Is This Real Life?

Creator Journals 6/25/25

600 words in at 10:10am. I’m fighting the good fight, surrounded as I am by gardening sounds and power tool sounds and a lot of talking. I have some confidence in what I’m doing today. The story is coming out a lot better now that I’m not as focused on getting it done quickly. I’ll get to my 1k words before the day is out. I know this for sure. 

I was thinking a bit about archetypes today. I think I tend to write characters who don’t really fit into archetypes. This doesn’t come from some goal of being “subversive” or anything like that. I’ve always tried to make stories match what I see in the world. Yep. Believe it or not, I’m trying to write something that feels real. I’ll slather some paint on it. Turn some people into dragons and elves and throw half the laws of physics out the window, but as far as human behavior and the way the world works, I’m still trying to write something that feels true to life. True to the heart of things. 

That being said, I think sometimes I might need to lean into archetypes a bit more. It makes things simpler when introducing secondary characters. I don’t always have time to develop every fictional police officer or beach goer or bandit. 

Go forth and be human!

Today’s writing tip: Write stories you would want to read, obviously!