Hello all! First off, a big thanks to Shirley for extending the offer of guest authorship! It is delightful to see each of your thoughts and voices represented here. For my part, I hope to use this space to give a glimpse into my current in-progress book, and also to present an avenue for fellow writers to tackle our respective writer’s blocks together!
By way of introduction, I’m Arsen Quill (they/them), a writer based in the Washington D.C. area. I am a proud scribbler of genre fiction, with a special love for contemporary fantasy, historical fiction, and sci-fi. Whatever project I’m working on, three things are certain: ample snark, queer narratives, and swords. My mediums at present include novels, short stories, novellas, and short screenplays.
My main writing project at the moment is one I have been constructing slowly for almost ten years. The story has morphed quite a lot over time, but I’ve decided this year it is finally time to, as they say, “write the damned thing!” So that is my goal between March and September of 2021.
The working title: The Order of Words
The premise: Anytime an author writes a book, they create a world; not just a series of words, but an entire plane of existence. That world is governed by the rules of the plot and characters, but it also retains the unintended consequences of the writer’s mind (hence, the wilder places lurking just beyond the story you remember reading as a child). Thus, the place your mind travels to when you read a book is tangible, and accessible at will once one knows how to navigate it. Walking through stories brings untold delights, but it also brings dangers beyond the limits of imagination—to both oneself and the story. Realizing this, a coven of authors formed the Order of Words—a group dedicated to honing the practice of traveling through stories, and preserving the plots of classic books against both tampering and natural wildness. The story begins when a jaded bookseller is whisked out of customer service and into the world of the Order, and falls in with the enigmatic members of the Ninth Chapter.
My writerly goals: Firstly, I hope to successfully twist the elements of a school-of-magic trope into something a shade closer to daily life (a graduate-program-of-magic, a promising-internship-of-magic, or an entry-level-job-of-magic, if you will). Secondly, I hope to craft a story that does justice to the complexities and twining lives of its characters. Thirdly, I want to share this world I’ve built in such a way that it invites you in without reservation: no admission letter or magic wardrobe required.
Whew. There you have it. The idea, the bane of my existence, the light of my life. I hope I can make it into something grand. Whether or not any of you turn out to be future readers of this story, I thank you for taking the time to let me share this glimpse with you.
I am a big believer in authors supporting each other at all stages of the process, right from the very first inklings of an idea. As many of you are working your way through Camp Nanowrimo and independent projects of your own, you might share a few of the same points of discouragement that I do:
1) first drafts are never perfect right off the bat (the audacity!)
2) the temptation to edit and perfect as you go is oh so hard to resist
3) making the time to just write is often difficult
One of the most useful writing tools I’ve found to combat such obstacles as the above are writing sprints. Those of you erstwhile Nanowrimo participants are no stranger to this strategy! The objective is singular: simply getting words on paper. How good the words are doesn’t matter. Spelling and grammar don’t matter. All that matters is that your fingers are on the keys for a set amount of time. This leaves you with no time leftover to overthink, agonize, or otherwise trip over your own brilliance.
There is something about racing yourself to a deadline that cuts straight through the overthinking and leaves you with sheer, satisfying progress. However, if there’s one thing even better than racing yourself, it’s shanghaiing others to race with you toward a common deadline (insert mischievous cackle here).
This brings me to a project I’d like to share with you fellow writers: Sprints at Seven. I’m planning to hop on Instagram Live on Wednesday evenings from 7 to 7:15pm (EST), starting April 21st, and I would love for you to join me. Whatever project you’re working on, this time will serve as fifteen minutes of dedicated word-dumping time for each of us. If you’re interested, find me on Instagram (@a.j.quill), and let’s hit the keys.
To all those bustling minds of the world, happy reading, happy writing, and fairfarren!
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