To Wattpad or Not to Wattpad?

Wattpad is admittedly an interesting writer's platform. I've used Wattpad a little bit to try and direct more readers to my blog. In all reality, my content published on Wattpad hasn't given me the return I was expecting for the time and dedication I put into those works. However, today I want to really evaluate the platform as a whole and perhaps even go into detail about what I did wrong while using Wattpad to keep you from making the same frustrating mistakes. 

Wattpad is a Search Engine

Just for a moment, I want you to think about the search feature on Wattpad and how it plays a role in users finding your content within the platform. The problem with Wattpad being a search engine is that you have to figure out what the most popular keywords are for your story. If you guess wrong, you won't get views on your work. 

Wattpad Writing Contests

Writing contests provide the opportunity to be seen on Wattpad. Often, Wattpad writing contest winners get into the paid stories program as well as extra promotion of their works on the platform. Most of the writing contests are free to participate in and are sponsored by large brands. The major upside to this would be about getting your name out there as a writer. It's great publicity for those who do manage to win. 

Paid Wattpad Stories

Personally, as a user these are annoying. I don't want to have to pay to read something on a writing platform. However, as an author, I would love to use paid stories for some extra income. The main problem with paid stories is that as an author you have to be somewhat consistent and you have to be getting views on your content before the Wattpad team contacts you. There really isn't a way to outright apply for this program, so you may end up putting your best work out there on the internet with the risk of it getting plagiarized and then monetized without any compensation to you for your work. 

Author's Note:

To finish up today, I want to remind everyone that the follow by email feature is ending in June. This means that blogger has decided you are no longer a loyal reader of my blog! How rude, right?! So due to the blogger's poor business decisions, I ask everyone to consider following me on social media to get the new post notifications. Thanks!

This post is sponsored by Serenity Links Business Solutions, a family-run small business doing internet marketing for local niche small businesses. 

Lessons From Brandon Sanderson

I did some research this week for y'all! I've been listening to lectures by Brandon Sanderson. So, for the purpose of allowing all of you to discover Brandon Sanderson, I'll include the links at the end of this post.

A discovery writer allows the story to write itself. The characters become well developed, realistic, emotional characters. However, discovery writers work can be disorganized. Some writers love to hash the heck out of an outline, others never write an outline.

Writing fantasy is a process of discovery! It's jumping into a broad dimension of possibilities! Writing is an escape and its work. You can write to you and your enjoyment or you can write to the world.

"Never be embarrassed to only write as a hobby." - Brandon Sanderson

If you really want to write, you're got to do it a lot. I'm talking about MANY hours of writing. Creating a career in writing is a long process. Often you will need to study a career that will have guaranteed chances to make a living. I've said this a lot here, I'm a writer who's also in school and I work part-time to fund my schooling.

However, writing still has value even if it never makes you a single cent. Brandon Sanderson brings this out and it's the greatest thing you can ever learn as a writer. Don't stop if one book fails! If you are gaining pleasure from writing then isn't that enough?

I wanted others to enjoy my work as well. That's why this blog exists! It's the cultivation and documentation of the journey.

This post is brought to you by Do You Tech

When you just can't write: Addressing Writers Block

Writer's block, that horribly annoying feeling when a blank page is daunting. I've been in a bit of a writing slump. Ideas have been alluding to me as of late.

The thing is that creativity and book ideas have always been this crazy spur of the moment ideas that I either trashed or was able to run with. It makes sense given that I deal with ADHD that inspiration to write would come this way. But, my reliance upon such ideas has now led me to a bit of a dry spell as far as my fictional works are concerned.

I also think that a lot of the creative block I've been experiencing has to do with the deterioration of my health. Sadly I just don't have as much energy as I used to for writing and schooling and everything else that is going on in life. After all, it isn't easy to be a part-time writer and still be producing content regularly. Part of that content creation also involves keeping the readers engaged.
I have found an interesting connection to not being able to do certain things. It seems to be a theme popping up in my dreams too. Recently I recalled a dream where I couldn't pick up food with a fork. It was extremely irritating. Sometimes the simplest things are what we take for granted until something blocks the everyday functions.

Here is another example, before the crash, I could run around and I was quite active with a regular exercise schedule. Then, an injury put a sudden and abrupt halt to these habits. Nearly two years later, even walking requires considerable energy and even mental effort. Losing my feet for a long time also meant losing my hands for nearly eight months. I lost a lot because of the accident. To be blunt, there are times when I wonder if the tormenting pain will end.

But, in all my wondering, I am reminded that without conflict in a story the characters have nothing to allow them growth or development. The breaking points for your characters may very closely resemble your own challenges in life. You may be writing in a roundabout way your own personal story of overcoming something that once felt impossible to you.

Very rarely does a story character become better on their own. They need the wisdom and experience that a mentor figure provides. So it is with finding your way in your own writing journey. You must have phases of self-discovery and encouragement of others. Learning from the near-fatal mistakes of those who come before us will also prevent us from making those same painful mistakes for ourselves.

Writing is my Therapy

It's really no secret that the act of writing is highly therapeutic to me. Its something I wish I had more time to do. Writing is an escape as much as it is a reality check. It brings deep emotions to the surface and it allows me to attempt to describe the intense visual wonders of my day dreams. But, those day dreams are not just visually engaging. The mark of a gifted writer is often the ability to create a world and then to place yourself within it to feel, touch, taste, smell and so on.

Writing somehow seems to connect me with all the elements of my true self, the nature of my humanity. Stories are built around conflict, unrest, dystopian and unpredictable conditions. It is the unknown that drives readers to keep reading those stories. It is challenging obstacles that build and develop characters in our favorite novels, even our most loved films. Yet, when faced with real-life obstacles, many of us feel alone, vulnerable, or possibly even hopeless.

The very thing that we know builds character suddenly becomes terrifying to us in the real world. Why? It is the unknown that builds tension, even anxiety. The real world endings are often far from a carefully crafted Novel. Things happen to us that are cruelly unfair. The bad guys do sometimes win, and they do sometimes feel as if to have stolen our thunder.

Someone did try to steal my thunder, my spotlight in my novel of life. It was cruel, unfair, unreasonable, and prejudice in nature even. Disrespect came from a lack of understanding me. Yes, at the time I had differences within me that could make me a complicated person to deal with from time to time, but still, I do not see why it had to be that way.

I'm trying to see challenges and discomfort in my own life as an opportunity to build Character, though positivity is not always my strong suit. I'm real and quite bluntly open about things like depression and anxiety. Those things are very real, and I have not only seen these illnesses in myself. Many of my friends have fallen victim to the terror of it too. Mental illness advocacy is something that deeply matters to me, it's why I did quite a bit of extensive research to write it as authentic as possible even within a novel that is of the fictional genre.


Mental illness though is a real challenge in our world outside of books. I simply gave it a voice by writing about it. Some may dislike how much I advocate against mental illness stigma, but, those are they who have not yet taken the time necessary to understand that they could one day save a life by knowing the warning signs of struggling souls.

Free Worksheets for Writers

 Hello everyone! This post is all about where to get free downloads for writing worksheets to help you plan your perfect novel!

Free Worksheets Created by Me (Amanda Evergreen):

Character Profile Worksheat

Free Worksheets out on the Web:

Readership & Your Audience:

http://www.eadeverell.com/writing-worksheet-wednesday-your-readership/?utm_content=buffer4f2cf&utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Character Thoughts:

http://www.eadeverell.com/writing-worksheet-wednesday-thoughts/

World-Building:

http://www.eadeverell.com/writing-worksheet-wednesday-magic/

Synopsis Writing:

http://www.eadeverell.com/writing-worksheet-wednesday-synopsis-writing/?utm_content=buffer11dab&utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Villans:

http://www.eadeverell.com/writing-worksheet-wednesday-villains/

Fight Scenes:

http://www.eadeverell.com/writing-worksheet-wednesday-fighting/

Technology:

http://www.eadeverell.com/writing-worksheet-wednesday-technology/?utm_content=buffer665c6&utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Fixing Plot Holes:

http://www.eadeverell.com/writing-worksheet-wednesday-plot-hole-gapping/?utm_content=buffer3a260&utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Expressing Emotion

http://www.eadeverell.com/writing-worksheet-wednesday-expressing-emotions/?utm_content=buffer3cc5e&utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest.com&utm_campaign=buffer

If you got something helpful from this post you can buy my New Novel here! http://www.lulu.com/shop/amanda-evergreen/shyelle-rise-of-the-dragon-kingdoms/paperback/product-23296355.html

How to Use the Hero's Journey Free Printable Worksheet

 Here is the free printable of my worksheet :)

How to Use the Hero's Journy Handouts 

How Airline Flight Helped Me Learn About Dragon Flight! New Insights for Your Story!

Hello Fans and Readers! Welcome to Amanda Evergreen's Blog!

Want to know how the logistics of Airline flying relate to the Flight of dragons? Recently my family had the amazing opportunity to go to Honolulu, Hawaii. We went for my Grandparents' Anniversary and the High School Graduation of my cousin and I.

I will begin by saying It's been ten years since I was on a plane prior to our tropical vacation. Ten years ago we my two brothers where adopted from Europe. Oh, how I had forgotten what take off actually feels like. A frightening array of G force in your face as you're shoved against the seat.

Really, it's quite amazing that the gigantic tube of metal with wings gets off the ground at all.
Furthermore, it got me thinking about the amount of mussel, thrust and surface area on the wings that a dragon would need to make flight possible. Obviously, a dragon with a human rider could not fly into the thermosphere as a plane does because of thin oxygen and harsh temperatures reaching down to -68 degrees Fahrenheit. Also, logically speaking flying as high as 36,000 feet means you need Airspace clearance.

The second bit of insight I gained from the flight was that everything is tiny above it. To illustrate this check out my photos below. There is a whole new perspective to discover above the world!

If you liked this post, check out my own Novel! http://www.lulu.com/shop/amanda-evergreen/shyelle-rise-of-the-dragon-kingdoms/paperback/product-23296355.html

this post brought to you by logan remodeling

Lessons From Lance Conrad, Author of the Prince Trilogy

Recently, in my Science Fiction Course, I had the opportunity to hear from the published fantasy author, Lance Conrad. He is the writer of the books: The Prince of Creation, The Prince of Nobility, The Prince of Loyalty, and The Weight of Swords. This week I would like to share some of the main points from his presentation with all of you that may or may not have had the opportunity to attend his book talk. You can click on the image bellow to link to his website.

1. Lance believes he became an Author through hard dedicated work not through talent alone.  

He told us that one of the things he got asked about the most as an author was how it felt to finally see his books in print. I thought it was very interesting however that he talked about getting published is usually what young aspiring authors see as the ultimate achievement, but there's a lot more to being an author than just getting your book into print. Yes, publishing is a great accomplishment and an amazing milestone, I am not by any means here to look down upon that but, many new authors totally forget about the marketing side of being an author.

He said “Most of us authors are introverts, we are the ones back at a desk behind a computer writing. We don't like to be the ones actually talking about our books.”

To this I agree too oh so well, which brings me to the next important point from Lance’s Presentation. I had the opportunity to personally ask him this question myself.

2) I asked Lance what he did to promote his books and this is the answer I got:

As many of you know I have been looking for ways to better market my own book, so why not learn from someone who has done it right? Well, the answer I got was that Lance actually started out just about as naive into his dream as I am for mine. He started believe it or not selling his books door to door. You’re probably thinking at this point something like “what the heck was he thinking?”. When it came down to it though, he talked to us about what he learned from those miserable days with door to door selling and rejection letters from libraries and book stores. Lance had come to the conclusion that he was just too new. He did tell us that his days with door to door pitching of his book did help him with public speaking however and that through this he learned to really tell his story orally to the point of his book pitch becoming perfect and memorized.  

3) If you want your dreams to become reality you have to be persistent enough to pursue them.

I think this is probably the best thing I got out of Lance's book talk. Along these lines he talked about not being afraid to look stupid sometimes. The successful people are the ones who have enough perseverance to withstand the pear pressure. Think of Thomas Edison, if he would have given up then we wouldn’t have light bulbs. Likewise Lance also told us to “learn by doing, keep asking questions.” I thought it was interesting that he brought the whole curiosity of learning theme to the table, this is how our high school is trying to train students to think.

I was selected to be part of the student learning “experiment” as I will call it way back during my freshman year.  You know what? It changed my life. I realized that there was so much more to school than the grades. I often think that grades alone are a very poor way to measure success. Ask me how much information I actually have retained from all my years in school. It’s not as much as you would think. Why? Well, because I remember the information I have actually used over and over again. So, the big take away here is that some of us are meant to jump from thing to thing, until we find something that will forever feed our curiosity. For Lance Conrad this thing is writing books. It really inspired me, I feel like I fit his description well of the “job jumper” at the moment.

4) Characters are the most important element for your story.

Characters drive your story, they make the events in the story matter. Lance used the example of Harry Potter here, which I really liked so I’ll reiterate what he said. He talked about how Harry Potter was such an innocent character  and then JK Rowling kinda beat the crap out of him. However, it is all these hardships that Harry Potter faced that makes us as the readers connect to him.  

Lance told us this, “The hero can’t be perfect. Make your main character struggle, have doubts, and fear. Give them things they have to overcome in your story. Good characters have trails. They chose to still go on with all fate against them.”

I love this so much because it reminds me of the Hero’s Journey writing model. The whole point of the hero’s journey is to make an ordinary character a better person by putting them through extraordinary circumstances. It is in these circumstances that your character has to choose between becoming a hero or a selfish brat. This is why I also believe that literature itself makes us better people if we chose to learn from it. We may not have superpowers or dragons to ride but we all have something very powerful within us, our human nature. At some point in our lives all of us will make choices between the forces of good and evil, for better and for worse.  

Through my own writing journey with Shyelle - Rise of the Dragon Kingdoms my characters have grown as I have grown with them as the writer. Remember that. You as the writer must submit yourself to becoming a better person too. Many of the challenges Kristen faces as the main character in Shyelle are real things that I have faced for myself personally. My own hardships give me something fascinating to write about. Consider this, especially when you feel that you're losing a firm grip on your dreams.

5) A writer is only as good as his/her connections to his/her readers

It's one thing to be a writer, but it's a whole new world to be out there with your writing and to be successful at sharing it. Lance talked a lot about being proactive with your work as a writer. He said that you really have to just buckle down and talk to people because your book really won’t start to matter until it matters to your readers. You have to be willing to write and then to share. Best selling authors become best selling authors because they share what they have written and learned along the way.

Character Development: The Sandbox Technique

The sandbox technique is one of my favorite new tools for character development that I read about a while back in a Writers Digest article called “Layered Revision” by Gabriela Pereira. In the article there are five layers of revision. The Narration or Point of View, Characters, Plot, Scenes and Cosmetics (Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling & Word Choice.This week’s post will be focusing on layer two, Character Development.

“When you test things out in the sandbox, you eliminate the risk of accidentally breaking anything in your manuscript.” - Gabriela Pereira

I love this concept, there have been countless times when I feel like I have screwed my manuscript trying to fix character issues. Luckily I kept back ups of my original draft, my second draft, my third draft and so on so that I could return to them. For any writer I highly recommend doing this. When your first draft is complete and you are ready to edit save a copy of the document under another name labeling it the draft number that it is, this will save you a lot of time and heartache when you feel like you mess up your manuscript. However, if you are really looking for a good way to develop your characters heres some tips based on the “Layered Revision” Article.

The sandbox technique is all about taking your established character and throwing them into a totally different situation that the character does not face in your story or novel. For example, I took my character Kirsten from Shyelle - Rise of the Dragon Kingdoms and put her in a school setting and wrote from her first person point of view. While doing this I realized that the story was much better told from her first person perspective rather than the third person omniscient perspective the novel was originally drafted in. There is more room for readers to connect to the story and feel like they are in it, fulfilling the ultimate goal of writers connecting with their audience.

“Characters give your story meaning. They make us care about the events in your story, making those events matter.” - Gabriela Pereira

In order to write an exceptional character it is also important to know what motivates that character. You may need to do some digging to find this but when you do find it your story will be exponentially more engaging for your audience. Many times I have found that the inspiration for what motivates my characters is reaching down and knowing what motivates myself. A well written novel has characters that stand for something that they passionately believe in! This is especially important for your protagonist as their belief system will be a driving force that will guide their behavior through the entire novel. It may even be beneficial to put yourself in the place of your protagonist in writing a sandbox mode draft. Your belief system as the author will help you to form the belief system and values of your protagonist.

We tackled the protagonist but what about writing an with an effective antagonist? As many of us writers know having an effective antagonist to tempt your protagonist away from their mission is just as important as your protagonist. The antagonist needs to have defined motives for why they do evil. People usually do not to just decide to be evil overnight. Maybe your antagonist uses anger to justify their actions, maybe it's greed, or maybe it is fear that drives them.  

Another really important thing to remember when writing with an antagonist is that most antagonists at some point where potential protagonists. Try writing the scene that your antagonist makes the defining decision to become the antagonist that they are now. This will help you to pinpoint your antagonist's motives. Keep working with your characters until you feel like you know them almost as well as yourself! Most important don't give up!

Learning to Conquer Your Own Hero’s Journey in the Writing Process

Drafting your story: The Call to Adventure

A draft is a merely a detailed brainstorm of your ideas. It’s supposed to be messy, disorganized and yes, even a bit awful. However, don’t let this discourage you from writing. There is hope for you. The drafting stage is your “Call to Adventure”, you have an amazing Idea and now it's time to do something with it! One of the most important attributes of a successful author is the ability to keep writing in the face of opposition. In other words when people tell you “your writing is trash” get up turn around and recycle that trash. If they Honestly tell you that “your writing is trash” then figure out how to learn from it. Maybe it is trash right now but it doesn't have to stay trash forever!

Refusal of the Call: The Rough Draft Blues & Writers Block:

If you have ever experienced writer's block you know that it is relentless. Every hero along the hero’s journey will at some point refuse their call to adventure. That’s where writers block and discouragement come in. The moment you believe you can’t be a writer is the moment you have set yourself up to fail. I am a firm believer that self doubt is the biggest enemy to our creativity. Now, at this point you may be saying something like this “What if it’s just the way I am? What if I suffer from anxiety or depression?”

First off, you're not alone if you are asking yourself these questions. In fact, I asked myself the same questions while I was drafting Shyelle - Rise of the Dragon Kingdoms. You may just need to Meet with a Mentor, which I will talk about more in the next section.

Sometimes this writer's block comes as a result of stress in your life, sometimes it comes from a lack of inspiration in your mental inspiration holding tank. The cure? Put away your story for a while and carry a notebook everywhere you go. I really do mean everywhere. Do yourself a HUGE favor and invest in a good durable notebook that is small enough to carry with you everywhere. This may be a physical notebook or an online “notebook” you keep on your phone in Google docs. Whatever is more convenient for you. Maybe you're a fairly decent artist too and you want a sketchbook so you can draw and write.

Like this Quote:

“Keep a Notebook. Travel with it, eat with it, sleep with it. Slap into it every stray thought that flutters up into your brain. Cheap paper is less perishable that gray matter, and  lead pencil markings endure longer than memory.”Jack London

Seriously though, write down everything in it! I recently discovered Frixion erasable ink pens and I’m obsessed! I can use my notebook over and over and over again. When it's full I scan it all into my Google Drive. When I first was diagnosed with A.D.H.D. my doctor told me to carry a notebook, I have found that it was also the missing tip I really needed at the time to improve my writing not just my ability to remember things in school. Even if you don’t have A.D.H.D you can still gain exponential benefits from carrying a notebook especially if you are a journal writer.

Journaling not only improves your mental health but it also improves your ability to focus on the important things, meaning more focus to your writing. Authors often write into their stories topics that they deal with in their everyday lives. Journaling will help you to remember these topics that you can insert and play with in your writing later on. If you are worried about pesky people getting into your private writing I do suggest using Google Docs or a Word document encrypted with a password. Print your document from time to time and keep it safe, you always want a back up weather it’s your journal or your Novel. You can trust me from experience on that one.

Meeting the Mentor: Authors Read and Learn from Others:

Think about someone who has positively impacted your life. This could be a teacher, a friend, a family member or a doctor. All heroes need a mentor or teacher along their hero’s journey. Those of us who were having self doubts may even need some professional help. There's no shame in that! The most important thing I have gained from my struggles through Learning Disabilities is that you have to suck it up and ask for help. You need to humble yourself enough to kick yourself over the head a little bit and go ask for the help you know you really need.

For the rest of you, congratulations you're reading this and you’ve found a Mentor in your writing process! Reading is one of the most powerful tools for an Author. I didn’t always believe this for myself, in fact for a long time I avoided reading. However, I have been able to find the right tools that allow reading to be less of a burden on me as an insecurity. I got a C pen Reader Pen for my birthday and oh my gosh it’s like where has this been years ago! So, even if reading isn’t your strong suit, you can find tools and adaptations that work for you. It’s ok to be different, just learn what works for you.

Crossing the Threshold: Committing to a Realistic Goal

A hero in the hero’s journey needs to cross the threshold in order to grow and continue their journey. Usually they must also overcome guardians of the threshold. This is where you must find what is holding you back from writing and work to overcome it. The best motivation for change is to set a realistic Goal. Let’s say that I want to be better at descriptive writing. I would set a goal to work on a descriptive writing exercise at least once a week. Then I have to evaluate how I’m doing. Even if you get off on your goal keep working towards it.

Tests, Allies, Enemies: Learning from Life

In the hero’s journey your protagonist needs to face challenges. They need to struggle. It’s what makes a book a bestseller. The same goes for us in our lives and in the writing process. Take what you learn from hard times and give that knowledge to your characters.

“Truth must always remain, yet it must always face opposition. Without such opposition there would be nothing worth fighting for and no need to conquer our fears.” - Shyelle - Rise of the Dragon Kingdoms

Ordeal, Death, and Rebirth: Editing Your Work

For many authors the Editing process is a big scary thing but it doesn’t have to be. At the same time I called the Editing process the “Ordeal, Death, and Rebirth” in the hero’s journey because it really is Death and Rebirth of your story. This is the phenix of your story. The point in which your character faces their biggest challenge that hits them at their weakest point. Editing is about keeping the good stuff and strengthening the weakest points.

Return Home With Reward:

Your final draft is being polished, your hero has learned from Their journey, have you learned from yours? What have you gained from the journey? Sometimes you will not receive recognition. It is the true writer that continues to write whether or not there is rewarded publicly.

What is my Creative Identity?

So a little background on this is that this post was not written to be just a post. In fact it wasn't even written with the intention of being a blog post but it turned out so good I thought I would share it with my internet readers too! So, I actually wrote this as an assigned essay for my Creative Writing Class, which by the way if you can't tell is obviously like my absolute favorite class EVER guys! My teacher for this class, he's pretty cool too. It makes any class better to have a good teacher.

The Essay is based on Walter Mitty from the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, as a metaphor for our own creative journeys. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is about a guy who publishes the cover photos for life magazine. He is partners with the famous photographer and loses his Negative, the last cover photo for the last issue of the magazine. He has a whole journey to find the photo and connect to the girl he loves. The actual essay may appear here in a different fount for which I apologize but it will show up that way because I copy and pasted it out from my school assignment.

What is my Creative Identity?

Being a creator is about finding that place where no one has the power to tell me that I can’t reach my dreams. It is in the act of creating that I find my strength when I feel like I have nothing left at all to hope for. It’s in the days that I want to give up so badly, that creation heals my soul.

Walter Mitty lost the Negative for the most famous photograph to be published on the cover of Life magazine. Being creative is not an easy journey. It hurts, I fall down, I break things, I get told that I can’t do it, or that I shouldn’t.  My pears ask me why I put forth so much effort into a field that I can’t be successful in, according to them. But in reality I struggle every day to do something that is so natural to them, to read and to spell. In fact it's one of my worst fears to read anything aloud, even my own writing. Not because I don’t want to share my writing but because I struggle to read. The words turn into a foreign language and I stumble over them. Those people who laugh at me don’t have a clue how lucky they are. They’ve never known what it feels like to free yourself in creativity. They’ve never sacrificed everything they have to create something amazing.

In Walter Mitty's moment of discouragement he threw away what he wanted the most. He started to believe that he should just go back to being “normal”. As creators it is inevitable for us to face moments like this. It is in these moments that I have proven myself as a creator. I will admit to rough patches in my creative journey but I’ve always gotten up.  It’s easy to believe the opposition and  voices in the back of your head telling you “this is crazy” “Why are you doing this?” or “You will never be good enough”. Honestly though, the biggest limitation to creativity is myself.

The daydreams of Walter Mitty seem to be unproductive, but it was those daydreams that pushed him past his comfort zone right into his limits. His day dreams really reminded me of myself. People think that ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is a bad thing but it isn’t always. ADHD allows me to see the whole picture all at once. While ADHD is admittedly a limitation too in the fact that I can’t sit still through a lesson and  the fact that I experience all lifes scenes at once, it’s also a gift. In the moments I seem to be unfocused are the moments I am dreaming and creating. While I am forced to live life out of focus, I’m also forced feel everything at a deeper level. Every tear is a moving expression of strength not weakness. Every smile is a feeling of standing at the top of the world. Every moment of compassion is deep empathy. Finding someone who doesn’t make fun of me is difficult. Finding someone else who know’s what my disability feels like is nothing shy of a miracle.

My daydreams are life like generations in a three dimensional explorable sphere of thought. It’s like creating a super high definition virtual reality inside my mind. I can see every angle, describe every color, taste, smell, and emotion connected to it. Walter Mitty learned that he had to walk right into his story. The biggest limitation to this gift is that you as a reader can’t see what I see exactly how I see it. I can’t bring you into my mental virtual reality physically, but I can write about it.

In the scene where Walter is in Iceland he is told to “Jump in the boat” from the helicopter to deliver the radio parts to a ship. As I creator I must have the courage to “Jump in the boat”.  To take a step towards something great even when I miss the boat completely, lose the radio parts and nearly drown. The inspiration to create draws upon the stories we carry within us, our environment, our friendships, our jobs and even our sleeping hours.

In the end, we are the only true limitation to our own creativity. I learned through my writing career so far that when I create I must walk fully into my stories to feel my characters emotions, to taste of their loss, and to see their world. I must put my soul on the page because creating is a reflection of what I am, inside. Creation is my act of hope and the strength to do what feels utterly impossible. Through my creation I hope to inspire people to challenge their paradigm.

The Best Writing Advice I've Heard

I came across this while browsing Pinterest. After trying it, I'm convinced it's the best writing advice I've got.



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