My Fictional Bucket List

I'm someone that reads a lot of fiction and finds myself immersed in the fictional worlds created by the amazing authors that I read. I recently found a video on YouTube by JesseTheReader where he discussed his fictional bucket list and I thought that it sounded like so much fun! So I decided to make one of my own!

Harry Potter: 

• I want to play Quidditch with Harry Potter. 
• I want to drink Butterbeer and pumpkin juice in Hogsmeade.
• I want to prank with George and Fred Weasley.
• I want to ride Buckbeak the hippogriff. 
• I want to be a part of Dumbledore's Army.

Vampire Academy:

• I want to fight Strigoi with Rose.
• I want to train with Dimitri Belikov.

Divergent:

• I want to train with Four.
• I want to jump off the train with the Dauntless.
• I want to zip-line with Tris.
• I want to go through my own fear landscape. (Just to see what it's like)

Infernal Devices:

• I want to read classics with Will Herondale.
• I want to play violin with Jem Carstairs.
• I want to defend the London Institute with Charlotte. 

Firelight: 

• I want to fly with Jacinda.

Peter Pan:

• I want to fly with Peter.
• I want to tell stories to the Lost Boys.
• I want to fight with Captain Hook.

This was a pretty fun concept to think about! I'm glad that I did this! What is your fictional bucket list? 

-Chelsea 

Fantasy Writing

I always used to think that the idea of writing a fantasy-based story would never appeal to me. I thought that they wouldn't be serious enough for me or evoke enough emotion from my potential readers. I wanted to write stories that meant something and would make others feel a real connection to my characters. Then I remembered how much the Harry Potter books affected millions of people, young and old, across the globe and how, even though the books/movies are done, they still live on in the hearts of the fans. It was then that I snapped out of that delusional idea that I couldn't affect people with a fantasy story.

I realized that as long as a story is written well and it has compelling characters, people will read it and enjoy it. It doesn't matter where the story takes place or if the main character has magical powers. People want to read well-written material, so that's where you get your start.

So the other day while I was at the beach thinking about the horrible writer's block that I was suffering from, I got the idea for a fantasy novel. I tried not to get too excited because I'm always afraid that someone else has beat me to the idea. So I got home and Googled the idea and saw that it made no matches. I was elated and quickly began jotting down ideas.

Normally, within the first few days of thinking about a story, I can tell if the idea truly sucks and isn't going to work; then, of course, I stop working on it. I never throw away any of the outlines or completely reject any of my ideas because I hope that one day, I can revisit them and turn them into something wonderful. Until then, I'm going to be pouring all of my focus into this story, in hopes that I will be able to turn it into a novel that I can be proud of and want to share with the world.

I'm so glad that I decided to take a chance on this novel because there is so much more freedom of writing in the fantasy realm. I can make up worlds and rules based on whatever is inside my wild and vivid imagination and it allows my writing to grow. So stay tuned for updates on whether or not this story ends up published; I hope it will be and then all of my readers will be able to say that they knew me before my dreams came true. :)

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