Author In Training
Michelle S. Kim/University Commu
Expressive writing is one medium through which people process their toughts and feelings following stressful or traumatic events but the rate of emotional well-being and recovery depends on one’s culture.
March 2, 2022
Over the span of several years, I’ve come up with a few ideas for TV/animated shows I’d fantasize about producing. Unfortunately, as I realized I wouldn’t make a good director/animator, I threw those ideas away. I decided to instead focus on the passions I did have.
New ideas were rebelliously forming in my head, however. As I was maturing, those ideas became less “dumb,” and I became more interested in putting them into action. I still wanted to toss them out of the window due to my lack of skill in directing/animating, but they were like boomerangs and came straight back to me.
In late 2021, I decided to succumb to the lingering of ideas in my head and, if I couldn’t produce a show, why not produce a book? I mean, I’m not the best writer in my English class, but as I started putting my ideas into detail, I found a new hobby.
“Zoning Out” was my first project. It’s a psychological thriller series about 6 college students who get transported into a dark abyss. They escape the abyss one by one, and one of the escapees contacts the media.
There’s a lot more to the idea, but I don’t want to spoil it. What I like about the idea is that it’s a mystery series where the media becomes heavily involved, and the involvement carries on to general society.
For now, I’m keeping “Zoning Out” as a work-in-progress, because I’ve developed a new idea that I want to finish first. Since February 2, I’ve been writing a novel called “Social 180.”
“Social 180” is about a 20-year-old with intense social anxiety. It takes place starting at his first day of University, where he worries he won’t be able to adjust to the environment. Although his social anxiety is severe, he attempts to mitigate it by faking confidence, and initiating conversations. He succeeds and begins admiring his progress, which boosts his confidence.
My social experience through my time in high school was what inspired the idea of “Social 180.” The main character is heavily based on me, reflecting my own social anxiety and false confidence. I wanted to write about how those factors could translate into a college environment.
There’s more to the lore of the novel, and it’s currently being written down. Once I finish chapter 10, I plan on posting a work-in-progress preview. I don’t know when I’ll finish the book completely, but I do know that it’ll be my first book to be released.
Overall, since writing isn’t my primary hobby, I don’t plan to release many books. I do at least want to release “Social 180,” and a possible sequel. “Zoning Out” may never be finished, however.
Cassidy A Srock • Mar 19, 2022 at 4:22 PM
You don’t have to be a good director or animator to bring those sorts of ideas to the table. In fact, directors/animators usually aren’t big idea people. Directors come up with a vision on how to present someone else’s work and guide everyone in the same direction so that the world being created seems cohesive. It also helps if they’re good at inspiring and encouraging people. I am not a good director. Probably because I am not neurotypical. Animators take others people’s ideas and synthesize it into a drawing or other visual medium. Writing novels is a whole other beast. You have to create everything. You are the painter, the director, the costumer, every actor, the dramaturg, the storyboarder, the writer, and people notice if something is off. I used to write scripts because I wanted to tell whole stories and not get bogged down describing what people looked like or how flowers smelled. My husband has a degree in English Literature and a minor in Creative writing and he loves that stuff. Which is only kind of annoying when we’re playing D&D and he’s the DM and he’s using adjectives I’ve never heard to describe rock formations… I have a degree in Technical Theater with an emphasis in Costume & Sound Design and I make most of my money writing articles for a print magazine for women in California. I live in Missouri. So do with all of this what you will.
I guess what I’m saying is: jobs aren’t always what you think they are & if you have stories to tell there are a MILLION ways to do it and you don’t have to do it all yourself. You just have to get other people as hyped about your ideas as you are. In fact stories are usually better if you include more people. They become more rich, vibrant, and 3 dimensional. Oh, and never, ever, fall prey to writing, directing, and starring in a thing. You can’t do those 3 things well at the same time and it’s not ever a good look.