Yadi A. Capstone

Abstract

I began by writing one story about Cherokee myths involving the sun and moon. My main character had to deal with living those myths and being affected by the moon. I began to write, but an obstacle I encountered was that I didn’t connect with my characters at all. I did too much research on the story and the plot, before getting to know the characters. The lack of passion I felt for the characters affected me severely. Eventually, I had to change the story to something else. It was changed to another idea that I was much more comfortable with. I learned how to make a story more independent. Because I had chosen a story that was originally a sequel, I feared that I’d have trouble writing it on its own. But I learned that just with a few minor tweaks, a story’s plot could be changed considerably. After deleting references from the past story that I loved, I realized that it helped build the story and give me more advantage in the plot. I also learned my strengths and weaknesses as a writer. I now know that I should not push my creativity too far within deadlines because it might kill the joy of writing. But I also can’t take two years to write something. So I need to find the middle line between giving myself deadlines, and writing freely.