Hello Twisters!It's Bianca here. Today's topic that I want to talk about is losing motivation. I love projects. Big. Small. All of them. However, I tend to create an invisible wall of fear or uncertainty whenever there is a task or step in the project that I believe will be difficult to accomplish. This is a mindset that I subconsciously created when I was back in school and it takes a lot of effort to move past it. It's especially awful though whenever there are multiple projects that I have to do. Then it's almost like art or writers block. It is literally a mental wall that I built steadily myself. However, I just recently figured out how to overcome it. Proving someone wrong. Okay, this may not make a lot of sense, but here me out. When someone challenges me and says to me that I cannot complete something (for this example, let's say doing laundry) and it is not on my to do list of things I need to do, then I get this fire inside me where I am going to prove them wrong. But not just with laundry, oh no, I need to prove to them that I am far superior than they thought. I am going to exercise, clean my room, clean the kitchen, do the laundry, write my stories, and make dinner. See, if I'm going to watch my mental wall crumble, I better be watching the crumbs drown in lava. And it works! For me that is. So that's how I've gotten out of my slump these past few days. What about you though? How do you gain the motivation to work? Stay Safe, Stay Home and Until Next Time My Friends... Adieu
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Hello Twisters!Bianca here. Today I wanted to talk about my book. This should probably go in 'The Smol Scribble' (my writing section of the blog) but I think what I have to say will interest and benefit everyone. First, this process has been extremely challenging. The first draft of my book was a short story for school. It was meant for a fun, light read for kids. It was short, simple, and educational. But I recognized that I wanted to traditionally publish it (as that was my dream) and that started a battle. So many battles. Battle 1 - Lengthening The BookMy book at the beginning was around 3K words, I think. But I hadn't touched it since 9th grade (it might have been 10th grade, I need to double check), so it needed some major editing, fine-tuning, and developmental edits. It was difficult conveying to my family that I needed to do this step and why I couldn't do a regular edit (proofread = regular edit). It needed much more. The story was off, I discussed with some of the kids that I worked with what they wanted to see in book 2 and 3 and so I needed to add some foreshadowing and plot to help span into the next two books. And a simple edit just wasn't going to do that. But how was I going to edit it? I strongly disliked the editing phase because 1) I didn't know what I was doing, 2) so many people were sharing with me their opinions that I couldn't hear my own, 3) I had an expectation to fulfill and that already creates an unhealthy mindset when you begin a project for fun, and 4) everyone's advice on children books (as my story is for elementary and middle schoolers) are so conflicting. Battle 1 - SolutionSo what could I do to fix this mess I put on myself? I had already messed up but completed somehow a couple of drafts that I was semi-proud of but all of them felt lacking. I was trying to work on a version of the story that would be around 30K words, so a traditional publisher would even take a look at it (30K words is the industry standard for middle grade books). I learned that, as an author, I can't have two audiences, its either elementary schoolers (ages seven to ten) with the word count being either 10K to 12K or middle schoolers (ages twelve and up), with the word count being over 30K to 50K. There was no home for my 3K little book that both elementary and middle schoolers loved. Then my mother said something that made sense, "Why not work on a version of the book for young kids and then later on make one for the older kids?" That struck a chord with me. It was a great idea. But I took it a step further. Why not just combine the appeal to both? I know it sounds like the same idea before, but what if I make a story that is short that resonates with the younger kids, but is long enough and cool enough for the older kids. I still kept the premise of the appeal the same, I just changed my mindset. And after I created the mindset to run, I closed everyone out and I wrote. Because I could not afford to look or think about other things that would get me distracted. I needed to work. In short, I changed my mindset and I stayed focused. How To Apply The SolutionBut everything is easier said than done. So what if you find yourself in the situation, what should you do? Changing your mindset is hard. I tried to work on it for a month and a half (that's how long I was stuck on the 30K draft before scraping it altogether) and it was agonizing. I didn't like working on it, it was actual work, and it wasn't fun anymore. So I walked away from it. Not forever, no, that's no what you do. I walked away with it in mind. Since I couldn't see clearly where I needed to go, I decided to change the view. Ask people you trust about the situation. But don't blatantly ask them, "I'm stuck at this one part of my story and I don't know where to move, what do I do?" Depending on who you ask, you will get the help/answer you need or you won't. And sometimes, you don't want someone's opinion on your story (especially if you are still editing it, you want people's opinions after you edit), rather you want to know what they would do in your situation. (Or, at least, that's what I wanted to know.) So what I did was create a scenario for them with something they can understand and relate to. That way they could give me a response on what they would do and how they would do it. For me, the hard part came with their response and my response to theirs. What was I hiding from? What are you hiding from? Are you hiding behind favoritism and fear? (I was.) Are you telling people no to their ideas because it didn't fit in your own? (I did.) Are you stopping people in the middle of their sentences stating why that wouldn't work? (I did that too.) But that isn't going to help you at all. I hid behind fear and favoritism for my book because I loved how my book was already, even though I knew it wasn't perfect and ready for publication. However, since I loved it too much, I wasn't willing to hear anyone's critiques on how it could be improved. Other people's ideas are exactly what you want to hear when you're in a rut. You can't tell people 'no that's not going to work' because you don't like the idea. Half of all my good ideas comes from when me and another person expand of those ideas that presumably 'weren't going to work'. And since I felt I knew the industry and my book inside out, I refused to listen to anyone who even shared their opinion about it. Because I believed, that since I spent several hours every day for the past year looking at information, that I knew more than them and that I knew everything that I could know about the industry. In reality, I don't know enough about the industry and I was so scared of people telling me that I was doing it wrong that I became so focused on telling people they were wrong instead of listening to them. What I'm trying to say is, know who you are, where you want to go with your book, and recognize and listen to people. But only for a moment. You need to know and figure out when someone is helping and when someone is hurting you. I'm afraid I'm still working on that part. To Be Continued... Battle 2 - The IndustrySince this post is already so very, very long. I'm going to be splitting this series into sections. Battle 2 is going to be about the industry (and why I dislike it so much), Battle 3 is all about self-publishing (which I may or may not split into two parts), and Battle 4 is about Kickstarter. Looking back on all of this, I recognize how far I am in the process, because right now, I'm on battle 4. There will always be an easy way to do things, but trust me, not all easy ways are the right way. Listen to your heart and if you don't like your options, make a new one. Stay Safe, Stay Home and Until Next Time My Friends... Adieu Happy New Years, Twisters! It's a new year and that means new goals and a whole lot of new opportunities~ This past year, I regret doing so little regarding everything I did. School, I could have put a whole lot more effort into that, my Japanese class, I could have had a higher grade than my 96%, and I could have used my Bujo a lot more. Also, I regret not posting on the blog when I had the chance. I spent so much of my free time on YouTube or on Instagram that I didn't even have the decency to say, "Just A Quick Update!". That is why, this year, I'm going to change a WHOLE lot in my life. My Goals:
And those are my resolutions! I'm so ready for this year. I feel as though it's going to be a great year and I really think that my goals are actually achievable. What are your goals for 2018? Tell us in the comments below! こんにちは!
Guess who's back! It's us! Or, me rather. I apologize for not writing for such a long time. I've been consumed with school, writing (preparing for Camp NaNoWriMo!), and I'm an assistant at a Summer Art Camp which runs for eight (8) consecutive weeks, five days a week, from nine (9 am) in the morning to twelve (12 pm) in the afternoon. *sigh* I've been busy. Okay, let's go down the list and explain:
Welcome (I guess) to my busy, busy summer! I missed blogging. Oh, yeah! Before I forget, Charisma and I have Instagram accounts... So, check them out! School, for me anyway, starts August 17th. Unbelievable right? We've had 3-ish months of summer and, to be honest, I am so glad to be going back to school. I've missed it really badly. Why did I miss it? Because I wanted to be busy, I wanted to keep myself occupied and when someone gives you no chose but to occupy yourself, I find it very encouraging (especially if I want to do it!). The best part about school is that I'm taking mostly 10th-grade classes. Biology, Geometry, Honors English, Art in World Cultures (ELECTIVE), HOPE (this is P.E.), Civics (Charisma and I could've taken this in 8th grade but my parents didn't want us too), and Digital Literacy (it's required. Trust me, I tried to get out of it....). :D I'm going to be so busy! :D
My Japanese is going well, although I would like better sources for vocabulary and grammar (those are the two things I'm currently working on). Or maybe, I don't know, a teacher? As some of you might know, it's my goal to take a college course for Japanese at my local community college while in 10th grade. That is why I must get all A's on my report card. I'm an over-achiever when it comes to school. If I don't get an A or a B, I will be absolutely shattered, but I would still tell my parents that I got a low score, because they'll either help me, remind me of my goal, tell me to get help from a teacher if I'm really struggling with a certain concept, and a whole lot more. I'm digitally editing a character that I drew! And let me tell you, *laughs*, I don't have anything fancy. No SAI, no Wacom Cintiq or Intuos, no Photoshop. Nada. Zilch. Nothing. All I've got is my handy-dandy, scanner, Paint (which is already installed on every computer), and my imagination. And truthfully, I am terrified. This is the scariest experience of my artist life. (I have several lives: Writer's Life, Artist's Life, Blogger's Life, Over-Achiever's Life, Crocheter's Life, Reader's Life, OTAKU's Life, Family Person's Life, and Outstanding-Amazing Friend's Life. I have nine lives unless someone can see more of my lives that I can't see... One might say I have nine lives. :D) Since I've never done this before (and since I have ZERO LAYERS. I didn't know what layers did before, but now I know that layers ARE A BLESSING!!! Do not take those beauties for granted!) I'm watching my sister (who is digital editing too) while she gives me tips, and I'm re-doing everything for the Umpteenth time. Though, I will survive. I read a variety of good books this summer (don't worry, I'm gonna do some Book Reviews before school starts) and now I have found my favorite Female author: Katy Towell. I love her so much, that reading the two books she published were satisfaction for a week. Her books are all the scary, friendship, terrifying-suspenseful moments I could ever want in a book! :D Her website is called Skary and, I believe, she's working on another book (oh am I excited!). I've had one for a while know but, I'm finally on Miiverse! I've put several posts from my gaming experiences on Demo's and full games, although they're all from Nintendo. I've posted some Style Savvy: Trendsetters and Fashion Forward, some Pokemon X and some other games as well. I'm trying to earn the money to buy some games (Animal Crossing: New Leaf is NEXT on my list. Unless someone convinces me otherwise), yet that's taking a whole lot longer than anticipated. So yup! This is life. I hope all of you have a great rest of summer break! みなさん、こんにちは! Life, people. I love it. I have NEVER had such a fun/happy/crazy summer like this one. And let me tell you, I have literally done NOTHING to laugh. I just laughed at everything. Music, pictures, animes, cartoons, food, I don't know how I do it, I just love to laugh.
Schools starts August 17th for me and Charisma. I am so steamed. I wanted school to start on August 15th and then I totally forgot about this 'stagger start' thing. Ugh. When I want school people, I want school. But, now that I think about it, I'm actually quite thankful. I can get ahead in Science (the subject that doesn't love me and I don't love it) and so that way I can better understand the content that I'm being taught and then I can get an A! :3 I'm ready school (except I don't have my planner just yet....). My Japanese is going good. I'm trying to find a teacher on the site called iTalki, I have the teacher (is she a tutor?) that I want to study with but a one hour session cost 9 dollars. I'm not worried about the nine dollars part, I'm just worried that my mother won't let me use iTalki. Capital Kings, an American pop, electronic and Christian pop group, released an album called (II) last year in October and I absolutely love this album. My favorite song so far has to be Northern Sky, then it would have to be Live For The Drop. I haven't been writing lately, that's the reason I haven't updated My Writing Journey in quite some time. I'm thinking about editing Another Imagination soon, I just don't know how I'm going to print it... Why is that still a problem for me? Surprisingly, I have NOT read much of anything this summer. I've read some Pokemon manga, but that's it. Well, now I've got something to do. I need to go see what books I can get at the library... Well that's pretty much it! How's your summer going? I guess by now everyone is wondering why we don't post everyday. The reason why is because we're either doing school, reading, listening to music, or checking out cool blogs. And now, I am ready to present some of the blogs we just love to look at!
I'm sure I've missed plenty of blogs, but that's all I can remember at this current moment in time. I hope all of you enjoyed looking/reading about all the blogs that me and my sister love and we hope that you enjoy them too! What blogs do you like? Come on and tell us in the comments! Also, I asked my mother my mother if she would mind if Charisma and I did giveaway's in the future and she said that she wouldn't mind if we did that. So keep your eyes peeled for a giveaway.
I am so excited for school. I really know this sounds crazy to most people, but I really am. For teachers and assignments and writing essays. *Sigh* It sounds to good to be true. :3 And I found out that October 1st (I'm pretty sure it's October 1st) is when the new Teen Author Boot Camp information is revealed!
I wonder who is going to be the keynote speakers. I am feeling way too happy. :D And all I have to do is wait. Wait for school, wait for TABC, but I can't wait. I'm to excited/nervous to wait. (The mixed word for excited and nervous is nerited or nerite. I love smashing two words together....) There is a super surprise that I can't wait to tell all of you when it's finished. The sad thing about the surprise is that it should be done maybe in a year (or less of course). But, it is a cool surprise. :D To give you clues on the surprise, I'm going to highlight things in blue and it should be in every post that I do. Thanks everyone for reading and have a good day!
Yup! Since the school year is about to begin and we're going to have an even crazier schedule, Charisma and I have discussed what we were changing the schedule to.
Monday: Twisted Two - Bianca Tuesday: Inspiring Art (Charisma) Wednesday: Twisted Two - Charisma & Bianca Thursday: Writing Journey (Bianca) Friday: Twisted Two - Charisma That's going to be our school schedule. :3 And we're going to put the schedule into action starting next week. Okay, now for my favorite part.... Charisma and I get to learn Japanese in High School! We've always wanted to learn Japanese and now our dream is actually coming true! I got some Japanese cookbooks from the library and I'm over the moon about it. The funny thing is that I haven't done any of the recipes inside the cookbook... yet. But we're going to get to it (one day). School is starting soon and I absolutely can't wait! This summer has been so busy and I can't wait to get into an actual planned schedule. ;3 Have a fantastic summer!
WE GET TO PARTY LIKE THERE IS NO TOMORROW!
Hehehe.... just kidding. You've got way more responsibilities when you're thirteen. And trust me, I may sound SUPER crazy, but it's really fun. Anywhooo, since we are 13, we can watch PG-13 movies! YAY! But, the first PG-13 movie that we wanted to watch wasn't available... It was Enders Game, which we really, really want to watch! :3 Our mother says it's a really good movie, and that makes us even more excited. And after that movie, we want to watch the Avenger movies, like Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Avengers, etc. We can finally watch the 3rd Harry Potter movie (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). We can also start are slow and heavy ascent to reading Teen/Young Adult books (I want to read the Princess books by Jessica Day George first...). :3 I also can't wait to get a library card! I really want one, but I have no idea when I'm going to get that or if I'm going to get it when I'm 16. It's a huge possibility that we get one when we are 16... But hey! We can try and get it when we're 13 or 14! Also, with the summer weather coming, we can safely say that we are ready for a new layout! But the one we wanted wasn't our favorite, so we are trying to pick another one. We'll tell you when we are going to change! :3 Tell us in the comments what you are ready to do this summer! |
Who We Are We are twin sisters who like to do almost anything! Inspiring people to get out their creativity is our forte and we strive to travel on magnificent journey through words on a page. Exploration is the doorway to opportunity and the endless possibilities of helping and reaching out to others is something that we endeavor to create. This crazy blog of ours is one of the many ways we hope to achieve that goal.
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