8.12 writing update
a weekly newsletter dedicated to the craft
check in
got to stay in new york an extra day after my flight got delayed then CANCELLED
played pickle ball for the second time ever & wanna keep playing (if you wanna play when back on campus just lmk!!)
won first place in dress to impress (thinking of cataloging my prize-winning looks on here for literally no reason but my entertainment lol)
what’s been going on in your life? let me know in the comments:
writing update
after weeks of yapping on substack about starting a specific short story, i’m scrapping it. i just haven’t been energized by the main idea (sorry, dad), and why write something you wouldn’t want to read? maybe i’ll come back to it in the future, and i definitely will be returning to the setting of 1970s michigan (you’re welcome, dad). also, i think that the 500 words i got through were pretty strong, so i can use them later, if not just to look back on and see what was working.
today i am starting a different short story, one that i am actually really excited to write about. the idea came to me somewhat gradually over the past few days, following a hodgepodge of youtube reels (disappointing, i know), family conversations, and overall reflections. it’s giving The Handmaid’s Tale meets The Lottery meets The Hunger Artist meets Rhythm 0. probably going to be the darkest thing i’ve ever written. yay! beyond that, i plan on finish editing short story and start editing the other over the next few weeks.
i keep wanting to start a novel, but it’s SO SCARY. it feels like so much pressure. i don’t know how 7th grade mia did it. plus, even though it’s flawed thinking that doesn’t correlate with my artistic integrity, the output of novels delayed so i’m less inclined to work on them. but i have sooo many ideas—TOO many. i’m hoping to take a NANOWRIMO class at stanford this upcoming quarter, and even if i don’t take the class i want to participate in NANOWRIMO this year. either way, i will be writing a book soon, mark my words.
my friends and i are starting a literary magazine! more on that soon. keep your eyes peeled, especially if you are interested in being on the leadership team!
current read
just finished A Court of Thorns and Roses. i wrote a tiny review on goodreads—basically, i thought it was mid. i’ve heard good things about the rest of the series, though, so i’ll definitely keep reading and am excited about that.
today i’m probably going to return to the handmaid’s tale, especially since my new short story leans into a similarly feminist dystopia.
one note of the week
each day, i try to take note of stand-out things around me. here is this week’s best:
what if people lived on Antarctica? i know this isn’t humanly possible, but…fiction doesn’t really care about that ;)
writing prompt
write a part of your story from the antagonist’s perspective. see how this viewpoint changes the situation and the stakes. does it impact the way your protagonist sees things?