Writing is lonely.

Writing is scary.

I argue these two things are what make writing difficult.

Sure, it’s challenging when a sentence won’t work with you, or when a plot device you wanted to wield is heavier and more cumbersome than Thor’s Mjolnir.

But I think the loneliness and the fear are what cause every other difficulty. So for the last few years, I’ve strived to resolve those two difficulties in hopes of “unclogging the sink” inside my mind.

I am pleased to say it has worked. Burrowing myself in with other writers and trying to see more fun than fear while writing has completely changed my mindset. I want other writers to experience this too. That’s what my platform hinges on, and that’s the creator I always want to be.

What is Project STARDUST?

Project STARDUST is an endeavor I’ve considered building for a while. (My version of a while, anyway, about 2-3 months.)

The goal of this project is to show everyone what my process is for writing — from the spark of inspiration to the close of the final page, and everything in between. We will write the entire book together.

It’s called Project STARDUST because our main character is a star catcher who learns to weaponize her ability in hopes of delivering retribution to the man whose drug killed her brother. When both her and the starcutter are struck with the weapon she created in her revenge, they must team up or risk turning into stardust. (It’s Gaiman’s STARDUST X ARCANE and I’m so excited to start).

I needed to tackle my own fear of strangers’ perception before I could go through with this, though. It took me a while to gain the courage.

Why are you afraid?

Every ounce of this project will be aired like dirty laundry. You’ll see every note, every piece of chicken scratch, every awful idea (of which, I’m sure there will be many). I’m petrified you’ll look at me differently afterward.

Then why do it?

There is so much mystery surrounding writing, particularly when it comes to fantasy. And this mystery is part of the inevitable magic trick. The trick being, when you close the book, you think to yourself, “how did they do that?” And you’re unable to conjure the answer because it was everything all at once.

If you also want to be a magician, the trick feels next-to-impossible to learn on your own.

You’re told, “It’s one sentence at a time.”

You’re told, “It’s one chapter at a time.”

You’re told, “It’s one draft at a time.”

(Likely, you’re told all of these by me.)

But you can only hear “your first draft is supposed to be terrible,” (or any other general writing tip) so many times before the words lose their power.

(I get the question, “okay but…how bad…is it supposed to be?” four times a week.

The answer: really f*cking bad.)

But it’s one thing to hear, “your first draft is supposed to be terrible.”

It’s another thing to see a first draft that you didn’t write.

And you’ll soon find out just how bad mine are.

Okay but still…why do it?

Because I can and because I want to. And because I wish that I had this resource when I first started.

I’m also looking forward to delivering the things I’ve learned on a different medium. So many people are not audible learners. I think this will help a lot.

What will happen to Project STARDUST when you’re done?

I intentionally started with something entirely new because I’ve got a kitchen full of ideas I would love to see in the world.

This idea was created with absolutely no intention of ever being sold.

I would not rule out publishing it. But after showing you all the tricks, I would feel weird about promoting tickets to the magic show.