A few years ago I wrote a questionnaire for models asking about their work and their lives. It was research for my book, Being a Model (BAM). I planned to contact a few models I followed on Instagram and ask if I could interview them. I did end up messaging them but they didn't respond. Not surprised. My message probably got lost in the sea of messages they regularly got. If you are a writer I encourage you to be bold in your research methods.

                                                                        CHARACTERS

For BAM, I wanted a realistic depiction of an emerging model in the modeling industry. I had my own ideas of what a model did, but I didn't want my ideas. I wanted real life or as close to real life as I could get within the confines of the plot. Here's my questionnaire and below it is background info for my character Aunt Marceline from my book, A Grave of Dead Roses:

Questions for Model Interviews
What was a typical day for you when you first started modeling?
What was it about modeling or fashion that made you want to become a model?
Did you have support from family and friends?
What is your living situation?
Have you heard of model apartments?
Is it true that models receive payment months after the fact?
How long is a photo shoot for you?
What type of jobs do you do?
How many do you get in a day or a week?
Have you ever considered freelance modeling?
What are some misconceptions about being a model?
For photo shoots, do you have changing rooms or do you change in front of others? Is it uncomfortable?
What goes through your mind when posing?
How did you find your style of posing?
Some models end up having to get a 2nd job because of the inconsistency of modeling jobs plus (something about payment) Have you run into that? If you get paid from Youtube, does it alleviate some of that pressure?
How realistic is it for a new model to work in a runway show for a very high-end fashion designer?
Have there been any questions about your ethnicity or background during auditions?
How did you gain confidence in front of the camera?
Have you received any negative comments about our weight or body shape?
If so, was it from photographers, or your agency?
What fun things do you do in your spare time?                                                                             

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                                                                                 ​SETTING

For the setting, I have used Google Earth and Google images to look up cities and countries I had never visited. The setting has to be realistic. Imagine reading a book that takes place in a metropolitan city but it's described as farmland. I hope to travel to the places in my book just to make sure the setting is accurate. We as writers must bring the environment to life and paint a colorful picture in black letters.

Thank you for reading! I will do a part two to explain more of my research methods so look out for that.

*Cover photo by Dan Dimmock on Unsplash

I will rave about poetry until the day I die.

Welcome back lovely people. Today I will talk a little about my upcoming poetry book. I won't spoil the name of it, but its acronym is T.G.C. I did not intend to make this compilation at the onset. I wrote one of the poems around 2016, another in 2019, and the rest within the past year. I realized I had a theme going in a few of my poems and decided to keep going with it. I love poetry. 

​About TGC

The theme for my poetry book surrounds glass, namely mirrors and gems to represent false hope and new beginnings. I write about falling for cracked mirrors to represent a cycle I found myself in continuously hoping for something I knew would never pan out when it came to relationships with people. When I say relationships I'm referring to friendships and familial relationships as well as romantic. There is a lot of confusion in TGC as I question my motives and my lack of self-awareness when I fall back into the cycle. The book is really a journey to healing - represented by gems - and getting to a place where I prioritize myself. Let me tell you, I do not often write about myself. A majority of my poems are fictional narratives, but in TGC, some of those poems are inspired from my real-life experiences. I am being vulnerable and raw about what goes on in my mind. I am confronting my incorrect patterns of thinking. Super nerve-racking but these poems are way too good to keep private. I know many people could benefit from reading TGC and enjoy the message. 

Imagery

The poems are graphic and gory. Lots of blood, wounds, and scars. Emotional pain can be just as bad as physical pain and I wanted to express those emotional wounds in a physical way. I find it easier to describe imagery in poetry than in fictional stories because the structural expectations are different. You can experiment more in poetry in my opinion. Maybe I forced a rigid structure upon myself that isn't necessary. Either way, I feel more free in poetry. I really surprised myself with the images and metaphors I came up with. The Resident Evil 8 video game inspired the imagery for one poem. I love how I can grab inspiration from anywhere and weave it into the narrative I am writing. It makes writing enjoyable and stimulating. Who knows what I'll say next!

Publishing

I do plan on self-publishing T.G.C. because I have a specific idea of how it must look. I might add illustrations. I want more creative control on how it comes out. Plus, it's a project that is near and dear to my heart so I want to hold it close. I thought I was done with T.G.C. but I have an idea for another poem. The plan is to publish it in 2022, but I am not opposed to refining it and publishing it next year. 

Thank you for reading about T.G.C.! I hope when it does come out you all will be interested in reading it. :)

*Photo by Tuva Mathilde Løland on Unsplash.com!

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Welcome back to my blog. It's been awhile I know! But I am back so enjoy today's post about a conference I attended two weeks ago.

I heard about the Black Writers Weekend (BWW) through my best friend back in May or early June. It was a four day conference set in Atlanta, Georgia from August fourth to the seventh. BWW  included workshops, panels, screenings, and networking. There were different types of creatives like literary writers, filmmakers, and podcasters! What a great start to an ending summer, just what I needed. So, why was this weekend significant?

                                                          Legal Career vs. Creative Career
I spent the past three years in law school working towards a Juris Doctor degree and finally graduated three and a half months ago - yay me! But that wasn't the end. The second week of May to July 26th was reserved for studying for the California bar exam. BWW came a week after I took the exam. Great, a chance to spend most of my time working on creative projects while I wait for results! Law school was a lovely challenge that didn't leave much room for developing my fictional stories. I want to create content for this blog, for my ASMR YouTube channel (fading sunlight asmr), and write my short story. It's exciting to devote my free time to creative expression and build my creative career. Writing is fun and expressive. I want to indulge in it as much as I can before I dive back into legal land. I have so much to say, it would be a crime to keep it all in. BWW was a mental reset to get my mind back into writer mode/creator mode.

                                                          Practical Advice vs. Motivation
During BWW I attended several sessions such as how to get a literary agent, creating social media content, access to Hollywood, and MORE. I gained practical advice and motivation through the speakers' inspirational words. Those two go hand in hand. Sometimes hearing the steps you need to complete something is not enough. You know what you gotta do, but where's the motivation? The sessions I attended that had speakers sharing their successes, failures, and insight were just as necessary as the speaker who taught us how to approach a literary agent. Imagine having a car with no key. Yes, you have a mode of transportation, but nothing to make it start. You can't drive anywhere if the car doesn't turn on. The car is the practical advice and the key is motivation. My mind is ever flowing with ideas. Sometimes I don't know how to bring them to fruition while other times I don't have the motivation to physically work on them. Sometimes it's fear! Following your dreams takes courage. What if I publish a book but people hate it?! What if someone gets offended by a line in my poem?! What if I get laughed at?! I think it is natural to have these thoughts, but I can't let them stop me from putting my work out there. I appreciate the speakers for being vulnerable and authentic and for taking the time to encourage us creatives. The conference renewed my creative spirit. 
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I hope you readers stick around to follow the content that is soon to come.

*Photo by Mika Baumeister on Unsplash!

     Hello everyone! Today's post is all about my book, World War III: Human or Foe. I'm going to share a summary, characters, my inspiration for this, and the writing process. This book has gone through storyline transformations and three title changes to go with each one. It's a science fiction novel with a possible completed word count of 80,000 words. 

      Summary: Two CIA agents, a former Canadian Securities Director, Three tech experts, a historian, a management consultant, and the President's daughter. In the year 2110, what do they all have in common? This group of unlikely individuals is in a mission to save Exceptionals, humans with special abilities being hunted by people in their respective countries who either want to weaponize or destroy them. It has caused an uproar in almost every country, something close to a civil war inwardly, and a world war III as countries come against each other. The venture does not come without its challenges as each person must face a different kind of danger then they were expecting to face. Despite the turmoil, they find family amongst strangers.

    There are two options for the book cover. Feel free to comment which one is your favorite!

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Here are my characters in the order they appear in the book:

Dominic Atwater is 25 years old. Dominic is a pretty quiet and usually tries to stay neutral on hot topics. He's a historian that knows Latin and studies other cultures in his spare time. His role in this group is to be the translator and to be as invisible as possible. He has a hard time making friends due to his long isolation which built up his social anxiety.

Sienna Michaels is 26 years old. Sienna is a leader. She is proactive, intelligent, and adores her family. In her spare time she enjoys exercising, especially running. Her parents and brother are all fighting overseas and every since college she has been protesting on behalf of the exceptionals. She has a big heart for those disadvantaged and overlooked in society. 

Shannon "Shane" Ingram is 20 years old. Her mother died from a disease when she was four and her father is a Colonel in the U.S. Army. She loves running and has been to several survival camps. Shane never went to regular school, but instead a military boarding school her dad taught in sometimes. Shane acts as a scout for her father when searching for exceptionals in the U.S.

Bethany Francine Blair is 17 years old. She is an only child of the President and First Lady.  Bethany loves shopping, movies, and ice cream. Since she was little, she wanted to become a nurse or veterinarian.  People see her as an airhead (which she kind of is) but sometimes she exaggerates it. She can't expose her parents' secret. 

Julia Styles is 37 years old. Julia is an artist. She loves to sketch just about anything. She went to an art school in Paris, France at age 16. She received a scholarship to attend the conservatory which was great since her parents were not rich. She has two younger brothers, Charles, and Louis. Yes, they are twins named after kings. Julia does not mind that her name is not royal. She hates monarchs. Julia loved art, but she also loved kickboxing and staying up to date with politics. She dreamed of growing up to be a kickboxing, art enthusiast, political official. She was fierce and went against anyone head all. Julia joined the CIA to make a difference and  protect her fellow citizens. Julia knows it's a privilege to help policymakers make decisions on the US national security.  

Donovan Miles is 39 years old. Donovan worked with Julia at the CIA. He's a mystery. Grew up with his grandparents that didn't care much about him, enlisted in the military to have a sense of purpose in his life, then ended up with the CIA. Now he's helping Julia look for Andrei. Donovan is an arrogant, ill-tempered man with little compassion for others.

Maya and Simeon: These twin siblings are 22 years old. They work for Donovan and Julia. They are great with technology and always up to date. Their parents are inventors and learned all of technological advancements from them. Maya is the more outspoken one while Simeon is reserved. Maya always has a smile on her face. She is optimistic, quick on her feet, and intuitive. Simeon is a thinker, more pessimistic, but always ready for a challenge.

Shawn Taylor is 45 years old. He is the former Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. He met Andrei during his employment. Shawn has no family and created security in his work. He built up a name and a reputation for himself. He is compassionate with a kind smile.

Alec Rios is 20 years old. He is an excellent hacker employed by Andrei to do some work for him. Alec is very much removed from society and into the computer world, specifically the dark web. Though, much of his work is for positive use. He loves to eat, spend time with his family, and watch movies.

President Jeffrey Blair is in his second term has President of the United States. He has found himself part of Andrei's team while injured. He feels personally responsible for the trauma that come upon the world. Him and his wife sought out a scientist to produce a child, Bethany. President Blair loves Bethany and would give his life for her.

Doctor Anahi Mendez works at a local clinic in Montero, Bolivia. She is the ex-wife of Andrei. Dr. Mendez is courageous and passionate about her work in medicine. It takes up most of her time and she has no gripe about that. Dr. Mendez has been pulled into the team almost unwillingly, but soon agrees to help fight for the exceptionals.

Andrei Nicolae Cretu is 36 years old. His birthday is July 6th  2074. He was born and raised in Romania as an only child and came to the U.S. at age 18. He has a bachelor’s in International relations and a minor in economics. He became interested in journalism after interning at a newspaper place his aunt worked at. He loved the idea of traveling and writing stories about different countries. His parents were both teachers of history and economy. They instilled him the love of politics. He became a travel writer, focusing more on government and economy. He also used photography to help to create scenes during civil wars, poverty, or protests. He started in the U.S., then branched to various places. He was a U.S. diplomat for Romanian for a while. When WW3 began, he covered it in his journalism work. It wasn’t too bad at first. As it heated up he decided to work for the CIA. That is when he met Julia. At first, he had the notion that the US was harboring a dangerous secret and was the enemy, so he began spying on them. Then he started working with the Romanian government. Then he started to piece things together.

Zola Nkweli is the leader of the South African sector for the organization saving exceptionals on behalf of the Safeguard. She is a woman well grounded in culture, headstrong, and lives up to her name which means "Be calm". Zola has a caring and fierce nature about her. She can lead an entire army of soldiers if she so pleased.

*​Photo by Chandler Cruttenden on Unsplash

Do you know what it means to write a book?

        I didn’t when I first started taking writing seriously. I didn’t realize how grueling the process was, and how much detail and research went into writing. I saw writing as a light-hearted activity, not something that would cause me grief. Not something that would cause me to doubt my abilities. Maybe I’m not as good as I think I am. Crying over a lost flash drive. Stunned and disappointed over a crashed flash drive (this time I had some of it backed up). It takes up your time and energy, but it’s all worth it. Once that draft was complete, I felt relieved, a bit saddened, but more importantly, proud of my effort. I was proud of the characters I created and developed. I was proud of the storyline that began as a small idea into a full-blown plot. I was proud of my ability to carry out a project and see it through. The process is rewarding. You go through hours or days of research, editing, fashioning chapters together, and adding in little details that make the story sound realistic if it’s fictional.

     You’re not always going to have inspiration. You’re not always going to have the motivation to write thousands of words. Some days you may barely get out a few hundred. Don't let the grueling part of this process scare you. Have confidence in yourself. 

     What excites other people to want to write a book? Is it to tell a story? Share their insight? Maybe try something new? I hope anyone who wants to write book sets lots of realistic goals, enjoys the journey, and keeps a support system around them! If you have any questions about writing, please email me, comment, or DM me.

Thank you!


​Photo by Rashtravardhan Kataria on Unsplash

      I began this blog almost two years ago. I used to watch a lot of channels on YouTube and wanted a similar platform so I could share my thoughts and ideas. Creating a YouTube channel seemed a bit scary though. I didn’t want my face out there. The next idea was creating a blog to share my poems and short stories that I could post on social media. I am passionate about writing. I have been for fifteen years. The plan was show people how exciting but demanding writing a fictional story or poem was. I wanted to expose the small details that go into creating characters and a plot. Going in depth with my stories also helped me to understand them more. I did research for my stories so I could write a post about it. My favorite one was the Misconceptions of the Modeling industry. Of course, it wasn’t a scholarly article, but I was proud of that post. It took hours to complete.

       There are a multitude of topics out there to discuss. I thought, “why focus on writing only, when I could talk about other topics?”. Many people like to hear experiences that relate to them. Writing about the struggles of being a college student or wanting to travel are things people can grasp easily. I stopped posting short stories because I am not advanced in that art. It’s quite difficult. I’d rather draw out a storyline into a long novel. As time went on, I added Positive Affirmations and Review and Reflect to my blog. Review and Reflect helps me to be more introspective. Positive Affirmations are there to encourage and uplift the listeners in their daily lives. There was more to give to my readers and listeners. There was more they could gain from my blog.

    This was also a great way to step out of my comfort zone. People are constantly reading through my work. It’s daunting! What if I sound incoherent or have spelling mistakes? Sometimes the formatting changes and makes the post look disorganized. Doing this helped me gain confidence in myself and my writing which was one of the reasons why I started Disorderly-Thoughts. You will never discover your capabilities if you don’t venture into new land. I completed a novella in three months, self-published it before I graduated high school, and have since completed two other novels in the editing stages. Those accomplishments gave me confidence to try new things. Before I created this blog, I never thought of myself as being able to maintain something like this. Now, it’s my special project that I am extremely proud of.

During this month I have been designing an online class for Skillshare, an online platform that gives you access to classes on various topics such as writing better poetry, entrepreneurship, how to use a camera, etc. I participated in their Teachchallenge to create and publish my first class by April 30th. They provided participants with deadlines for a small component like creating an outline or sharing your intro video. It helped me stay on track.

My class is titled How to do Research for your Novel and I give you a method to use to effectively find information. This process was nerve-racking for me. Sitting in front a camera filming videos for people to watch, finding great lighting, the process was stressful. It's a bit scary to put yourself out there especially for something you care about. Trying new things isn't easy, but the outcome is always worth it. As we acquire new skills from the many activities we partake, we should showcase and utilize them. I work at the front desk in a freshmen residence hall at my university. Through this experience I have gained interpersonal skills from interacting with people on a daily basis. Those skills are useful during networking events, grocery shopping, even parties! I can use them now. This is why I decided to create a class on doing research because I have a method -taken from my own experience during writing stories- that writers will benefit from. Once the class is published, I will share it on my social media pages so be sure to follow me @abbyakyiaw on Instagram and Abby Akyiaw on Facebook if you want to watch it.



*Photo by The Climate Reality Project on Unsplash

Creative idea: A story about a woman with Alopecia who finds out she is adopted from Madagascar. She tries to find her biological parents, but ends up becoming a Queen and dealing with Alopecia and self-consciousness about losing her hair.

​Story title: The Other Side of the Mirror
-Word Count: aiming for 50,000

-Realistic Fiction

-Malagasy culture and traditions

Story introduction: Everything seems to go well for Volana when receives her first job offer months after completing university. Unfortunately her Alopecia resurfaces, causing a larger chunk of her hair to fall out. This prompts her parents to tell her she is adopted and her biological parents live in Madagascar. Volana then embarks on a journey to Madagascar in hopes of locating her parents and possibly finding a cure or solution to the Alopecia. During this search, she meets and falls in love with a King, becoming Queen of Fleur Fanjakana. This new position creates new problems and brushes away old issues as she deals with keeping up appearances and hiding her falling hair, while feeling frustrated at not finding her biological parents.

Story description: Volana has dealt with Alopecia her whole life. It comes and goes as it pleases, taking away chunks of her hair. Alopecia Areata is an autoimmune disease which means the body sees itself, more specifically, hair follicles as foreign and attacks it/ This causes a person's hair to come out. After finishing university and landing her dream job in a transportation company, Volana's alopecia comes back. This prompts her parents to reveal that she is adopted. Volana decides to save up for a year, take off from work, and travel to Madagascar. She thinks this will be a simple journey doesn't plan on the detours in her path, including marring a King and becoming Queen of the five kingdoms in Madagascar. During her reign, she deals with tensions with her husband due to the unsuccessful methods of curing her alopecia. She becomes more self-conscious about it, hiding her hair from the kingdom. Volana will soon come to realize loving yourself starts within, not with what you see in the mirror.

Story overview: A first person POV of Volana and Thulani (her husband), and a third person POV (kingdom). A woman has alopecia areata and finds out she is adopted. She attempts to find her biological parents but ends up marrying a king and becoming Queen of a kingdom. She has troubling acclimating to this new position while dealing with old problems. 

This Skillshare class I watched was taught by best selling author, Preeti Shenoy, and she gave tips on the fundamentals of creative writing. Here are the prompts and my project:

1. Use a timer. Set it for three minutes. Now write down all the ideas that you get.
Submit it!

1. Flash fiction stories on Instagram pictures on my timeline
2. A boy helps smuggle drugs in his sculptures he creates.
3. An old lady leaves a diary in a library on purpose. When someone opens and reads an entry, they get sucked into it.

2. Create three characters using all that you have learnt. Remember to add the details!

Idea #1: 13 year old sculptor. Black hair. Lives in a village. Makes beautiful sculptures to sell. A local drug lord (King Caesar) employs Mitchie (Or he asks the drug lord) to puts bags of cocaine inside his sculptures ans ship them across the world. He makes enough money to help his village and his family. He moves into a house with his family. Of course they don't know what he really does, they just think his sculptures are in high demand.
Mitchie loves to sculpt. He started with pottery, making jugs, cups, plates, and other things for locals in his village. He's 5'4 and is in secondary school. Mitchie had mud brown eyes as he likes to describe them. He loves playing freeze tag with his friends. Mitchie also like to be alone. To gain inspiration, Mitchie takes walks at night when everyone is asleep. He stares at the stars and the moon. Mitchie wants to travel and help people in his village.

​Idea #2: Old Lady Martha is lonely. Both of her children died in a train crash four years ago on their way to Greenwich. Old lady Martha as the neighborhood calls her, has a cursed diary with various entries in it. Those entries are made from the lives of people that become trapped in the diary. Then, she reads them at home and can them come to life.
OL Martha is a short lady that wears different capes depending on the day. She has burgundy, blue, black, red, purple, and glitter. Little kids love and abhor her. She makes breakfast at six thirty in the morning everyday except Sunday. She makes breakfast at eight. OL Martha lives by a strict routine of breakfast, a walk through the park, staying at the library for two hours, eating lunch at a nearby sandwich shop.

*Photo by Nong Vang on Unsplash.com