Today was a good day for inspiration. And, I don’t mean that in the cliche-I’m-so-chipper kind of way. But rather, in a sitting-calmly-outside-with-the-birds-thankful-that-I-have-a-game-plan sort of way. My friend always says something like “open yourself up to the universe and see what she gives you.” Maybe that is exactly what happened.
It started off with revising Defiance. With having three notebooks of drafting, sometimes I find the need to return to the early parts of the story to remind myself of names, plot, etc. At the start of distance learning, I started typing up the draft in Word to enable me the space to play with my ideas and craft. I move between revising and drafting, depending on my mood each day.
What always surprises me is how much my character has developed in the later portion of my drafts. I end up spending the most time revising Techa’s actions, dialogue, and internal thoughts. Today though, I worked with an intense scene. I completely changed the outcome of the scene because it makes so much more sense now that I know the relationship between Shaban and Cadu, two commanding officers. I also focused on building questions in Techa’s mind and my readers’ minds. Knowing who Techa is now, I added details that I did not know previously. I mention her not knowning anyone from the planet Wilgrim, which we find out later is not true. Techa shoots her sister, Juni, a look that captures her thoughts and strengthens the bond between the girls. These details make me believe in who my characters are, so I hope this has the same effect on my readers.
On a completely different note, I received an email from NCTE about teacher appreciation week. I scrolled through the email which had little information I needed, but it sparked my mind to think about their call for proposals. Immediately, I searched up the topics and deadlines. Both sound interesting, so I am going to see what I can do by June 1st and August 1st. Even more importantly, the Mic Drop issue due out May 2021, got me brainstorming for my thesis. Right after reading the call, I brainstormed, speaking into my phone which captured just short of 600 words. With these ideas, I can use the summer to write professionally and also hone my thesis topics. The gears are turning; I’m thinking about what I want to read up on, what I need to research, and who I will need to reach out to.
Yesterday, I reflected on how I needed to push myself to brainstorm ideas and welcome in the possibilities. From somewhere in the universe–or my consciousness–my mind started to piece these ideas together. Perhaps my new mantra will be “Let the possibilities in.”
