First Monday blog! I hope everyone is doing well. I get to say ‘everyone’ and not ‘anyone’ because people actually viewed the first blog, which is AMAZING.
So, I set two goals for myself on Friday to complete by today. They were to get a stylus and to come up with a fun book idea. Let’s review how those went.
Getting A Stylus
So I was able to find a reasonably priced stylus on Amazon with good reviews. If I knew how to attach a link to I would. It was $30 and given I don’t have any skill, it’s a good place to start. I also purchased an app called Sketchbook Pro on the app store, which also should be all I need. We are ready to get started creating visualizations of my book! Hopefully it doesn’t take an incredibly long time for them to look better than scribbles.
I was able to spend some time playing with the pen on Sketchbook Pro this weekend. Although I didn’t actually create anything, I was able to become a little familiar with how the pen works as well as the app. I use couple different software programs in my day job so hopefully I can become familiar with Sketchbook quickly. To help with that, I’m going to have structured practice sessions, which I’ll get into in a bit.
Coming Up With A Book Idea
For me, the best time to come up with book ideas is when I’m driving. While running errands on Saturday, I came up with something I think is going to be fun to explore.

It involves a fantasy world (I’m a fantasy/sci-fi nerd) in which someone’s ‘magical’ ability manifests itself in the physical world. I feel like I shouldn’t go into too much detail until I flesh it out more, but I’m really excited about it. A comment on my previous blog has stuck in my head and I want to follow the advice given: Have FUN with the story. I’m going to try and make it exciting and adventurous, and not put pressure on myself to churn out a word count or hit certain thematic elements.
After coming up with the idea, I managed to come up with about 1,000 words describing what I consider the “opening act.” I was eager to write further into the plot, but I found my mind was branching in too many directions, so I stopped myself. I think a better idea is to just flesh out the opening act and see where the story wants to go. I say ‘better idea’ knowing this may not be the best plan, but it’s what I want to do next!
The Plan For This Week
The plan until Friday is two more goals: Start a YouTube tutorial series about creating art in Sketchbook Pro and write the first chapter of the rough draft.
I’ve already found a couple video series on YouTube that will work, although I’m yet to actually watch any of them. I’m going to choose one and I want to complete at least the first video before Friday. If it goes well, I may post anything drawn (it won’t be good but oh well).
Honestly, I’m more excited to actually start the book though. The thought of giving life to characters and a world of my own just sounds incredible. To be completely honest I want to write more than just a chapter by Friday, but I don’t want to burn myself out or disappoint myself by not doing more. I’m also looking forward to describing the actual writing process in the next blog.
The main character’s name is Veryn. I can’t wait to see where his adventures take him.
Long Term Goals
These aren’t something I hope to complete this week, so I’ll keep it quick: Once I get more material/experience under my belt, I want to flesh out this bare bones blog and get the Instagram account started. I will definitely struggle with Instagram account, but struggling is ok because it’s part of the process.

I can’t wait to share how writing is going on Friday. Thank you to anyone who tagging along with the process. I hope you have a great week!