Thanks a lot for joining me as I brainstorm, outline, and draft my new story (I’m pitching it as Robin Hood meets Les Misérables, via Six of Crows) – I’m super excited to get started! 

Sooo, without further ado…

Magical Cookies

One of the first – and most helpful – things I learned on my writing journey is the power of so-called Magical Cookies. Cookies were coined by the wonderful Susan Dennard (author of the Witchlands series) for “those scenes or snippets or relationships or feelings that make you want to write a story. They are often the juicy little ideas that inspired you to write THIS story at THIS moment.”

You can read more about Magical Cookies here.

Wishlist

So, I basically use Magical Cookies as my personal wishlist for all the cool, delightful things I would like to see happen in my story. 

For some projects, I know fairly well what my Cookies are. I have my wishlist ready right off the bat. For this project, however, my Cookies are a bit more obscure. I’m slowly coaxing them out and jotting them down into my notebook. 

Right now, my wishlist includes all kinds of Cookies (all of them magical): themes, scene ideas, character traits, banter, setting, vibes, songs, plot twists, and favorite tropes. For example, I’ve included “secret tunnels” and “demolitions” and “asshole victims” and “pretending to be lovers in a back alley” on my list.

Anything Goes

For me, Cookies are a way to dream – they are the “anything’s possible, anything can be” phase of a project. I don’t care about clichés or marketability (not yet), and I don’t think about likely obstacles or my writerly limitations. 

Cookies are all about what makes me happy and the reason for getting excited about a project. For me, it’s super important to sprinkle Cookies into my WIP (preferably in each scene) because writing a novel is a long process and I want to be excited about the story even in my umpteenth round of revisions.

Pinterest and Playlists

As I coax out my Cookies, I also turn to Pinterest and Spotify to make a mood board for the project and create a playlist with songs that reflect the story’s vibes. I’ll use the playlist throughout the brainstorming, outlining, and drafting process. I especially look for instrumental music and movie scores (I’m one of those writers who can’t listen to songs with lyrics). For this project, I’m OBSESSED with Joseph Trapanese (specifically: Robin Hood and Shadow & Bones). 

I hope you found my rantings helpful! Of course, writing remains a highly subjective thing: what works for me doesn’t necessarily have to work for you (and that’s perfectly okay).

Final note: Susan Dennard has a wealth of writerly resources available on her blog. I highly recommend visiting her website!