What To Expect From This Blog

Hey! My name is Bri. I'm a creative writer and mental health advocate, and I'm so glad you're here.

Quick side note:

You can listen to this post and still see all the graphics in this video:

Now, on with the post!

But what can you expect from a creative writing blog? A little bit of everything, if I'm being honest. We'll get into it.

But first, a bit about me.

A long, long time ago in a place I literally can't remember (#JustMilitaryKidProblems), I started writing at a very young age as a way to escape this world and all it's chaos and uncertainly. It was so much easier and more satisfying to experience worlds entirely unlike my own where I know good will always defeat evil, kindness is more important than power, and I could kind of predict how the story would end.

Eventually, high school came to an end and it was time to decide...

Several adults gave me the advice that creative writing was a wonderful hobby to have on the side, but was not a valid career aspire to nor a major to study in school. There was no guaranteed work, publishing books is really hard, selling enough books to make a living is rare, English majors can't support themselves, so on and so on. The reasons piled up. And ultimately everyone was discouraging because they wanted me to be successful. So I relented.

As a result - along with the stress of college and my mental health becoming unmanageable - I stopped writing altogether. There was no time, no energy, no motivation, none of the hope and escapism I usually smothered my stories in.

And that was life for a years.

Until I took a break from school, underwent diagnosis, and started therapy. Slowly - very slowly - that childhood hope and enthusiasm crept back into my life. So naturally I decided to ... (*pause for dramatic effect*) ... go back to school!

No, instead of starting to write again, I wanted to take another stab at achieving a "useful" degree with an "associated career" so I would appear "successful" to the average onlooker. So I chose to study psychology. Now, if you know nothing about the field of psychology, you may be nodding your head, thinking, "Ah, yes, a respectable choice." If you do know about the field of psychology, I'm sorry I made you laugh that hard.

When I finally did return to writing, after I got my degree and made more progress in therapy, I found a new element of storytelling to fall in love with.

As a kid, I weaved stories out of pure hope. Plot and character were afterthoughts. So when hope disappeared, so did the stories. And then, amidst all the work I was doing to understand myself and my own story, all of a sudden I was able to see the parallels of our world and fictional worlds.

Instead of just escaping, writing became a practice in healing. A space where I could express freely without worry. Where I could explore problems and discover solutions. Where I could put my now experiences on paper and try to make sense of them.

And now, it's time. Writing by myself and for myself has been a hugely valuable practice to get back into the habit of writing, developing my voice as an adult, learning what I actually wanted to write about, as well as being a lovely self care ritual.

But I miss writing for someone. I miss the reactions. I miss the theories. I miss watching someone trying to puzzle through my metaphors. I miss getting angry, emotional texts from my friends because my characters made them cry.

I think every writer should practice writing just for themselves without an audience. But I also know that improvement involved both practice and feedback.

Therefore, dear reader, the first thing you can expect to see from this blog is original stories.

There are so many half-written, half-realized stories and universes living rent free in my brain, begging for attention and trying to break out into the real world.

I want to create and improve and talk and help in the small ways I can, so I hope you'll join me on this journey.

When I started writing again, I was furious with the prompts I was finding. They felt hollow, with no purpose or tension behind them.

I also know from hours of searching, "good writing prompts," "best writing prompts," "useful writing prompts," that so many other writers feel the same way.

So I've created some writing prompts that have a purpose. These will help you understand your characters and their motivations on a deeper level. And because plot is made up of characters, what they want, and why can't just get what they want, this will help set your story in motion too. I'll also include some extra context and "next level" questions to help you get as much as you can out of these prompts.

Kind of like this:

Writing Prompt from Curious Bri Stories: Describe your main character by describing the things they keep around them.

And if you feel comfortable, I'd love to read what you've written from these prompts!

Wait, what does journaling have to do with fiction writing?

If you're a writer, then you're well acquainted with - and despise with every fiber of your being - the concept of Writer's Block.

There are a whole host of reasons why you might have hit a block. Maybe you need to rework something in your story to help it flow a little easier. Maybe you need to define the rules of your world so you better understand what your character is capable of and what that means for everyone else. Maybe you need some time to understand your characters and their motivations. This is where writing prompts and friendly beta readers come in clutch.

But sometimes you're just in a rut. You might be stressed, unfocused, taken by surprise by emotion, or just tired. That's where journaling comes in.

I've come up with some creative journaling prompts that are designed to make you think outside the box and get you into a creative mindset.

You know what it feels like to be sitting there, attacking a bit of homework and never really getting anywhere? But then you get up from your desk, get a drink of water, and just do something else for a minute. And when you finally return to your desk and read the homework again, it suddenly clicks! And you don't understand how you could have been so stuck before.

A fun and interesting journaling session is kind of the writing equivalent of stretching your legs and getting some air. It's like a rest. It allows you to think more creatively than you might have been before, so you can return to your story with new eyes and a new perspective.

Here's an example:

Yeah, it's a little silly question, but that's the point! Let loose! Be silly! Allow yourself to think differently! You won't break through your rut by continuing to do the very things that are keeping you in that rut. So why not? Give it a try! What do you have to loose?

Look. I know you, Writer. I know you're not very kind or generous with yourself. And beating yourself up or shrouding yourself in shame is not going to get that book written any faster. Actually, it's a huge detriment to your creativity and productivity.

This is just one example. I hope to cover every aspect of writing I can.

These affirmations will be quick little messages to remind you that you are more than whatever your inner critic is screaming at you. A pick-me-up and encouragement to keep going. Because you deserve it.

And how else is your book going to get written? A pack with the writing gods? You know how fickle they be.

Writing is a muscle that you have to use and strengthen regularly.

And when the goal is to write academic papers, strengthening that muscle means reading and writing academic papers. Woo. So fun.

But strengthening the creative writing muscle can happen in so many different ways. One of my favorites at the moment is to play storytelling tabletop games.

Why yes, I am a giant nerd, why do you ask?

For example, I'll show you the beautifully illustrated cards from the tabletop game Dixit. Then I'll show you a bit of flash fiction I wrote based on one of these cards. The object of the game is to guess which card served as the inspiration for the flash fiction. It's a great exercise for me as a writer and for you as a critical reader. Why did you that card? what imagery in my writing led you to the imagery in the card? And so on and so forth.

The life of a writer is a life fraught with creativity and fear and procrastition and new ideas all before you've even written a word. It's so validating to know that other writers are experiencing what you are struggling with. So I'll be sharing some of my experience, like favorite lines I've had to cut, the struggles of writing with dyslexia, and the fights I get in with my own characters.

I always want to hear from you. I'll always be in the comments ready to have a conversation about our struggles, tips and tricks, and stubborn characters.

And more.

These are just what you can expect right from launch. Most likely there will be more coming down the road. And I will always be in the comments reading about what you love, what didn't help you so much, and all of your great ideas.

So check back often to see what's new! Or sign up for the newsletter to be told every time there's a new blog. Don't forget about social media too!

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