#multiple wips

okay listen. LISTEN. before you come for me in the replies about "finishing what you start" and "discipline" and whatever other capitalist propaganda they're teaching in writing workshops these days, let me explain something.

those 47 unfinished drafts? they're not failures. they're not evidence that i can't commit to anything (though my dating history might suggest otherwise but that's IRRELEVANT). they are pure, crystallized inspiration caught in digital amber.

here's the thing about inspiration that nobody talks about: it's not supposed to be monogamous.

you know that feeling when you're three chapters deep into your current WIP and suddenly—SUDDENLY—your brain goes "but what if there was a world where music was illegal and the protagonist was a black market violinist" and your fingers are already opening a new google doc before your rational mind can intervene?

that's not ADHD (okay it might be a little ADHD). that's your creative brain doing exactly what it's supposed to do: making connections, building worlds, birthing stories that NEED to exist.

and yeah, sure, i could force myself to ignore that violinist story. i could be "disciplined" and stick to my current fantasy about the girl who talks to shadows. but here's what happens when you ignore inspiration: it dies. it shrivels up like a raisin and takes a little piece of your creative soul with it.

so instead, i honor it. i give it 2,000 words and a basic character sketch. i let it live in its own little document where it can breathe and exist and maybe—MAYBE—become something beautiful later.

because.. the secret: those 47 drafts aren't separate projects. they're all connected. the magic system from draft #12 might be perfect for the world in draft #31. the character voice i developed in that werewolf story i abandoned last month? she's exactly what my current protagonist needed.

it's like having a massive creative compost pile. everything breaks down and feeds everything else and eventually you get this rich, fertile ground where your REAL stories can grow.

also can we talk about how arbitrary "finishing" is? like, who decided that stories need endings? some of my favorite pieces of writing are fragments. half-thoughts. the literary equivalent of a really good tweet that makes you feel something indefinable.

my 47 drafts are love letters to possibility. they're proof that my brain is CONSTANTLY creating, constantly reaching for something new and exciting and weird. they're evidence that i haven't been beaten down by the publishing industry's obsession with "marketable" and "complete."

and honestly? having 47 unfinished drafts means i never run out of things to work on. writer's block who? i don't know her. i've got a cyberpunk fairy tale, a cozy mystery with necromancers, and a romance between a time traveler and someone who's stuck in a time loop just WAITING for me.

commitment issues would be giving up entirely. this? this is commitment to the craft itself.

(draft #48 is already calling my name but i'm trying to finish this blog post first. see? growth.)

Tagged by the lovely @exhuastedpigeon, @hippolotamus @wikiangela @disasterbuckdiaz @daffi-990 @jamespearce9-1-1 @jeeyuns @hoodie-buck @theotherbuckley and @ladydorian05 Thank you all so much!

I am in a very generous mood today, so for this tidbit Tuesday I am sharing several teases from different wips. Enjoy!

NFL Buck: Athena hits the intercom above the code box, taking note of cameras that swivel slightly towards her way. A deep voice seeped with weariness comes through the speaker, "What can I do for you officer?"

In the back seat of her cruiser, Eddie immediately perks up and cries out, "Buck! She arrested me and I don't like it and I swear those tiny humans put her up to it! But I didn't do it! I swear!"

4+1 Buck is too nice: Eddie is actually contemplating stealing Bobby's nice knife set away from the firehouse. Stolen knives for Eddie's stolen boyfriend. Seems fair. Sort of.

When in reality Eddie more than understands. Athena is working, Bobby is covering for Captain Royce, and trying to get any sort of non-familiar (free) transportation from LAX was a disservice to May.

Kidnapped Mpreg Buck: Eddie grips his tiny newborn daughter tight to his chest. Its too quiet. Buck is silent, no longer screaming in agony. Their baby has gone quiet after her first cries. Doug will never make a sound again, lying dead by the fireplace. He can barely hear Hen muttering under her breath, pumping her fist hard over Buck's chest. Chimney hasn't said a word since announcing the loss of Buck's heart beat, frantically working to try and stop the omega from bleeding out. And Maddie...is slumped against the wall near the bed where her brother lays dying, covered in blood from Doug, herself, and Buck. Catatonic. Quiet. Too quiet.

Parental Chimney w/ Teen Buddie: Chimney does a double take when he see's Eddie standing just a step inside the bay doors. The older teen is wringing his hands together, looking nervous and very lost.

Tapping Hen on the shoulder, he motions towards the kid and Hen nods in understanding. "Yell if you need back-up." She jokes somewhat serious.

Chimney rolls his eyes, "Doubt he's here to cause harm."

Hen shrugs, "Your new to this parenting thing, and so am I, so asking for help won't hurt." She glances over to Eddie, "Just don't be too hard on him. From my understanding, kids been through enough and losing Buck must feel like rock bottom."

Return of sperm donor kid: “Carson, Connor is your dad, okay?  I just-well-um” Buck was floundering to find the right way to explain to a beginning 5th grader how sperm donation works. 

“He’s not my dad! I heard my mom say so!” Connor shouted, anger and frustration starting to take over.

Buck raised his hands up in gentle defense, “Okay. Okay.  Let’s just,” He sighs in frustration, looking upwards.  Buck didn’t really pray, but he did believe in the universe and Eddie would be his entire paycheck that he was cursing it right now. “I’m calling your parents.”

Carson opened his mouth to object, but Buck immediately cut him off, “I am calling your parents, and that includes your dad, the same man who has fed you, clothed you, LOVED you since the day you were born. I am calling them and then we are all going to sit down and talk. Understand?”

Hope you all enjoyed!

Do you focus on one before you start another?

If not, how do you balance them out?

Do you write to that project you got inspo for or you strictly focus on one, and just jot down the ideas when they strike for the others?

If your focus diverted from one WIP, how do you lure back to it?

I’m feeling just a little listless but I also don’t want a break

20. Do you work on a single project or many at the same time? How does that work for you?

This is so thoughtful. Thank you dear!

I always have more than one project on the burner at a time. xD This is usually a combo of fic and art. I have discovered this is helpful for me because if I have writer's block on one project, often working on another helps to both further that fic and make the the other project jealous so it gets more ideas. ;D

It's quite fabulous how ideas will pop into my head for the other stories while working on one of them. I can always pause and write those ideas down before I resume work on the current story.

And I have also realized---sometimes if all writing feels bleh, it's time to work on an art project. xD Get my brain into a very different mode, not to mention my hands. As I'm usually illustrating my stories, it's a joy to look at my characters' faces and draw inspiration from them for the writing.

WIP Tag Game pt. 1

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! tag as many people as you have WIPs 

Considering I do have a lot of wips and was tagged by two people, I will split into two parts. Please feel free to ask me about any. I also do remember being tagged in another game last year, and will inform that some wip names have been changed since then.

Here we go!

Bound by Contract

Flesh to Metal

A Single Encounter

Into New Ownership

Nighttime Visit

Scared Still

The Rough Path Ahead

A Small Blade

The Other Dragon Riders

Between Worlds

The Haddock Sister

No Swimming Away

Steered Off Course

Vid Game httyd au

I don’t have as many people to tag as the wips, but I would like to tag: @firerose @drakaina-amore64 @lillithkagari @absolute-maniac

I haven’t gotten much writing done in the past few days because I’ve been busy transferring all of my WIPs into my new writing software. I’m so close to being done now. I just have to go through my email and fish out all the ideas/dialogue/scenes/chapters I’ve written when I didn’t have access to my computer (because I seriously cannot turn my brain off). 

Since I haven’t had a chance to do much in the way of writing, I thought I would share six random sentences from a variety of my WIPs. 

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He had been under the coffee table when the big ring of light opened up in front of him.

When he looked down, she was staring at Adrien and Anarka with the most serene smile he had ever seen.

In fact, his ability to experience emotions was something he was still getting accustomed to. 

She still couldn’t believe how much Marinette sometimes sounded like Ladybug.

Apparently pulling faces wasn’t above gods though, because Xuppu pulled a face right back at him.