, writhing along his chubby legs, tasting his pale flesh. His fingers twitch, his right arm rises through the layers of dirt, encasing him. He raises his hand signaling to his mother as she places wild flowers that grow around their cottage by his grave.

Day 9: A Writer’s Greatest Limitations in the Presence of a Captive Cyborg.

DAY 9 – DIG DEEPER:

What do you perceive are your greatest limitations at the moment? They don’t necessarily have to be related to writing. What’s getting in your way of your fullest expression and your daily practice?