《52 stories》Week 16: Writer's block
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I stare at my screen, the small little blinking cursor mocking me as I try to write something. One sentence. One word! It is so frustrating! I finally find the perfect story, so many people now are following me to know what is going to happen next. I left them on the biggest cliffhanger ever and now... Nothing. I don't know what to do anymore! ''UUURRGGHH!!'' I shout out while rubbing my face with both my hands. I turn my head as I hear a small knock on the doorframe of my office ''Let me guess, writer's block?'' My boyfriend asks me ''How did you guess!?'' I respond sarcastically. He laughs a bit and hand me a cup of coffee and wrap his arms around my neck, facing the screen too. He reads out loud the last part of the story that I wrote last week and he is really impressed by it ''Oooh, I can't wait to see what happen next!''
''Yeah, me too... It was supposed to be a oneshot! I didn't plan that far, I don't know who is the bad guy and it's about time I reveal who he is!''
''Why don't you read the comments?''
I stare back at him as best as I can with this confused look. He tells me that some authors get inspirations from their fans and put some of their ideas in the actual story, so maybe I could do the same ''Thanks hun, you're the best!''
''I know!'' and he leaves me alone to my reading and writing.
I check the comments of the last chapter, since it's the cliffhanger one, there is a lot of comments in there. I pass through the ones that goes along the line of 'Why are you doing this to us?'and 'Cliffhanger? Really? At this time!?' and one comment finally catch my attention. It's from BookWorm_69, my first real fan. They are following me since my very first story and I'm so glad to see that they are still here reading me after all this time.
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'I'm sure the bad guy is Steve' they write. Who the hell is Steve? One of my character is named Steve? I keep reading the chain of comments and luckily for me, someone also wonder who Steve is.
'The bartender! Come on guys, it's so obvious! He knows everything about everyone. The bad guy is always a step ahead of the hero. Steve is sus!'
Oh, yeah Steve! I remember now! Some people argue that it can't be him, he is only a side character. The bad guy most be someone more important. More mysterious. But BookWorm has more to say about it 'You didn't read all his stories and it shows! He writes all his stories so well that ALL the characters are important in a way. I'm telling you, it's Steve!'
Aww, they are so sweet! I do make sure all my characters have a real role in my stories, but like I said, it was suppose to be a oneshot. And Steve was suppose to only be this bartender that love to sell and spill the tea. Nothing else. But maybe I can think of something... I brace myself to do something that I really hate: go back and read what I wrote so far. It's always so cringy to do that! But for the plot and the big reveal, I have to do this!
I go back to the first chapter and I start to read. It's not that bad, I'm really proud of this story actually. I also read the comments of very chapters, maybe it will help me. And the more I read the story, the more I understand why BookWorm thinks that Steve is the bad guy, but at the same time... It doesn't feel right... I don't see him as evil at all. But then I remember another side characters that I created. Pamela, the waitress. She always sticks around the heroes' table, chatting with them while giving them their food and drinks. She also knows everything about everyone. Even more than Steve since she can listen to every conversations while walking around. Oooh, that sounds great! I lay back in my chair and takes time to see if this could work. Everything the villain did and how they did it. Could a woman do that? Absolutely. And who would suspect a small and nice waitress? Oh, I love it!
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''Yeah, thanks for the idea!'' I explain how I find the villain of the story with the help of BookWorm's comment, it's not exactly their idea, but it helped greatly.
Before going to bed I go read the comment on the new chapter and I am not disapointed. People are freaking out. I scroll to see if BookWorm commented something and they did 'Oooohh!! I was so close! I love her being the villain so much! So amazing!' I decide to answer them 'Yeah, when I read your comment on the last chapter I was really impressed. I will have to step up my game so you don't guess it next time!' But after sending it, I can't help but feel a bit bad about it. I stare at the screen while unconsciously chewing my nails. I jump in surprise when my boyfriend asks me what is wrong. I didn't hear him come in ''They don't like your new chapter?''
''No.. they love it, it's amazing...''
''But?''
''But I feel bad for not telling the truth to BookWorm. They are like 'Oh I was so close' but... They gave me the idea...''
''DM them to tell them! I'm sure they are going to freak out knowing that they helped you!''
''Yeah,I guess you're right...''
''Of course I am! But for now, let's go to bed, it's late!''
The next morning, I go back on my computer and write a private message to my number one fan. I spend way too much time finding the right way to tell them but I finally press the send button before I change my mind again.
'Hey,I felt a bit bad for not telling you the truth last night. The reason why you were so close of finding who the villain was is because I got the inspiration from your comment... I had no idea who the villain could be and I saw you comment and then... Yeah I came up with this idea. So thanks!'
A few minutes later, I get a reply back
'WHHAAATT!!?? Oh. my. god. No way!? I... don't know what to say! Thank you. I can't believe it! Wow.... Hey... if you need other ideas, I have like over 9000 of them. But I don't know how to write stories so...'
I stare at their respond, do they really trust me with their ideas? It may not look like a big deal, but I think it's a real honor when someone like your writing enough to say 'here's the idea that I have, now make it a story'. I tell them that I would love to hear their ideas, if they are as good as the last one, I will have a lot of writing to do!
We give each other's discord username and get ready for the most amazing brainstorm that we ever had!
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