Weekly Update & Storyboards

Sunday I went to the Student Center of my college to get a bagel and found myself stuck in the building due to the on-pour that started around noon. Because I had my sketchbook, my Writer's Block Companion (the name of the current spiral notebook I write ideas in), and my phone filled with my Spotify playlists, I decided it was a good time to find a corner upstairs with a window and try to write something. 

What I came up with was highly influenced by the amount of Miyazaki films I've watched in the last week. I wanted to write something wholesome, cheerful, with the right dose of magic and world-building and a batch of realistic young people to pave the way. As I already have a basic but thought-out plot-line and my characters have been brought to life both in my sketchbook and in words, I believe this story could be the start of a fun project I end up completing. However, like lots of projects I take on that were due to whatever phase I was in-- superheroes, aliens, witches-- there's always the chance I give up on it. Either way, I will keep going and if I choose to put it aside, I believe this novel is fun enough that I will want to come back to it in the future. 

I have not worked on anything involving Freya in a while, but I believe that will change in the very near future as I start to think about what I want in the final copy of Nocturne of the Sea. It will likely inspire me to pick up working on the sequel, Ballade of the North again, which is good, because it's been a long while (I don't even remember the last thing I wrote about Freya). For now, i'm focused on the Apple sisters and their shenanigans. If I get back to Freya any time soon, I'll be sure to let you know. 

I'd like to talk to whoever's reading about something that has helped inspire me and build my excitement for my writing: storyboards. For me, it isn't just a collage of pictures; for each major project, I keep a collection of quotes, song lyrics, color palettes, places, people, and scenes that remind me of my story and may offer inspiration that could help further develop my rough ideas. I use Pinterest to storyboard; I'll link my account so that you can see what I mean. For example, I have a storyboard for Freya, Reed, Thyne, Alyeth, and Isadora to help me characterize them, come up with backstories and scenes, and remind me of the emotions I want them to invoke. I recently created new boards for my superhero story, The Enhanced, which may become a graphic novel, and Eagle, an old story I spent the last month giving new life to. Pinterest is a great way to find the aesthetic of your novel and to find quotes and scenery that may help you when you find yourself in a slump. Even more, you can find others who are using their Pinterest for the same thing, and the two of you can share ideas my being mutual followers. I have a little less than 800 followers simply because I spend so much time storyboarding there. 

Hope this helps. 

More for you later, 

Cami

 My Pinterest Account