Hi! This is my first time watching one of your videos but I wanted to say that I really appreciate how you balance meeting your goals with pacing yourself according to your energy and other things going on in your life. I’m getting a graduate degree in creative writing right now and I’m learning that for myself. Also, I don’t know about you, but personally I’ve learned not to worry too much about the word counts of certain scenes, chapters, or even the entire draft because the later drafts end up being so radically different that everything shifts around anyway. Word counts end up working out in the end somehow. But I’ve got the opposite problem on my current project: it’s possibly going to be way too long for genre conventions and that’ll make it hard to publish. But I’m trusting the process. Anyway. I’ll be around. Great video!
I've been trying sooooo hard to work on that part -- not caring about the word count or how poor my descriptions are. It's been such a consistent issue in my first drafts though that I am like hypersensitive to it now, so I think that is making it harder to move past. I'll keep working on it! Thanks so much for checking in. I hope your writing is going well!
After ten years and a TV show, spoilers should be fair game!! (Also if you’re actually worried about it, it’s telegraphed pretty heavily in the prologue and actually revealed before the midpoint and is definitely not the end game of the plot!)
RU-vid suggested your video to me and I’m glad they did! I loooove a detailed outline. It’s the only way I can write a somewhat cohesive first draft, haha Good luck getting started with drafting!!
Oh yay, I'm so glad! I'm always looking for more writing buddies on this platform! I have nothing but respect for what pantsers do, because I know for a fact that it could not be me! I would get to my first plot hole and fall completely to pieces. Thanks for the encouragement! <3
"Introverted but willing to discuss books." ... I need that as a T-shirt. Love your outlining sheet btw. So detailed! And the writing workspace looks great as a filming area. Definitely do some more filming in that space. ^_^
Oh wow, your writing space looks amazing! That lamp's gorgeous btw. Only one suggestion that I can think of... Plug in air freshener! I always love writing in a room that smells nice. ^_^
Purchasing craft supplies and USING craft supplies are two separate hobbies! I like how your setup turned out. I think it'll make it easier to get into the writing mood.
Look I'm no writer and I'm not even sure how this got recommended for me but for act 2, just focus on deepening character relationships and raising the stakes to keep the tension high and the reader invested
Haha, well welcome anyway, and thanks for checking in! I've got some ideas to do exactly what you suggest, but I'm not sure I've got enough tension there yet. Solving that is my next step!
Thank you! This is my first attempt at an urban/contemporary fantasy and I'm having a lot of fun with it. Not having to build a custom secondary world really takes the pressure off!
@@JustAnotherStrugglingWriter As someone who writes a lot of modern/urban fantasy, I completely agree. Just add some magic sprinkles for flavor, and you're good to go!
Lots of good stuff in this one! Finding something new to add in to the rotation can definitely help keep your content feeling fresh, from a creator's perspective.
It was a fun little break from the vlogs, that's for sure. Although, it occurred to me that I really only did 3x3 and there wasn't a third three... Gotta figure that out before my next one!
Woohoo! I'm so glad you found something that works with your process to get things going. I know that what works best for each writer is SO subjective.
Yes! And not only are all of our processes different, but it seems like they keep evolving as our lives change as well. So we have to constantly adapt our habits. Keeps us on our toes, at least!
I just finished this book. And I loved it. But I also haven’t read Mexican Gothic. Now I’m wondering if I should read that book now or should I not read it since the book is so similar?
Honestly, I think I would have enjoyed What Moves the Dead more if I had not read Mexican Gothic just three months before, because I wouldn't have guessed the horror element as quickly. I enjoyed both books (I think I also gave Mexican Gothic 3.5) but I just wish I had more space between them.
i just found your channel today (what perfect timing omggggg), i've been thinking about writing fantasy/ fantastical horror as a lil side hobby, i'll keep up with ur vlogs <33333
@@JustAnotherStrugglingWriter I wish I could have a routine that stuck that well. Feels like every time I get in a groove, there's a wrench in the gears. So I totally get it.
Okay, so I have a lot to say about this Tempest of Tea review but I want to preface it by saying that I'm in no way trying to police what anyone likes or dislikes. Everyone is allowed to have preferences and also are allowed to talk about their issues with books they have read. However, I do think that it is disingenious to read a book that is clearly marked as YA and then be angry that it protrays young adults as capable. It would be like reading a romance and being angry that the male lead is very romantic. The purpose of these books is to be a sort of wish fullfilment. I think I wouldn't be writing this if she had made that caveat (instead she said something like "this is why I don't read YA" which only made it sound more like the genre is the problem rather than her interaction with it) I'm not saying don't read YA, and I'm also not saying you can't say when you don't like it. What I am saying is that a little bit of self awareness would be nice. It felt, to me, that you had a distain for teenagers, the way you were talking. If i pick up a children's picture book and I come on youtube and talk about how it is childish and had no depth and it focused on colors instead of character developement, you'd laugh at me for being obtuse. I think there could have been an honest review there where you talk about how the book focuses too much on the romance and that it detracts from the plot or something about the writing not being your style (or good) -- I haven't read this book, I don't know. But what I do know is that if you don't want teenagers to be uncommonly skilled or running the show instead of the adults in the room, then maybe it's time you don't pick up YA, because that's what the target demo wants to read.
Hey, thanks for the feedback! It's true, I am not a huge YA fan because certain age category conventions simply don't appeal to me, such as a lack of depth or attention to detail with regard to setting, which I really enjoy as a fantasy reader. It's also true that a YA is not likely to get a high rating from me because I do not count myself among the target audience. I continue to read them because something piques my interest about the plot synopsis or the setting, like A Tempest of Tea did, and I think there is value in that. I don't have to love YA to appreciate those books for what they accomplish. So, you're right in that it's probably a little silly to gripe about all the characters being teenagers in a YA, however, I disagree that disliking a trope makes my opinion dishonest. I have read other YA books where hyper-competency was not a trope that the author relied on, so I know it does not feature in all YA, or even all YA fantasy books. I am more than happy to go into full depth on why I did not like this book (as I did touch on a little in the latter half of the video), as the hyper-competency trope was only one part of it, and not even the greatest part at that. Thanks again! I appreciate your comment and the dialogue!
@@JustAnotherStrugglingWriter hey, thanks for the thoughtful reply! I want to clarify that I when I mentioned the critique being disingenius I didn't really mean that you weren't being honest or that you aren't allowed to dislike a trope. I think that I focused on the hyper-competance discussion because I do feel that is feature of YA (and yes, as you said not all YA) that is important to the target demographic and to crique it as a flaw of the book rather than a issue with how you particularly interact with the book is what I call disingenious. Maybe that was the wrong word to use. Teens want and need to see themselves in stories in which they lead and are good at what they do as escapism from a society that constantly talks about a "teenager" as equal to a "screw-up" (It is somehow socially acceptable -and expected- to bulk teenagehood as impulsive and clumsy without caveat) To go back to parallel I made: not all romance books have a super romantic lead, but if I criticize a romance for having a super romantic lead then I'm not being fair to the genre. I can say that I'm not someone who likes romantic leads but featuring a romantic lead is NOT a flaw in a romance book. It can't be... it's what it is promising to deliver to the audience. I feel similarly to having hyper-compentent teens in YA novels. You don't need me to tell you that you are absolutely allowed not to like that in a book. But having that in a YA book is not a flaw in the book, it's a feature. Treating it as a flaw is what I called disingenous. (again, maybe i needed a different word) I did watch the whole video and did see your other critiques. They are valid. I just wanted to point out my POV on that one aspect of your review.
You're so right about that. Sometimes it can be easy to avoid it, especially when awash in guilt from having taken a break in the first place, but once I'm back in the weeds I always feel so much better.
I should organize my digital TBR like this. My physical book collection is mostly old favorites I re-read, thanks to moving so much in the past few years. Hope you find a few gems in there that you really enjoy!
100% said/asked drives me nuts as a reader and writer. I like to combine actions with my dialogue, because people aren't static and unmoving all the time while they're talking. I talk and do things, so do my characters. The road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I'm driving the bus. =P And I've found that doing my initial plotting/brainstorming longhand makes it easier to move forward, and retain mental information about the project. As a fellow millennial, yes to gel pens. And I used to write fanfiction, too. But I grew up reading LOTS of epic fantasy novels, so I tend to go HAM with descriptions. And I agree. Writing "rules" are guidelines for folks who aren't sure where to start. Learn the rules so you can find what works for you, and break the rules.
Yes! Completely agree to so, so much of this. Writing is so subjective that no rule is concrete. Write every day or binge write, plan or pants, longhand, dictation, or good old fashioned keyboard. The only good writing advice is the kind that gets you writing!
The urban fantasy sounds cool. The physical aspect of the magic makes me think of the tv show The OA, where physicality is a big part of the “magic”, almost like modern dance mixed with tai chi.
You know what's funny, I have found that when I set super high goals, even if I don't end up meeting them, I always end up closer than I would have otherwise. So even if I don't end up with sixteen books, I'll most likely finish with more than my average anyway and that's a win in my book!
The shiny toy syndrome has definitely gotten me more than once, which is part of the reason I'm in this pickle. But I'm determined to write the end this time! Best of luck to you in your writing!
Thanks we had so much fun! I've read books in a single day before (usually on the shorter side for fantasy novels), but I underestimated how much mental energy traveling takes!
