I AM A WRITER

Greetings friends!

If this is your first time here, my name is Briana and I can do a much better job of posting on this platform, HOWEVER, I am fully employed, fully married, and fully busy so I’ve given myself grace to write less and show up less frequently on this platform.

If you are a return subscriber, all 209 of ya, THANK YOU so much for believing in me. Thank you for reading my words and deeming my posts (infrequent as they may be) important enough to receive notifications for.

Today marks day 1 of a writing challenge I set for myself this summer. I will be writing all summer as a way to remind myself that I AM A WRITER. I am not just a mathematician, I am not just a teacher, I am not just a wife, I am not just a dog/cat-mom—I am so much more.

In January, along with very loose resolutions, I often create an inspiration board and on the inspiration board I created for 2025 I have the quote “To be a writer you have to write. Write when you feel like it and write when you don’t. Compose out of dire necessity. It is, after all, what your soul needs.” -A.M.

So, here I go!

I will be using this list of 100 creative writing prompts to inspire me!

The prompt for day 1 is:

“17. Creating the Character. Begin a new story by creating a character. What do they look like? How do they dress? Is there anything unusual about their appearance? Write a scene or story exploring your new character.”

As a poet, by nature and practice, I’m not the most familiar with character creation but I’ll definitely give it a go!

Character Description:

Yalani is a self-assured, intentional, introverted, and quiet woman. She often finds herself overwhelmed and uncomfortable but she also often finds herself full of joy, peace and happiness. She experiences the duality of a life well-lived, while healing, growing and learning—obviously she is a 20-something. She is at the cusp of an independence she hasn’t ever experienced before. After going no-contact with her toxic parents, she is learning that family truly is worth creating on your own. She has a bestfriend, whose witty comebacks are worth retweeting, a boyfriend worthy of an entire rom com and romance novel and a cat she’s loved since kitten-hood who is just chaotic enough to constantly keep her on her toes. She has caramel brown skin, the color of the toffees her grandmother keeps in her pocketbook, big brown eyes, soft hands that are perfect for holding her cat Sabrina, and a chest full of anxiety.

Scene:

The sound of this washing machine is going to drive me absolutely insane. I’ve been sitting at my desk trying to create the opening line for the second book in my romance-fantasy series but the constant pounding of my washing machine is tipping me right over the edge. Soon a white room with a very tight jacket may be calling my name.

“Babe”, I shout over the constant drumming. I hope Brandon can hear me, I do not want to get up from this chair because I know that if I do, I won’t be coming back here.

”Yea babe”, he breathes, entering the room silently (just like a ninja), Sabrina cradled in his arms, sleeping soundly as if nothing else in the entire world matters more than this well-positioned cat nap. “Can you bring my water bottle, pink blanket and the portable heater, please” I whisper over Sabrina’s sleeping form. “Sure thing”, he says, likely knowing I’ll call him again in less than 30-minutes if my ADHD-brain can think of other things I probably don’t truly need.

See, I have a very big dilemma. I’m on a very tight schedule with my publisher to release the second book in a series I’ve been writing for years. The funny part is, when I pitched the book idea to this exact same publisher a few years ago, they weren’t interested at all.

I independently published my first book “The Dangers of Falling in Love with an Extra-Terrestrial Being” 2 years ago and it did far better than anyone could’ve ever expected. It’s success brought a lot of new experiences for me; I signed with a publishing company, bought my first car, moved in with my long-term boyfriend and started a new life in a new city that I thought would ‘inspire me to write more’. But now, 6 months before the deadline for my first draft, I fear I might’ve bitten off more than I can chew. My mind is swirling with constant questions and imposter syndrome has taken up permanent residence in my brain and I just know that if this doesn’t work out, I don’t think I could go back to the way things were before.

Before becoming a professional writer, I worked as a waitress in my bestfriend’s parent’s restaurant where I truly just spent all my time reading watt-pad stories and gossiping with the guests. I’m sure they’d take me back but I honestly wasn’t that good at my job, nor did it make me truly happy. I know I can write this book but my own fears feel heavy in my chest every time I sit down to start.

End

Thanks for joining me! I’ll see you again tomorrow! I’m still trying to determine how often I should write while juggling my millions of other hobbies but I plan to post between 1 to 3 times a week this summer so I hope you join me and I’ll see you very very soon!!

xoxo