Tag: creativity

author, holidays

Welcome to 2023!

emilieturner95

Happy New Year!

It’s officially 2023! Where on earth did 2022 go? It seemed to absolutely fly by! I can’t believe we’ve made it to 2023 – another year but not much is changing right now.

I don’t really do resolutions often. I think New Year’s resolutions often lead to disappointment and feelings of failure if they’re not met. Sometimes resolutions work, and it’s amazing when they do, but more often than not they fizzle out (the gym is always packed the first few weeks of January and then quite rapidly dies down again, just for one example).

I can’t even remember the resolutions I made last year. I know I made some, but honestly, I have no clue what I did. But this year, I’m doing things a little differently. I’m not making any resolutions this year. I’m going to make some goals for the year but no resolutions for me!

I have two main goals for the year. One personal and one professional.

First: I want to be more present for my family. This year I felt out of touch and a bit scatterbrained. I have ADHD which doesn’t help but I feel like I want to be more present with my family. Date nights, family adventures and spending more quality time together is a goal of mine for this year. I still have writing goals and aspirations but I’m going to prioritise my family first!

Second: I want to commit to the last year of my Master’s program and come out the other side with an amazing novella. I’m determined to see through my last year and I am excited to write my novella and see what my supervisor thinks. I really want to be able to publish my Master’s novella and I have a goal to put it forward to a publisher at the end of the year!

These are the only two goals I’ve set for this year. If I don’t completely meet them, that’s absolutely fine. I find that the term ‘resolution’ often leads to disappointment in myself so I’ve rebranded and I’m going to aim for my goals and work on them both throughout the entire year. Any improvement will be achieving my goals!

I love hearing about other people’s goals/resolutions for the New Year and I hope everyone succeeds where they want!

author, University, writing

When University Gets In The Way

emilieturner95

“University’s like this little world, a bubble of time separate from everything before and everything after.”

Mhairi McFarlane

I do love studying, and I have said that many times before, however it does sometimes get in the way of my creativity.

During a semester I am filled with stress and constantly studying. It stifles a lot of my creativity and makes it harder to get creative writing done. It’s more just one report after another.

It is fun going through my degree and learning as much as I am, but it is hard to accept that I am very unproductive in my creative life for several months out of the year. I do commit myself to my studies though, and sometimes that does require some sacrifices.

“Assiduity, it means sit down until you do it. Commit yourself to your work and study.”

Lucas Remmerswaal

I do try to fit writing in during a semester, and early on I can get some done. But I get burnt out very quickly. Between work and full-time studies, I can’t focus on writing or keeping up with my creative outlets. It can be really frustrating for me, as all I want to do is write and creatively express myself!

Person Writing on Notebook

It can be sad thinking about the lack of writing, but it’s not a major thing to be sad about, but it does get to me sometimes. I know I spend many months outside of classes being productive, and I just have to lean on that and accept that Uni does get in the way of writing.

It’s all for an end goal and one day I will graduate with a psychology degree and continue in my world of writing!

“I do not know anyone who has got to the top without hard work. That is the recipe. It will not always get you to the top, but it should get you pretty near.”

Margaret Thatcher
author, pandemic, Writing

Fanfiction and Other Writings

emilieturner95

“There’s a time and place for everything, and I believe it’s called ‘fan fiction’.”

Joss Whedon

I admit it! I am a sucker for fanfiction! It’s a whole other world of creative writing and it is so much fun to indulge in.

I haven’t written much fanfic in a while, but I definitely do indulge in reading it. I always choose the fantasy worlds and my gaming worlds to read fanfiction about.

It’s fun to get absorbed in a world you already know and read about characters you know and enjoy someone else’s take on those characters.

Woman Sitting on Chair Using Black Ipad

I do enjoy those worlds and reading and writing fanfic. It is a fun world to get into, and kind of like a rabbit hole!

I have also been enjoying writing some short stories and poetry recently. It’s hard to do too much with novels while Uni is on, but I do try to be somewhat creative. Short stories help me to take small breaks from my studies and remain creatively minded.

It is fun throwing together a short story, and maybe one day I’ll compile them together! Who knows what the future holds?

But, for now, I’m going to go indulge in some fanfiction before returning to my current assessment!

“Fanfiction is what literature might look like if it were reinvented from scratch after a nuclear apocalypse by a band of brilliant pop-culture junkies trapped in a sealed bunker. They don’t do it for money. That’s not what it’s about. The writers write it and put it up online just for the satisfaction. They’re fans, but they’re not silent, couchbound consumers of media. The culture talks to them, and they talk back to the culture in its own language.”

Lev Grossman
author, nanowrimo, Writing

The Final Stretch

emilieturner95

“Worldbuilding can be a lot of work. I try to see where things are linked together—and also to keep mundane details in mind. Just those, put together, give you a kind of rudimentary skeleton to start hanging things on.”

Ann Leckie

I am so close to the end! It’s within sight, within reach, and it is so incredibly exciting! I’m at 41,000 words and have 6 days left – definitely a feasible goal to write 9000 words in 6 days!

It’s been a hard process, but it’s so worth it. I feel so proud of myself for coming this far, and I’m sure that I will feel even prouder when it is complete!

I always struggle a little during NaNoWriMo. It’s hard to believe that it is possible to smash out 50,000 words in once month, but it definitely is possible!

I am usually able to get the 50,000 words done each month, but I do still wonder if it will happen each and every time I enter NaNoWriMo.

I am on that home stretch now and it is such a relieving feeling. Some days I struggle to write, but I do what needs to be done during NaNoWriMo – I just write anyway.

“If you can’t think of what to write, tough luck; write anyway.”

Philip Pullman

It may not always be my best work during those moments, but I do get ideas out and get some writing done. It may not all be useable when I go back and edit the novel, but at least it’s there and at least I tried!

It’s just one month out of the year dedicated towards NaNo and it is a worthwhile year. It was during a NaNoWriMo that I first wrote Infection Point, and I’m sure this NaNo and others to come will also help me flesh out a new novel that will eventually be realised to the public.

One step at a time is all it takes and this time next week, I will have my next novel draft completed, which is one of the best feelings!

“Writing permits me to be more than I am. Writing permits me to experience life as any number of strange creations”

Alice Walker