I sit in front of the PC, staring blankly at the screen, and I wonder, how do I become a better writer?
I pull up my trusty browser, Chrome, and do a quick search on Google.
‘Hmm,’ I think, ‘none of this works.’
Lots of people recommend, join a writer’s circle, get critique, or join a writing competition. But these ideas simply don’t appeal to me.
As I absentmindedly click through the links, I find a post by Whatsawhizzer.
My eyes light up with excitement.
‘This is it!’ I exclaim to myself. ‘How about I write ten different stories, in ten different genres?’
My current novel is only in chapter fifteen, and I’m having beta-readers read the first couple of chapters. But I’m inwardly worried about the pace of the story.
‘I can also limit each genre to ten thousand words. This way, I can learn how to pick up the pace and force a conclusion.’
In a rush, I click on OneNote and to sketch out my idea.
‘Hmm… ten genres.’
I chew on my fingernail as I stare blankly on the empty OneNote page.
‘I can start with something easy, and something popular, and then progressively work towards more difficult genres.’
I punch in the first couple of lines.
‘So, first up. Cultivation.’
I’m writing a fantasy novel, but I want to try something new. Therefore, I write down Cultivation.
‘Then, let’s do Fantasy. Next is Sci-Fi.’
My brain starts to pump out genres and ideas one after the other. I already have a story idea for a sci-fi novel, so I think it’d be good to get some practice. As I write, before I know it, I have ten genres lined up in my OneNote.
I scrutinize the document again with passion. My writer’s instinct is telling me to start writing, even though it’s almost three in the morning.
‘Finally, ten genres; Cultivation/Xianxia, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Romance, Apocalypse, Slice of Life, Crime, Fan Fiction, Historical, and finally, LitRPG.’
Satisfied, despite a bit worried about some of the latter genres, I save the document.
‘Now, what about the characters?’ I think as I stare blankly at the ten genres.
I start to fret about making ten main characters every four or five chapters.
Then an epiphany strikes me, a real eureka moment, like a lightbulb going off over my head, and I think, ‘Wait, I can use Lucian from my current novel!'
‘Okay, Lucian, you’re going on a small journey. I hope you enjoy it.’
Unknowingly, a small evil smile crept upon my lips as I start to imagine the things I can put my character through.
