August Theme: The Creative Life
Big Question: How do we build a creative life that works for us?
Week 4: Preparing for What Comes Next
As we’re wrapping up August, I can’t help but pause and reflect on how my current novel project fits into the creative life I truly want, and vice versa. And, I’ll be honest, it hasn’t been as easy as I was hoping it would be, as launching monthly themes and a brand-new book club on Daily Drafts & Dialogues, while working on monthly in-depth writing collections for paid subscribers, and trying to keep up with social media post creation and engagement has taken up quite a bit of time and energy, to put it mildly. Which is not to say I would have done anything differently, because I have been thoroughly enjoying the new direction Daily Drafts & Dialogues is taking, and all the new readers and writers I have been able to connect with as a result! But it is to say that I still find it important to take a breather and remain accountable to myself, my creative aspirations, and the creative life I want to continue building, especially as the month comes to a close.
So, this month’s Drafting Diaries installment is more a confession and reflection about my WIP and how it’s fitting into my creative life, and where I want to take it next as I prepare for what comes next, than it is a post full of impressive progress reports and word count numbers. Though the hope is, of course, that I will be able to offer more of that in next month’s Drafting Diaries, as long as I pause and take the time I need to reflect on my project and where it’s headed now.
And part of that reflection entails reacquainting myself with, and introducing you all to, one of my main characters. So, I thought it would be a good idea to share her character sketch in today’s post before I reflect on and unpack how answering August’s Big Question (How do we build a creative life that works for us?) influenced my WIP and work flow this month.
Work In Progress (WIP) Notes and Updates
Working Title: The Great Integration
Genre: Speculative Literary Dystopian Fiction
Estimated Release: May 2027 (Book 1 of 3)
Current Draft: 3
How to Support my WIP: Kickstarter Campaign Forthcoming
Working Synopsis: Forthcoming— See Drafting Diaries: Creative Courage for more details about what is in the works.
As of right now, my WIP has dual timelines. In the 2086 timeline, there is one character who is engaging with an AI, as it explores the narrative of the other, past timeline. I’m still working out how to tell that part of the story and whether I want it told in the first or third person… or in some other way. I have a few ideas but am still narrowing down that narrative’s structure and distinct voice through the drafts I’m working on.
In the 2050 timeline, however, I know there will be two main characters whose storylines will be told in the third-person and alternated throughout Book 1, a mother and a daughter. So, I thought sharing one of their character sketches today would be a good idea. However, please keep in mind that this sketch is still a work in progress, so I still have some details to fill in as I continue working on my WIP, which might inevitably be revised in the future.
Behind-the-Scenes Preview: Character Sketch for Eve
Nicknames/Aliases: V, Evie
Usernames: TBD
Age: 18-20 when Esther/Eden disappeared
Birth Date, Birthplace: January 1, Medical Campus 1, Elysia
Physical Description:
Dark brown hair, green eyes, below average height, and looks like Daisy Edgar-Jones and Lucy Hale if their features and stature were combined.
Occupation:
ArXivist/Librarian for the AI M0nArck— She organizes data and information often presented in pieces and fragments into narratives and stories for the ArXiv, as assigned.
Personality:
Eve is highly analytical and thrives in structured environments. She is also very rule-oriented and follows societal expectations and norms, especially as they are distributed by M0nArck, but only due to her mother’s and family’s perceived status and influence, which is starting to wane.
When Eve gets a lead or bit of information, she will follow it relentlessly until she’s able to form a comprehensive narrative of what happened, to unearth what she perceives as ‘the truth.’ So, in this way, the rules she truly abides are those that fit into a narrative she can organize and understand. She is an archivist at heart, a searcher and demander of truth, insisting that humanity ‘gets the record straight.’ But she is also a skeptic whenever the information before her does not match what is in the ArXiv.
She is curious, dependable, confident, and incredibly loyal to her twin brother, Eli, as well as those in her inner circle that she fully trusts. Once her trust is lost, however, it is nearly impossible for others to get it back.
Habits/Mannerisms:
She reads physical books, which is an anomaly in 2050. This habit makes her think more critically than others, and better at her ArXivist job, but also makes her seem eccentric to a lot of people. So while she is always following societal rules and is part of the second-highest strata of society due to her mother’s background, she is still often seen as weird by her peers in many ways.
She is always observing what’s going on around her and asking questions and bites the inside of her cheek when she’s deep in thought. She’ll also go on cleaning rampages when she’s stressed.
Important Relationships (Book 1):
Esther/Eden, her mother
Eli, her twin
Lydia, her best friend
Ruth, Lydia’s grandmother, her surrogate grandmother
Asher, her mother’s friend who watches out for her
Silas, her power-hungry uncle
Adam, her oldest friend
Deb, her boss and mentor
Role in Story: Reluctant Hero
Motivators:
Discovering ‘the truth’ is always a driver for Eve. Because M0nArck keeps information and records tidy and consistent, she believes this means it also holds ‘the truth’ of what has happened in its ArXiv and often compares the books she reads to its databases. So, when she uncovers irrefutable proof that indicates a few of M0nArck’s records are in error, she becomes invested in digging deeper…
GOALS: Still fine-tuning this section… more to come…
Strengths:
Eve is thorough, intuitive, thinks quickly on her feet, and is resourceful. While she is rule-oriented, she can be quick to adapt when rules are no longer working or make any sense in whatever context she is in. She is also very loyal— even though she’s mad at her mom, Eden, she still loves her and doesn’t fully forsake her when everyone else in Elysia does and still continues to search for Eden, in her own way.
Weaknesses/Challenges:
Type 1 Diabetes keeps her bound to Elysia, keeps her from ‘going rogue’ or looking for information across the border in Arcadia because she needs constant access to insulin, which is offered by M0nArck... at the beginning of Book 1 at least.
Her curiosity also gets her into precarious situations. And she doesn’t know how to lie, even when it would serve her interests and safety to do so.
Internal Conflicts:
While Eve believes in M0nArck and the ecosystems it designs and administers, this belief is mainly due to her being raised underneath its purview and jurisdiction her entire life, so she’s known and experienced nothing else.
Her curiosity, which she is learning to cultivate and trust, is also something she struggles with, as it often leads her to places that directly conflict with M0nArck and what she has been made to believe. She is also in the process of understanding how her curiosity directly conflicts with her job and broader societal expectations that keep her in Elysia.
External Conflicts:
Eve is in love with Adam but M0nArck paired them with other life partners instead of each other, and placed them in different sectors of society, so they can’t be together. She also wants to explore the world outside of Elysia but doesn’t want to be outcast from society and the ways it protects her, especially since all she hears is how bad everything across the border is. And she loves her mother and is deeply conflicted by what she believes her mother did, which leads to both internal and external conflicts.
Character ARC:
How does Eve change over the course of the series? This is currently in development but let me know, based on what you know about my WIP and this character sketch, how you see Eve’s character developing over the course of the series— both positive and negative changes.
Let me know what else you want to know about my WIP in the comments so I can be sure to include details about what you want to know in future posts.
The Reality of Building a Creative Life That Works for Me
What did I make space for?
In August, I made more space for messy and incomplete drafts. There were quite a few pieces and drafted chapters of my WIP that I started then left to finish later or not at all. I am actively learning to make space for imperfect and incomplete drafts in my files, which is actually not all that easy for me to do. I really don’t like the feeling of starting something I don’t finish… but am learning to let go of those drafts that really only need to exist to flesh out ideas and characters and nothing more.
I also made more space for organizing my thoughts and drafts on my editing/publishing calendar, updating it to include more time in between drafting a project and revising it then publishing it. This is giving me more time and space to consider projects in between drafts before things are published.
What creative habits am I cultivating?
I am continuing to cultivate the habits of reading and writing every day. To me, these are the most important habits to cultivate, especially for the creative life I want to continue living. Read more of my thoughts on this here: The Habits That Help Me and My Creative Life Most.
What did I do about the ‘messy middle’ of my draft?
I am still working on ‘the messy middle’ of my WIP, word by word, draft by draft, day by day. Though I am more confident than ever in taking the time I need to untangle its story, so that I can have fun while doing it.
Working on character sketches and drafting scenes at random, knowing they’re discovery exercises more than final excerpts to publish, has actually helped me get a better sense of the main story in my WIP and where I want it to go, and has been more fun too.
This newer approach has made me realize how to enjoy working on my drafts, and my creative life as a result. I want to keep looking at my WIP as a puzzle to solve, a journey to go on, instead of a mess to clean up or a final destination I need to reach, as this ensures my curiosity is more likely to be ignited than snuffed out as I continue to work on it. And that I enjoy my creative life.
What comes next in my WIP?
Over the next few months, I hope to share more excerpts of text from my WIP with you, as well as some world-building notes and images and information about the AI that Elysia relies on. I also hope to introduce some other vital characters to you. Stay tuned!
A Reflection and Invitation to Discuss The Creative Life
Overall, reflecting on how to make space, cultivate the creative habits I need, and navigate ‘the messy middle’ this month have helped me have a much greater understanding of what my WIP needs, as well as what I need in my life to make sure I can give my WIP the life it needs and deserves.
How about you? How has exploring this month’s posts about The Creative Life influenced the direction of your current WIP, or what you’re preparing for next in your creative life?
I invite you to take a moment to look back at what you worked on in August, then leave a comment or join the chat so we can discuss it. Tell us what you’re working on, how reflecting on The Creative Life influenced your writing this month, and where you want your creative life to go next!
Whether you share excerpts from your latest work, ask more thought-provoking questions about creative living, or join to connect with other writers and support their work, we look forward to your contributions!
Continue Exploring August’s Theme, The Creative Life
This Week: Preparing for What Comes Next
Writing Prompts for What Comes Next in Your Creative Life
Popular Posts from Week 3: The Messy Middle
Writing Prompts for Navigating ‘The Messy Middle’
Reading Notes: The Cemetery of Untold Stories
Popular Posts from Week 2: Creative Habits
Immersive Storytelling Mode and the ArXiv
Reading Notes: The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
The Habits That Help Me and My Creative Life Most
Popular Posts from Week 1: Making Space
A Day Alive in the Lakeside Library
How to Make Space and Time for Your Creative Life
The Creative Life as Play and Work
Consider going more in depth with this month’s theme with The Creative Life Writing Collection
Every prompt, draft, and dialogue begins a conversation, but some of those conversations deserve more of our time and attention.
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