14:54
7/10/22

I've not slept 'anyway' like I said. Instead, yesterday night I requested of a writer friend of mine called Caster, (a phenomenal writer by the way, you can check out her work on Wattpad and Radish--you will not be disappointed) to become my beta reader. When I sent her the request, I did not know that what I was suggesting of her is what in short two words people call a 'beta reader'. When she politely pointed it out, that its what I needed I was so gladdened by it.

We can know what we want but not know how to express it in shorter terms. I'm so glad she came on board. She started today. Only four pages in, and I'm already finding her help so much needed. I've grown so much this year. I've outgrown the mentality of doing things on my own due to fear of asking for help into the mentality of asking for help when I need it. It's been so helpful in the execution of my tasks this year. You don't have to do everything. Let those who care about you help you. They won't do it without you inviting them to do so. That's how folks I've ended up writing instead of napping. Am I exhausted? Yes. Am I glad there's progress in the right direction on one of my projects? Hell, yes! Thanks Kendall. Maybe, I can nap now. Maybe.

8/10/22
16:27
I have choir practice at 6:00 pm. I managed to sleep early yesterday. I was out by 10 pm. I assigned myself an accountability partner (my sister) whose sole purpose was to make sure I don't nap in the afternoon. It worked. I did everything I could to distract myself. I read. I watched TV shows. Until super was done and nothing was keeping me up. After clearing all that, I went to bed and waited on darling sleep who didn't take long to take me away.

Today, I've written some on the other project I told y'all about. I continue to emphasize that friends are important. Making them your accountability partners is a definite productive plus. Having Kendall as my beta reader has to be the best decision I've made this entire week that's coming to a close. I'm only at the start of things but it's all looking up. I'm so glad she offered to come on board. God bless her heart. At this rate I believe I'll have a better draft before the close of this year. She's really a gem. Make good friends, people! Make good friends.

9/10/22

17:40

I just got back from church. We had two church services. I served and sold breakfast between sessions. Then we had a third session. That's why I'm back from church at 17:42. I'm not complaining.

Every session was beautiful! I am totally blessed. I'm yet to have lunch. My beta reader is doing a really good job. I can't thank her enough. I believe with her help I am going to polish this project to a great second draft. The first draft is often an outline. You have an idea so you take it through to the end without much concentration on in-depth detail. I wrote the skeleton to this story when I was 17 years. One of those random ideas that you get while you sleep and they form to the end and they will bug you until you put them down into some sort of story. To be a writer is such an interesting thing. Let me go on through the comments my beta reader made. I really want to make things better. I hope I do.

10/10/22
10:41

Still in awe and huge gratitude to my beta reader. Also, any kind of progress is wonderful. The joy I feel is inexpressible. Project 2 is underway. It's making more sense as I go along. Pray for me.

11/10/22

10:04 am

It's World Mental Health Day. As a writer, I understand that we are always on the verge of losing it. If we do not regulate ourselves, create breaks in between our bursts of creativity and the need to beat deadlines, we definitely end up not enjoying the process of our creations. What's the point if we don't?

If we let the pressure from outside make us hate the things we love, then we are missing a great point. Happy World Mental Health Day everyone. Make sure you prioritize your wellness above those dollar signs. You deserve it. Laziness and protecting your sanity are two different things. Make sure you don't choose the least.

13/10/22
15:40

Do yourself a favour, get a beta reader. I've not written today yet. I might or might not. Planning and lots of planning for business next year. I'm about to watch Bullet Train with my sister. We're both hoping its an interesting one.
Have you watched it? Brad Pitt stars in it.

Have you ever heard of the phrase "red herring"? I read about it today courtesy of my beta reader mentioning it as a skill I've used in my writing. When I learnt of its meaning, I realized that I just have a gift for it. I've been doing it without ever knowing the word for it. English is not my first language FYI.

16:08
A few minutes into it. It's kinda interesting and kinda funny. 3/5 if I'm to review it before completely watching it to the end.

16:50
Oh, it's good. Brad Pitt is funny in this one 😂🙌. There's more interesting characters. The Cast List was well DONE.

17:11
"When we are so quick to anger, we are slow to understand." The Bullet Train

17:22
All the good ones are in this movie. I take it back. It deserves 4/5. It's good. The storyline is also good especially how everything comes together. All the characters are connected. An unsuspecting plot twist. And there's some action and good humour. Brad Pitt is so silly in this one in case I didn't mention that already.

17:45
Remember kids, always break down your work task into small chunks and deal with them one by one not as a huge whole.

20:00

I've written. Hooray! 'Show don't tell.' I think people underestimate how easily you can miss out on that simple instruction. It is easy to tell the reader what happened and forget to show them especially in a very rough draft that is actually more like an outline. In this outline you have the whole story in its short compressed 'idea/thought' format so there isn't much going on in the description of one scene and what's going on.

I am learning to focus on a scene and bring it to life instead of falling for the temptation of wanting to rush through the story to the end. It takes discipline to give every scene the attention it deserves. This discipline is very rewarding.

I still have enough fun work to do with the other project I am doing before I ever start publishing it on here. Yet, I have to also make sure that the need to have the draft I finally share with you neat and nice, does not hinder me from posting it. Because sometimes you have to start raw not perfect. I've written till 21:41.

14/10/22

09:51

I've been writing. It's come to two hours. It's still on the other project not this one. It is getting more interesting by the minute. The other thing I told you about focusing on one scene at a time is serious. It takes self-control to not rush for the end. I want you my readers to see what I see without telling you I saw something. I want to show you what I am seeing so that you can see it too and tell someone about it because it was too vivid, it lives with you. I hope to work on this project at some point today.

09:59

A total of 80 words or so. That's what I've jotted down in the last 8 minutes. More is coming.

17/10/22
22:10
I wrote an hour ago. We hit the 50k mark on the other project. Can you believe it? I didn't think this story would get this big. I'm not even done. I'm brushing the last bits of it before I attend to my beta reader's comments. I thought it was going to be a short story. I guess I thought wrong. It took a bit of pushing myself to write today. But I'm glad I got to do it. 50,165 words. It's prayer time now. Gotta go.

18/10/22

11:51 am

I've been writing for the past one hour. Am I the only one who finds it a walk in the swamp if I write while I'm hungry? It's like my brain fluids are limited. They don't run as smoothly as they do when there's food in my system. I have learnt to write anyway and not use it as an excuse to postpone for long periods of time especially since writing and fasting will always be part of my life. So, during fasting I write too. It may not as many words as they flow when I'm eating but at least I get something down. It has helped me a lot. Because what happens when you kill your writing momentum, regaining it is the hardest thing there is. You may spend an entire year of no writing if you give in. I'm still onto the other project. I hope to get in a word or two on this particular project as well. Laters, y'all!

27/10/22
I've not written in 9 days. It feels like months. A lot has happened in between. I suffered a bad cold. A terrible cold actually. I've been fasting 24 hours for the past three weeks so my brain juice is slow in coming up with creative ideas. My beta reader hasn't given up though. I see her comments every now and then and I'm in touch with her. She knows what's going on. I don't want to disappoint her. This slump I've had is making me feel like I have.

I want to complete the last bits of the other project but I hit a wall. There's a part I don't know how to go about so I'm quite stuck. Then if you're to add the fact that I got a cold, I'm fasting, slow brain juice andddd... a dog bit my writing hand two days back, that doesn't help my situation. I'm trying so hard to not call these events excuses yet it's hard for me not to feel like they are excuses of some sort I'm making up to keep from happening.

Too bad they are all real and I'm not making any of this stuff up. I need to remind myself to rest. That it's okay to take time and heal. It's just tough mate. The dog and I are best of friends now. She loves only me for now. It's only I who can pet her. She's adjusting to the rest of the family bit by bit. She's really gorgeous. Her name's Knight. I'm also out of data so I'm unable to use my laptop to update the project I'm working on. I gotta tell there's been challenges hindering my writing but I'm not demotivated. I shall write no matter what. Let me heal first. Next I'll resume.

15:39
Guess who just wrote in this project moreover? This girl! I'm so happy. I guess my injury is getting better anyway it's my thumbs doing all the work since I can't type on my laptop. As I was typing, a message from my beta reader popped on the screen. She's checking in to see how I'm doing. Ain't she the sweetest? I'mma go respond to her now and get back.

22:34
I have a current read by Penny Reid. She's one of my favorite authors. I think my unchangeable favorite of all time.

Her characters are mature, intelligent and HILARIOUS. I like their quirkiness. I like her quirkiness and dorkable titles. I like how she makes up all these funny words through her characters and breaks most of the writing rules that so many get tied by. 💛

29/10/22
06:03

My siblings just returned from an overnight. The pookie dogs can't stop barking. It's annoying because I wanted to steal in that sweet morning sleep. I sorta messed up. I set an alarm for 5:30 am so that I could be alert to open the door for them since it is I who remained home. Problem is they came back a few minutes early. My brain has the ability to switch off to real dead mode when I know I set an alarm. My phone is set in a way that it doesn't receive calls till 07:00 am. I forgot to change that setting yesterday night.

I got blamed but I discussed during a panic session, throwing around blame doesn't solve the problem. What is done is done so look for solutions instead of blaming others even when they are at fault or if it is you at fault. Anyway, I finally found the keys and let them in. I know that's going to eat me up for a while today but I'm willing not to bring the subject up unless one intending to blame me does. When they do, I'll still be quiet and let them go while my head yells. I'll tell you something. One of the reasons why I'm not getting into a relationship yet is because I don't know how shouldering huge responsibilities feels like. I know what to do yet having never done that before in real life situations makes me feel like an imposter who'll fail when the actual time to put them in practice comes. It doesn't help that my parents reinforce the very same thing to me whenever they get the chance. It makes me feel so inefficient. I'll need to be alone first to see if I can handle myself before I can let anyone in and make a fool out of myself.

Highlight of my night however was that I got in a good Penny Reid Read before bed. Something did go nicely after all. It's where I picked that quote from. Can you guess with Penny Reid book that is from?

06:21
Have you heard about the latest WATTPAD development? YONDER! It's a new app for Wattpad Creators. You join by invite only. I'm thrilled about it not because I was invited but because of the growth and big moves Wattpad's been making over the years. The community has grown as a whole and the new ideas they keep coming with are wonderful. I appreciate their team for it. Well done Wattpad. A huge hand clap to every creator who's going to benefit from it. I'm super glad that at least some writers get to benefit from this platform and get to bigger audiences through it. It's a blessing.

06:29
If it's chaotic up in your head and your mind just can't go quiet, write. It helps declutter upstairs. Even though sometimes when it's chaotic upstairs you feel most reluctant to write down how you feel because somehow your mind wants to wallow in self-pity or sadness. You have to push through and let it out. I promise it's worth it.

30/10/22
21:30

This is what I refer to as "a-dork-able" 😂. I've not written today. Church was great, the children church, Sunday School kids ministered today. It was so sweet and active. The adrenaline it gave me watching them dance and sing reminded me so much of myself when I was their age. I've been a church-girl since age zero. I love it. Seeing these kids take the same route makes me believe they've chosen the right path. God is the only answer to anything in this world. If one doesn't have Him, they're gone. That's the truth. I'm reading another COHO book. She's gooooooddddd. She really is. And I always get my happily ever after that's a bonus but her unconventional way of writing romance in a cliche-yet-not-cliche way is phenomenal. I'm always wowed by it. Have you read a COHO book? If so, which one? I've read quite a few and loved all of them.

31/10/22

Only a few hours to the new month 💛🤌🏾👌. People say communication is the key to a good relationship. Here's my thought good communication is the KEY. Some partners don't know communication whatsoever. It's good communication when it's just them talking. When you begin talking then you're being disrespectful and unreasonable. Unbalanced relationship dynamics suck man! They suck. Knight and I anyway are sweet with each other so there's that. Though today morning, I didn't get the necessary energy I've experienced from her always. I'm wondering why she's being like that.
1/11/22
02:26

Happy New Month! I can't sleep mehn. It's too hot. I can't cover myself from head to toe. Then I can't sleep without covering my head either. The mosquitoes are too loud and vicious all at once. So, I gotta choose between being suffocated with heat or breathing through mosquito bites. I struck a balance between the two but it's not as effective as I would want it to be. I won't lament about it so I've decided to read a book instead. One that I am being slow about "Ugly Love" by COHO. It's not a page turner but it's good nonetheless. I'll complete it at some point. Here's my prayer though that you never fall into ugly love. May the love you fall into be the beautiful kind. There's an addictiveness about ugly love that does you in so badly that you suffer for the rest of your life. I don't wish that for anyone. I dread it.