#WritingCommunity Blog Award

It’s been a while since I’ve done any blog tags. But a few weeks ago, the lovely Ribbon Ash tagged me for the #WritingCommunity Blog Award. So, let’s jump right in, shall we?

The Rules

1. Display the award logo on your site. *points up*
2. Link back to the person who tagged you. (I tagged her in the introduction)
3. Answer 5 questions.
4. Tag 3 blogs (must be blogs related to writing, not book review blogs) and ask them 5 new questions.
5. Follow as many blogs with this award as you can! (I probably won’t…but please do, if you feel inclined)

The Questions

What’s the best writing advice you have heard?

If you’ve followed Abbie’s YouTube channel for any length of time, you already know what I’m about to say. But for those of you who don’t follow her (go hit subscribe RIGHT NOW, she’s absolutely amazing), the advice is actually pretty simple: Make it matter to your protagonist. Abbie explains in-depth how to do this in her videos here, here, and here.

I used to hear Abbie say this and honestly…I kinda just blew it off. I didn’t think that all storytelling could fit a set, scientific template. But for the past few weeks, I’ve caught myself saying things like, “I LITERALLY DON’T KNOW WHY ANY OF THIS MATTERS,” or “WHY AM I SUPPOSED TO CARE ABOUT THESE CHARACTERS?” while watching movies and tv shows because I didn’t know why anything mattered to any of the characters.

It sounds like an obvious part of storytelling, but it’s left out a lot more times than I used to think. And if I haven’t been given an actual reason to care about the characters, it’s probably because I don’t know why anything matters to them…and in turn, why they do any of the things that they do in the story.

What’s the worst writing advice you have heard?

By far, the worst writing advice I’ve ever heard is write every day. I do have to put a disclaimer that usually this comes in the form of “You have to/need to write every day,” but either way, I think it’s really bad advice because it ultimately sets writers up to feel like a failure.

I do think it’s a good idea to write every day, if you can make it work with your schedule. But to just give a blanket statement that you should write every day…just no. Writers already put so much pressure on themselves to DO ALL THE THINGS and BE PRODUCTIVE and GO GO GO GO. So, when a person says that writers should write every single day, it can be really damaging to their physical, mental, and spiritual health.

Writers need breaks. They need to take care of themselves. And sometimes, writers just have other, bigger priorities than writing. We have families who need our attention, jobs that demand our time, and people pulling us in hundreds of different directions. Sometimes writing just doesn’t happen every day…and that’s okay.

And writers should never feel guilty for setting writing on the backburner because, no matter what you’ve heard, you’re a writer because you chose to be a writer…not because you write every day.

*steps off soap box*

Why did you make your blog a writing one?

I appreciate that you think of my blog as a writing blog, but I’ve really never thought of it like that. But, I think the reason why I created the blog in the way that I did is best explained in the words of my first post:

This blog is for the dreamers. It’s for the wanderers and the ones who wonder. It’s for the creators and the writers; the artists and the star-chasers. It’s for all the girls who were told that they can’t, but keep fighting because they can. It’s for all the girls who wander through life a little lost, but still find a way to have a little fun. It’s for the moon child and the wild child. It’s for the slightly insane “I’m-gonna-write-10k-in-a-day” overachievers, who I am not because I’m a slow typist.

This blog is for the midnight paint splatterers and the 2 am journalists.

This little blog is for the voyagers.

The voyagers who travel through unknown lands and uncharted galaxies. The voyagers who crash into that asteroid, but find a way to patch up the ship because they still have a star to chase. The voyagers who look up into the night sky and find refuge within the constellations. The voyagers who laugh at the map and chart their own course through the endless skies. The voyagers who can’t comprehend the idea that they have to settle for average when they know they can become something great. The voyagers who laugh at the face who mocks them and tries to steer them off course. The voyagers who stare in awe at the creation of others and will stop at nothing to defend their allies. The voyagers who are loyal until their last breath escapes their lungs and they’ve finally completed the mission. The voyagers who dream endlessly, love recklessly, and hope unconditionally.

Are you a writer first or a reader first?

I’m a reader first. I’ve devoured novels ever since I was a small child. However, I pretty much despised all forms of writing until the end of high school. So, my heart and soul belonged to books long before my dream of writing was stirred.

How many writing ideas do you have on hold for the future?

Um…*runs to check*…like at least fifteen. But that doesn’t include the four that I work on continually play with on Pinterest. *goes back into hiding*

The Tagged

R.F. Gammon @ R.F. Gammon, Author

Jenna Terese @ Jenna Terese – YA Speculative Fiction Author

Catherine Hawthorn @ The Rebelling Muse

Questions for the Tagged

1. Which author inspires you the most?
2. Is there a genre that you’d love to write, but are scared to try?
3. Have you ever turned down an invite or rescheduled something just so you could write?
4. Fanfiction: Yea or Nay?
5. Which part of the writing process is your favorite?

Let’s Talk!

What’s the best/worst writing advice you’ve ever been given? What inspired you to create your blog? Do you have a mile-long list of story ideas that you plan on writing one day?