Hello fellow writers and readers. It’s been a while since I’ve done a blog post and when I originally started my blog, it was for a project called Writer In Motion WIM on Twitter. I’d stumbled across an inspiring writing community there. This project is on it’s fourth season and while I’m not part of the team this year, I have been in the past and enjoyed working with all the wonderful writers and editors involved.
Now for you who are new to WIM, you’re probably wondering
What is #WriterInMotion?
Here is a basic overview: Their goal is to help writers see what a difference the crafting and revision process is for various writers. It is pure and simple examples of the step-by-step process that each individual takes to craft a story and edit it to perfection. (or at least pretty darn close) As a writer, I sometimes look at what I’ve written and think… this isn’t good enough. (we’ve all been there) This project helps writers remember that revisions are what makes a story shine and that it is a part of every writer’s process. We all just go at it a bit differently, because we’re all individuals and that is what makes stories so powerfully unique.
This is my fourth time participating in WIM and like everyone else, I was anxiously awaiting the prompt reveal. Like every year, Jeni Chappelle did not disappoint. The photo this year is more my style. Fantasy. I write Young Adult and couldn’t have been more happy when I saw the prompt.
But then, as I took time to look at it and really think about it, I got stumped.
Everything that popped into my head seemed too… easy to see in the photo. I wanted to do something totally different, dive deeper into the feel of the photo.
My first thoughts were: The faceless… / Blinded by smoke / Hiding one’s true self / Mysterious / Tortured / Self-hate / Mask / Death / Protection of smoke (like woman from Africa said on the Death by Magic show on Netflix) / Hoodie / Magician / Shapeshifter / Misunderstood villain / Erasing his face? / A ghost who is only able to take on the human form for a moment / Ghost comes back to seek revenge
I’m sure everyone else had a lot of the same thoughts… So then I dug deeper. What is different about this photo? And then my eyes snagged on the guy’s hand. It is his LEFT hand. This might not seem like a big thing to anyone else, but for me it was. It reminded me of another left-handed character from one of my stories I’ve been working on. The story still needs a bit more editing and I’m currently swapping chapters of it with a CP, but when I looked at the photo again, I could see Ryatt and his romantic counterpart Ryn in this photo prompt.
The story is a Young Adult Contemporary Fantasy. Here is the rough logline I came up with before beginning the story:
A normal girl turned gangster, to find out who killed her brother, learns of a secret world of people who can control the weather. Falling for one, she must uncover the connection between the two before the gathering storm tears their budding love and the city apart.
And like always, I already have a rough cover designed and a couple aesthetics to help inspire me.
So, while I don’t want to give away too much about the story, I think I’m going to use Ryatt’s backstory as my WIM short this year. As someone who struggles with his identity and weather related abilities, and the fact that he is left-handed, he is the perfect match for the prompt.
I’m excited to see what you all think of Ryatt’s story. Thank you for reading and check back tomorrow for my next post!
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Thank you for reading!
- Steph