WEEK 10 - #VoidDeckWriter: So What Do You Write?

Week 10 - We have reached the double digits! At the same time, does it feel like the year just wants to quickly have things over and done with as well? 

When it is made known that I write, the next question is often - what do you write? So for this week, I want to take a bit of stock of what I write, especially what I love creating. 

Thrillers, Suspense, Intrigue

I have written science fiction, dystopia, contemporary etc… However, I found that there was always an element of thrill, intrigue, or just pure adventure in the stories I write. While there’s something to be said about the story that is being laid out, said in black and white, there’s also something curious to be said about what is NOT being said. 

To read and go through a thrilling environment, suspenseful mystery, or intriguing plot, one thing is for sure: there will be a resolution. The puzzle pieces to be put together.

With life being so unpredictable and full of uncertainties, there is a level of comfort in knowing that regardless of how messy and hopeless a situation may feel, the pieces will still come together and form the resolution to the story. That there is always that hope for a better resolution or a new stage to start over from again. 

The completionist in me admits to relishing in that certainty. 

And that’s where this satisfaction of completing a part of a series’ lore comes into play. P/S - one of my dreams is to have my works feature on the Theorist Channels (Game Theory, Film Theory, Food Theory). Perhaps that’s where the inspiration for intrigue comes in as well. 

Are there certain styles of stories you like that transcend genre? Like how Paper Towns (John Green) is a mystery but still written in the style of contemporary Young Adult? Share them in the comments and spread the love!

Prose

Here’s an admission - I started with scripts. 

Play scripts, video scripts, that partially came to fruition here and there. I wanted to be an actress (kinda still want to be one. LOL.) so I wrote my own stories where I envisioned myself acting when I was younger. And then, I watched “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” (or Philosopher’s Stone if you’re talking about the UK version). I remembered leaving the theatre and going - if prose can give light to such an immersive world, why not try it? 

So when I think about why I stick to Prose (especially when it comes to publication), it boils down to the following factors: 

• Dynamism - You set the scene, build the world, develop characters, include props, and put plots together.

• Foundational Practice - Regardless of the mediums you like to create in, you still have to write things down. Therefore, prose also serves as a good anchor for brainstorming, and letting the stories flow. 

• Scalability - While it is true that a single creation can reach many people, prose is also scalable in a sense where it’s where you can explore and use as your anchor to develop your world / stories. 

And until today, I’m still in the Prose camp - so far, it has been one of the better mediums for me to verbalise (or write out) an idea, see it come to fruition, and then dive into other mediums that will serve the story better.

How do you start your creations? Do you like to write it down in point form? Prose form? Tell a story first? Share them in the comments!

Games & Podcasts

These mediums are newer in practice - I came to actually writing games when I started to really dive into board games, visual novels, and RPGs. And the idea of fictional podcasts has been stuck in my head since I dove into the world of Night Vale and Within the Wires. While I’m currently attempting my first game and fictional podcast in time to come, here’s what I’m looking forward to:

• The participatory and immersive factors in creating a game

• More immersion and understanding audio cues a lot better in creating podcasts

• How different and challenging the writing is going to be as compared to prose

• Bringing the stories I have in my head alive in a medium most suited to their context

So what are your current works-in-progress?

I like giving most projects a good-enough go before I move on to the next one. And while all of you have been gradually introduced to at least a character from the Unstable Branch - *cough* Madeline three issues back *cough* - here are what I will be working on, at least for this year:

• Rewrite of a New Adult Thriller Novel (fingers crossed for its submission!) 

• Unstable Directions.2

• An attempt on a game I’m going to call, “Eight Characters” 

Thus, that’s what I write (and will likely be writing for a while). See you all next week!

What do you create? Let us know in the comments and we can check your work out!