So I started keeping track of my writing, so what better way than to share it on my blog? Here's what writing looks like for me in a week.
Writing day 1: June 5th
Today I wrote from 6:15-7:30 a.m. with one or two short breaks in the middle. I worked on this flash fic? short story? The thing I'm writing is called "Daughter Trees," and I have it written and I'm halfway through polishing it. It's about this girl who immigrates to the us and receives a tree to keep alive and her relationship with her culture. I want to have it done by tomorrow, but here's the beginning. (It's just a snippet,) (I'm also really proud of the opening!)
When Priya left her Hydrabad home, the earth gave her dirt to keep her plant alive. She held her Amma’s hand through the airport, praying that the security wouldn’t make her empty her pockets of damp soil. Thankfully they let her pass through. The metal machines stopped Amma though—her tree was too big to carry in a pot, so She transported it instead in the gold nallapusa necklace that donned her and inked her skin in baby pink crepe jasmine blooms. It set off their metal detector.
Other than this short story, I'm pondering my short story collection novel thing I'm really excited to write it, but I'm really so stuck with the overarching story of the book. I'm trying to find a way to create an overarching "plot" but I want them to be kind of okay as separate ish pieces? so it's been interesting. I'll tell you more about it tomorrow or the day after when I'm actually working on it, but I think a couple of these writing sessions might be plotting sessions.
I probably won't write any more today, knowing myself, but I'm happy with today's progress. But anyways, hope your writing goes well! can't wait to read more!
Cheers,
Nitya
Writing Day 2: June 6th
I did not, in fact, finish daughter trees, but that is because I was on my way to Walgreens and the song "Mary Ellen Carter" was playing, and I had a brilliant idea for a middle-grade novel that is very pirate adventure core! It's all very new at the moment, and I probably won't be writing it right now, but it's a good "I finish my literal masterpiece for school and I want to write something fun and wholesome" project that I'm kicking my feet over! I'm literally so excited about it!
The synopsis is VERY poorly written because I was super all over the place today, but here it is!
Basic Plot Every summer that Arun can remember, the Kapala family walks to the shores to trudge up a sunken ship. They would walk into the lagoon,knees deep in sand, and shovel the dried-up mud from the boat. Each year they get closer, but never succeed. This summer, after their yearly trip to the Arun hears his mothers whispering and learns that failing to trudge the ship by next summer would bring something terrible to the family. Arun then goes on a sea adventure where he comes across his moms’ old pirate crew(he didn’t know his boring moms were pirates!), finds mysterious islands, and meets a nonbinary pirate who makes him want to fistfight them whenever they’re around. Together, he learns the mystery of his family and the boat under the sea. Basically, I'm hoping for "boy discovers the mysterious past of his parents while he's on the quest to save one of them" vibes!
Hopefully, I'll finish "daughter trees" tomorrow!
Cheers,
Nitya
Writing Day 3: June 7th
Wrote from 7:30-8:30 this morning, and did a bit of thinking after. I basically finished "Daughter Trees" which I linked in this email. It's done for now, I'm really not sure about the pacing(I'd love to hear your thoughts; feedback is appreciated, though no pressure--I know you're busy) and I am thinking about my cute little middle-grade sea story! it's gonna be so cute! but anyways!
That's, I think, the writing for today, I might do a little bit more? but I'll just record that tomorrow if I do. I'm excited for tomorrow because the plan is to spend my writing session typing out my plan for the short story collection novel idea thing so Yeah!
Anyways,
Cheers,
Nitya
Writing Day 4: June 8th
Not much writing was done today, but that's on purpose. I really need to focus on Accounting so I don't fail the class. I wrote for about 30-45 minutes today. Instead of working on my main story, I'm working on my Middle-Grade Sea Shanty Novel because that's not gonna need as much mental investment. I just need to be happy and write for fun and kick my feet at how cute the characters are! So I basically started 1) Making a playlist, and 2) plotting the outline. So here they are.
Playlist Mary Ellen Carter: The Longest Johns Irish Rover: Derina Harvey Band Goin’ Round The Cape: The Longest JohnsScarborough Fair: Malinda
Chapter 1: Arun and his sister/neighbor wants to go with Arun and his family to the lagoon with the sunken ship. They banter all the way to the lagoon where the sister asks questions about the ship, and why they try to dig it every year. Arun says it’s just a family tradition and it’s just something they do every year. They go to the lagoon and try to trudge out the ship. Arun thinks it’s impossible, obviously, the ship is too big for three people to move. But his moms keep insisting that they do it every year. After showing some dirt, mudball, and getting all dirty they head home. Arun notices that one of his mothers is really anxious, but she hides it. That night before he goes to bed, he overhears his mothers whispering about “The Curse.” The ship is rotting, and if they don’t save it before next summer, then the mother who got anxious it dies.
Chapter 2: Arun walks into the conversation “WHat!” and they try to explain to him that he misheard, but he basically caught the whole conversation. The only way to break the curse is to trudge out the boat, or to find the woman who cursed them and steal back a necklace she took from them. Only the person who stole the necklace lives in an island in the middle of the ocean, and part of the curse is that they can’t go in the water except for the one day in the summer, but even then not far. The next day Arun tells his sister figure about what he heard, and basically comes to the decision that he needs to go off and find this woman to break the curse on his mom.
Anyways, Cheers! Nitya
Writing day 5: June 9th
Today was a rather short writing session, not because I didn't want to write, but because i literally had to focus on accounting. I also had to visit my cousins. So I came back home and I really wanted to write but it was kind of stressing me out because I wanted to work on my novels because, I wanted to, but I knew I wouldn't be able to do them justice because I couldn't spend much time on them. So instead I did a lil' poetry freewrite! an here they are!
1: Prompt--A hike through the woods (letter H) hastily hike headfirst--no headlights--through the hearhounous hearth of holly--halting when hanging hemlock hauled itself here. my hawkeyes headed me away to home.
2: Prompt--A Comedy of errors (Letter C) Can you carry the cable cascading from the cabinet. contain its corrosiveness to a cautionary corner. cut the cherry carpet stips cruelly and cry copious tears into a chalice. It can be your blood. it could count as comedy
3: Prompt--A fanfiction writer's group meeting (letter F--this one's unfinished) Fall into a fabricated floor, following a fallible friend finding figments of fiction to float
Anyways, that's all!
Cheers!
Nitya