Perhaps I’m not the most creative person in every room, but I’ve always been properly obsessed with fiction, ingenuity, and imagination. I’ve just never had the motivation to commit to much, specifically writing. It’s so strange that I have trouble enjoying my favorite activity, and sometimes I feel superficial in the process of organizing an article. What a horrible trend! My dreams of becoming an author are slowly drifting away from me the more I doubt myself. The more I waste my own time. So, this last article serves as an official proclamation for the summer and the entirety of senior year, that I will be devoting the duration of my dull days to consistently improving my craft so I’m guaranteed a taste of creative freedom.
The List of Fun Chores:
- Studying vocabulary
I don’t think I struggle much anymore with understanding the definitions of words. However, I’m incredibly lacking in incorporation skills. By that, I mean I have no idea how to hold a normal conversation between characters in novel drafts. I feel like I’m speaking old English. For example, I don’t think people are employing the word ‘perspicuity’ into their daily routine. Apparently, I haven’t been around a crowd long enough to comprehend simplistic talking. But sometimes, I feel that words can be much more interesting than the plot. Sometimes…
- READING
This one is self-explanatory. If I expect my writing skills to inch up to a professional level, I better finish the last 50 pages on every book I have lying around. The sad thing is that all of the books I have are interesting, for the most part, but I have such a short attention span that I can’t even spare more than five minutes at a time writing this article.
- Journaling at least 10 minutes a day
A little less needed, but journaling might be the best way for me to articulate my thoughts into the page. If I can write a paragraph of how I feel, I can write much more about what I want in a book. That’s my mindset at the moment.
- Actually finding a convenient time to write
The summer of 2026 isn’t all that busy for me, but I do have sports and the occasional errands. The point is, no matter what’s going on in my life, I need to spare some time in the day to write. A good hour or more for improvement. Additionally, if I have a draft completed, I’m planning on handing it over to some impeccable editors… well, not exactly. The impeccable part is correct. My mom has some friends who are very interested in both reading and writing, but their speciality (mainly the teacher pals) is constructive criticism and peer-reviewing. Lucky for me, I have a whole team of millennials who would love to assist me in my journey, whether it be through a purposefully bad short story or a decent one. Support is all around me!
- Research. All over
Every opportunity is research. I pay attention to every conversation, every street sign, and every sideways glance in order to build a good character personality for a role, but also for names or settings in a new area. I’m not always aware of a possible “neat” inclusion to a storyline, but I try to focus on residents or something as simple as the curvature of a rock when I’m visiting on a trip. Museums are great too.