It's Wednesday and it's time to write! Due to the extreme weather everywhere at the moment, both hot and cold, I thought it'd be a great time for us to just relax. No challenges. No tasks. This is simply a moment to sit down and write!

For this Vlog Friday, we're talking about point of view! Storytellers have many different choices in the kind of point of view or narrator they use, so why not listen to me talk about a few?

What I’m trying to focus on here is the ability to just be yourself when telling a story—the authenticity of not allowing external factors play a part in how you write or create a story. I find that when I am writing a story, I’m not truly happy unless I’m writing in my own style. Don’t get me wrong, I’m influenced all the time by books I read, films I watch and games I play, but when I try to write like someone else, I never feel as accomplished or happy with my story.
 
Our own writing styles are built from influences and the things we like, but there’s a difference between just allowing yourself to write the way you want compared to fretting if your story is at the same level as another storytellers or sounds the same as someone else’s. We can easily fall into the trap of being called a copycat and losing our sense of self in our writing, and I think that sense of self and personalisation makes storytelling all the more special.

It’s time for another writing challenge. We’re kind of mashing up the second and third Writing Wednesday, paying particular focus to senses and memory. It’s time to jump into our minds and fish out the memories through our senses!

In a news article available online on ABC News, five authors shared their stories of becoming published. It’s a dream a lot of us follow—to be a published author. I know that has been a dream of mine for a very long time. So, to read these stories, all of which vary, about people who were able to take that step is undeniably inspirational and motivational.
 
I think we can all relate to at least one of these stories. Sure, some of us might not be published (I’m not!), but it’s the determination or fear these authors had inside them that could mirror our feelings when we write our stories. So, in light of this article, I thought I might write about a few experiences of mine in regards to writing. No, this isn’t a ‘Creative writing journey’ instalment, but little snippets that might ignite your writing passion or relate to what you have experienced.

It's time to take a hint this Vlog Friday and talk about foreshadowing. A handy literary device, foreshadowing can provide subtle hints to audiences about certain events that will happen in your story.

Let’s be honest, coming up with the beginning of a story can be daunting. It’s what hooks people in. It’s what makes the decision for publishers in whether they’ll publish your book or not. It’s the same for films, video games and TV shows. How it begins really decides if you have an audience or not. So, yeah, they’re pretty damn scary. However, if we just forget the pressure that builds from beginnings, they actually are a really awesome part of storytelling.
 
Whenever I come up with a new story idea, I sit around and plan for an eternity. However, what I crave the most is to just start it. I want to jump right in. I want to get to know my characters and let them come to life under my fingers as I type away. The dialogue, settings and relationships urge me to start the story. Yes, I get bulked down by the pressure of writing a good beginning, but for my first draft I just let myself write. The perfect beginning will come later.

It's time for the first Writing Wednesday for 2019! Today, we're doing a writing challenge. Are you ready?