Hi, this is Celeste. I have been writing poems since 2017 and my crime novel Project Dylan since 2022. I share my thoughts on writing, creativity and interview creators/authors every other week. Subscribe and join 630+ creatives to get 12 months of writing prompts, a Spotify playlist and a poetry zine for free.
Want to share your product with 630+ creatives? Become a sponsor.
I finished reading Magpie by Elizabeth Day. I didn’t expect that it would involve an unreliable narrator again. I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai also deals with that.
Apart from the unreliable narrator, both of these books deal with the same themes of the narrator having the ‘wrong’ memories and mystery.
But I have not finished reading I Have Some Questions for You yet. It has the same issue as The Secret History by Donna Tartt, the dragging middle. There are some chapters that should be omitted as it only added the extra ‘weight’ to the book. They are like flowery prose that some people don’t like. Too decorative or too much details for the book.
But looking at it from the point of view of an author, I want to defend them. After reading the book for the 100th time, you no longer know which part you should keep, omit or rearrange. It is just mashed potato in the head. You can’t even figure out where to start improving as you have 24635 things in your head when you read the manuscript.
I am not ashamed to admit that I have been procrastinating to write the outline for Project Dylan. It is even worse than mashed potato at this point. The thing that might help me move forward is to read the same genre that I am writing and all the craft books I can get. Project Dylan would be on pause until further notice.
While I was stuck with my writing project, I have figured out the theme that I want to deal with for future manuscripts. I found myself being drawn to themes such as memory, identity, some sort of magic power in the contemporary setting and magic realism.
The last one is a tough one for me to do in fiction but easier in the form of short story. That would lift some weight off if I can write something with magic realism in mind. Maybe that can help me get me to developing Project Dylan.
If you are stuck in one of your projects, try to write something short or requires less mental energy.
If you enjoy this and want to support my creative journey, these are the extra perks for paid subscribers:
Full access to the Literature Lab series, author interviews and 130+ issues on creativity, storytelling and writing
Connect with fellow creatives on our chat group <3
TrackBear for 2025 Q2
It was great to have some of you joined the leaderboard in Q1. For Q2, you can join us and set your own word count target for the next 3 months. If you need guidance for how to join, you can see a guide here.
If you also write, do you have ideas how we can celebrate reaching our writing goal on TrackBear?
Some great resources for you:
Rize is a free time-tracking app with daily and weekly reports on how you spend your time online. It also features nature sound, lo-fi music and ambience sound, so you can start working on your project from the get-go. You can use the code LFC25 to get 25% off your first 3 months. (I would earn a small commission when you use my affiliate link or code)
Milanote allows you to put everything in one place, a great tool for your creative, design or writing projects.
The Sample sends you custom newsletter suggestions according to your interests, whether it is culture, business or literature. Subscribe to The Sample and your custom recommendations are ready in your inbox.
See you in two weeks,
Celeste